Young Adult Fiction

"A mesmerizing debut fantasy.” –Rebecca Yarros, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame

“A fantastical romp filled with intrigue and suspense.” —Kirkus Reviews

Fearing for her life, an outcast princess joins the rebellion against her own kingdom and family . . . but when playing with fire, someone always gets burned. 

Teia Carthan abandoned her morals long ago, and now there’s nothing she won’t do to stay alive. So far she has survived her parents’ deaths, the ire of the Council, and innumerable attempts on her life, orchestrated by Jura, her half brother and soon-to-be king of Erisia. Teia’s rare control over two elements marks her as both an outsider and a formidable opponent—but once Jura is crowned king, there will be no way to survive him. Not for Teia, not for anyone. 

When Jura moves to crush the rebellion that seeks to overthrow the monarchy, Teia sees one last opportunity to ensure her own safety. She can infiltrate the rebels, locate their base . . . and betray them to Jura, trading their lives for her own. 

Yet when Teia meets the rebels, she gets far more than she bargained for. And when she gains not only their trust but their friendship, she begins to have doubts. Perhaps the rebels are right. Perhaps the Golden Palace should be torn down and the monarchy destroyed. 

But then again—what if there is another possibility? What if Teia were on the throne instead? 

Winner of the 2024 Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize for Young Adult Fiction

Cat and Josie belong to different worlds, but they share a lifeline – their small town’s high school cross country team. Can they set aside their differences to do what’s best for their teammates – and themselves?

Cat Shultz needs a fresh start. After spending several months at an eating disorder treatment facility, she comes home to the realities of her older sister leaving for college, her best friend growing distant, and the stress of sophomore year looming. When an unlikely invitation lands her a spot on Plain City High School’s cross country team, Cat discovers a natural talent for long distance running, and what she hopes is a step toward recovery. The only problem? She’ll have to lie – to her parents, her team, and ultimately herself.

Josie Romero lives for cross country. When Coach Davis – the closest thing she has to a father – announces this will be his last season, she believes a championship win against their rivals will convince him to stay. As team captain, Josie has always fiercely supported her teammates, but when Cat challenges her spot as the fastest runner, Josie must confront her own insecurities in order to become the leader they deserve.

As the championship race approaches, conflicts arise on and off the course, and suddenly winning feels less likely than ever. When Cat can no longer outrun her lies, Josie finds herself racing for something much more important than the finish line.

Wolfpack is a heartwarming tale of healing, hope, and learning that you always go farthest if you run as a pack.

Inspired by objects found in her environment, Eva Toorenent creates a fantasy world for young and old.

In the soft glimmer of a stream—or in the rustling foliage of a tree—if you know where to look, you will find them. The creatures. With the right eye, a stone turns into a Diestrog egg, and a broken teapot becomes the work of a Shard Demon. Come visit this magical, wonder filled world . . .

WINNER OF THE 2024 GRATEFUL AMERICAN BOOK PRIZE FOR BEST YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL FICTION!

Ray Elias is a precocious but withdrawn sixteen-year-old growing up in an affluent suburb of New York in the early sixties. Numbed by the assassination of President Kennedy, Ray chances upon a TV documentary about the most recent presidential election and is drawn to the ebullient senator from Minnesota, Hubert Humphrey, who unsuccessfully challenged John Kennedy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960.

With the senator as his newfound hero, Ray fashions a mission for himself: make Humphrey Lyndon Johnson’s running mate in 1964. To the amazement of his friends and cynical father, Humphrey learns of Ray’s plan to lobby the delegates and, impressed with his sincerity and ambition, takes Ray under his wing.

Ray enters college as the senator is elected vice president, but the relationship unravels when Humphrey becomes an ardent public supporter of the Vietnam War, despite his personal belief in the war’s futility. As the tension between them grows and their bond deteriorates, Ray is devastated by his loss of faith in Humphrey. However, he finds consolation for his disappointment in Ruth, a spirited classmate from the other side of the tracks who teaches him understanding and empathy.

As Ray matures to young adulthood he reconnects with Humphrey—who has by now achieved a political revival and is mulling a fresh run at the presidency—and the two reconcile after Humphrey finally acknowledges his breach of Ray’s trust, and Ray forgives his former mentor.

Loosely based on the author’s real-life relationship with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Humphrey and Me portrays the often highly emotional journey that comes with embracing our heroes, while set against the backdrop of the tempestuous political eras of the 1960s and ’70s.

Plenty of things in Zora’s youth would seem strange to others, but they’re perfectly normal to her. Her mother’s fixation with germs, and parties, and the power of names. Her father, who Zora rarely sees, disappearing among the stars as his biggest claim to fame. Her role in explaining things to her younger sister, even as Zora works to discover her own philosophies of life. And her neighborhood, a one-way street with an entrance but no exit called "the Aves."

Zora wants more. More than an honorable name. More than glimpses of glory captured in window frames. Surviving childhood can be as intricate as the intertwined streets of Los Angeles. But as Zora grows, so does her story. And in the process, her desire for more is transformed into a tribute of the magnificent people who live alongside her.

Can surfing change your life? For Ellie, it most certainly does. Vezna Andrews’ debut novel is set in 1980s Southern California, where sixteen-year-old Ellie discovers herself through her love of surfing. Born and raised in New York City, Ellie’s world is turned upside down when her father unexpectedly dies and her mother sends her to Manhattan Beach, California to live with her Aunt Jen and her Uncle Charlie—both avid surfers.

Ellie’s new home is a sharp contrast to the loft in New York City’s garment district where she grew up. Heartbroken about her dad, and worried about her mom, who drinks too much, Ellie doesn’t fit in with the preppie girls at her new California high school, who eventually gang up on and bully her. Thankfully, with the encouragement of Aunt Jen and Uncle Charlie, Ellie discovers surfing, which becomes her passion and her refuge.

While surfing California’s wild coast, Ellie experiences surfing's spiritual, healing qualities, including magical encounters with wild dolphins, whales, and sea lions. Eventually, Ellie finds a group of like-minded souls who show her what true friendship is—and she experiences first love. Though her relationship with her mom grows strained, Ellie becomes close to Aunt Jen, Uncle Charlie, and their community of surfers. Through surfing, Ellie develops the confidence and strength needed to navigate her own path in life—surfing literally saves her.

"A mesmerizing debut fantasy.” –Rebecca Yarros, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame

“A fantastical romp filled with intrigue and suspense.” —Kirkus Reviews

Fearing for her life, an outcast princess joins the rebellion against her own kingdom and family . . . but when playing with fire, someone always gets burned. 

Teia Carthan abandoned her morals long ago, and now there’s nothing she won’t do to stay alive. So far she has survived her parents’ deaths, the ire of the Council, and innumerable attempts on her life, orchestrated by Jura, her half brother and soon-to-be king of Erisia. Teia’s rare control over two elements marks her as both an outsider and a formidable opponent—but once Jura is crowned king, there will be no way to survive him. Not for Teia, not for anyone. 

When Jura moves to crush the rebellion that seeks to overthrow the monarchy, Teia sees one last opportunity to ensure her own safety. She can infiltrate the rebels, locate their base . . . and betray them to Jura, trading their lives for her own. 

Yet when Teia meets the rebels, she gets far more than she bargained for. And when she gains not only their trust but their friendship, she begins to have doubts. Perhaps the rebels are right. Perhaps the Golden Palace should be torn down and the monarchy destroyed. 

But then again—what if there is another possibility? What if Teia were on the throne instead? 

Between 1943 and 1944, nearly 50,000 Bulgarian Jews were rescued from the Holocaust, including thousands who had already been rounded up and put on trains bound for death camps in Poland. Dominic Carrillo’s suspenseful novel Acts of Resistance is based on the true story of this incredibly heroic effort by the citizens of Bulgaria. In Carrillo’s powerful account, he skillfully weaves together a thrilling tale told by three alternating teenage narrators: Misho, Peter, and Lily.

Misho, an 18-year-old Jewish boy, is a prominent archbishop’s driver, hiding his identity while helping his boss directly challenge the Bulgarian government’s pro-Nazi policies.

Peter, 17, is determined to save his Jewish neighbors by confronting parliament members in the capital, then taking up arms to fight with a partisan rebel communist group.

Lily, 19, works for the collaborationist government office in charge of evicting and deporting Jews to concentration camps. When she witnesses the evil results of her desk job, Lily becomes a spy who leaks information to Jewish community leaders in order to prevent further atrocities.

As the characters’ lives become more endangered and their unsung roles in saving Jewish citizens are revealed, the reader is treated to a tension-filled adventure surrounding one of the greatest unknown acts of heroism associated with the Holocaust. Acts of Resistance will have you on the edge of your seat as Misho, Peter, and Lily face and overcome extremely perilous situations, ultimately triumphing as they each help to lead the people of Bulgaria to rise up against the Nazis and save their nearly 50,000-strong Jewish population from extinction.

Set in a fantasy world of hungry goblins, powerful witches and human criminals, Half-Witch follows the unlikely friendship between Lizbet and the unpleasant sarcastic witch girl Strix on a twisted journey to rescue her father from prison.

In the world in which Lizbet Lenz lives, the sun still goes around the earth, God speaks directly to his worshippers, goblins haunt every cellar and witches lurk in the forests. Disaster strikes when Lizbet’s father Gerhard, a charming scoundrel, is thrown into a dungeon by the tyrant Hengest Wolftrow. 

