YA Pride Issue #2 – The Power of Teens
Teens are the reason that Young Adult literature exists. The adult members of the YA community write, edit, publish, blog, buy, and organize so that teens can have excellent books to read. And yet, it can be easy to lose sight of this, the reason we are doing it all. This issue reconnects us with that reason, reminding us all why we are here and doing this work– for teens!
This issue was headed up by our fantastic team member Kaitlin (@writerkaitlinm). She conducted interviews with five excellent authors on the power of teens and how teens influence their work, as well as three interviews with teens on what they’d like to see more of in LGBTQIAP+ YA literature. Our December issue is rounded off by an essay from a teen author and a book list curated by Kaitlin.
It was only a few years ago that I was a teen. At that time, I was an avid reader of YA and an active member in the YA community. I had a lot of thoughts, and I liked sharing them. Unfortunately, my thoughts were either not taken seriously or, sometimes, they were taken too seriously with no regard for my age, and I was attacked by adults for not phrasing everything perfectly. It was frustrating to feel like I had no safe space to start sharing my perspective. Although I believe things have gotten better, teen voices still go unacknowledged far too often in this community. I’m extremely honored to be able to feature four pieces from teens in this issue, to recenter their perspectives.
I also think adults forget why the work we are doing is so important. When I was a teen, advocating for better representation in YA books came so naturally. It was vital to me. Books were a huge part of how I was coming to understand myself and the world around me, so I was desperate for more diverse stories and representation. And I was just as passionate, if not more so, to make sure that other teens had access to the affirming stories that already existed. I knew firsthand how important those stories were.
But now, as an adult (albeit a very young one!), with a firmer grasp on who I am, the immediacy has diminished. Sometimes I lose touch with the why of the work– and I know I’m not alone in that forgetting. Reading the interviews from Adiba Jaigirdar, Mason Deaver, and other fantastic authors reminded me why it’s such an honor to write for and advocate for teens.
Reading this issue was a delight, and I hope everyone finds it just as joyful and affirming, whether you are adults or teens. I hope that teens will find it refreshing to listen to other teens’ perspectives, and I hope that adults will find it helpful to remember why we are doing this work (whether you’re a writer, editor, blogger, publisher, librarian, teacher, or someone else in the community). LGBTQIAP YA+ books impact teens profoundly. And it is a delight, honor, and privilege to write and advocate for those books!
-Vee
Ryan: Part of it is because I’m just starting to feel like an adult myself, and I write retroactively, so the themes I feel most comfortable tackling have to do with coming of age rather than adult world stuff. But I love having the opportunity to give young people representation, because I think they’re the ones who need it most. My experience as a teen felt very isolating and lonely and books kept me company while opening my mind up to different worlds and different ways of seeing the world. The freedom that comes with being an adult gives us more a sense of how big the world is, and how much is out there, but teens are still confined by rules and curfews, which feel stifling. I like giving them an opportunity to venture past those feelings and explore new things, and I like having a chance to impart in them the worldly wisdom I’ve gained as an adult.
How do today’s teens inspire your writing?
I think today’s teen generation is one of the most socially conscious ever, which is endlessly inspiring to me. They’re unafraid to open sociopolitical conversations and state their opinions while keeping a sensitive approach in mind. I’ve been so impressed by young activists, from Greta Thunberg to Emma Gonzalez to Mari Copeny. It’s really moving how they keep their pulse on the importance of ethics, and aren’t afraid to stand tall in their belief systems and fight corruption. They push the world to be a more ethical place, and that is what I want to do in my writing and in my action.
Adiba: When I was a teen, there were no books that came close to representing me. As a result of that and just general lack of representation in the media, along with stereotyping of people like me, I grew up with a lot of insecurities surrounding who I was. Most of it was specifically to do with my culture, my faith, and my sexuality. In fact, even as an adult I feel like I’m still unlearning a lot of the negativity that I had internalised about myself when I was a teen.
I write for teens because I hope that the teens of today and of the future won’t have to go through the same kind of thing that I did. I hope that they will be able to find themselves, or at least parts of themselves, in the books they read. I hope that they will learn to accept and love themselves and their differences.
How do today’s teens inspire your writing?
I think today’s teens are very brave in a way that I never quite remember being, and I don’t remember a lot of my peers being when I was a teen. They are very aware of the world around them and they’re determined to effect change.
All of these things inspire my writing because I want to write about teens who play a part in effecting change—whether these are small changes within themselves and people that they know, or big changes in the world around them.
I primarily write for queer brown girls, so I hope that they will finally be able to see a reflection of themselves in my books—because they are so rare to find. But mostly, I hope that teens will be able to find joy and hope in my books.
What do you think adult writers can learn from teens?
