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Emily Seo displays her knowledge of science and ability to clearly write about it in her debut novel for young people The Science of Boys (Tradewind $12.95), with illustrations by Gracey Zhang. Her shy protagonist Emma Sakamoto, a whiz at science, is asked by one of the school’s popular girls to help her win over a boy. Emma decides to use science theories to “pull the boy into her new friend’s orbit.” The question is, can scientific principles be applied to human emotions? With 236 pages, the novel has 36 chapters all titled after theories such as “cell differentiation,” “nuclear chain reaction” and “boiling point.” Seo builds a story about tumultuous teen preoccupations like fitting in and friendship.
In her second book, The Perfect Sushi (Barefoot Books $12.99), for ages 4 - 9, Seo writes about a girl, Miko, who likes things to be perfect. When she makes lopsided sushi for her grandmother's birthday, she replaces it with perfectly formed sushi created by a restaurant robot. Upon delivering her gift, Miko discovers that kokoro (heart) - not impeccability - is the key ingredient to the perfect present. Sprinkled with engaging onomatopoeia, this book is infused with Japanese culture and delivers a universal message about the value of intention. A do-it-yourself sushi recipe is included. Art by Mique Moriuchi.
Having grown up in Vancouver, Emily Seo earned her Ph.D in Chemistry from UBC and went on to a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. Later she worked on two science journals in Germany before returning to Canada. She lives in Richmond.
(Photo by Chelsea Roisum)
BOOKS:
The Science of Boys (Tradewind, 2022) $12.95 9781926890371. With Illustrations by Gracey Zhang
The Perfect Sushi (Barefoot Books, 2023) $12.99 9781646868384
[BCBW 2023]
*
The Science of Boys
by Emily Seo, illustrated by Gracey Zhang (Tradewind Books $12.95)
Review by Erin F. Chan
Puberty, popularity, peer pressure, puppy love and pop quizzes. Entering high school is nerve-racking for most kids on the cusp of teenage life. For the studious and scientific-minded Emma Sakamoto, fitting in is her biggest worry. “I want to feel good about going to school,” Emma thinks. “I don’t want to worry about girls who are mean to me. I want to be liked, not a geek.”
While Emma wishes she could invent a chemical reaction to convert her from “geek to chic,” her best friend, Olive, is excited about all the different clubs they could join and the fact that the Magical Creatures TV show will be filming in town soon. However, when the effortlessly popular new girl in town, Poppy Sinclair, enlists Emma’s help in wooing young Magical Creatures star Cole James, Emma pounces on the opportunity to shed her geekdom—blurting out a lie to Poppy that she’s writing a book on the “science of boys” (despite knowing nothing about them). But with her father being sad and cagey, her mother not returning her calls, and Olive getting more and more upset with her, how far will Emma go to finally fit in?
Set in present-day Steveston, BC, The Science of Boys is the debut novel of Emily Seo, and the book features lively (and cute) black ink illustrations by Gracey Zhang. Seo, who describes the middle-grade book as being the result of her “experimentation with words,” has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia. She not only brings her scientific mind to Emma’s analytical character but to the book as a whole, with the chapter titles and subtitles being different scientific terms and definitions that allude to elements in the story (such as in the chapter “Wave Model,” in which Emma describes her self-esteem as being “up and down, like light travelling in a wave”). And Seo encourages curiosity and exploration throughout the novel, as Emma tackles Poppy’s boy trouble by using the scientific method, summarizing her findings as pieces of advice in her fake book: “It’s true that guys like their space, but it’s important to make sure he sees you from time to time. … Make sure to stay in his visible spectrum.”
Seo also gently addresses many social issues that young teens face today, such as bullying, peer pressure, body image and social media. In one scene, Olive and Emma flip through magazines, searching for an example of misrepresentation in media for a class assignment; when Olive bemoans the fact that “there isn’t a single girl in [the magazine] bigger than a size two,” Emma realizes how infrequently they see ordinary girls in media: “We were bombarded with images of girls who were not only thin, they were also beautiful with perfect hair and perfect skin. How is any normal person able to compete with that?” As Emma navigates her first year of high school, it becomes increasingly apparent how these teen issues are affecting her and her peers. But in her efforts to fit in, Emma ends up learning a lot about friendship, belonging, and how teens can better understand and support each other in their struggles.