To free him, Lizbet must cross the Montagnes du Monde, globe-girdling mountains that reach to the sky, a journey no one has ever survived, and retrieve a mysterious book. Lizbet is desperate, and the only one who can help her is the unbearable witch girl Strix. 

As the two girls journey through the mountains and into the lands of wonder beyond, Lizbet discovers—to her horror—that Strix’s magic is turning Lizbet into a witch, too. All while, a revolution in Heaven is brewing!

An aspiring young actor must find her place at a cutthroat arts boarding school in this gothic YA debut for fans of Ace of Spades and If We Were Villains.

Violet Costantino knows she is already on thin ice this school year: her scholarship has taken a significant hit due to her panic attack during her final performance in acting class last semester—which simultaneously shattered her dreams of becoming a leading lady. This year, she is determined to keep her head down and just get through unscathed. But the school seems to have other plans for Violet: to her extreme foreboding, she is cast as one of the leads in the annual Halloween play. What’s worse, the beautiful, infuriatingly talented Frankie Lin and Violet’s ex-crush, Hunter Kinsey, are both cast as her love interests. Despite her initial reluctance, Violet is drawn in by the glamor of the Dark Cove Theatre Society, and she cautiously starts believing that maybe she is cut out for this after all. But lurking in the shadows of Violet’s fragile self-confidence is the rumor of the Society curse, which is said to cause one cast member to drop out before opening night every year, mysteriously and without reason.

In this captivating YA debut, The Dark Cove Theatre Society illustrates both the intoxicating and insidious nature of success and the price we are often forced to pay for it. Passages of found text—glimpses of the school’s handbook, secret letters, and other peeks into life at the Academy—seamlessly woven into the plot will immerse readers even further into the lush, magnetic world of Dark Cove.

Best Books of 2024 lists: NYPL, The Globe and Mail,Quill & Quire • Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2024, Ms. magazine • Kids Indie Next Pick

A powerful coming-of-age graphic novel about how mothers and daughters pass down—and rebel against—standards of size, gender, race, beauty, and worth.

Guangdong, 1954 Sixteen-year-old Mei Laan longs for a future of freedom, and her beauty may be the key to getting it. Can an arranged marriage in Hong Kong be the answer to all her problems?

Hong Kong, 1972 Sixteen-year-old Lydia wants nothing more than to dance and to gain approval from her mother, who is largely absent and sharply critical, especially about the way she looks. Maybe her way to happiness is starting over in Toronto?

Toronto, 2000 Sixteen-year-old Roz is grappling with who she wants to be in the world. The only thing she is certain of is that if she were thinner, things would be better. How can she start living her life, instead of just photographing it?

When Roz’s estranged por por abruptly arrives for a seemingly indefinite visit, three generations are now under one roof. Delicate relationships are suddenly upended, and long-suppressed family secrets begin to surface.

Award-winning creator of Living With Viola Rosena Fung pulls from her own family history in her YA debut to give us an emotional and poignant story about how every generation is affected by those that came before, and affect those that come after.

“Moving and emotional.” —Victoria Ying, Harvey Award–winning author of Hungry Ghost

“Crucial.” —Deb JJ Lee, creator of In Limbo

“Beautiful.” —Fiona Smyth, illustrator of Sex Is a Funny Word

Content Warning: body image, disordered eating.

A laugh-out-loud YA debut that examines the realities of small-town queer life and celebrates the transformative power of drag—perfect for fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race and Pumpkin.

Peter Thompkins needs a public image overhaul. After a tense confrontation with one of the few other queer kids in his small-town high school, rumors about him are becoming more elaborate by the day. Meanwhile, his best friend Alan (aka teen drag queen Aggie Culture) is throwing Mason County’s debut Drag Extravaganza. Although Peter is a self-described “dragnostic,” he decides to help produce the show, hoping to prove that he isn’t a self-hating gay. In the process, he finds himself facing down angry guard dogs, angrier bigots, and a very high-strung church lady. As backlash grows, Peter begins to wonder whether he's setting fire to his already damaged reputation and if his friendship with Alan will survive past curtain call.

At turns touching, sharply funny, and a little absurd, Dragging Mason County explores the pains and pleasures of queer community through one teen’s journey to self-acceptance.

From bestselling author Josephine Angelini comes a whimsical fantasy read with loads of adventure and none of the triggers. Perfect for fans of Olivia Atwater and Travis Baldree.

Ever wish you could travel inside your favorite book and become the main character? Of course you have. Everyone has. But if you ever manage to pull it off, here’s a tip. Timing is everything…

Take Holly for example, who after saying a spell is transported inside a fairytale called The Chronicles of Lucitopia, a magical world infested with grifter grandmas, halitosis-riddled bandits, and devoid of any functioning toilets.

Holly becomes Princess Pleasant exactly as she wished, but she gets there too late, right after an evil sorcerer turns Lucitopia into a tetanus-ridden hellhole. And now, it’s up to Holly to make things right.

With the help of a freakishly handsome, yet frustratingly virtuous knight, Holly sets out to fix her story, but she only has fifteen days left to do so or she risks being stuck in Lucitopia for the rest of her life, which may prove to be a short one considering she’s overdue for her shots.

Amazon Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book of 2018

One of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best YA Books of 2018

One of Publishers Weekly's Best YA Book of the Year

A National Indie Bestseller

Longlisted for Irish YA prize Great Reads Award

Lose yourself in the fantastic world of the arks and in the company of unforgettable characters in this French runaway hit, Christelle Dabos’ The Mirror Visitor quartet.

Plain-spoken, headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima and, what’s more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan. Ophelia must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, in the presence of her inscrutable future husband, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world.

The World of the Arks

Long ago, following a cataclysm called the Rupture, the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands, now known as arks. Over each, the spirit of an omnipotent and immortal ancestor abides. The inhabitants of these arks each possess a unique power. Ophelia, with her ability to read the pasts of objects, must navigate this fantastic, disjointed, perilous world using her trademark tenacity and quiet strength.

An unforgettable heroine, a rich and bountiful universe, intrigue and suspense: A Winter’s Promise is perfect for readers of Margaret Rogerson’s An Enchantment of Ravens, Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood, V.E. Schwab’s “Shades of Magic” series, Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, Kenneth Oppel’s “Airborne” series, and N.K. Jemisin “Broken Earth” series.

Extract:

I think we could have all lived happily, in a way, God, me and the others, if it weren’t for that accursed book. It disgusted me. I knew what bound me to it in the most sickening of ways, but the horror of that particular knowledge came later, much later. I didn’t understand straight away, I was too ignorant.

Después del final en suspenso del exitoso Las cadenas del rey, la tercera parte de la Saga Rey regresa con el romance monárquico más potente de todo el continente.

Dentro de la fortaleza del palacio de Lacrontte hay un hombre marcado por heridas del pasado y por los secretos de su linaje. Su corazón late por una mujer que no encaja en los planes del reino ni en las exigencias de la nobleza… y que no puede perdonarlo. Amarla significa arriesgar la estabilidad de una nación. Negarla sería condenarse a una vida sin alma.

Emily nunca soñó con llevar la corona del reino enemigo sobre su cabeza, pero el destino la arrastra al centro de un mundo gobernado por intrigas, alianzas ocultas y emociones que ponen a prueba su valentía. Sabe que amar al rey que le han enseñado a odiar implica arriesgarlo todo, incluso su propia seguridad. Sin embargo, también descubre en ese amor una fuerza que jamás creyó tener.

Juntos tendrán que enfrentarse a un pueblo que persigue su amor como un crimen, empujándolos a un abismo que obligará a sus corazones a fundirse en uno solo para resistir la tormenta que amenaza con quebrarlos.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

After the cliffhanger ending of the successful Las cadenas del rey (The King’s Chains), the third installment of the Saga Rey returns with the most powerful royal romance on the continent.

Inside the fortress of the Lacrontte palace lives a man scarred by past wounds and the secrets of his lineage. His heart beats for a woman who does not fit into the kingdom’s plans or the demands of the nobility… and who cannot forgive him. To love her means risking the stability of a nation. To deny her would be to condemn himself to a soulless life.

Emily never dreamed of wearing the crown of the enemy kingdom upon her head, but fate drags her into the center of a world ruled by intrigue, hidden alliances, and emotions that test her courage. She knows that loving the king she was taught to hate means risking everything, even her own safety. Yet she also discovers in that love a strength she never thought she had.

Together they must face a people who hunt their love as a crime, pushing them into an abyss that will force their hearts to merge into one to withstand the storm that threatens to break them.

1429: A city under siege. A future in the balance.

When another glitch in time threatens the fabric of history, eighteen-year-old Dan Renfrew and his partner Sam Cahill jump into the past again. The land in medieval France, just before Joan of Arc's miraculous lifting of the Siege of Orléans. But this is a world dominated by religious intolerance and fear, where one wrong step could lead to torture or death at the hands of Catholic priests. And when accusations begin to surface, Dan and Sam find themselves in an  impossible race against time. To survive--and keep history intact--they must outwit fanatics, dodge soldiers, and endure the chaos of 1429. One wrong move could cost them their lives . . . and rewrite the future forever.

A tech-student-turned-elven-hero must infiltrate dangerous courts and navigate complex politics in the third book of this fantasy adventure series.

It’s been decades since Justin was magically whisked from Earth to a strange supernatural land. Since then, he’s mastered mana, built a reputation for himself by crafting fascinating machines based on human technology, and even managed to forge some true and trusted relationships. But his path hasn’t always been an easy one, and a recent war has left him in his most perilous position yet.