Honestly, there is so much to learn from teens. As adults we can’t see the world in the way that younger people do. Most teens are experiencing a lot of things for the first time, and as a result, they’re always learning and growing. I think that’s the most important thing we can learn from them: that it’s important to learn and grow, no matter your age, and all the ways in which we can do this. The world and people are always shifting around us, and the moment we become stagnant in our learning and our perceptions of the world is the moment that we kind of become outdated ourselves.
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Pre-order The Henna Wars today!
Zack: Well, I wrote my first manuscript in eighth grade, so back then I wrote about teens because I was one! But now it’s ten years later, and I think the YA genre has stuck with me because I still believe that teens are the most important readers to reach. This is the age when we all decide who we want to be…it’s confusing, it’s emotional, and it’s transformative in a way I feel no other phase of life can match. You remember the four years of high school a lot more clearly (for better or worse) than you remember age 34-38, or 52-56, or whatever. My goal is to help contribute to the conversation…not in telling teens what to think, but helping them to question how they think.
How do today’s teens inspire your writing?
Oh my gosh…by doing the amazing things they’re doing. By facing some of the worst economic, social, cultural, and environmental challenges of the modern era. When I sit down to write, I try to write characters that emulate this behavior; characters who have complex, informed opinions and passion for conquering the challenges society is throwing at them today. Nothing annoys me more in YA than teen characters who are presented as reactionary, angsty, and self-centered. Obviously we all go through phases like this, but the teens of today are so much more than that. And they’re the ones who really inspire me.
As mentioned above, my goal isn’t to tell teens what to think, but rather, to help them question how they think. My first book, Deposing Nathan, tackles the discussion of queerness coexisting alongside religion, specifically Christianity. Each of my characters has their own views on this issue. My goal in writing this was to throw a lot of different ideas and arguments at the reader, in the hopes of helping anyone who may be having this discussion with themselves internally.
What do you think adult writers can learn from teens?
In addition to everything mentioned above, I think 90% of adult-aged writers–myself included, at times–could do to learn how teenagers actually talk when writing dialogue.
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Find out more about Deposing Nathan!
Mason: I think I write for teens because I remember those being some of the most formative years of my life. I also remember just how confused I was when I was that age, so I want to write books that can help teenagers. There’s no way for me to go back in time, for me to give these answers to my younger self, so if I can give them to a teenager struggling today, then I’ve done my job.
How do today’s teens inspire your writing?
Teens are smart, they know what’s going on. You can’t (and shouldn’t) trick them, or try to pull a fast one. I think that makes my writing honest, I know who I’m writing for, and what they know, and I feel like that makes my writing more truthful.
Lots of things, but mostly I want to tell teens that forgiveness isn’t always necessary. Even if they’re a part of your family, your own relatives, you don’t have to forgive them if they’ve hurt you. Take your anger, feel it, and move on, but forgiveness doesn’t have to be a part of that equation.
What do you think adult writers can learn from teens?
Well, I said it before. Teens are smart, and I think that there are some adult writers out there that need to learn that.
Lyla: I write for teens because I was an avid reader when I was a teen that rarely saw myself in the books I read. I actually gave up on YA for a bit when I was in my late teens because I couldn’t relate with much of the stories. Now as an adult, I strive to write books with the POC/LGBTQ+ representation that I desperately needed as a teen with the hope that it’ll help teens today feel less alone.
How do today’s teens inspire your writing?
When I’m not writing, I work with teens every day for my day job. I greatly enjoy my job because today’s teens are always onto the next biggest thing or know the best new jokes and memes. I try to keep up, but as someone who is currently in my mid-twenties, I’m definitely not getting any younger, lol. I do have moments when I feel lost and really old but I like to laugh along all the same! And interacting so much with teens in real life helps me keep my writing as up to date as I can make it.
Pre-Order I’ll Be the One today!
by Alex Higgins
When people think of YA writers, they probably think of the big name authors. There are tons of interviews and guests posts out there where writers talk about what it’s like to be a YA author, but a lot of this content is from adults. There isn’t much talk about the writers sneaking in some writing time during a lecture, the writers drafting a chapter before after school sports, the writers staying up late to work on their stories after they’ve finished their homework.
We know what it’s like for adult writers—but what’s it like to be a teen writer in YA?
The obvious—writing while you’re in school!
All teen writers know this struggle well. Writing is hard enough without adding the demands of school to your plate. You have to learn how to balance readings, essays, tests, and writing when there are only so many hours in the day. This doesn’t even take into account things like extracurriculars, sports, and jobs. I think all teen writers know what it’s like to write into the dead of night because that’s the only free time you have.
Sleep? I hope to capture that elusive creature one day.
