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YA Biographies of Amazing Women Through Time

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I’m always on the hunt for great YA nonfiction, and over the last half decade or so, we’ve been presented with so many incredible collective biographies. Most of those have highlighted women or folks who identify as trans, nonbinary, or something beyond the cis binary. It’s been a treasure trove of discovery. But in a lot of ways, it also seems to have made finding biographies of individual women of note through history harder to find. YA biographies of women are challenging to find in their own right.

What is exciting, though, is that the YA biographies of women that are being published now are so much more fascinating, immersive, and readable than those published in years past. Too often, these were biographies meant to help with book reports or research, as opposed to leisure reading. We all know teens and YA readers will go to the adult nonfiction section, but why is it finding biographies in YA nonfiction still challenging?

There are a few reasons, of course. Sexism is likely one that’s a broad stroke across all books. But another is that nonfiction for YA readers is still seen as lesser than its fictional counterparts. Biographies fall even further into the “lesser” category, making finding books that hit all three notes rare. Publishers don’t put the same kind of money into promoting these books because they’re destined to sell fewer copies than their fictional counterparts. Whether fair or not, it’s reality, and it means they don’t have the sex appeal coming out of the gate.

It’s not going to be surprising to hear how even among one of the most diverse subsets of YA — nonfiction — biographies of women tend toward white women more than women of color.

Something else worth thinking about when it comes to YA biographies is this: who gets their story told over and over again? There’s an outstanding piece on Tablet Magazine about how some girls and women through history have been written about ad nauseam. It’s not that they didn’t do remarkable things, but it’s a reminder to pause and think about what stories aren’t given shelf space in the same capacity (or at all).

Let’s take a look at a number of YA biographies of women throughout history. I’m sticking to books in the last ten years or so, and this will not be comprehensive. I’m not including those series biographies sold to libraries. Those are fine for what they are, but leisure reading isn’t their intent.

I’d love to hear of titles in the works or those which might be of particular interest that I overlooked or did not include. I’m not looking for memoirs or autobiographies. I want stories of historic women told by someone other than them.

As always, finding those YA nonfiction books is in and of itself a challenge, so going deeper increases the difficulty. Descriptions come from Goodreads. Though this list looks lengthy, remember this is 10+ years worth of books, and with that in mind, it’s shockingly short and narrow. It’s also narrow when you consider the liberal application of “YA” here, as many of these fall into middle grade (or in that wiggly 10-14 age range).

I’ve added a “*” beside the ones I’ve read and recommend.

 

YA Biographies of Women | stackedbooks.org | book lists | biographies | YA books | YA biographies | biographies of women | YA nonfiction | #YALit

YA Biographies of Women Through History

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming

In alternating chapters, Fleming moves readers back and forth between Amelia’s life (from childhood up until her last flight) and the exhaustive search for her and her missing plane. With photos, maps, and handwritten notes from Amelia herself—plus informative sidebars tackling everything from the history of flight to what Amelia liked to eat while flying (tomato soup).

 

 

 

 

 

*Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights by Deborah Kops

Here is the story of leader Alice Paul, from the women’s suffrage movement—the long struggle for votes for women—to the “second wave,” when women demanded full equality with men. Paul made a significant impact on both. She reignited the sleepy suffrage moment with dramatic demonstrations and provocative banners. After women won the right to vote in 1920, Paul wrote the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would make all the laws that discriminated against women unconstitutional. Passage of the ERA became the rallying cry of a new movement of young women in the 1960s and ’70s. Paul saw another chance to advance women’s rights when the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 began moving through Congress. She set in motion the “sex amendment,” which remains a crucial legal tool for helping women fight discrimination in the workplace.

 

 

 

Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice by Debbie Levy and Whitney Gardner

Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a modern feminist icon—a leader in the fight for equal treatment of girls and women in society and the workplace. She blazed trails to the peaks of the male-centric worlds of education and law, where women had rarely risen before.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has often said that true and lasting change in society and law is accomplished slowly, one step at a time. This is how she has evolved, too. Step by step, the shy little girl became a child who questioned unfairness, who became a student who persisted despite obstacles, who became an advocate who resisted injustice, who became a judge who revered the rule of law, who became…RBG.