Cino and Atal, two of the land ruling ancients, are dead—and one of them at Justin’s hand. According to tradition, that leaves Justin with the unenviable task of spreading the word to the neighboring kingdoms, alerting the other ancients that two of their own have passed, leaving their territories unclaimed.

To accomplish this quest, Justin will cross vast and varied lands, from uncanny forests and frozen plateaus to fiery coastlines and deep bogs. But the true threat to his mission are the millenia-old beings that he’ll need to go toe-to-toe with. Powered by unthinkable abilities, they’re formidable foes, and Justin must stay focused to avoid getting drawn into their games. Because when it comes to ancient grudges, no one can escape completely unscathed.

The third volume of the hit progression-fantasy series—with almost 300,000 views on Royal Road—now available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!

Grief, guilt, and dark visions won’t let Aubrey go in this coming-of-age novel for young adults.

Sixteen-year-old Aubrey is horrified when a vision about her cousin’s death comes true. Overcome with grief, Aubrey begins to see more troubling visions about the futures of those around her. To make matters worse, a mysterious Trickster keeps visiting her dreams with cryptic messages she doesn’t understand.

As Aubrey’s well-being unravels, a dark creature—one that feeds on suffering—begins stalking her. With the help of her Kokum, a medicine woman, Aubrey learns to tap into her spiritual strength. But when the creature crosses into the real world, Aubrey must find the strength to protect her family, and in doing so, confront her guilt and find peace.

The Moth Dreamer is a gripping tale that blends Anishinaabe traditions with a haunting journey through the physical and spiritual realms.

Plenty of things in Zora’s youth would seem strange to others, but they’re perfectly normal to her. Her mother’s fixation with germs, and parties, and the power of names. Her father, who Zora rarely sees, disappearing among the stars as his biggest claim to fame. Her role in explaining things to her younger sister, even as Zora works to discover her own philosophies of life. And her neighborhood, a one-way street with an entrance but no exit called "the Aves." 

Zora wants more. More than an honorable name. More than glimpses of glory captured in window frames. Surviving childhood can be as intricate as the intertwined streets of Los Angeles. But as Zora grows, so does her story. And in the process, her desire for more is transformed into a tribute of the magnificent people who live alongside her.

A SPECULATIVE LITERATURE FOUNDATION AWARD WINNER

“Beautifully written and exquisitely conceived . . . an adventure for the coming climate change apocalypse. Jack leads readers through a forbidding continent of ice and other environmental consequences with little more than a willing heart and a fierce intelligence.” – Jane Rosenberg LaForge, author of The Hawkman

Jack, a 200-year-old intersex street kid, knows the world didn’t always look like it does now, with the Great Garbage Ocean spewing plastic and jellyfish along the shores and humanity on the brink of extinction.

As he travels through the desert in search of answers, his love, Joon, by his side, he remembers things from his lives before this one. The massive tidal wave that separated him from everyone he knew. His encounter with a trickster god. A world blanketed in never-ending ice, and his desperate trek across frozen lakes, through still-standing monuments to the past, and over roaring waterfalls to reach the salt sea.

In every life Jack has lived though, one thing has stayed the same: people’s will to survive.

“An inventive prequel to Jellyfish Dreaming . . . [with] post-apocalyptic settings that evoke more of Maurice Sendak than Mad Max, overcoming mounting cynicism about humanity to reactivate a sense of play.” — Michael J. Deluca, author of The Jaguar Mask

“In this strangely comforting skid into the apocalypse, D. K. McCutchen spins ice into electricity.” — Kirsten Mosher, author of Plea$e Steal Me for 100 Plus Dollar-zz

Lost River is the story of the Van Beest family, which inherits a house at the edge of a magical forest where the dead return from the afterlife. When 10-year-old Anne’s mother, a midwife, delivers a stillborn baby and her father, a mortician, accidentally brings that infant back to life, the Van Beests find themselves at the center of a drama that raises questions about the relationship between the living and the dead. 

It’s Hard To Be A Teen!

It’s even more challenging when we have sensory differences.

People with sensory processing disorder (SPD), a newly identified neurological condition, as well as those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are frequently misunderstood when they over- or under-react to sounds, sights, smells, tastes, touch, movement, balance, and feelings within their bodies. When we’re wired differently in teenagehood and not always able to understand what we’re sensing, the world—and the future— can feel big and scary.

Rachel S. Schneider, MA, MHC, is an SPD advocate and the award-winning author of Sensory Like You and Making Sense: A Guide to Sensory Issues. In this guide, written especially for teens and those who love them, she breaks the challenges of sensory teenagehood into hilarious, thoughtful, and manageable chunks. Through personal stories about her own experiences as an undiagnosed sensory teen as well as tips and tricks to survive and thrive during these years, Rachel reminds us that we’re not alone.

On the lawless seas, survival is earned with blood—and loyalty is as fleeting as the wind.

After a violent escape from prison and a harrowing clash with the Roric, Governor of the pirates, Core—once a soldier, now a branded Reaper—returns to the life he tried to leave behind. Torn between his violent instincts and a growing desire for redemption, Core finds solace in Mira, a fierce woman of the Legion with a fire that challenges everything he’s become.

But peace is short-lived aboard the Crimson Crusader. As rival pirates close in and a storm brews both on sea and within, Core is forced into a deadly game of power, rebellion, and survival. His strength earns him the post of Master at Arms, but the price is betrayal. Refusing to kill a comrade on command, Core charts a course for mutiny.

Driven by loyalty to an old friend and a burning need to do what’s right, Core must steal the ship he once served—betraying a brutal captain, facing the wrath of his own crew, and rising to command the Crimson Crusader himself.
In a world of treachery, honor, and bonds created under fire, Core must decide: Is he the monster they made, or the leader they need?

Perfect for fans of clean pirate fantasy, explosive action, and morally complex heroes who dare to fight fate.

DEBUT YOUNG ADULT NOVELIST, Jade Shyback

First in the Aqueous Series • Dystopian adventure under the sea!

"Refreshingly original, this dystopia delivers more than a dash of hope."—Kirkus Reviews

On the eve of Earth’s collapse, young Marisol Blaise is taken to live on an underwater mersation known as Aqueous with parents not her own. There, she must compete in the trials, grueling tests designed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each trainee, hoping to be assigned to the all-male elite diving team known as the Cuviers.

Desperate to prove to herself, the residents, and all of her parents, dead and alive, that she is worthy of this prestigious placement, she works tirelessly to shatter misogynistic beliefs, only to discover that it was not only the men who constrained her. A much uglier untruth exists.

A magical bottle. Chaos unleashed. Friends whose special abilities may not be enough.

It was a routine spring day of wandering around and getting into harmless mischief until 15-year-old Jedidiah Wilson uncovered a bottle etched with scratches that look like they were once words. When Jed goes against his better judgement and opens the cork on the bottle, he unleashes a chaos that threatens the entire world and its history. Now Jed and his 64-year-old, no-longer-imaginary friend Mavis must enlist the help of the Magic People and their special abilities to bind up the magic again.

Can they live with their own pasts while they save the world’s future?

It's not every day a ghost curls up in your lap . . .
But when little Henrietta decides I'm trustworthy and introduces me to her teacher, Charlotte, I find myself wrapped up in the story of their murders.
Before long, my friends and I are saving a building, solving a murder, and telling the stories that a lot of people in our small town would rather be left untold.
Our best hope for ourselves and for Henrietta and Charlotte is that the truth really will set us free.

Masters from the Hall have embarked on a dangerous mission. Can Katana save her mentor from an Arashi killer?

★★★★★ "Very satisfying... can't wait to find out what happens next!”

Buy Katana Nidan to join the magical adventure today!



The Arashi have stolen the Scroll of the Five Masters from the Hall of the Dragon, but their master cannot unlock its secret: the key to immortality. Believing the answer must lie in the temples’ secret archives, he’s on the offensive. And it’s only a matter of time before he attacks the Hall of the Dragon.



The Hall is launching a covert mission to foil his plans, but they’re running out of time. Katana has already mastered two of the mysterious Chen Do skills, and is on her way to achieving a third. But will she be powerful enough to confront the enemy when he infiltrates the Hall? In the end the fate of her mentor will lie in her hands.



Katana Nidan is the second book in an epic YA urban fantasy series. If you like coming of age stories, full of action and adventure, mystery and magic, then the Katana books will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more!

I didn't expect to meet a grieving ghost or her dead mother.
But then, I didn't expect to find out my town had been the site of a lynching, a lynching that had left my friend Sarah motherless and had made her a victim of murder as well.
Their deaths aren't ancient history, though, not when one man who was a witness still holds sway in our small town. My friends and I have truth on our side, but will that be enough to keep us safe?
If only telling the truth didn't come so hard to so many.

A tree that sends people through time. A 12-year-old boy with powers. His adventure could mean freedom…

Jedidiah Wilson has always wanted to get out of his hometown, but time traveling with his imaginary friend Mavis hadn't been part of the plan. When the anxious, brilliant kid and his 63-year-old friend meet a village of people with special powers, they are whisked into an adventure across time and space to help save the village's children from a man who wants to control them. Using his ability to see secrets and his talent for the classic bait-and-switch, Jed helps the villagers set their plan for freedom in motion…with Mavis's assistance of course.

Will Jed and Mavis be a help to their new friends, or will they just get in the way?