Nailing the teen voice
One of the most important aspects of YA stories is the teen voice, and it is really hard to nail. Every teen has picked up a book and thought, “Do authors really think teenagers sound like this?” There’s no one specific teen voice, but you know it when you read it. Teen writers are in a unique position—we can totally nail the voice! Our characters feel authentic and realistic because we’re the target demographic for YA. We’re surrounded by other teenagers every day so writing about them is second nature.
Sidebar, but you’ll find that teen writers make the best memes for their books. Shoutout to Chloe Gong (@thechloegong) for truly revolutionizing the way YA books should be marketed to teens.
Placing a lot of emphasis on hitting career milestones by a certain age
A lot of writers set writing goals, but I find that teen writers are the ones who place the most importance on hitting a milestone by a certain age. For me, I was absolutely determined to get an agent by the time I was eighteen. Teen writers feel like they have to hit these milestones by a certain deadline or they’ll “fall behind” in publishing and lose their chance. I used to think the thing that set me apart from other writers was my age, and I feared that once I got older, I’d lose that special something.
I was wrong. My writing is what sets me apart from other writers, and that doesn’t have an expiration date. A lot of these goals—getting an agent, getting a book deal—are out of your hands and based partially on luck and timing. Other teen writers, I promise that you won’t ever lose your chance. If you forget about those looming deadlines and focus on making your writing the best it can be, you’ll be well on your way to meeting those goals you set for yourself.
Navigating a balance between life and writing
All writers have heard some variation of this advice: to write good stories, you have to experience life. Your writing will suffer if you never hang out with your friends or if you pass up an opportunity to go out in favor of staying home to write. For teens, this advice is especially hard to follow. These are supposed to be some of the best years of our lives, but it’s tough to choose between hanging out with friends or drafting a new chapter. I still haven’t quite learned how to master this balance, but I try to remember that you don’t improve your writing just by practicing. Getting out there and living a full life has a positive impact your work, too.
Being underestimated
One of the downsides to being a teen writer is that you will inevitably run into people who don’t take you seriously. No matter how much you know about craft and the industry, they’ll assume you don’t know what you’re talking about simply because of your age. The best way to show them otherwise is to excel with your writing. When you finally finish that first book, or sign an agent contract, or hold your published book in your hands, you’ll feel that sweet satisfaction that comes with proving them wrong.
Finding other teen writers
It can be hard to find other teen writers who share similar writing goals. Even after trying three creative writing clubs and a creative writing class, I couldn’t find someone who shared the same interests as me. This is where the internet, Twitter in particular, saved me. I’ve met a bunch of other teen writers online, and I find that it’s easy to connect with them because we’re going through similar things. There’s nothing like meeting another person who understands the pain of NaNoWriMo falling during one of the busiest times of the semester. I love all my writing friends, but the camaraderie I feel with other teen writers is unlike anything else.
Writing queer characters when you’re unsure of your own identity
Being a queer teen writer is amazing—the community is so supportive and wonderful—but it can be hard, too. When I was younger, I struggled to write queer characters who were proud of their identites because they made me feel like a fraud. My characters knew who they were, but I was confused about my own sexual orientation. Through writing their stories, I came to realize who I was. My novel was a way for me to explore my own messy thoughts and feelings about sexuality without any pressure on me to decide one way or another. Writing gives teens a safe place to work through their own identity without any expectations or judgments.
To other teen writers that are like me—I see you, and you are valid.
Growing up with We Need Diverse Books
Teens today are growing up with an industry that has changed for the better because of We Need Diverse Books. I know it had a huge impact on me and my writing. I grew up surrounded by books that represented a wide spectrum of people. Stories that centered on queer characters in particular had the biggest impact on me because they helped me figure out my own complicated thoughts about my sexual orientation.
WNDB also helped improve my writing. Because I was constantly reading books that featured people of color, queer characters, neurodiverse characters, disabled characters, that became my normal. Teens today write some of the most diverse, authentic stories, and they should be celebrated!
Writing with a mental illness
It’s hard enough to balance school, a social life, and writing, but everything is ten times harder when you have a mental illness. Teenagers already have intense emotions—add a mental illness to that and things get tricky. I have Seasonal Affective Disorder and depression, so the end of the fall semester is always rough for me, and I struggle to get writing done during that time of the year.
I wish I had a magic answer for how to deal with it all, but I think having supportive writing friends who understand what you’re going through is the most important thing. As long as you have your people around you, you’ll be okay. The writing will still be there when you feel better.
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Teen writers are an important part of the YA community. I think it’s important to highlight the voices of teen creators in a community that centers teen voices—we bring a unique viewpoint to the table and we’re actively trying to make literature better for people like us.
To all the teen writers out there wondering if anyone notices them, the writers struggling to fit writing time into their busy schedules as they juggle homework and a social life—keep going! I can’t wait to buy your books someday soon.
