Carrianne K. Y. Leung is a Toronto-based writer, educator and business person. She completed a Ph.D. in sociology and equity studies at the OISE/University of Toronto and teaches at the University of Guelph. Author photograph by Val Lem.
Fiction (Short stories)
That Time I Loved You
Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2018.
PS8623 .E9353 T43 2018
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
The suburbs of the 1970s promised to be heaven on earth—new houses, new status, happiness guaranteed. But in a Scarborough subdivision populated by newcomers from all over the world, a series of sudden catastrophic events reveals that not everyone’s dreams come true. Moving from house to house, Carrianne Leung explores the inner lives behind the tidy front gardens and picture-perfect windows, always returning to June, an irrepressible adolescent Chinese-Canadian coming of age in this shifting world. Through June and her neighbours, Leung depicts the fine line where childhood meets the realities of adult life, and examines, with insight and sharp prose, how difficult it is to be true to ourselves at any age.
Awards and Honours
2018 Danuta Gleed Literary Award (Writers’ Union of Canada)(Winner)
2018 Toronto Book Awards (Shortlist)
Fiction
Wonderland Road: A Novel
Toronto: HarperCollins, 2026.
Forthcoming April 2026
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Pauline has not spoken to her sister, Mei, in two decades, not since before the world changed. A rare letter arrives asking Pauline to return to their old neighbourhood to care for Mei’s young daughter while Mei goes to find work.
Twelve-year-old Jing is living in the Children’s House, where all the parentless children stay while their parents work at the Farms. She hasn’t heard from her mother in months and the food deliveries they were promised have dwindled. Her only friends in the neighbourhood are a crow named Iris, an older boy named Julian, and the ghosts of her ancestors in their abandoned apartment.
Julian, once a star athlete and student with a bright future, is one of the only young men left on Wonderland Road. He can’t leave his parents, and he knows there is nowhere left to go. But Julian dreams of a boy he met and a kiss shared in what feels like another lifetime.
These three people will cross paths on Wonderland Road, a community trying to survive in a world of massive disruption and uncertainty. When the future feels poised on a knife’s edge, they must find a way forward.
Fiction (Young adult)
The Wondrous Woo: A Novel
Toronto: Inanna Publications and Education, 2013.
PS8623 .E9353 W66 2013
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
The Wondrous Woo tells the story of Miramar Woo who is the quintessential Chinese girl: nice, quiet, and reserved. The eldest of the three Woo children, Miramar is ever the obedient sister and daughter … on the outside. On the inside, she’s a kick-ass kung fu heroine with rock star flash, sassy attitude, and an insatiable appetite for adventure. Just as Miramar is about to venture forth on the real adventure of leaving home for university, her beloved father is killed in an accident.
In a story that spans four eventful years, Miramar ventures forth from the suburbs of Toronto to university in Ottawa and back again. Along the way she encounters people and situations light years apart from her sheltered world. She explores new friendships, lust, and a side of herself never seen before. Ultimately, Miramar discovers the meaning of courage, belonging, and family.
Awards and Honours
2014 Toronto Book Awards (Finalist)