Elsie Chapman is a Chinese-Canadian author and editor who grew up in Prince George, B.C., earned a degree in English literature from the University of British Columbia, and now lives in Tokyo, Japan. Chapman co-edited a couple of anthologies, including Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019)
Fiction (Young adult)
Along the Indigo
Amulet Books, 2018.
Synopsis
The town of Glory is famous for two things: businesses that front for seedy, if not illegal, enterprises and the suicides that happen along the Indigo River. Marsden is desperate to escape the “bed-and-breakfast” where her mother works as a prostitute—and where her own fate has been decided—and she wants to give her little sister a better life. But escape means money, which leads Mars to skimming the bodies that show up along the Indigo River. It’s there that she runs into Jude, who has secrets of his own and whose brother’s suicide may be linked to Mars’s own sordid family history. As they grow closer, the two unearth secrets that could allow them to move forward . . . or chain them to the Indigo forever.
Fiction
All the Ways Home
Feiwel & Friends, 2019.
Synopsis
Sometimes, home isn’t where you expect to find it.
After losing his mom in a fatal car crash, Kaede Hirano–now living with a grandfather who is more stranger than family–developed anger issues and spent his last year of middle school acting out.
Best-friendless and critically in danger repeating the seventh grade, Kaede is given a summer assignment: write an essay about what home means to him, which will be even tougher now that he’s on his way to Japan to reconnect with his estranged father and older half-brother. Still, if there’s a chance Kaede can finally build a new family from an old one, he’s willing to try. But building new relationships isn’t as easy as destroying his old ones, and one last desperate act will change the way Kaede sees everyone–including himself.
This is a book about what home means to us―and that there are many different correct answers.
Fiction (Young adult)
Caster
Scholastic Books, 2019.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Aza Wu knows that real magic is dangerous and illegal. After all, casting killed her sister, Shire. As with all magic, everything comes at a price. Her sister had been casting for money to pay off Saint Willow, the gang leader that oversees her sector of Lotusland. If you want to operate a business there, you have to pay your tribute. And now with Shire dead, Aza must step in to save the legacy of Wu Teas, the teahouse that has been in her family for centuries.
When Aza comes across a secret invitation, she decides she doesn’t have much else to lose. She quickly realizes that she’s entered herself into an underground casting tournament, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Real magic, real consequences.
As Aza’s dangerous web of lies continues to grow, she is caught between trying to find a way out and trapping herself permanently.
Fiction (Young adult)
Divided
Sequel to Dualed.
Random House Books for Young Readers, 2014.
Synopsis
West Grayer is done killing. She defeated her Alternate, a twin raised by another family, and proved she’s worthy of a future. She’s ready to move on with her life.
The Board has other plans. They want her to kill one last time, and offer her a deal worth killing for. But when West recognizes her target as a ghost from her past, she realizes she’s in over her head. The Board is lying, and West will have to uncover the truth of the past to secure her future.
Fiction (Young adult)
Dualed
Random House Books for Young Readers, 2013.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Two of you exist. Only one will survive.
West Grayer is ready. She’s trained for years to confront her Alternate, a twin raised by another family. Survival means a good job, marriage—life.
But then a tragic misstep leaves West questioning: Is she the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future?
If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from herself, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.
Fast-paced and unpredictable, Elsie Chapman’s suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a chilling, unforgettable world.
Fiction (Juvenile)
The Scroll of Chaos
Scholastic Books, 2023.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
When Astrid Xu stumbles upon an ancient scroll with Chinese characters, she just knows it’s the key to saving her mom from the “fog”—the depression that keeps her mom bedridden for days at a time. What Astrid doesn’t expect, though, is to be transported—along with her younger sister, Marilla—to Zhen, a realm where the Chinese legends of old are real!
In Zhen, Astrid and Marilla meet Erlang Shen, a powerful warrior, and Lan Caihe, one of the Eight Immortals. It seems an ancient evil known as Chaos is wreaking havoc all throughout this mythological world, threatening to shroud all of Zhen in darkness—and Astrid is the only one who can stop it.
With only her sister (who has been trapped in the body of a cat!) and two great mythological figures to help her, Astrid sets out on a journey to face her destiny. But will she be able to save her mom—and the world!—before Chaos reigns supreme?
Fiction (Young adult)
Spell Starter: A Caster Novel
Scholastic Books, 2020.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Every spell cast needs a starter. Aza Wu now has magic back. But like all things in her life, it has come at a great cost. After winning the Tournament of Casters, Aza is able to pay off her parents’ debt to Saint Willow. But the price of the gathered spell she used to strip Finch of his magic has put her permanently in the employ of the gang leader. And the magic that has been returned to her is not her own. Aza is forced to use this magic, stolen and unpredictable, to do Saint Willow’s dirty work. But the gang leader is ambitious and power-obsessed, and she always seems to have a larger plan. Aza knows that if Saint Willow can benefit, it doesn’t matter who gets hurt along the way. Forced into a dangerous new situation, Aza will have to reckon with the choices she’s made and the unstable magic she wields. If she can find a way out of Saint Willow’s hold, she just might survive. That is, if her casting doesn’t finally consume her.
Links
Elsie Chapman personal website
Publisher Random House Books for Young Readers
Publisher Scholastic Books Canada