LGBTQIAP+ Books That Highlight the Power of Teens
Our mission to uplift LGBTQIAP+ YA books might be a giveaway, but we REALLY love books that don’t shy away from the truth of the teen experience. Getting through the teenage years takes incredible strength and resilience. While many pare down being a teenager to attending high school (which is difficult enough in and of itself), teens confront social issues head on to build a better world and fight to love themselves in hate-filled environments. Whether the power of the teens in this list stems from starting or joining a social movement, saving a kingdom, or learning to accept and love themselves, we can’t get enough. Here are some amazing LGBTQIAP+ YA books that highlight the power of teens.
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they’re thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents’ rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.
But Ben’s attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan’s friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.
At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children, but both are promised a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her bright future depends upon no one discovering her darkest secret—that her pedigree is a lie. Her parents sacrificed everything to obtain forged identification papers so Dani could rise above her station. Now that her marriage to an important politico’s son is fast approaching, she must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society, where famine and poverty rule supreme.
On her graduation night, Dani seems to be in the clear, despite the surprises that unfold. But nothing prepares her for all the difficult choices she must make, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or to give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?
Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig
Teenage socialite Margo Manning leads a dangerous double life. By day, she dodges the paparazzi while soaking up California sunshine. By night, however, she dodges security cameras and armed guards, pulling off high-stakes cat burglaries with a team of flamboyant young men. In and out of disguise, she’s in all the headlines.
But then Margo’s personal life takes a sudden, dark turn, and a job to end all jobs lands her crew in deadly peril. Overnight, everything she’s ever counted on is put at risk. Backs against the wall, the resourceful thieves must draw on their special skills to survive. But can one rebel heiress and four kickboxing drag queens withstand the slings and arrows of truly outrageous fortune? Or will a mounting sea of troubles end them — for good?
The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante
Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed Marisol’s mother as a maid. When she pictured an American life for herself, she dreamed of a life like Aimee and Amber’s, the title characters of her favorite American TV show. She never pictured fleeing her home in El Salvador under threat of death and stealing across the US border as “an illegal”, but after her brother is murdered and her younger sister, Gabi’s, life is also placed in equal jeopardy, she has no choice, especially because she knows everything is her fault. If she had never fallen for the charms of a beautiful girl named Liliana, Pablo might still be alive, her mother wouldn’t be in hiding and she and Gabi wouldn’t have been caught crossing the border.
But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She’s asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It’s a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief.
The Grief Keeper is a tender tale that explores the heartbreak and consequences of when both love and human beings are branded illegal.
Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells
Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.
If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been having about a beast deep underground…
With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?
The Black Veins by Ashia Monet
In a world where magic thrives in secret city corners, a group of magicians embark on a road trip—and it’s the “no-love-interest”, found family adventure you’ve been searching for.
Sixteen-year-old Blythe is one of seven Guardians: magicians powerful enough to cause worldwide panic with a snap of their fingers. But Blythe spends her days pouring latte art at her family’s coffee shop, so why should she care about having apocalyptic abilities?
She’s given a reason when magician anarchists crash into said coffee shop and kidnap her family.
Heartbroken but determined, Blythe knows she can’t save them alone. A war is brewing between two magician governments and tensions are too high. So, she packs up her family’s bright yellow Volkswagen, puts on a playlist, and embarks on a road trip across the United States to enlist the help of six strangers whose abilities are unparalleled—the other Guardians.
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell
Take a journey through time and genres and discover a past where queer figures live, love and shape the world around them. Seventeen of the best young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens.
From a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in war-torn 1870s Mexico featuring a transgender soldier, to two girls falling in love while mourning the death of Kurt Cobain, forbidden love in a sixteenth-century Spanish convent or an asexual girl discovering her identity amid the 1970s roller-disco scene, All Out tells a diverse range of stories across cultures, time periods and identities, shedding light on an area of history often ignored or forgotten.
Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
Six years ago, Moss Jefferies’ father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media’s vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near crippling panic attacks.
Now, in his sophomore year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals by their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration.
When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.
Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
Keeping her viral load under control is easy, but keeping her diagnosis under wraps is not so simple. As Simone and Miles start going out for real–shy kisses escalating into much more–she feels an uneasiness that goes beyond butterflies. She knows she has to tell him that she’s positive, especially if sex is a possibility, but she’s terrified of how he’ll react! And then she finds an anonymous note in her locker: I know you have HIV. You have until Thanksgiving to stop hanging out with Miles. Or everyone else will know too.
Simone’s first instinct is to protect her secret at all costs, but as she gains a deeper understanding of the prejudice and fear in her community, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is to face the haters head-on…
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki
Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.
Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.
Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell bring to life a sweet and spirited tale of young love that asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most cruel.
But this year, there’s a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.