A genuine and fun-filled read, The Science of Boys captures many complexities in the lives of preteen girls today while encouraging curiosity and an interest in science—a subject that girls still often lack confidence in and are discouraged from pursuing.
9781926890371
Erin F. Chan (she/her) lives and works as a publishing assistant, copy editor, and graphic designer on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
[BCBW 2022]
In her second book, The Perfect Sushi (Barefoot Books $12.99), for ages 4 - 9, Seo writes about a girl, Miko, who likes things to be perfect. When she makes lopsided sushi for her grandmother's birthday, she replaces it with perfectly formed sushi created by a restaurant robot. Upon delivering her gift, Miko discovers that kokoro (heart) - not impeccability - is the key ingredient to the perfect present. Sprinkled with engaging onomatopoeia, this book is infused with Japanese culture and delivers a universal message about the value of intention. A do-it-yourself sushi recipe is included. Art by Mique Moriuchi.
Having grown up in Vancouver, Emily Seo earned her Ph.D in Chemistry from UBC and went on to a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. Later she worked on two science journals in Germany before returning to Canada. She lives in Richmond.
(Photo by Chelsea Roisum)
BOOKS:
The Science of Boys (Tradewind, 2022) $12.95 9781926890371. With Illustrations by Gracey Zhang
The Perfect Sushi (Barefoot Books, 2023) $12.99 9781646868384
[BCBW 2023]
*
The Science of Boys
by Emily Seo, illustrated by Gracey Zhang (Tradewind Books $12.95)
Review by Erin F. Chan
Puberty, popularity, peer pressure, puppy love and pop quizzes. Entering high school is nerve-racking for most kids on the cusp of teenage life. For the studious and scientific-minded Emma Sakamoto, fitting in is her biggest worry. “I want to feel good about going to school,” Emma thinks. “I don’t want to worry about girls who are mean to me. I want to be liked, not a geek.”
While Emma wishes she could invent a chemical reaction to convert her from “geek to chic,” her best friend, Olive, is excited about all the different clubs they could join and the fact that the Magical Creatures TV show will be filming in town soon. However, when the effortlessly popular new girl in town, Poppy Sinclair, enlists Emma’s help in wooing young Magical Creatures star Cole James, Emma pounces on the opportunity to shed her geekdom—blurting out a lie to Poppy that she’s writing a book on the “science of boys” (despite knowing nothing about them). But with her father being sad and cagey, her mother not returning her calls, and Olive getting more and more upset with her, how far will Emma go to finally fit in?
Set in present-day Steveston, BC, The Science of Boys is the debut novel of Emily Seo, and the book features lively (and cute) black ink illustrations by Gracey Zhang. Seo, who describes the middle-grade book as being the result of her “experimentation with words,” has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia. She not only brings her scientific mind to Emma’s analytical character but to the book as a whole, with the chapter titles and subtitles being different scientific terms and definitions that allude to elements in the story (such as in the chapter “Wave Model,” in which Emma describes her self-esteem as being “up and down, like light travelling in a wave”). And Seo encourages curiosity and exploration throughout the novel, as Emma tackles Poppy’s boy trouble by using the scientific method, summarizing her findings as pieces of advice in her fake book: “It’s true that guys like their space, but it’s important to make sure he sees you from time to time. … Make sure to stay in his visible spectrum.”
Seo also gently addresses many social issues that young teens face today, such as bullying, peer pressure, body image and social media. In one scene, Olive and Emma flip through magazines, searching for an example of misrepresentation in media for a class assignment; when Olive bemoans the fact that “there isn’t a single girl in [the magazine] bigger than a size two,” Emma realizes how infrequently they see ordinary girls in media: “We were bombarded with images of girls who were not only thin, they were also beautiful with perfect hair and perfect skin. How is any normal person able to compete with that?” As Emma navigates her first year of high school, it becomes increasingly apparent how these teen issues are affecting her and her peers. But in her efforts to fit in, Emma ends up learning a lot about friendship, belonging, and how teens can better understand and support each other in their struggles.
A genuine and fun-filled read, The Science of Boys captures many complexities in the lives of preteen girls today while encouraging curiosity and an interest in science—a subject that girls still often lack confidence in and are discouraged from pursuing.
9781926890371
Erin F. Chan (she/her) lives and works as a publishing assistant, copy editor, and graphic designer on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
[BCBW 2022]