Ben's double life continues at the Royal Institute of Magic. To most, he's a talented apprentice and an exceptional spell shooter, but Ben is also a Guardian, responsible for uniting Elizabeth's Armour, the only artefact powerful enough to overthrow the evil dark elves. With two pieces of the armour secure, finding the third may be Ben's toughest challenge yet. His only clue is a magical key, a tenuous link to a legend called the Silver Dwarf. With the dark elves slowly conquering the Unseen Kingdoms, Ben races against time to gather the pieces of armour and unite the Guardians entrusted with them. If that wasn't hard enough, new challenges and old enemies await him at the Institute, and his friendship will be tested like never before. The Silver Dwarf is the fourth book in the Royal Institute of Magic series.

A cryptic map. An evasive gift-giver. A gathering of powers.

When a mysterious peddler shows up at the Wilson's vacation cabin, Jed, Charlie, and Mavis are thrust into an adventure through history. Tasked with unraveling the secrets in a map the peddler gave Mavis, the three friends and the community of magic people they know must decide if saving the few is worth risking it all.

Is changing the past reason enough to risk the future?

A dark lord has risen: Can Katana uncover his identity before he becomes immortal?

When Katana stops several attackers using only her chi, Master Osaka sends her away to the Hall of the Dragon to learn to use and control her power. Soon after her arrival, a mysterious band of warriors tries to steal the Scroll of the Five Masters, which contains the key to immortality. Katana learns that they are the Arashi, a secret society that preserves the dark art of dim mak.

It was believed that knowledge of the art’s highest power, the death touch, was taken to the grave by its ancient master. But now a new dim mak master has risen, commanding a power even more terrifying than the death touch—and he will stop at nothing to obtain the Scroll of the Five Masters. In the end, it’s up to Katana to confront this new enemy and uncover the shocking truth of his identity.

★★★★★ “Couldn’t stop reading it!” —Dayna Huor

Katana Shodan is the first book in an epic YA urban fantasy series. If you like coming of age stories, full of action and adventure, mystery and magic, then the Katana books will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more!

Buy Katana Shodan to start the magical adventure today!

Ben Greenwood is continuing his apprenticeship at the Royal Institute of Magic, hoping things will be slightly less complicated now that he has advanced to the second grade. Fat chance. Coupled with the sterner challenges that the second grade brings, there is also the small matter of the impending dark elf invasion, making life at the Institute even busier than usual. Ben is the only one who can stop them, by finding Elizabeth's Armour and its Guardians. Ben has retrieved one piece of the Armour – the boots – but the rest remain hidden. He has just one clue, which could lead to Elizabeth's Helm: an old black and white photo given to him by the Master of Apprentices. Ben must split his time between his apprenticeship and searching for the helm, before the dark elves strike and all hell breaks loose. The Protectors is the third book in the Royal Institute of Magic series.

Ghosts just don’t show up for anybody.
So when I meet the spirit of a former slave named Moses, I know he needs my help.But I didn’t expect to be taking on half of my town, or the powerful men who seem to run everything and have done so for years. Secrets are being uncovered, and some people would do anything to keep them buried, no matter who gets hurt. I’ll need the help of history and friends I can trust if I want to save Moses’ graveyard and protect his legacy.
If only everyone believed it was one worth protecting…

A historical ghost story with no scares beyond the ones in our actual history.

Cuando Jess escribió un relato de misterio para clase, jamás pensó que alguien en su escuela llevaría el crimen a la vida real. Ahora ella podría ser la próxima víctima. Un thriller trepidante para lectoras de Holly Jackson y Karen McManus.

El único propósito de Jess es sobrevivir al instituto sin demasiados problemas. Como alumna becada en una prestigiosa escuela, sabe que su permanencia depende de su capacidad para no llamar la atención y mantener un expediente impecable. Pero todo cambia cuando uno de los chicos más populares y ricos del instituto aparece muerto de la misma manera que un personaje de un relato que escribió para clase.

Cuando parece que nada podría ir peor, recibe un mensaje anónimo dándole las gracias por la inspiración.

Mientras los rumores sobre la identidad del asesino corren por el colegio, Jess comprenderá que su futuro no es lo único en riesgo: si no descubre quién está detrás del crimen, ella podría ser la siguiente víctima.

El debut de thriller juvenil más vendido del año en Reino Unido.

«Un thriller adictivo que atrapará a las lectoras de Holly Jackson y Karen McManus» The Guardian

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

When Jess wrote a mystery story for class, she never thought someone at her school would bring the crime to life. Now, she could be the next victim. A gripping thriller for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus.

Jess’s only goal is to survive high school without too much trouble. As a scholarship student at a prestigious school, she knows her place depends on not drawing attention and keeping a spotless record. But everything changes when one of the most popular and wealthy boys at school is found dead in the exact way a character in a story she wrote for class dies.

Just when it seems things couldn’t get worse, she receives an anonymous message thanking her for the inspiration.

As rumors about the killer’s identity spread through the school, Jess realizes that her future isn’t the only thing at risk: if she doesn’t uncover who is behind the crime, she could be the next victim.

The bestselling debut YA thriller of the year in the UK.

“An addictive thriller that will captivate fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus” — The Guardian

An engaging YA novel about a girl in treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder that combats the dehumanizing stigma around mental illness

Sixteen-year-old Mira Durand has just been checked into the secure unit of the Residency Adolescent Treatment Centre for obsessive compulsive and comorbid disorders. Four years of being passed around different psych wards like a hot potato have only worsened her OCD and anorexia. Her brutal, religious compulsions, which she believes keep her mom safe, make her less of a clean freak and more of a freak freak. No wonder her only friend is her journal.

At the Residency's Ward 2, Mira discovers that her shrink is a fellow fantasy nerd and that her wardmates have enough of their own high-risk behaviors to tolerate hers. The complex friendships she forms with them (including a first love), the slow trust she builds with her treatment team, and the outside and family visits she earns give her things to look forward to beyond the drudgery of her compulsions. But it takes visiting Gung Gung, her dying maternal grandfather, for her to realize that to truly live, she must fight the cognitive distortions at the heart of her compulsions.

Based on the author's personal experience, A Drop in the Ocean is a gritty, humanizing portrait of living with mental illness.

At age nineteen, the queer narrator of Green Glass Ghosts steps off a bus in downtown Vancouver, a city where the faceless condo towers of the wealthy loom over the streets to the east where folks are just trying to get by, against the deceptively beautiful backdrop of snow-capped mountains and sparkling ocean. It’s the year 2000, and the world is still mostly analogue—pagers are the best way to get ahold of someone and resumés are printed out on paper and dropped off in person, and what’s this new fad called webmail?

Our hopeful hero arrives on the West Coast on the cusp of adulthood, fleeing a traumatic childhood in an unsafe family plagued by religious extremism, mental health crises, and abuse in a conservative town not known for accepting difference. They’re eager to build a new life among like-minded folks, and before they know it, they’ve got a job, an apartment, and a relationship, dancing, busking, and making out in bars, parks, art spaces, and apartments across the city. But their search for belonging and stability is buried in drinking, jealousy, and painful memories of the past, distracting the protagonist from their ultimate goal of playing live music and spurring them to an emotional crisis. If they can’t learn to care for themselves, how will they ever find true connection and community?

With haunting illustrations by Gem Hall that conjure the moody, misty urban landscape, Green Glass Ghosts is an evocation of that delicate, aching moment between youth and adulthood when we are trying, and often failing, to become the person we dream ourselves to be.

Ages 14 and up.

A young adult novel about inner-city teens who live on a razor’s edge and understand that chosen family is just as important as blood. 

Michie and her best friend Trissa grew up like sisters in a ramshackle duplex owned by their single moms. But now that they’re sixteen, the differences in identity and experience have caused a rift. Michie’s an introvert obsessed with a book called A Girl’s Guide to Murder, and her mom has an organic weed and mushrooms grow-op in the basement. Shiny, extroverted Trissa, on the other hand, dances at the hottest nightclub in town, while her mother holds an ultra-responsible job at City Hall.

One night, Michie wakes up one night to find Trissa missing, having left only a cryptic note. The cops write her off as a party girl who’s probably already met a foul end, and the mothers fall apart from fear and grief, but Michie refuses to believe it. 

Enlisting help from her friend Anwar, who she’s been in love with forever, Michie sets off to look for Trissa, knowing she’s the only one who will. The search takes them into unfamiliar, dangerous territory: the back rooms of Trissa’s luxury nightclub, dark alleyways, the online sex industry, and rural cottage country. 

As she begins to unravel Trissa’s secrets against a backdrop of cold authority figures, shady characters, and a serial killer who’s been active in the city, Michie knows she’s plunging into danger—but she’s determined to find her chosen sister and to bring her home safely. 

Part comedy, part grief narrative, In the Key of Dale is a disarming coming-of-age novel about a queer teen music prodigy who discovers pieces of himself in places he never thought to look.

Sixteen-year-old Dale Cardigan is a loner who’s managed to make himself completely invisible at his all-boys high school. He doesn’t fit with his classmates (whom he gives nicknames in his head), his stepbrother (whom nobody at school knows he’s related to), or even his mother (who never quite sees how gifted a musician Dale might be)—but they don’t fit with him, either. And he’s fine with that. To him, high school and home are stages to endure until his real life can finally begin.