In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.
TW: violence and sexual abuse.
Issue #1: Pride Edition
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the first ever periodical issue of YA Pride! After being on a semi-hiatus for the past year, we are re-launching with a brand new format and clarified focus. Instead of our usual blog post format, we will be transitioning to a quarterly online periodical.
With the change in format comes a change in content. Instead of one-off pieces, we are shifting our focus to slower, long-form, in-depth journalistic pieces, that are based on reflection, community conversation, and research.
By switching to this type of content, we hope to continue promoting and discussing fantastic LGBTQIAP+ YA literature, while also connecting present-day issues to historic fights and a larger context. This new format will also be more sustainable for college kids and recent college graduates (which our current team is entirely comprised of!) to keep up with. We are SUPER excited for this change and to keep pushing for more affirming and inclusive content in YA.
We hope you enjoy our first ever periodical. Happy Pride!
-The YA Pride Team (Vee, Daisy, and Kaitlin)
LGBTQIAP+ YA Books by Asian Authors
by Kaitlin Mitchell
Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, readers! Just as with our 2019 Black History Month book list, I am so happy to share that the number of books on our list of LGBTQIAP+ YA books by Asian authors has grown incredibly since last year! Here are 17 books you can pick up, preorder, or add to your 2020 tbr today!
Out Now:
The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder to do. She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer.
But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective.
Rukhsana realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing everyone and everything in her life?
Timekeeper, Chainbreaker, and Firestarter by Tara Sim
I was in an accident. I got out. I’m safe now.
An alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, where a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely.
A prodigy mechanic who can repair not only clockwork but time itself, determined to rescue his father from a Stopped town.
A series of mysterious bombings that could jeopardize all of England.
A boy who would give anything to relive his past, and one who would give anything to live at all.
A romance that will shake the very foundations of time.
Not Your Sidekick, Not Your Villain, and Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee
Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki
Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.
Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.
Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell bring to life a sweet and spirited tale of young love that asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.
It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura
Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like that fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.
When Sana and her family move to California she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana’s new friends don’t trust Jamie’s crowd; Jamie’s friends clearly don’t want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad’s affair is becoming too obvious to ignore anymore.
Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy… what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most cruel.
But this year, there’s a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.
In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.
TW: violence and sexual abuse.
Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert
Danny Cheng has always known his parents have secrets. But when he discovers a taped-up box in his father’s closet filled with old letters and a file on a powerful Silicon Valley family, he realizes there’s much more to his family’s past than he ever imagined.
Danny has been an artist for as long as he can remember and it seems his path is set, with a scholarship to RISD and his family’s blessing to pursue the career he’s always dreamed of. Still, contemplating a future without his best friend, Harry Wong, by his side makes Danny feel a panic he can barely put into words. Harry and Danny’s lives are deeply intertwined and as they approach the one-year anniversary of a tragedy that shook their friend group to its core, Danny can’t stop asking himself if Harry is truly in love with his girlfriend, Regina Chan.
When Danny digs deeper into his parents’ past, he uncovers a secret that disturbs the foundations of his family history and the carefully constructed facade his parents have maintained begins to crumble. With everything he loves in danger of being stripped away, Danny must face the ghosts of the past in order to build a future that belongs to him.
Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure of—she wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea.
Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. Now thousands of miles from home, Rumi struggles to navigate the loss of her sister, being abandoned by her mother, and the absence of music in her life. With the help of the “boys next door”—a teenage surfer named Kai, who smiles too much and doesn’t take anything seriously, and an eighty-year-old named George Watanabe, who succumbed to his own grief years ago—Rumi attempts to find her way back to her music, to write the song she and Lea never had the chance to finish.
Final Draft by Riley Redgate
The only sort of risk 18-year-old Laila Piedra enjoys is the peril she writes for the characters in her stories: epic sci-fi worlds full of quests, forbidden love, and robots. Her creative writing teacher has always told her she has a special talent. But three months before her graduation, he’s suddenly replaced—by Nadiya Nazarenko, a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist who is sadistically critical and perpetually unimpressed.
At first, Nazarenko’s eccentric assignments seem absurd. But before long, Laila grows obsessed with gaining the woman’s approval. Soon Laila is pushing herself far from her comfort zone, discovering the psychedelic highs and perilous lows of nightlife, temporary flings, and instability. Dr. Nazarenko has led Laila to believe that she must choose between perfection and sanity—but rejecting her all-powerful mentor may be the only way for Laila to thrive.
A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo
The most important thing is that Jess Wong is Angie Redmond’s best friend, even if Angie can’t see how she truly feels. It’s okay that Jess is the girl on the sidelines that nobody notices. That means she’s free to watch everyone else and be at Angie’s side. But when Angie starts falling for Margot, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can already see what’s going to happen. And suddenly her gift for observation is a curse.