 

 

*California Dreamin’ by Pénélope Bagieu

Before she became the legendary Mama Cass—one quarter of the mega-huge folk group The Mamas and the Papas—Cass Eliot was a girl from Baltimore trying to make it in the big city. After losing parts to stars like Barbra Streisand on the Broadway circuit, Cass found her place in the music world with an unlikely group of cohorts.

The Mamas and the Papas released five studio albums in their three years of existence. It was at once one of the most productive (and profitable) three years any band has ever had, and also one of the most bizarre and dysfunctional groups of people to ever come together to make music. Through it all, Cass struggled to keep sight of her dreams—and her very identity.

 

 

 

*Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose

“When it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You can’t sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, ‘This is not right.’” – Claudette Colvin

On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South.

Based on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history.

Dissenter on the Bench by Victoria Ortiz

The life and career of the fiercely principled Supreme Court Justice, now a popular icon, with dramatic accounts of her landmark cases that moved the needle on legal protection of human rights, illustrated with b/w archival photographs.

Dramatically narrated case histories from Justice Ginsburg’s stellar career are interwoven with an account of RBG’s life—childhood, family, beliefs, education, marriage, legal and judicial career, children, and achievements—and her many-faceted personality is captured. The cases described, many involving young people, demonstrate her passionate concern for gender equality, fairness, and our constitutional rights.

 

 

 

 

Eleanor Roosevelt: Fighter for Justice by Ilene Cooper

The riveting story of the most influential first lady in American history: Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt, Fighter for Justice shows young readers a different side of the former first lady. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) was a politician, activist, diplomat, and the longest-serving first lady of the United States. But she was more than that. She was a protector and advocate for those without a voice, speaking out on the labor movement and civil rights. Though now seen as a cultural icon, she was a woman who was deeply insecure about her looks and her role in the world. She recognized her own prejudices and constantly strove to overcome them. Eleanor Roosevelt set the standard for the role of the first lady, and this biography gives young readers a fresh perspective on her extraordinary life. It includes an excerpt of one of her speeches, endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.

 

 

 

Florence Nightingale: The Courageous Life of the Legendary Nurse by Catherine Reef

Most people know Florence Nightingale was a compassionate and legendary nurse, but they don’t know her full story. This riveting biography explores the exceptional life of a woman who defied the stifling conventions of Victorian society to pursue what was considered an undesirable vocation. She is best known for her work during the Crimean War, when she vastly improved gruesome and deadly conditions and made nightly rounds to visit patients, becoming known around the world as the Lady with the Lamp. Her tireless and inspiring work continued after the war, and her modern methods in nursing became the defining standards still used today.

 

 

 

*A Girl Called Vincent by Krystyna Poray Goddu

There was never anything calm about Vincent. Her sisters used to say that she had a bee chasing her. Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950), known as Vincent, was an acclaimed American poet who came to embody the modern, liberated woman of the Jazz Age. From the fiery energy of her youth to the excitement and acclaim of her early adulthood in New York and Paris, to the demands of living in the public eye, Vincent’s life was characterized by creativity, hard work, and passion. A Girl Called Vincent traces her incredible journey from a unique and talented girl to an international celebrity and Pulitzer Prize–winning poet.

Raised in poverty in rural Maine, where she was often the sole caretaker of her two younger sisters, the rebellious, creative, red-haired Vincent always found time for writing, acting, singing, and playing piano. She became a sensation in young adulthood, bewitching audiences with her words, voice, and luminous appearance. She mixed with the literary figures of her time and broke many hearts. Her volumes of poetry were enormous bestsellers and audiences nationwide went wild when she recited her works onstage. In addition to poetry, Vincent’s body of work includes plays, translations, and an opera, and ranges from love sonnets to antiwar propaganda.

 

*Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All The Good You Can by Cynthia Levinson

Hillary Rodham Clinton is a true leader. Growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois, Hillary was inspired by the philosophy of John Wesley, who urged his followers to “do all the good you can.” Rising to prominence in 1992 as the First Lady of the United States, Hillary captured the world’s attention with her bold ideas and political forcefulness.

From her time at Wellesley to her life at the White House and beyond, Hillary has been at the forefront of huge change—and despite setbacks and political scandals, she has worked for good in the world.

Acclaimed author Cynthia Levinson creates a compelling and personal portrait of Hillary’s historic journey from her childhood to her service as secretary of state and beyond. Includes a timeline of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life and an eight-page photo insert.

 

 

 

Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History by Karen Blumenthal

As a young girl growing up in the fifties, Hillary Diane Rodham had an unusual upbringing for the time-her parents told her, “You can do or be whatever you choose, as long as you’re willing to work for it.” Hillary took those words and ran. Whether it was campaigning at the age of thirteen in the 1964 presidential election, receiving a standing ovation and being featured in LIFE magazine as the first student commencement speaker at Wellesley, or graduating from Yale Law School-she was always one to stand out from the pack.

And that was only the beginning. Today, we have seen Hillary in many roles. From First Lady of the United States to the first female Senator of New York and most recently as the United States Secretary of State. An activist all her life, she has been devoted to health care reform, child care, and women’s rights, among others. And she’s still not done.

Critically acclaimed author Karen Blumenthal gives us a sharp and intimate look at the life of Hillary Rodham Clinton, American politics, and what the future holds in store. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs, this is the must-have biography on a woman who has always known her public responsibility, who continues to push boundaries, and who isn’t afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

 

I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee by Charles J Shields

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most widely read novels in American literature. It’s also a perennial favorite in high school English classrooms across the nation. Yet onetime author Harper Lee is a mysterious figure who leads a very private life in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, refusing to give interviews or talk about the novel that made her a household name. Lee’s life is as rich as her fiction, from her girlhood as a rebellious tomboy to her days at the University of Alabama and early years as a struggling writer in New York City.

Charles J. Shields is the author of the New York Times bestseller Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, which he has adapted here for younger readers. What emerges in this riveting portrait is the story of an unconventional, high-spirited woman who drew on her love of writing and her Southern home to create a book that continues to speak to new generations of readers. Anyone who has enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird will appreciate this glimpse into the life of its fascinating author.

 

 

Irena’s Children: A True Story of Courage by Tilar J. Mazzeo

The story of Irena Sendler the female Oskar Schindler who took staggering risks to save 2,500 children from death and deportation in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II now adapted for a younger audience.

Irena Sendler was a young Polish woman living in Warsaw during World War II. Irena smuggled thousands of children out of the walled Jewish ghetto in toolboxes and coffins, snuck them under overcoats at checkpoints, and slipped them through the dank sewers and into secret passages that led to abandoned buildings, where she convinced her friends and underground resistance network to hide them

 

 

 

*Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

Forty years after her death, Janis Joplin remains among the most compelling and influential figures in rock-and-roll history. Her story—told here with depth and sensitivity by author Ann Angel—is one of a girl who struggled against rules and limitations, yet worked diligently to improve as a singer. It’s the story of an outrageous rebel who wanted to be loved, and of a wild woman who wrote long, loving letters to her mom. And finally, it’s the story of one of the most iconic female musicians in American history, who died at twenty-seven.

Janis Joplin includes more than sixty photographs, and an assortment of anecdotes from Janis’s friends and band mates. This thoroughly researched and well-illustrated biography is a must-have for all young artists, music lovers, and pop-culture enthusiasts.

 

 

Madam CJ Walker: Entrepreneur and Self-Made Millionaire by P J Graham

Born into an African American family a few years after the end of the Civil War, the woman who became known as Madam C. J. Walker entered a world where slavery was still a very raw wound in American society. Although she was orphaned at a young age, C. J. Walker quickly learned about the world around her and how to adapt. The children of sharecroppers, she and her sister worked in cotton fields until Walker married at the age of fourteen. Eventually, she settled in St. Louis, Missouri, near her brothers. There, she started her own hair-care company, which grew into an empire and took her around the world. This is the story of Walker’s inspiring perseverance on her journey to entrepreneurial success, filled with highs and lows which culminated in her becoming one of the wealthiest women in the twentieth century.

 

 

 

 

The Many Faces of Josephine Baker by Peggy Caravantes

With determination and audacity, Josephine Baker turned her comic and musical abilities into becoming a worldwide icon of the Jazz Age. The Many Faces of Josephine Baker: Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy provides the first in-depth portrait of this remarkable woman for young adults. Author Peggy Caravantes follows Baker’s life from her childhood in the depths of poverty to her comedic rise in vaudeville and fame in Europe. This lively biography covers her outspoken participation in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, espionage work for the French Resistance during World War II, and adoption of 12 children—her “rainbow tribe.” Also included are informative sidebars on relevant topics such as the 1917 East St. Louis riot, Pullman railway porters, the Charleston, and more. The lush photographs, appendix updating readers on the lives of the rainbow tribe, source notes, and bibliography make this is a must-have resource for any student, Baker fan, or history buff.

 

 

 

*Marooned in the Arctic: The True Story of Ada Blackjack by Peggy Caravantes

In 1921, four men ventured into the Arctic for a top-secret expedition: an attempt to claim uninhabited Wrangel Island in northern Siberia for Great Britain. With the men was a young Inuit woman named Ada Blackjack, who had signed on as cook and seamstress to earn money to care for her sick son. Conditions soon turned dire for the team when they were unable to kill enough game to survive. Three of the men tried to cross the frozen Chukchi Sea for help but were never seen again, leaving Ada with one remaining team member who soon died of scurvy. Determined to be reunited with her son, Ada learned to survive alone in the icy world by trapping foxes, catching seals, and avoiding polar bears. After she was finally rescued in August 1923, after two years total on the island, Ada became a celebrity, with newspapers calling her a real “female Robinson Crusoe.”

 

 

 

 

*Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge

Mary Shelley first began penning Frankenstein as part of a dare to write a ghost story, but the seeds of that story were planted long before that night. Mary, just nineteen years old at the time, had been living on her own for three years and had already lost a baby days after birth. She was deeply in love with famed poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, a mad man who both enthralled and terrified her, and her relationship with him was rife with scandal and ridicule. But rather than let it crush her, Mary fueled her grief, pain, and passion into a book that the world has still not forgotten 200 years later.

Dark, intense, and beautiful, this free-verse novel with over 300 pages of gorgeous black-and-white watercolor illustrations is a unique and unforgettable depiction of one of the greatest authors of all time.

 

 

 

Ms. Gloria Steinem by Winifred Conkling

Gloria Steinem was no stranger to injustice even from a young age.

Her mother, Ruth, having suffered a nervous breakdown at only 34, spent much of Gloria’s childhood in and out of mental health facilities. And when Gloria was only 10 years old, her father divorced her mother and left for California, unable to bear the stress of caring for Ruth any longer.

Gloria never blamed her mother for being unable to hold down a job to support them both after that, but rather blamed society’s intrinsic hostility toward women, and working women in particular. This was the spark that lit a fire in her that would burn for decades, and continues to burn brightly today.

 

 

 

Notorious RBG: Young Reader Edition by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become an icon to millions. Her tireless fight for equality and women’s rights has inspired not only great strides in the workforce but has impacted the law of the land. And now, perfect for a younger generation, comes an accessible biography of this fierce woman, detailing her searing dissents and powerful jurisprudence.

This entertaining and insightful young readers’ edition mixes pop culture, humor, and expert analysis for a remarkable account of the indomitable Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Heroine. Trailblazer. Pioneer.