 Somewhat against his will, he befriends his classmate Rusty, who gets a rare look at Dale’s complex life outside school, but their friendship is made awkward when Dale is uncertain whether his growing attraction to Rusty is one-sided. Still, it’s to Rusty that Dale turns when he stumbles upon a family secret that shakes everything he thought he knew.

An epistolary novel written in the form of letters to his late father, In the Key of Dale is a beguiling, pitch-perfect book about growing up, fitting in, and finding a way out of grief and loneliness toward the melodic light of adulthood.

Ages 14 and up.

When fifteen-year-old Keira starts high school, she almost wishes she could write "Hi, my name is Keira, and I'm bisexual!" on her nametag. Needless to say, she's actually terrified to announce—let alone fully explore—her sexuality. Quirky but shy, loyal yet a bit zany, Keira navigates her growing interest in kissing both girls and boys while not alienating her BFF, boy-crazy Sita. As the two acclimate to their new high school, they manage to find lunch tablemates and make lists of the school's cutest boys. But Keira is caught "in between"—unable to fully participate, yet too scared to come clean.

She's also feeling the pressure of family: parents who married too young and have differing parenting styles; a younger sister in a wheelchair from whom adults expect either too little or too much; and her popular older brother who takes pleasure in taunting Keira. She finds solace in preparing for the regional finals of figure skating, a hobby she knows is geeky and "het girl" yet instills her with confidence. But when she meets a girl named Jayne who seems perfect for her, she isn't so confident she can pull off her charade any longer.

Rough Patch is an honest, heart-wrenching novel about finding your place in the world, and about how to pick yourself up after taking a spill.

Nicole Markotic is a poet and novelist who teaches children's literature at the University of Windsor. This is her first young adult novel.

This compelling young adult graphic memoir, based on real events, tells the story of Gricelda, a fifteen-year-old Mexican girl who attempts to cross the border into America with her mother and younger brother in search of a better life. Their treacherous journey, filled with both heartbreak and hope, begins in Tijuana, where they are transported from house to house by strangers. Here they meet the mysterious smuggler el Güero, who promises to lead the young family through the mountains and the scorching heat of the desert and beyond. Can he prove himself by keeping them safe during the crossing? Will America be the country of dreams like they imagined? Or will adjusting to their new life in California be another type of struggle for Gricelda and her family?

With captivating illustrations inspired by the graffiti and stencil art prevalent during the 2006 political uprising in Oaxaca, as well as local textiles and embroidery, Travesía is Gricelda’s first-person account, derived from interviews with author Michelle Gerster and told in both English and Spanish, of crossing the Mexico-US border. Timely and relevant, Travesía is a vibrant and powerful testament to the desperation and resilience of millions of migrating people who endure the pain of leaving their old lives behind to embark on the perilous journey across borders in search of a new life.

100% of royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Centro Legal de la Raza, a legal services agency protecting and advancing the rights of low-income, immigrant, Black, and Latinx communities through bilingual legal representation, education, and advocacy.

Ages 12 and up.

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A book with many images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

This compelling young adult graphic memoir, based on real events, tells the story of Gricelda, a fifteen-year-old Mexican girl who attempts to cross the border into America with her mother and younger brother in search of a better life. Their treacherous journey, filled with both heartbreak and hope, begins in Tijuana, where they are transported from house to house by strangers. Here they meet the mysterious smuggler el Güero, who promises to lead the young family through the mountains and the scorching heat of the desert and beyond. Can he prove himself by keeping them safe during the crossing? Will America be the country of dreams like they imagined? Or will adjusting to their new life in California be another type of struggle for Gricelda and her family?

With captivating illustrations inspired by the graffiti and stencil art prevalent during the 2006 political uprising in Oaxaca, as well as local textiles and embroidery, Travesía is Gricelda’s first-person account, derived from interviews with author Michelle Gerster and told in both English and Spanish, of crossing the Mexico-US border. Timely and relevant, Travesía is a vibrant and powerful testament to the desperation and resilience of millions of migrating people who endure the pain of leaving their old lives behind to embark on the perilous journey across borders in search of a new life.

100% of royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Centro Legal de la Raza, a legal services agency protecting and advancing the rights of low-income, immigrant, Black, and Latinx communities through bilingual legal representation, education, and advocacy.

Ages 12 and up.

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A book with many images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

Part comedy, part grief narrative, In the Key of Dale is a disarming coming-of-age novel about a queer teen music prodigy who discovers pieces of himself in places he never thought to look.

Sixteen-year-old Dale Cardigan is a loner who’s managed to make himself completely invisible at his all-boys high school. He doesn’t fit with his classmates (whom he gives nicknames in his head), his stepbrother (whom nobody at school knows he’s related to), or even his mother (who never quite sees how gifted a musician Dale might be)—but they don’t fit with him, either. And he’s fine with that. To him, high school and home are stages to endure until his real life can finally begin.

 Somewhat against his will, he befriends his classmate Rusty, who gets a rare look at Dale’s complex life outside school, but their friendship is made awkward when Dale is uncertain whether his growing attraction to Rusty is one-sided. Still, it’s to Rusty that Dale turns when he stumbles upon a family secret that shakes everything he thought he knew.

An epistolary novel written in the form of letters to his late father, In the Key of Dale is a beguiling, pitch-perfect book about growing up, fitting in, and finding a way out of grief and loneliness toward the melodic light of adulthood.

Ages 14 and up.

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A Simple book with few images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

An engaging YA novel about a girl in treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder that combats the dehumanizing stigma around mental illness

Sixteen-year-old Mira Durand has just been checked into the secure unit of the Residency Adolescent Treatment Centre for obsessive compulsive and comorbid disorders. Four years of being passed around different psych wards like a hot potato have only worsened her OCD and anorexia. Her brutal, religious compulsions, which she believes keep her mom safe, make her less of a clean freak and more of a freak freak. No wonder her only friend is her journal.

At the Residency's Ward 2, Mira discovers that her shrink is a fellow fantasy nerd and that her wardmates have enough of their own high-risk behaviors to tolerate hers. The complex friendships she forms with them (including a first love), the slow trust she builds with her treatment team, and the outside and family visits she earns give her things to look forward to beyond the drudgery of her compulsions. But it takes visiting Gung Gung, her dying maternal grandfather, for her to realize that to truly live, she must fight the cognitive distortions at the heart of her compulsions.

Based on the author's personal experience, A Drop in the Ocean is a gritty, humanizing portrait of living with mental illness.

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. This book is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

A young adult novel about inner-city teens who live on a razor’s edge and understand that chosen family is just as important as blood. 

Michie and her best friend Trissa grew up like sisters in a ramshackle duplex owned by their single moms. But now that they’re sixteen, the differences in identity and experience have caused a rift. Michie’s an introvert obsessed with a book called A Girl’s Guide to Murder, and her mom has an organic weed and mushrooms grow-op in the basement. Shiny, extroverted Trissa, on the other hand, dances at the hottest nightclub in town, while her mother holds an ultra-responsible job at City Hall.

One night, Michie wakes up one night to find Trissa missing, having left only a cryptic note. The cops write her off as a party girl who’s probably already met a foul end, and the mothers fall apart from fear and grief, but Michie refuses to believe it. 

Enlisting help from her friend Anwar, who she’s been in love with forever, Michie sets off to look for Trissa, knowing she’s the only one who will. The search takes them into unfamiliar, dangerous territory: the back rooms of Trissa’s luxury nightclub, dark alleyways, the online sex industry, and rural cottage country. 

As she begins to unravel Trissa’s secrets against a backdrop of cold authority figures, shady characters, and a serial killer who’s been active in the city, Michie knows she’s plunging into danger—but she’s determined to find her chosen sister and to bring her home safely. 

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. This book is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

Question: Do any of you know the truly scary part about being seventeen?

Answer: Your brain doesn't actually know, understand or care what it can't do; and, while this sounds great in theory, in my particular case, my under-developed brain apparently didn't know I couldn't fly.

So I jumped . . .
And I plummeted . . .

And I promise you, if I somehow manage to survive this act of immature-brain-encased-in-unbelievable-stupidity, I will gladly tell you exactly how I got here.

Which, for the record, is chasing a dark-web killer through the middle of a live action role-playing game, better known as a LARP.

On a LARP introduces readers to teen coder, Sid Rubin, a smartass—and super-smart—high school kid with a strong conscience and a knack for solving problems. This high concept, frenetic ride dives into the fascinating world of interactive role-playing when Sid recognizes the photo of a murder victim during an AP field trip to a police station. What starts out as an Aha! moment soon finds Sid and her unlikely posse of friends chasing a dark web killer through the middle of a live action role playing game. Sid and the gang work to unravel a deeply encrypted mystery while simultaneously enduring pop quizzes, endless Ted Talks, teenage heartbreak, suspicious parents, cosplay, and the irresistible lure of the NYC Public Library.

Stefani Deoul is the author of the award-winning novel The Carousel. She has produced TV series such as The Dead Zone, Brave New Girl, and Haven, and was also the executive in charge of production for the series Dresden Files and Missing.

Alberto Villarreal expone heridas abiertas escritas con tinta emocional. Cada página es un espejo, una confesión que muchos no se atreven a hacer.

"Existes porque te recuerdo

Te traigo a la tierra con la fuerza

del cincel contra la carne

Existes porque deseo

Te formo ante mis ojos"

Abrir el corazón, dejar que se desangre, así entiende Alberto Villarreal la poesía y, en este nuevo libro, rompe con todo lo que nos enseñaron sobre ocultar lo que sentimos y esconder el amor que no encaja en lo que otros esperan.