As Angie drags Jess further into Margot’s circle, Jess finds more than her friend’s growing crush. Secrets lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie won’t be able to handle the consequences. When the inevitable darkness finally descends, Angie will need her best friend.
Upcoming:
TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL by Aminah Mae Safi (June 11, 2019)
Sana Khan is a cheerleader and a straight A student. She’s the classic (somewhat obnoxious) overachiever determined to win.
Rachel Recht is a wannabe director who’s obsesssed with movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. As she’s casting her senior film project, she knows she’s found the perfect lead – Sana.
There’s only one problem. Rachel hates Sana. Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out, but Rachel thought it was a cruel prank and has detested Sana ever since.
Told in alternative viewpoints and inspired by classic romantic comedies, this engaging and edgy YA novel follows two strongwilled young women falling for each other despite themselves.
SHATTER THE SKY by Rebecca Kim Wells (July 30, 2019)
Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.
If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been having about a beast deep underground…
With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?
I’LL BE THE ONE by Lyla Lee (2020)
Mabel Hsu at HarperCollins/Tegen has acquired, in a six-figure auction, Lyla Lee’s YA romantic comedy celebrating body positivity, I’ll Be the One. Pitched as Dumplin’ meets When Dimple Met Rishi, the book follows Skye Shin, a bisexual Korean-American teen girl who competes on a reality TV show to become the first plus-sized K-pop star, while falling in love with her competitor, Henry Cho, who happens to be a world-famous celebrity. Publication is set for fall 2020; Penny Moore at Aevitas Creative Management did the two-book deal for North American rights.
THE HENNA WARS by Adiba Jaigirdar (2020)
Page Street has acquired Adiba Jaigirdar’s The Henna Wars. Pitched as When Dimple Met Rishi meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, the romcom is about two teen girls with rival henna businesses who fall in love. The projected pub season is spring 2020.
Do you know a LGBTQIAP+ YA book by an Asian author that wasn’t included on this list? Tell us in the comments below, send a message to our ask box on Tumblr, or @ us on Twitter. Happy reading!
Call for Submissions: Sexual Violence in LGBTQIAP+ YA
For Sexual Assault Awareness Month we want to shine a light on representation of sexual violence in LGBTQIAP+ Young Adult literature. Or, rather, the lack thereof– there are not very many characters in LGBTQIAP+ YA who are survivors of sexual violence.
I have wanted to do this project for a long time. Sexual violence radically impacted my teenage years and there were so few resources (especially for a queer, trans teen) to turn to. LGBTQIAP+ YA was instrumental to my process of figuring out my queer, trans identity. Unfortunately, it left me stranded with figuring out how to cope with being a queer, trans survivor. Not only did it not represent my experience, it also didn’t show me representations of sex and romance I could relate to. While I loved (and still love!) romantic and/or sexual stories, I couldn’t see myself in the characters. Who were these teens who kissed like it was nothing? Who shared their feelings with each other without shutting down? Who could make out or have sex without any long, awkward conversations about why you might completely freak out if they touched you in a certain way? I had no models for how to approach my own romantic/sexual relationships. I was really scared and confused throughout my teen years, and it would have changed so much see my experience represented in fiction.
Now, I really want to explore different ways of writing experiences of survivors and the importance of having these experiences represented in YA. While this can be an extremely difficult subject, it can also be a fun and funny one to explore, especially in community with other survivors.
So! Are you interested in being a part of this project? If so, awesome! I’m so happy you found your way here. Here are the ways you can contribute to this project:
1: choose your own adventure. For this project, you can send me basically whatever you want that touches somewhat on the subject at hand. This can be in any format. Some suggestions:
- essay
- paragraph or two of your thoughts
- link to a tweet thread/tumblr post/instagram/blog post in which you’ve discussed sexual violence
- list of things you want to see represented in sex scenes in LGBTQIAP+ YA
- list of survivors’ experience you want to see in LGBTQIAP+ YA
- audio recording of your thoughts
- response to a specific sex scene in YA that you really loved or disliked
- interview with a friend. (send me the audio, a transcript, or some key takeaways. use our questions or come up with your own!)
- Can you describe your experience in whatever way is comfortable to share?
- Did you talk to anyone about what happened? Did you worry about what people would think/say/do if you told them? What types of things were you worried about?
- What was your own internal dialogue about the experience?
- What impact did this experience have on your relationships (of all sorts)?
- What was it like negotiating sex and relationships before (if there was a before) and after the sexual violence?
- If you could go back and tell your kid/teen self one thing, what would it be?
- What helped you survive?
- Did you see sexual violence represented in the media as a teen? If so, how was it represented?
