Archive – Page 28

Hey, Dollface: Pushing the Boundaries of YA in 1978

By Nathaniel|2020-03-28T13:42:23-05:00November 26th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Book Review|Tags: Historical, Queer Girls, Realistic|

It was around then I began to realize that there was some current between Chloe and me that was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before; it was a vague, clouded feeling that I couldn’t quite place or identify. It didn’t happen all of a sudden; it was more like moments of dim awareness, followed by a gradual recognition that it was there without my understanding what it was. Deborah Hautzig’s Hey, Dollface, written while she was a student at Sarah Lawrence College, was originally published in 1978, one of the first books of its kind. I’ve only ever [...]

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Shadowplay by Laura Lam: Review

By Georgie|2020-03-28T13:42:23-05:00November 25th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Book Club, Book Review|Tags: Fantasy, Intersex, Non Binary, Speculative|

by Georgie Having read Laura Lam’s Pantomime - and loved it - I was super excited to read its sequel, Shadowplay, which follows Micah Grey’s journey as a fugitive after the tragedy at the end of the last book. Pantomime’s closing moment saw Drystan, the white clown from the circus, telling Micah that he knew a magician who they can trust. At first their only problem is being on the run from the policiers, but more dangerous things soon start to happen. Micah’s being tracked by a Shadow who is absurdly skilled at following him. And when they [...]

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Author Interview: Becky Albertalli

By Nadia|2020-03-28T13:42:23-05:00November 24th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Interview|Tags: gay, Realistic|

Maybe you have heard about this upcoming book called Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which releases next year (April 7th), or maybe you haven't, either way I'm here to tell you about it and about how excited I am for it! First things first (I'm the realest...I had to, I'm sorry), what is it about ? According to Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon [...]

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Author Interview: Ami Polonsky

By Nadia|2020-03-28T13:42:24-05:00November 17th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Interview|Tags: Middle Grade, Realistic, Trans|

Gracefully Grayson, which we reviewed earlier this month, is a middle-grade book about a transgender girl and it's Ami Polonsky's debut novel. We had the pleasure of interviewing Ami about her amazing book and her writing process. Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky (Hyperion 2014) Q: Gracefully Grayson was just released on November 4th! What is it like to have your book out in the world? A: Thanks so much for interviewing me! It’s really exciting that GRACEFULLY GRAYSON is out in the world. I waited twenty-five months for pub day! On one hand, I love that people all over can read [...]

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Cover Reveal Exclusive: The Tear Collectors by Billy Jolie

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:24-05:00November 16th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Interview, Cover Reveal|Tags: gay, Realistic|

We have the great happiness of hosting our first ever exclusive cover reveal for The Tear Collectors by Billy Jolie. The Tear Collectors is a self published YA novel featuring a gay teen! THE TEAR COLLECTORS is the story of three teenage misfits whose lives entangle over the course of one summer; where secrets revealed give way to an explosive finale of love, angst, and casualty. Changes that accompany divorce can be hard. For Farrah, she’s forced to spend the summer at Crystal Lake with her alcoholic mother, but this is just the beginning of her problems. As her new [...]

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Interview With Laura Lam

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:24-05:00November 15th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Interview, Book Club, Teen Voices|Tags: Fantasy, Intersex, Non Binary, Speculative, steampunk, Trans|

Sooo only like a month late, here is our interview with Laura Lam, author of our October and November Book Club books, Pantomime and Shadowplay! We had a lot of fun with this one, since Kathleen and I were also joined by Sarah and Laya, two of the awesome people behind lauralamfans.tumblr.com! Our transcript for it should be up soon. In the meantime, we're right in the middle of our Shadowplay book club! So grab a copy, join us on #GayYA Book Club on Tumblr, and let's discuss this wonderful book! (also check out the same tag on [...]

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Welcome to the Mainstream

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:24-05:00November 14th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Teen Voices|Tags: gay, Non Binary, Other Media, Representation, Trans|

by Karina Rose Twenty three million worldwide downloads. Hundreds of sold out shows. One hovering glow cloud that watches us all as we point and scream at it in praise. Welcome to Night Vale. It’s hard to even find a place to begin when talking about the cult hit podcast Welcome To Night Vale, as even from the beginning its listeners have been shocked, terrified, and confused, but above all else in love instantly. I can’t even describe Night Vale, and I talk about it literally every day. The only way I could imagine it would make sense [...]

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How David Levithan Stole My Heart

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:24-05:00November 12th, 2014|Categories: Archive|

We're thrilled to welcome one of our new regular contributors, Chiara Sullivan! Chiara will be blogging about all things LGBTQIA+ YA, with a focus on the fun side of it all. Look for more great posts from her in the coming months! by Chiara Just in case the title wasn’t completely obvious in the fact that David Levithan indeed owns my heart, I reiterate: he does. How did this come to be? Well, sit back and I shall tell you the story of how my heart came to be David Levithan’s and not mine, after all. David [...]

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Review: Being Emily by Rachel Gold

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:24-05:00November 11th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Book Review|Tags: Trans|

Being Emily by Rachel Gold (Bella Books, 2013) They say that whoever you are it’s okay, you were born that way. Those words don’t comfort Emily, because she was born Christopher and her insides know that her outsides are all wrong. They say that it gets better, be who are you and it’ll be fine. For Emily, telling her parents who she really is means a therapist who insists Christopher is normal and Emily is sick. Telling her girlfriend means lectures about how God doesn’t make that kind of mistake. Emily desperately wants high school in [...]

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Resilient Butterflies: On Rigoberto González’s The Mariposa Club

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:24-05:00November 10th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Guest Blogs|Tags: gay, PoC, Trans|

We are thrilled to introduce one of our new contributors, Sonia Alejandra Rodríguez! She will be writing mostly about Latina/o characters and representation in queer YA. We are so happy to have her on board! by Sonia Alejandra Rodríguez The Mariposa Club (Alyson Books, 2009) Rigoberto González’s [1] The Mariposa Club (2009) is the first novel in a three part series followed by Mariposa Gown (2012) and Mariposa U (forthcoming 2015). The series stands out as the first of its kind because it’s the first to center queer Latino youth characters. The series is a part of a [...]

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