Cada poema de Te daré el olvido habla sin filtros sobre nombrar lo que duele y amar con valentía, sin miedo. Es un testimonio sobre lo difícil que es olvidar a las personas que hemos amado, y cómo su ausencia se vuelve un eco constante en el cuerpo.

Navega en este viaje íntimo que se siente como un abrazo para los corazones heridos.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Alberto Villarreal lays bare open wounds written in emotional ink. Each page is a mirror, a confession many don’t dare to make.

"You exist because I remember you

I bring you to earth with the force

of chisel against flesh

You exist because I desire

I shape you before my eyes"

To open the heart and let it bleed—this is how Alberto Villarreal understands poetry. In this new book, he breaks away from everything we were taught about hiding what we feel and concealing love that doesn’t fit others’ expectations.

Each poem in Te daré el olvido (I Will Make You Forget) speaks unfiltered about naming pain and loving bravely, without fear. It’s a testimony to how hard it is to forget those we’ve loved, and how their absence becomes a constant echo in the body.

Embark on this intimate journey that feels like a hug for wounded hearts.

The unforgettable novel about one child soldier’s struggle with friendship, courage, and resilience.

Jacob is a 14-year-old Ugandan who is sent away to a boys’ school. Once there, he assures his friend Tony that they need not be afraid—they will be safe. But not long after, in the shadow of the night, the boys are abducted. Marched into the jungle, they are brought to an encampment of the feared rebel soldiers. Told that they must kill or be killed, the boys are thrust into a terrifying struggle to endure and survive.

In time, the boys escape. Hunted by the rebels, stalked by a lion, and even pursued by river crocs, they miraculously succeed in reaching safety; however, it is no longer enough. Jacob’s adventures force him to confront evil, victimization, and the dark side of human nature, but also teach him about loyalty, friendship, and the true meaning of family.

Daniel Lafrance’s striking artwork and the poignant, powerful text capture the very essence of life as a child soldier. Readers will never forget the experiences of this young boy struggling to survive, unsure who to trust, afraid of succumbing to madness, and above all, desperate to get to freedom. In the end, Jacob engineers a daring escape.

This graphic novel is based on the acclaimed novel of the same title, winner of a 2009 Arthur Ellis award. The author spent time in Uganda and based this story on real-life accounts of the horrors inflicted on child soldiers and their victims. This is a story of unthinkable violence, but also one of hope, courage, friendship, and family.

Monique Couvson’s trailblazing book Pushout laid the groundwork for understanding how our schools are failing Black girls; her follow-up, Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues, provided a blueprint for their healing and liberation. Now Couvson invites readers to be inspired by her liberatory imagination with an original narrative told from the perspective of the very girls she has been fighting for years to lift up.

Charisma’s Turn is a graphic novel that follows the dynamic story of Charisma, a Black high school student who is grappling with mounting pressures from home and school. When frustrations with her family intersect with a conflict at school, she reaches a crossroads, facing a choice that could change her future. Featuring vibrantly illustrated art from Amanda Jones and a foreword by poet, artist, and arts educator Susan Arauz Barnes, this book will appeal to teens, parents, educators, librarians, and more. Charisma’s Turn exemplifies how Black girls can be truly empowered to reach their full potential when they have supportive educators and community members in their corner.

Named one of the Young Adult Library Services Association's 2024 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

From the award-winning author of Pushout, an inspiring graphic novel about what can happen when Black girls are given the opportunity to find their genuine power

Monique Couvson’s trailblazing book Pushout laid the groundwork for understanding how our schools are failing Black girls; her follow-up, Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues, provided a blueprint for their healing and liberation. Now Couvson invites readers to be inspired by her liberatory imagination with an original narrative told from the perspective of the very girls she has been fighting for years to lift up.

Charisma’s Turn is a graphic novel that follows the dynamic story of Charisma, a Black high school student who is grappling with mounting pressures from home and school. When frustrations with her family intersect with a conflict at school, she reaches a crossroads, facing a choice that could change her future. Featuring vibrantly illustrated art from Amanda Jones and a foreword by poet, artist, and arts educator Susan Arauz Barnes, this book will appeal to teens, parents, educators, librarians, and more. Charisma’s Turn exemplifies how Black girls can be truly empowered to reach their full potential when they have supportive educators and community members in their corner.

A Wrinkle in Time meets Brave New World in this thought-provoking debut graphic novel about one girl’s quest to save her family's livelihood—and maybe existence itself.

Chloe and her older sister make souls by hand in an empty old house in the countryside. When their supply of breth—the raw material needed to make souls—runs dry, the evil McCorp tries to force them to franchise and make synthetic souls instead. Chloe sets out to the big city in hopes of finding a new source. And maybe a way to modernize their business that Lacey is so determined to keep in the past.

On a journey to find a real breth crop, untouched by MCorp’s greedy hands, Chloe uncovers long-buried family secrets—and starts to question whom to trust and what reality even is.

A beautifully rendered debut, Soul Machine is at once a metaphysical science-fiction story and a nuanced exploration of big ideas: spirituality, family, consciousness, and connection, but also unscrupulous consumption, megacorporations, and how egomaniac entrepreneurs impact our lives.

An aspiring young actor must find her place at a cutthroat arts boarding school in this gothic YA debut for fans of Ace of Spades and If We Were Villains.

Violet Costantino knows she is already on thin ice this school year: her scholarship has taken a significant hit due to her panic attack during her final performance in acting class last semester—which simultaneously shattered her dreams of becoming a leading lady. This year, she is determined to keep her head down and just get through unscathed. But the school seems to have other plans for Violet: to her extreme foreboding, she is cast as one of the leads in the annual Halloween play. What’s worse, the beautiful, infuriatingly talented Frankie Lin and Violet’s ex-crush, Hunter Kinsey, are both cast as her love interests. Despite her initial reluctance, Violet is drawn in by the glamor of the Dark Cove Theatre Society, and she cautiously starts believing that maybe she is cut out for this after all. But lurking in the shadows of Violet’s fragile self-confidence is the rumor of the Society curse, which is said to cause one cast member to drop out before opening night every year, mysteriously and without reason.

In this captivating YA debut, The Dark Cove Theatre Society illustrates both the intoxicating and insidious nature of success and the price we are often forced to pay for it. Passages of found text—glimpses of the school’s handbook, secret letters, and other peeks into life at the Academy—seamlessly woven into the plot will immerse readers even further into the lush, magnetic world of Dark Cove.

“Anyone who is Deaf . . . will immediately feel a connection and a sense of belonging while reading Asphyxia's book.” —Stacy Abrams, founder of the #WhyISign campaign • Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for Teens 2021 • A Kirkus Best Book of 2021

Part coming of age, part call to action, this fast-paced novel about a Deaf teenager by a Deaf author is a unique and inspiring exploration of what it means to belong.

Smart, artistic, and independent, sixteen year old Piper is tired of trying to conform. Her mom wants her to be “normal,” to pass as hearing, to get a good job. But in a time of food scarcity, environmental collapse, and political corruption, Piper has other things on her mind—like survival.

Piper has always been told that she needs to compensate for her Deafness in a world made for those who can hear. But when she meets Marley, a new world opens up—one where Deafness is something to celebrate, and where resilience means taking action, building a com-munity, and believing in something better.

Published to rave reviews as Future Girl in Australia (Allen & Unwin, Sept. 2020), this empowering, unforgettable story is told through a visual extravaganza of text, paint, collage, and drawings. Set in an ominously prescient near future, The Words in My Hands is very much a novel for our turbulent times.

Best Books of 2024 lists: NYPL, The Globe and Mail,Quill & Quire • Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2024, Ms. magazine • Kids Indie Next Pick

A powerful coming-of-age graphic novel about how mothers and daughters pass down—and rebel against—standards of size, gender, race, beauty, and worth.

Guangdong, 1954 Sixteen-year-old Mei Laan longs for a future of freedom, and her beauty may be the key to getting it. Can an arranged marriage in Hong Kong be the answer to all her problems?

Hong Kong, 1972 Sixteen-year-old Lydia wants nothing more than to dance and to gain approval from her mother, who is largely absent and sharply critical, especially about the way she looks. Maybe her way to happiness is starting over in Toronto?

Toronto, 2000 Sixteen-year-old Roz is grappling with who she wants to be in the world. The only thing she is certain of is that if she were thinner, things would be better. How can she start living her life, instead of just photographing it?

When Roz’s estranged por por abruptly arrives for a seemingly indefinite visit, three generations are now under one roof. Delicate relationships are suddenly upended, and long-suppressed family secrets begin to surface.

Award-winning creator of Living With Viola Rosena Fung pulls from her own family history in her YA debut to give us an emotional and poignant story about how every generation is affected by those that came before, and affect those that come after.

“Moving and emotional.” —Victoria Ying, Harvey Award–winning author of Hungry Ghost

“Crucial.” —Deb JJ Lee, creator of In Limbo

“Beautiful.” —Fiona Smyth, illustrator of Sex Is a Funny Word

Content Warning: body image, disordered eating.

Governor General Literary Awards Winner • A NYPL Best Book of 2024

This YA debut is a searing ode to queer identity, growing up in an immigrant community, and carving a place for yourself in the world with the help of your friends.

Jay Wong is spending the last languid days of summer 2010 trying to land a kickflip and begging for something (anything!) to make her senior year different—to finally give her some stories worth telling. When she meets Ash Chan, it seems like she’s getting what she asked for. Ash is confident, intensely independent, and hell on a skateboard—nothing like anyone Jay knows and exactly how she wishes she could be.