- What was the first time you saw a reflection of your experience? How did it change things? (Or, alternatively, have you ever seen one? and if not, what would it mean to you to see one?)
- What would it have meant for you to see your experience represented as a teen?
- What kinds of resources do you hope that kids and teens today are able to have?
- Some survivors talk about having two stories: one that is polished and easy for people to understand, and another one that is messy and complicated and weird that we keep private. I feel like often, especially in YA, we only get the sanitized versions of sexual violence survival stories. Are there any specific, messier experiences you would like to see represented in YA?
- As a survivor, what would you like to see in LGBTQIAP+ YA sex scenes? How would you like to see characters talk about sex?
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Please send all submissions to contact@yapride.org. If you would like, please feel free to include some information about yourself, a short bio, and/or social media links. (This is not required!) Submit by April 18th.
DETAILS:
- Anonymity: You can be anonymous or use a nickname, first name, or full name. If you ever want your answers taken down or your name removed, I am happy to do that. We have removed whole posts and names from posts in the past. If that ever becomes an issue or concern, please get in touch. I am happy to remove whatever is needed.
- BIPOC Prioritization: We will be centering voices of BIPOC contributors. If you are White, feel free to still submit, but we may not use your submission this time around.
- Compensation: Unfortunately we are currently not able to offer monetary compensation. We are hoping to change this in the near future. If this is a deal breaker for you, we completely understand! We are more than happy, however, to link to contributors’ Patreons, Ko-Fis, Kickstarters, Paypals, and more. And we will of course link to personal websites, social media accounts, etc, if so desired. Just let us know!
- 18+: For this project, we are only looking for submissions from people 18 years of age and older.
-Vee
Women’s History Month Book List
By Kaitlin Mitchell
Happy Women’s History Month, readers! This list is a celebration of the strength of women. Of all women. Women of color. Women of different sexual and romantic orientations. Trans women. Women with mental illnesses and disabilities.
Queer teen girls who are reading this list–this is a celebration of your strength.
Here are 20 LGBTQIAP+ YA books to celebrate Women’s History Month with. Happy reading!
Out now:
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children, but both are promised a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her bright future depends upon no one discovering her darkest secret—that her pedigree is a lie. Her parents sacrificed everything to obtain forged identification papers so Dani could rise above her station. Now that her marriage to an important politico’s son is fast approaching, she must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society, where famine and poverty rule supreme.
On her graduation night, Dani seems to be in the clear, despite the surprises that unfold. But nothing prepares her for all the difficult choices she must make, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or to give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?
Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi
Sana Khan is a cheerleader and a straight A student. She’s the classic (somewhat obnoxious) overachiever determined to win.
Rachel Recht is a wannabe director who’s obsesssed with movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. As she’s casting her senior film project, she knows she’s found the perfect lead – Sana.
There’s only one problem. Rachel hates Sana. Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out, but Rachel thought it was a cruel prank and has detested Sana ever since.
Told in alternative viewpoints and inspired by classic romantic comedies, this engaging and edgy YA novel follows two strongwilled young women falling for each other despite themselves.
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
I was chosen by the Deos. Even gods make mistakes.
Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo she can’t trust, but who may be Alex’s only chance at saving her family.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.
But that relief doesn’t last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both.
Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship–one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to “fix” her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self–even if she’s not exactly sure who that is.
The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder to do. She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer.
But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective.
Rukhsana realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing everyone and everything in her life?
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
A new kind of big-hearted novel about being seen for who you really are.
Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret, and she’s determined not to get too close to anyone.
But when she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, Amanda can’t help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself, including her past. But Amanda’s terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won’t be able to see past it.
Because the secret that Amanda’s been keeping? It’s that at her old school, she used to be Andrew. Will the truth cost Amanda her new life, and her new love?
The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding
Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people’s lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby has stayed focused on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm. When she lands a prized internship at her favorite local boutique, she’s thrilled to take her first step into her dream career. She doesn’t expect to fall for her fellow intern, Jordi Perez. Abby knows it’s a big no-no to fall for a colleague. She also knows that Jordi documents her whole life in photographs, while Abby would prefer to stay behind the scenes.
Then again, nothing is going as expected this summer. She’s competing against the girl she’s kissing to win a paid job at the boutique. She’s somehow managed to befriend Jax, a lacrosse-playing bro type who needs help in a project that involves eating burgers across L.A.’s eastside. Suddenly, she doesn’t feel like a sidekick. Is it possible Abby’s finally in her own story?
But when Jordi’s photography puts Abby in the spotlight, it feels like a betrayal, rather than a starring role. Can Abby find a way to reconcile her positive yet private sense of self with the image that other people have of her?
Is this just Abby’s summer of fashion? Or will it truly be The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles)?
Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
Mara and Owen are about as close as twins can get. So when Mara’s friend Hannah accuses Owen of rape, Mara doesn’t know what to think. Can the brother she loves really be guilty of such a violent crime? Torn between the family she loves and her own sense of right and wrong, Mara is feeling lost, and it doesn’t help that things have been strained with her ex-girlfriend and best friend since childhood, Charlie.
As Mara, Hannah, and Charlie navigate this new terrain, Mara must face a trauma from her own past and decide where Charlie fits in her future. With sensitivity and openness, this timely novel confronts the difficult questions surrounding consent, victim blaming, and sexual assault.
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.
TW: violence and sexual abuse.
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep.
He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.
Who are the Sawkill Girls?
Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.
Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.
Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.
Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.
Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.
Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee
Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
You go through life thinking there’s so much you need…
Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.
Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit, and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.
The Gallery of Unfinished Girls by Lauren Karcz
A beautiful and evocative look at identity and creativity, The Gallery of Unfinished Girls is a stunning debut in magical realism. Perfect for fans of The Walls Around Us and Bone Gap.
Mercedes Moreno is an artist. At least, she thinks she could be, even though she hasn’t been able to paint anything worthwhile in the past year.
Her lack of inspiration might be because her abuela is in a coma. Or the fact that Mercedes is in love with her best friend, Victoria, but is too afraid to admit her true feelings.
Despite Mercedes’s creative block, art starts to show up in unexpected ways. A piano appears on her front lawn one morning, and a mysterious new neighbor invites Mercedes to paint with her at the Red Mangrove Estate.
At the Estate, Mercedes can create in ways she hasn’t ever before. But Mercedes can’t take anything out of the Estate, including her new-found clarity. Mercedes can’t live both lives forever, and ultimately she must choose between this perfect world of art and truth and a much messier reality.
Far From You by Tess Sharpe
Nine months. Two weeks. Six days.
That’s how long recovering addict Sophie’s been drug-free. Four months ago her best friend, Mina, died in what everyone believes was a drug deal gone wrong – a deal they think Sophie set up. Only Sophie knows the truth. She and Mina shared a secret, but there was no drug deal. Mina was deliberately murdered.
Forced into rehab for an addiction she’d already beaten, Sophie’s finally out and on the trail of the killer—but can she track them down before they come for her?
Upcoming:
THE LAST 8 by Laura Pohl (March 5, 2019)
Clover Martinez has always been a survivor, which is the only reason she isn’t among the dead when aliens invade and destroy Earth as she knows it.
When Clover hears an inexplicable radio message, she’s shocked to learn there are other survivors—and that they’re all at the former Area 51. When she arrives, she’s greeted by a band of misfits who call themselves The Last Teenagers on Earth.
Only they aren’t the ragtag group of heroes Clover was expecting. The group seems more interested in hiding than fighting back, and Clover starts to wonder if she was better off alone. But then she finds a hidden spaceship, and she doesn’t know what to believe…or who to trust.
THE WEIGHT OF STARS by K. Ancrum (March 19, 2019)
Ryann Bird dreams of traveling across the stars. But a career in space isn’t an option for a girl who lives in a trailer park on the wrong side of town. So Ryann becomes her circumstances and settles for acting out and skipping school to hang out with her delinquent friends.
One day she meets Alexandria: a furious loner who spurns Ryann’s offer of friendship. After a horrific accident leaves Alexandria with a broken arm, the two misfits are brought together despite themselves—and Ryann learns her secret: Alexandria’s mother is an astronaut who volunteered for a one-way trip to the edge of the solar system.
Every night without fail, Alexandria waits to catch radio signals from her mother. And its up to Ryann to lift her onto the roof day after day until the silence between them grows into friendship, and eventually something more . . .
BIRTHDAY by Meredith Russo (May 21, 2019)
Two kids, Morgan and Eric, are bonded for life after being born on the same day at the same time. We meet them once a year on their shared birthday as they grow and change: as Eric figures out who he is and how he fits into the world, and as Morgan makes the difficult choice to live as her true self. Over the years, they will drift apart, come together, fight, make up, and break up—and ultimately, realize how inextricably they are a part of each other.
THE GRIEF KEEPER by Alexandra Villasante (June 11, 2019)
Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed Marisol’s mother as a maid. When she pictured an American life for herself, she dreamed of a life like Aimee and Amber’s, the title characters of her favorite American TV show. She never pictured fleeing her home in El Salvador under threat of death and stealing across the US border as “an illegal”, but after her brother is murdered and her younger sister, Gabi’s, life is also placed in equal jeopardy, she has no choice, especially because she knows everything is her fault. If she had never fallen for the charms of a beautiful girl named Liliana, Pablo might still be alive, her mother wouldn’t be in hiding and she and Gabi wouldn’t have been caught crossing the border.
But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She’s asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It’s a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief.