Found in Translation Book Club

Found in Translation book club tours the globe through world literature in translation. We will explore different countries, cultures, and communities through amazing stories, gaining a fresh perspective as we focus on reading diversely. Join us each month for a new literary trip that will broaden our horizons and ultimately enrich our world.

Aya: Life in Yop City by Marguerite Abouet, illustrated by Clément Oubrerie, translated by Helge Dascher 

Experience the award-winning series about independent young women growing up in 1970s Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast, 1978. It’s a golden time, and the nation, too-an oasis of affluence and stability in West Africa-seems fueled by something wondrous. Aya is loosely based upon Marguerite Abouet’s youth in Yop City. It is the story of the studious and clear-sighted nineteen-year-old Aya, her easygoing friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It’s a wryly funny, breezy account of the simple pleasures and private troubles of everyday life in Yop City.

Clément Oubrerie’s warm colors and energetic, playful line connect expressively with Marguerite Abouet’s vibrant writing. This reworked edition offers readers the chance to immerse themselves in Abouet’s Yop City, bringing together the first three volumes of the series in Book One. Drawn & Quarterly will release volumes four through six of the original French series (as yet unpublished in English) in Book Two. Aya is the winner of the Best First Album award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the Children’s Africana Book Award, and the Glyph Award; was nominated for the Quill Award, the YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels list, and the Eisner Award; and was included on “best of” lists from The Washington Post, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Purchase a copy to read, or grab it from the library, and join us at Dog·Eared Books at 7 PM on Friday, February 21st, to discuss the book with book club host Mariah! This book club is free to anyone who wishes to participate, no registration necessary.

Also, for 20 minutes after each club meeting, you will receive 20% off all books and merchandise!

Want to continue the conversation after club? Join the Found in Translation Discord server!

Content Warnings for Found in Translation 2025
Content Warnings for Aya: Life in Yop City
Content Warnings for The Sea Cloak
Content Warnings for Blood of the Old Kings
Content Warnings for You Dreamed of Empires
Content Warnings for Ulirát