Offering to film Ash’s submission to an upcoming skate contest introduces Jay to a side of Vancouver she’s never seen and gives her the chance to push back against the expectations placed on her. But Ash has a secret, and Jay is increasingly desperate to figure it out. As things between them ride the fine line between friendship and something more, Jay has to decide just how much Ash will impact all the choices she still has to make about where she’s going and who she wants to become.

A Wrinkle in Time meets Brave New World in this thought-provoking debut graphic novel about one girl’s quest to save her family's livelihood—and maybe existence itself.

Chloe and her older sister make souls by hand in an empty old house in the countryside. When their supply of breth—the raw material needed to make souls—runs dry, the evil McCorp tries to force them to franchise and make synthetic souls instead. Chloe sets out to the big city in hopes of finding a new source. And maybe a way to modernize their business that Lacey is so determined to keep in the past.

On a journey to find a real breth crop, untouched by MCorp’s greedy hands, Chloe uncovers long-buried family secrets—and starts to question whom to trust and what reality even is.

A beautifully rendered debut, Soul Machine is at once a metaphysical science-fiction story and a nuanced exploration of big ideas: spirituality, family, consciousness, and connection, but also unscrupulous consumption, megacorporations, and how egomaniac entrepreneurs impact our lives.

Thirteen-year-old Manuelito is a gentle boy who lives with his family in a tiny village in the Guatemalan countryside. But life is far from idyllic.

PACs—armed civil patrol—are a constant presence in the streets, and terrifying memories of the country’s war linger in the villagers’ collective conscience. Things deteriorate further when government-backed drug gangs arrive and take control of the village. Fearing their son will be forced to join a gang, Manuelito’s parents make the desperate decision to send him to live with his aunt in America.

With just a bus ticket and a small amount of cash in hand, Manuelito begins his hazardous journey to Mexico, then the U.S., in search of asylum. But in the end, dangers such as the crooked “coyote”—or human smuggler—his parents have entrusted their son’s life to may be nothing compared to the risks Manuelito faces when he finally reaches America.

Manuelito’s titular character is just one of the staggering one hundred thousand children from the Northern Triangle of Central America—Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras—who have made this perilous journey to escape their war-torn countries. Many are now detained in Mexico, separated from their parents and without access to lawyers, facing the unthinkable prospect of being sent back to the homes and danger they risked so much to escape.

Drawing on years of experience working with child refugees like Manuelito, Elisa Amado’s powerful story, illustrated with striking poignancy by Abraham Urias, brings to light the dire circumstances of so many children, so close to home.

“Who built this house? Whose money? Whose blood?” 

Ghosts aren’t the only thing that can haunt a house. Trynne Delaney’s debut novel  explores the insidious legacies of violence and oppression—and how Black, queer love and resistance can disrupt them.

With her dad’s incarceration, escalating fights with her mom, and an overbearing stepdad she’s not sure she can trust, Asha is desperate for the fresh start promised by a move to the country. Her great aunt Aggie’s crumbling, pest-ridden house isn’t exactly what she had in mind, but the immediate connection she makes with her new neighbor Cole seems like a good sign. Soon, though, Asha’s optimism is shadowed by strange and disturbing occurrences within the old house’s walls: footsteps stalking the halls; a persistent chill; cold hands around her neck in the middle of the night . . .

Fearing for her loved ones’ safety—and her own—Asha seeks out the source of these terrifying incidents and uncovers secrets from the past that connect her and Cole’s families and reach into the present. But as tensions with her mom and stepdad rise and Cole withdraws, Asha is left alone to try and break the cycle of violence that holds them all in its haunting grip.

A brilliant historical YA that asks: how do you choose between survival and doing the right thing?

The arrival of the Soviet army in Germany at the end of World War II sends sixteen-year-old Katja and her family into turmoil. The fighting has stopped, but German society is in collapse, resulting in tremendous hardship. With their father gone and few resources available to them, Katja and her sister are forced to flee their home, reassured by their mother that if they can just reach a distant friend in a town far away, things will get better. But their harrowing journey brings danger and violence, and Katja needs to summon all her strength to build a new life, just as she’s questioning everything she thought she knew about her country.

Katja’s bravery and defiance help her deal with the emotional and societal upheaval.  But how can she stay true to herself and protect the people she loves when each decision has such far-reaching consequences?

Acclaimed writer Michelle Barker’s second novel explores the chaos and destruction of the Second World War from a perspective rarely examined in YA fiction—the implications of the Soviet occupation on a German population grappling with the horrors of Nazism and its aftermath.  

Governor General Literary Awards Winner • A NYPL Best Book of 2024

This YA debut is a searing ode to queer identity, growing up in an immigrant community, and carving a place for yourself in the world with the help of your friends.

Jay Wong is spending the last languid days of summer 2010 trying to land a kickflip and begging for something (anything!) to make her senior year different—to finally give her some stories worth telling. When she meets Ash Chan, it seems like she’s getting what she asked for. Ash is confident, intensely independent, and hell on a skateboard—nothing like anyone Jay knows and exactly how she wishes she could be.

Offering to film Ash’s submission to an upcoming skate contest introduces Jay to a side of Vancouver she’s never seen and gives her the chance to push back against the expectations placed on her. But Ash has a secret, and Jay is increasingly desperate to figure it out. As things between them ride the fine line between friendship and something more, Jay has to decide just how much Ash will impact all the choices she still has to make about where she’s going and who she wants to become.

A hilarious YA novel about coming of age in the shadow of climate change, overcoming cynicism, and the power of collaboration from the award-winning author of Dragging Mason County.

Ever since the best story of his career became the worst humiliation of his life, teen reporter John O’Neil has gone rogue. He has turned his nose for news toward blackmailing those responsible, namely Lance McPhee, diabolical heir to the local country club. When John learns that the club plans to expand into a bird conservation area founded by his late grandfather, he begrudgingly joins forces with the school birdwatching club to expose the scandal. And if John ruins Lance’s life along the way? He’s only killing two birds with one stone.

John races against the clock in a desperate bid at environmental espionage involving forgeries, a car chase, and a high-stakes heist. But it’s a race John won’t win without former best friend/co-reporter Rachel Miller, who just so happens to want him dead. Can this motley crew flock together long enough for their mission to take flight?

A hilarious YA novel about coming of age in the shadow of climate change, overcoming cynicism, and the power of collaboration from the award-winning author of Dragging Mason County.

Ever since the best story of his career became the worst humiliation of his life, teen reporter John O’Neil has gone rogue. He has turned his nose for news toward blackmailing those responsible, namely Lance McPhee, diabolical heir to the local country club. When John learns that the club plans to expand into a bird conservation area founded by his late grandfather, he begrudgingly joins forces with the school birdwatching club to expose the scandal. And if John ruins Lance’s life along the way? He’s only killing two birds with one stone.

John races against the clock in a desperate bid at environmental espionage involving forgeries, a car chase, and a high-stakes heist. But it’s a race John won’t win without former best friend/co-reporter Rachel Miller, who just so happens to want him dead. Can this motley crew flock together long enough for their mission to take flight?

A songwriter wrestles with instant stardom and his bisexuality in this raw and propulsive novel for fans of If This Gets Out and Alice Oseman’s I Was Born for This.

After one of his songs goes viral, Ollie Cheriet gets the opportunity of a lifetime: a cross-country tour, an album deal, and a chance to help his family with their financial struggles. The only problem? Ollie has major stage fright, a symptom of his anxiety disorder. As pressure from performing, social media rumors, and his romantic life rises, his mental health starts to spiral. So he’s surprised at how grounded he feels when he collaborates with his wildly talented—and distractingly cute—touring partner, Jesse. Music has always helped Ollie through hard times, but he’s going to have to be more vulnerable than he ever thought possible to find self-acceptance in the glow of the spotlight.

Featuring characters from Maya Ameyaw’s acclaimed debut When It All Syncs Up, this story takes readers into the green room, immersing them in the vivid behind-the-scenes world of touring musicians.

From debut author Alexandra Mae Jones comes a compelling, nuanced exploration of bi identity and body image with a ghostly backdrop—perfect for fans of Nina Lacour. 

Still reeling from a recent trauma, sixteen-year-old Dell is relieved when her mom suggests a stay at the family cabin. But the much-needed escape quickly turns into a disaster. The lake and woods are awash in trash left by a previous tenant. And worse, Dell’s mom has invited her boyfriend’s daughter to stay with them. Confident, irreverent Ivy presses all of Dell's buttons--somehow making Dell’s shame and self-consciousness feel even more acute. Yet Dell is drawn to Ivy in a way she doesn't fully understand. As Dell uncovers secrets in the wreckage of her family's past--secrets hinted at through troubling dreams and strange apparitions--Ivy leads her toward thrilling, if confusing, revelations about her sexuality and identity.

Set during a humid summer in the mid-2000s, The Queen of Junk Island simmers with the intensity of a teenage girl navigating the suffocating expectations of everyone around her.

A songwriter wrestles with instant stardom and his bisexuality in this raw and propulsive novel for fans of If This Gets Out and Alice Oseman’s I Was Born for This.