 

 

 

 

 

*Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero

Graciela Iturbide was born in México City in 1942, the oldest of 13 children. When tragedy struck Iturbide as a young mother, she turned to photography for solace and understanding. From then on Iturbide embarked on a photographic journey that has taken her throughout her native México, from the Sonora Desert to Juchitán to Frida Kahlo’s bathroom, to the United States, India, and beyond. Photographic is a symbolic, poetic, and deeply personal graphic biography of this iconic photographer. Iturbide’s journey will excite readers of all ages as well as budding photographers, who will be inspired by her resolve, talent, and curiosity.

 

 

 

 

*Radioactive: How Irène Curie and Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World by Winifred Conkling

In 1934, Irène Curie, working with her husband and fellow scientist, Frederic Joliot, made a discovery that would change the world: artificial radioactivity. This breakthrough allowed scientists to modify elements and create new ones by altering the structure of atoms. Curie shared a Nobel Prize with her husband for their work. But when she was nominated to the French Academy of Sciences, the academy denied her admission and voted to disqualify all women from membership. Four years later, Curie’s breakthrough led physicist Lise Meitner to a brilliant leap of understanding that unlocked the secret of nuclear fission. Meitner’s unique insight was critical to the revolution in science that led to nuclear energy and the race to build the atom bomb, yet her achievement was left unrecognized by the Nobel committee in favor of that of her male colleague.

Radioactive! presents the story of two women breaking ground in a male-dominated field, scientists still largely unknown despite their crucial contributions to cutting-edge research, in a nonfiction narrative that reads with the suspense of a thriller. Photographs and sidebars illuminate and clarify the science in the book.

 

*Sachiko:A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story by Caren Stelson

This striking work of narrative nonfiction tells the true story of six-year-old Sachiko Yasui’s survival of the Nagasaki atomic bomb on August 9, 1945, and the heartbreaking and lifelong aftermath. Having conducted extensive interviews with Sachiko Yasui, Caren Stelson chronicles Sachiko’s trauma and loss as well as her long journey to find peace. This book offers readers a remarkable new perspective on the final moments of World War II and their aftermath.

 

 

 

 

Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar by Catherine Reef

A tantalizing biography for teens on Sarah Bernhardt, the first international celebrity and one of the greatest actors of all time, who lived a highly unconventional, utterly fascinating life. Illustrated with more than sixty-five photos of Bernhardt on stage, in film, and in real life.  

Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actor who became a global superstar in the late nineteenth century—the Lady Gaga of her day—and is still considered to be one of the greatest performers of all time. This fast-paced account of her life, filled with provocative detail, brilliantly follows the transformation of a girl of humble origins, born to a courtesan, into a fabulously talented, wealthy, and beloved icon. Not only was her acting trajectory remarkable, but her personal life was filled with jaw-dropping exploits, and she was extravagantly eccentric, living with a series of exotic animals and sleeping in a coffin. She grew to be deeply admired around the world, despite her unabashed and public promiscuity at a time when convention was king; she slept with each of her leading men and proudly raised a son without a husband. A fascinating and fast-paced deep dive into the world of the divine Sarah. Illustrated with more than sixty-five photos of Bernhardt on stage, in film, and in real life.

 

Sonia Sotomayor: A Biography by Sylvia Mendoza

Arguably one of the most prominent US Supreme Court Justices at the moment, Sonia Sotomayor has paved her own way to enact profound changes and reforms, despite the obstacles that stood in her way. And she certainly has had her share of adversity: she was diagnosed with diabetes when she was just eight years old, lived in housing projects in the Bronx in her youth, and fought (and still is fighting) against blatant discrimination throughout her career. Now in her early 60s, Justice Sotomayor has already made history in being appointed to the Court as the first Latina justice, the third woman justice, and one of the three youngest justices in this position.

In this new biography, journalist Sylvia Mendoza chronicles the true story of Sotomayor’s incredible journey in a narrative format. Readers will follow along to see how this powerhouse of a woman came to be who she is today, from growing up as a young girl reading Nancy Drew mysteries and learning to give herself insulin injections to attending school at Princeton, and finally to wearing the black robes of a Supreme Court Justice. Through courage, perseverance, and an indomitable spirit, Sotomayor proves that anyone can take hold of her own destiny if she works hard and stays true to herself.

