While picking up a feminist SFF, some might expect the men in these stories to find an independent place for themselves within these fictional worlds. Because that’s true feminism for many, right? We can’t have a heroine who drives the male protagonists’ arc by herself, with her strength, on her power. Of course, this isn’t…
Read MoreSome books really force you to decide what you like more: a fast-paced plot or a slowly-evolving character arc. A River Enchanted gives you enough reasons to go with the latter. Fantasy books, especially when not in the the young adult demographic, are often expected to let a complex plot, an extensively built world, and…
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Furthermoor by Darren Simpson Bren is still grieving the tragic loss of his sister Evie and has numbed himself while going through the daily routines of home and school. Simultaneously, the school bully, Shaun, preys on the saddened Bren while also marking down a new kid. Bren is happy he at least has an imaginary…
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Retellings have been trending on book lists and for all the right reasons. Whether it’s Chloe Gong’s YA romantic historical fantasy, These Violent Delights, or CB Lee’s fresh exploration of Treasure Island, as part of the “Remixed Classics” series by BIPOC authors, A Clash of Steel. Even reimaginings of Hindu epics like Ramayana (Vaishnavi Patel’s…
Read MoreSixteen-year-old Michie lives with her grandmother and hopes to get into her dream college, but the scholarship essay is a difficult one to write, especially when she shares a complicated relationship with her mother. Derek is the new kid at this high school and very much interested in Michie. Both are absolute sweethearts and the…
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Yasmin Ghorami in twenty-six, in training to be a doctor (like her Indian-born father), and engaged to the charismatic, upper-class Joe Sangster, whose formidable mother, Harriet, is a famous feminist. The gulf between families is vast. So, too, is the gulf in sexual experience between Yasmin and Joe. As the wedding day draws near, misunderstandings,…
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Today this blog is so excited to reveal the cover of The Man or the Monster by Aamna Qureshi — sequel to The Lady or the Lion, a YA fantasy set in a Pakistan-inspired world full of forbidden love and court intrigue. The title, second in the The Marghazar Trials, will be released on July…
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A Mystery at Lili Villa by Arathi Menon Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers meets Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew in this small-town mystery set against the beautiful backdrop of Kerala, India. For a desi kid, summer vacations are more than school holidays: they’re the perfect time for meeting up with distant family, delicious food, running wild while the elders napped in…
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January always brings a new wave of enthusiasm for a reader—you have a chance to leave behind last year’s goals, the disappointing reads, and the sadness of not getting a chance to pick up your most anticipated books the entire year. And while I did read quite a few books in this first month of…
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Emergency Contact meets Moxie in this cheeky and searing novel that unpacks just how complicated new love can get…when you fall for your enemy. Eliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat…
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