After one of his songs goes viral, Ollie Cheriet gets the opportunity of a lifetime: a cross-country tour, an album deal, and a chance to help his family with their financial struggles. The only problem? Ollie has major stage fright, a symptom of his anxiety disorder. As pressure from performing, social media rumors, and his romantic life rises, his mental health starts to spiral. So he’s surprised at how grounded he feels when he collaborates with his wildly talented—and distractingly cute—touring partner, Jesse. Music has always helped Ollie through hard times, but he’s going to have to be more vulnerable than he ever thought possible to find self-acceptance in the glow of the spotlight.

Featuring characters from Maya Ameyaw’s acclaimed debut When It All Syncs Up, this story takes readers into the green room, immersing them in the vivid behind-the-scenes world of touring musicians.

“A stunning read [. . .] simmering with tension and gripping to the final word.” —Debbie Rigaud, New York Times bestselling author of Simone Breaks All the Rules and A Girl’s Guide to Love & Magic

Now in paperback! A Black teen dancer with dreams of landing a spot in a prestigious ballet company must learn to dance on her own terms in this explosive debut about the healing power of art and friendship, perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Tiny Pretty Things.

Ballet is Aisha’s life. But when discrimination at her elite academy pushes her to her breaking point, she decides to pivot. At her new public arts school, Aisha scores more dance opportunities than she’s ever had before. And it doesn’t hurt that she gets to take classes with her bestie . . . and with Ollie, an adorably shy musician who keeps throwing off her usually impeccable balance.

Yet even as Aisha navigates friendships, family conflict, and first love, questions about her dance career open up new and old wounds. Aisha must find strength in herself and place her trust in others to make her next move.

"At times hopeful and beautiful but also heartbreakingly devastating, When It All Syncs Up is a story of love in so many forms. But maybe most important of all, it is about the love we give ourselves, and allow ourselves to be given, even at our most broken."—Jonny Garza Villa, author of the Pura Belpré Honor Book Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

The unforgettable novel about one child soldier’s struggle with friendship, courage, and resilience.

Jacob is a 14-year-old Ugandan who is sent away to a boys’ school. Once there, he assures his friend Tony that they need not be afraid—they will be safe. But not long after, in the shadow of the night, the boys are abducted. Marched into the jungle, they are brought to an encampment of the feared rebel soldiers. Told that they must kill or be killed, the boys are thrust into a terrifying struggle to endure and survive.

In time, the boys escape. Hunted by the rebels, stalked by a lion, and even pursued by river crocs, they miraculously succeed in reaching safety; however, it is no longer enough. Jacob’s adventures force him to confront evil, victimization, and the dark side of human nature, but also teach him about loyalty, friendship, and the true meaning of family.

Daniel Lafrance’s striking artwork and the poignant, powerful text capture the very essence of life as a child soldier. Readers will never forget the experiences of this young boy struggling to survive, unsure who to trust, afraid of succumbing to madness, and above all, desperate to get to freedom. In the end, Jacob engineers a daring escape.

This graphic novel is based on the acclaimed novel of the same title, winner of a 2009 Arthur Ellis award. The author spent time in Uganda and based this story on real-life accounts of the horrors inflicted on child soldiers and their victims. This is a story of unthinkable violence, but also one of hope, courage, friendship, and family.

A Black teen dancer with dreams of landing a spot in a prestigious ballet company must learn to dance on her own terms in this explosive debut about the healing power of art and friendship, perfect for fans of Euphoria and Tiny Pretty Things.

Ballet is Aisha’s life. So when she’s denied yet another lead at her elite academy because she doesn’t “look” the part, she knows something has to change–the constant discrimination is harming her mental health. Switching to her best friend Neil’s art school seems like the perfect plan at first. But she soon discovers racism and bullying are entrenched in the ballet program here, too, and there’s a new, troubling distance between her and Neil. And as past traumas surface, pressure from friends and family, a new romance, and questions about her dance career threaten to overwhelm her. There’s no choreography to follow–for high school or for healing. Aisha will have to find the strength within herself–and place her trust in others–to make her next move.

• FOLLOW-UP TO ACCLAIMED DEBUT: When It All Syncs Up received starred reviews from Kirkus and SLJ. This book will take readers into one of the book’s popular secondary character’s POV while checking in with the characters from the previous book. The paperback edition of When It All Syncs Up is coming a month ahead for anyone who missed it the first time around.
• PAPERBACK ORIGINAL! A lower price point for teens
• MUSIC APPEAL: Exploration of fan culture and the impacts of social media on popular artists
• THOUGHTFUL DEPICTION OF DIFFICULT ISSUES: Nuanced exploration of mental health challenges (anxiety disorder), sexual assault recovery, bi identity, and internalized homophobia
• TOUCH OF ROMANCE: Light romance elements with a crush growing between Ollie and his touring partner as Ollie navigates a long-distance relationship—and his struggles with accepting his own queerness
• QUEER REPRESENTATION: Main character Ollie is bisexual
• FOR FANS OF: On the Come Up and If This Gets Out
• LEVELING INFO: Coming soon

“[A] thoughtful reflection on how bigotry of the past informs the hauntings of the present.”

—STARRED review, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (CCBC)

Ghosts aren’t the only thing that can haunt a house.

With her dad’s incarceration, escalating fights with her mom, and an overbearing stepdad she’s not sure she can trust, Asha is desperate for the fresh start promised by a move to the country. Her great aunt Aggie’s crumbling, pest-ridden house isn’t exactly what she had in mind, but the immediate connection she makes with her new neighbor Cole seems like a good sign. Soon, though, Asha’s optimism is shadowed by strange and disturbing occurrences within the old house’s walls: footsteps stalking the halls; a persistent chill; cold hands around her neck in the middle of the night . . .

Fearing for her loved ones’ safety—and her own—Asha seeks out the source of these terrifying incidents and uncovers secrets from the past that connect her and Cole’s families and reach into the present. But as tensions with her mom and stepdad rise and Cole withdraws, Asha is left alone to try and break the cycle of violence that holds them all in its haunting grip.

Trynne Delaney’s debut novel explores the insidious legacies of violence and oppression—and how Black, queer love and resistance can disrupt them.

A laugh-out-loud YA debut that examines the realities of small-town queer life and celebrates the transformative power of drag—perfect for fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race and Pumpkin.

Peter Thompkins needs a public image overhaul. After a tense confrontation with one of the few other queer kids in his small-town high school, rumors about him are becoming more elaborate by the day. Meanwhile, his best friend Alan (aka teen drag queen Aggie Culture) is throwing Mason County’s debut Drag Extravaganza. Although Peter is a self-described “dragnostic,” he decides to help produce the show, hoping to prove that he isn’t a self-hating gay. In the process, he finds himself facing down angry guard dogs, angrier bigots, and a very high-strung church lady. As backlash grows, Peter begins to wonder whether he's setting fire to his already damaged reputation and if his friendship with Alan will survive past curtain call.

At turns touching, sharply funny, and a little absurd, Dragging Mason County explores the pains and pleasures of queer community through one teen’s journey to self-acceptance.

The powerful story of a child refugee seeking asylum in America

Thirteen-year-old Manuelito is a gentle boy who lives with his family in a tiny village in the Guatemalan countryside. But life is far from idyllic: PACs—armed civil patrol—are a constant presence in the streets, and terrifying memories of the country’s war linger in the villagers’ collective conscience. Things deteriorate further when government-backed drug gangs arrive and take control of the village. Fearing their son will be forced to join a gang, Manuelito’s parents make the desperate decision to send him to live with his aunt in the United States.

With just a bus ticket and a small amount of cash in hand, Manuelito begins his hazardous journey to Mexico, then the U.S., in search of asylum. But in the end, dangers such as the crooked “coyote”—or human smuggler—his parents have entrusted their son’s life to may be nothing compared to the risks Manuelito faces when he finally reaches the United States.

Manuelito’s titular character is just one of the staggering two hundred thousand children from the Northern Triangle of Central America—Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras—who have made this perilous journey to escape their war-torn countries. Many are now detained in Mexico, separated from their parents and without access to lawyers, facing the unthinkable prospect of being sent back to the homes and danger they risked so much to escape.

Drawing on years of experience working with child refugees like Manuelito, Elisa Amado’s powerful story, illustrated with striking poignancy by Abraham Urias, brings to light the dire circumstances of so many children, so close to home.

On a journey to uncover her family’s story, Spotted Fawn travels through time and space to reclaim connection to ancestors, language, and the land—creating a path forward in this essential graphic novel.

In the dreamworld she bears witness to a mountain of buffalo skulls. They stand as a ghostly monument to the slaughter of the Plains bison to near extinction-- a key tactic to starve and contain the Indigenous People onto reservations. On this path, Spotted Fawn knows she must travel through her own family history to confront the harsh realities of the past and reignite her connection to her people and the land. Her darkroom becomes a portal, and her photographs allow her glimpses into the lives of her relatives over the course of four chapters of this book, which follow the phases of the moon. Time and space become unlocked and unfurl in front of her eyes. Guided by her ancestors, Spotted Fawn’s travels through the past allow her to come into full face—like the moon itself.

Adapted from the acclaimed stop-motion animated film of the same name, written and directed by Amanda Strong, Four Faces of the Moon brings the oral and written history of the Michif, Cree, Nakoda and Anishinaabe Peoples and their cultural link to the buffalo alive on the page. Deeply resonant and beautifully rendered, this graphic novel retelling is essential reading.

Backmatter by Dr. Sherry Farrell-Racette (Michif), an associate professor of Native Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Manitoba, provides information on Michif culture and history and the injustices of colonialism.