 

*Ten Days a Madwoman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of The Original “Girl” Reporter Nellie Bly by Deborah Noyes

Work for a New York newspaper
Fall in love
Marry a millionaire
Change the world

Young Nellie Bly had ambitious goals, especially for a woman at the end of the nineteenth century, when the few female journalists were relegated to writing columns about cleaning or fashion. But fresh off a train from Pittsburgh, Nellie knew she was destined for more and pulled a major journalistic stunt that skyrocketed her to fame: feigning insanity, being committed to the notorious asylum on Blackwell’s Island, and writing a shocking exposé of the clinic’s horrific treatment of its patients.

Nellie Bly became a household name as the world followed her enthralling career in “stunt” journalism that raised awareness of political corruption, poverty, and abuses of human rights. Leading an uncommonly full life, Nellie circled the globe in a record seventy-two days and brought home a pet monkey before marrying an aged millionaire and running his company after his death.

With its sensational (and true!) plot, Ten Days a Madwoman dares its readers to live as boldly as its remarkable heroine

Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America by Susan Bartoletti

What happens when a person’s reputation has been forever damaged?

With archival photographs and text among other primary sources, this riveting biography of Mary Mallon by the Sibert medalist and Newbery Honor winner Susan Bartoletti looks beyond the tabloid scandal of Mary’s controversial life.

How she was treated by medical and legal officials reveals a lesser-known story of human and constitutional rights, entangled with the science of pathology and enduring questions about who Mary Mallon really was.

How did her name become synonymous with deadly disease? And who is really responsible for the lasting legacy of Typhoid Mary?

This thorough exploration includes an author’s note, timeline, annotated source notes, and bibliography.

 

Victoria: Portrait of a Queen  by Catherine Reef

Victoria woke one morning at the age of eighteen to discover that her uncle had died and she was now queen. She went on to rule for sixty-three years, with an influence so far-reaching that the decades of her reign now bear her name—the Victorian period. Victoria is filled with the exciting comings and goings of royal life: intrigue and innuendo, scheming advisors, and assassination attempts, not to mention plenty of passion and discord. Includes bibliography, notes, British royal family tree, index.

 

 

 

 

*Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies by Nell Beram and Carolyn Boriss-Krimsky

This lyrical biography explores the life and art of Yoko Ono, from her childhood haiku to her avant-garde visual art and experimental music. An outcast throughout most of her life, and misunderstood by every group she was supposed to belong to, Yoko always followed her own unique vision to create art that was ahead of its time and would later be celebrated. Her focus remained on being an artist, even when the rest of world saw her only as the wife of John Lennon.

Yoko Ono’s moving story will inspire any young adult who has ever felt like an outsider, or who is developing or questioning ideas about being an artist, to follow their dreams and find beauty in all that surrounds them.

Mid-Year 2020 YA Nonfiction

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I keep a spreadsheet of new book releases, both hardcover and paperback, and update it every few months with publisher catalogs. This lets me figure out when books are coming out — obviously! — but also to plan what it is I want to write about here and at Book Riot.

But with so many book publication dates in April, May, and even early June being moved around because of COVID-19, my spreadsheet isn’t as useful as it usually is. I’m double checking dates and revisiting catalogs which, as you might guess, haven’t been updated. A lot of publication date changes have come in by email or they’ve been updated on consumer sites, so it’s a matter now of checking a couple of different places each time I want to write. Not the end of the world, but rather a preface for this post.

Every few months, I like to highlight the upcoming YA nonfiction titles hitting shelves. I covered January through April at the start of the year, so no better time than now to highlight those young adult nonfiction titles coming May through August. These are books marketed for teens or are those marketed for that weird 10-14 age group that nonfiction for young readers tends toward, being neither strictly middle grade nor young adult. Some of these will skew younger while others might skew a bit older.

I’ve done what I can with publication dates, and I’m certain this isn’t comprehensive. Though publishing does tend to slow in the summer, with so many new variables, the likelihood I missed a few titles is good, so do feel free to drop a note in the comments and let me know. I’ve stuck with new nonfiction and have not included nonfiction titles that published in previous years and are being released in paperback this season. Some of these titles are paperback originals.

