Letters From Johnny

Wayne Ng

Guernica Editions, Spring 2021

130 pages

Trade Paperback

ISBN13: 9781771835770

ISBN10: 177183577X

$20.00 Canada, $17.95 US, £11.95 UK

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Set in Toronto 1970, just as the FLQ crisis emerges to shake an innocent country, eleven year old Johnny Wong uncovers an underbelly to his tight, downtown neighbourhood. He shares a room with his Chinese immigrant mother in a neighbourhood of American draft dodgers and new Canadians. In a span of a few weeks his world seesaws. He is befriended by Rollie, one of the draft dodgers who takes on a fatherly and writing mentor role. Johnny's mother is threatened by the “children's warfare society.” Meany Ming, one of the characters by the rooming house is found murdered. He suspects the feline loving neighbour, the Catwoman. Inspired by an episode of Mannix, he tries to break into her house. Ultimately he is betrayed but he must act to save his family. He discovers a distant kinship with Jean, the son of one of the hostages kidnapped by the FLQ who have sent Canada into a crisis.

Mother told them she herd nothing and saw nothing. The police asked if any body else herd any thing or knew if any body would want to hurt Meany Ming. I wanted to say Catwoman should be a suspect. But mother looked at me hard so I just stared at the floor and shaked my head but I also peeked at his gun and was going to ask to see the bullets too. But I did not. The police stayed on the street until it was dark. They put yellow police tape around the house. I was going to tell mother about the fight between Meany Ming and the Catwoman but she gave me some thing. It was a letter. She said it was from my useless father. When my mother says some body is useless it is the worst thing she can say about anybody.

I love this book a lot. Its voice— Johnny Wong, Grade 5, 1970— is one we’ve never heard before, expressed, eventually, in letters to Leaf captain Dave Keon. There’s sports here, but don’t let that give you pause. “Letters from Johnny” is as much about growing up as a first-generation Canadian as it is Toronto in the 70s with its team, its Chinatown, its new cultures trying to be heard above the Protestant din.

Dave Bidini, musician, Rheostatics; publisher of West End Phoenix; author of Keon and Me

Johnny is an endearing youngster and his writing is filled with humour. Anyone who has dealt with children working in a second language will recognize right away the struggle children sometimes have with spelling and choosing the correct word. Those readers won’t laugh at Johnny but will chuckle in empathy and think, “Oh yeah, I’ve been there!” A reader or two may even remember themselves once having been in Johnny’s shoes.

Eva Levesque, The Review

Who knew that a Chinese-Canadian kid’s heartwarming letters to his hockey hero could so perfectly capture Canada in 1970? “Letters from Johnny,” takes us from the FLQ crisis and a shocking neighborhood crime, to the simple heartbreak of being a Maple Leafs fan. Wayne Ng brings us the world of Johnny Wong, as the 11 year-old pours out his fears, hopes, and dreams to his new pen-pal, Leafs legend Dave Keon.

Wayne Turmel, author, Acre's Bastard and Acre's Orphans

Wayne Ng has the uncanny knack of being able to project himself into a child’s head to tell readers the child’s story — not an easy feat. Johnny is an engaging character going through a rough patch in life and Wayne brings that to life with a voice that is both accurate and convincing.

Rick Blechta, award-winning author of the Pratt and Ellis series

Poignant, insightful, and tinged with menace. Letters from Johnny deftly captures the confusion and hurt of eleven-year-old Johnny Wong as he grapples with loyalty, friendship, and murder close to home

Barbara Fradkin, Arthur Ellis Award finalist, author of Inspector Green, Amanda Doucette and Cedric O’Toole murder series

While this voice and format will appeal to younger readers, the universal themes of a search for identity and a need to belong will resonate with anyone who never quite felt understood or that they belonged. Moreover, the novel will also draw in legions of Toronto Maple Leaf diehard fans, Canadian history buffs and lovers of off-beat immigrant stories. In essence, this is an adult fiction/YA crossover.

Ottawa Review of Books

Told entirely in Johnny’s voice, with phonetic spellings (“diplowmat”), incorrect punctuation, and strike-outs, the letters are riveting. They take us deep into Johnny’s humorous, feisty, always questioning 11-year-old head. The details of time and place nicely evoke the early Seventies and the Chinese immigrant culture. The simple cover, Johnny’s age, the tone of his letters, and the low page count suggest the genre as mid-grade to YA. But the tragic family saga, the murder, and resolution, coupled with Johnny’s often wise insights, make this an unusual cross-over that will appeal to anyone from eleven to adult.

G.J. Berger, Historical Novel Society

Reviews

Book Review, Editors' Choice: Letters From Johnny
Historical Novel Society - May 1, 2021
Letters from Johnny: endearing book filled with humour
The Review - April 21, 2021
Marc Brown reviews Letters From Johnny
The Ottawa Review of Books - March 4, 2021

Books by Wayne Ng

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