I was completely enthralled by The Ten Thousand Doors of January (2019) by Alix E. Harrow from very nearly the first page. Set in the late 1800s, January is a teenager cared for by a guardian, Mr. Locke, because her father is always traveling on expeditions for him. His house is filled with wondrous thingsContinue reading “The Ten Thousand Doors of January”
Tag Archives: young adult
You Should See Me in a Crown
You Should See Me In a Crown (2020) by Leah Johnson is so good!! Liz Lighty, senior at a suburban Indianapolis high school, band geek, straight-A student, lives with her grandparents in a small town on the outskirts of Indianapolis that feels very familiar. Her mother has passed away, and her brother is often sickContinue reading “You Should See Me in a Crown”
Like a Love Story
Like a Love Story (2019) by Abdi Nazemian is the historical queer coming-of-age story I never knew that I needed to read. It was a 2020 Stonewall Honor book and chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best YA books of all time, both designations well-deserved. It’s 1987, and Reza has just movedContinue reading “Like a Love Story”
What If It’s Us
What If It’s Us (2020) by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera is a super-cute queer YA romance set in one perfect NYC summer. Arthur is in New York City with his parents for the summer between his junior and senior year, working as an intern at his mom’s law firm. He left his two bestContinue reading “What If It’s Us”
Alone Out Here
Alone Out Here (2022) by Riley Redgate, has been described as “Lord of the Flies on a spaceship” and there are similarities between the two. But Alone out Here is better, in that it’s more inclusive (Redgate includes women and girls, and people of color as lead characters) and, though there is still brutality, theContinue reading “Alone Out Here”
Right Where I Left You
Right Where I Left You (2022) by Julian Winters, is a super-cute, queer teen romance filled both with queer characters of color, and comic book and video game fan references. Isaac Martin has just graduated high school and is enjoying his summer before heading off to college in the fall. Despite his sometimes-crippling anxiety, hisContinue reading “Right Where I Left You”
A Dark and Starless Forest
In A Dark and Starless Forest (2021), Sarah Hollowell has written a rare gift–a fat-positive YA fantasy that has something for everyone, except perhaps for cis white middle-aged men. It’s written from Derry’s perspective–she is a fat, white teenager, one of nine multiracial siblings in an adoptive family headed by Frank, their guardian, Each ofContinue reading “A Dark and Starless Forest”
Pumpkin
In Pumpkin (2021), Julie Murphy has created another hero of Clover City, the West Texas town that is the location of Dumplin‘ and Puddin‘. Waylon Brewer is a high school senior, a fat, openly gay boy whose parents “hit the queer lottery” because his twin sister, Clementine, is a lesbian. Waylon is a ginger withContinue reading “Pumpkin”
On the Come Up
The Hate U Give‘s author, Angie Thomas, has created an even more compelling protagonist, Bri, in On the Come Up (2019). Bri is a high schooler living with her mom and older brother, because her father, the locally-famous rapper Lawless, was killed by gang violence when she was little. She wants to rap, too, andContinue reading “On the Come Up”
Find Layla
Find Layla (2020) is Meg Elison’s first published contemporary YA novel. Elison has won and been nominated for multiple science fiction awards for her Road to Nowhere series, specifically The Book of the Unnamed Midwife (review coming soon), The Book of Etta, and The Book of Flora. Her novelette The Pill won the 2021 LocusContinue reading “Find Layla”
Reading While Fat 