Grab your TBR and get excited about these young adult nonfiction titles hitting shelves this summer. As has been the case for a long time, this is a wonderfully inclusive collection of titles, with an especially powerful array of queer books.

Descriptions are pulled from the ‘zon, as some of these don’t have quite the robust Goodreads descriptions I prefer to use. YA nonfiction is forever the underdog.

YA nonfiction books coming summer 2020 | YA books | YA new books | YA book releases | young adult book lists | YA nonfiction | book lists | #YABooks

 

Summer 2020 New YA Nonfiction Books

 

May

Atomic Women: The Untold Stories of the Scientists Who Helped Create the Nuclear Bomb by Roseanne Montillo  (19)

Bomb meets Code Girls in this nonfiction narrative about the little-known female scientists who were critical to the invention of the atomic bomb during World War II.
They were leaning over the edge of the unknown and afraid of what they would discover there: Meet the World War II female scientists who worked in the secret sites of the Manhattan Project. Recruited not only from labs and universities from across the United States but also from countries abroad, these scientists helped in — and often initiated — the development of the atomic bomb, taking starring roles in the Manhattan Project. In fact, their involvement was critical to its success, though many of them were not fully aware of the consequences.
The atomic women include:
  • Lise Meitner and Irène Joliot-Curie (daughter of Marie Curie), who led the groundwork for the Manhattan Project from Europe;
  • Elizabeth Rona, the foremost expert in plutonium, who gave rise to the “Fat Man” and “Little Boy,” the bombs dropped over Japan;
  • Leona Woods, Elizabeth Graves, and Joan Hinton, who were inspired by European scientific ideals but carved their own paths.
This book explores not just the critical steps toward the creation of a successful nuclear bomb, but also the moral implications of such an invention.

Poisoned Water: How The Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought For Their Lives and Warned The Nation by Candy J Cooper and Marc Aronson  (19)

In 2014, Flint, Michigan, was a cash-strapped city that had been built up, then abandoned by General Motors. As part of a plan to save money, government officials decided that Flint would temporarily switch its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Within months, many residents broke out in rashes. Then it got worse: children stopped growing. Some people were hospitalized with mysterious illnesses; others died. Citizens of Flint protested that the water was dangerous. Despite what seemed so apparent from the murky, foul-smelling liquid pouring from the city’s faucets, officials refused to listen. They treated the people of Flint as the problem, not the water, which was actually poisoning thousands.

Through interviews with residents and intensive research into legal records and news accounts, journalist Candy J. Cooper, assisted by writer-editor Marc Aronson, reveals the true story of Flint. Poisoned Watershows not just how the crisis unfolded in 2014, but also the history of racism and segregation that led up to it, the beliefs and attitudes that fueled it, and how the people of Flint fought-and are still fighting-for clean water and healthy lives.

 

The Queer Eye Guide: How To Love Yourself The Fab Five Way (26)

This insightful and detailed guide will help middle schoolers and high schoolers survive adolescence . . . with style!

Whether you’re craving some advice on after-school snacks or what to wear to prom, looking for a bedroom make-better, or searching for ways to work what you’ve got to become your best self, get ready to celebrate all the things that make you you with a little help from The Fab Five!

 

 

 

 

 

June

Beyond The Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon (2)

Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us.

In Beyond the Gender Binary, poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.

 

 

Imaginary Borders by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (2)

In this personal, moving essay, environmental activist and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez uses his art and his activism to show that climate change is a human issue that can’t be ignored.

“It won’t take you long to read this book, but it will linger in your heart and head for quite a while, and perhaps inspire you to join in the creative, blossoming movement to make this world work.” — Bill McKibben

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, Earth Guardians Youth Director and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez shows us how his music feeds his environmental activism and vice versa. Martinez visualizes a future that allows us to direct our anger, fear, and passion toward creating change. Because, at the end of the day, we all have a part to play.

 

 

The New Queer Conscious by Adam Eli (2)

In The New Queer Conscience, LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli argues the urgent need for queer responsibility — that queers anywhere are responsible for queers everywhere.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, The New Queer Conscience, Voices4 Founder and LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli offers a candid and compassionate introduction to queer responsibility. Eli calls on his Jewish faith to underline how kindness and support within the queer community can lead to a stronger global consciousness. More importantly, he reassures us that we’re not alone. In fact, we never were. Because if you mess with one queer, you mess with us all.

 

 

 

This Is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew (2)

In this powerful and hopeful account, arts writer, curator, and activist Kimberly Drew reminds us that the art world has space not just for the elite, but for everyone.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, arts writer and co-editor of Black Futures Kimberly Drew shows us that art and protest are inextricably linked. Drawing on her personal experience through art toward activism, Drew challenges us to create space for the change that we want to see in the world. Because there really is so much more space than we think.

 

 

 

Call Me American (Adapted for Young Adults): The Extraordinary True Story of a Young Somali Immigrant by Abdi Nor Iftin (16)

Abdi Nor Iftin grew up amidst a blend of cultures, far from the United States. At home in Somalia, his mother entertained him with vivid folktales and bold stories detailing her rural, nomadic upbrinding. As he grew older, he spent his days following his father, a basketball player, through the bustling street of the capital city of Mogadishu.

But when the threat of civil war reached Abdi’s doorstep, his family was forced to flee to safety. Through the turbulent years of war, young Abdi found solace in popular American music and films. Nicknamed Abdi the American, he developed a proficiency for English that connected him–and his story–with news outlets and radio shows, and eventually gave him a shot at winning the annual U.S. visa lottery.

Abdi shares every part of his journey, and his courageous account reminds readers that everyone deserves the chance to build a brighter future for themselves.

 

The Mars Challenge by Alison Wilgus and Wyeth Yates (16)

Travel to deep space and back again with The Mars Challenge, a nonfiction graphic novel for teens about the science and logistics of a manned mission to Mars.

Nadia is a teen with a dream: to be the first woman on Mars. But to get there, she’s got to learn all she can about the science of spaceflight. It’s a good thing her friend Eleanor is an Attitude Determination and Control Officer―basically, she pilots the International Space Station!

Eleanor takes Nadia on a conceptual journey through an entire crewed mission to Mars, and explains every challenge that must be overcome along the way; from escaping Earth’s gravity well, to keeping the crew healthy as they travel through deep space, to setting up a Mars base, to having enough fuel for the trip home!

In The Mars Challenge, writer Alison Wilgus and artist Wyeth Yates bring the reader on a thrilling interplanetary voyage and clearly illustrate the scientific concepts and complex machinery involved. Humans can reach Mars in our lifetime―this book explains how it can be done. 

 

Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar by Catherine Reef (16)

A tantalizing biography for teens on Sarah Bernhardt, the first international celebrity and one of the greatest actors of all time, who lived a highly unconventional, utterly fascinating life. Illustrated with more than sixty-five photos of Bernhardt on stage, in film, and in real life.  

Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actor who became a global superstar in the late nineteenth century—the Lady Gaga of her day—and is still considered to be one of the greatest performers of all time. This fast-paced account of her life, filled with provocative detail, brilliantly follows the transformation of a girl of humble origins, born to a courtesan, into a fabulously talented, wealthy, and beloved icon. Not only was her acting trajectory remarkable, but her personal life was filled with jaw-dropping exploits, and she was extravagantly eccentric, living with a series of exotic animals and sleeping in a coffin. She grew to be deeply admired around the world, despite her unabashed and public promiscuity at a time when convention was king; she slept with each of her leading men and proudly raised a son without a husband. A fascinating and fast-paced deep dive into the world of the divine Sarah. Illustrated with more than sixty-five photos of Bernhardt on stage, in film, and in real life.

 

Thank You For Voting Young Readers’ Edition: The Past, Present, and Future of Voting by Erin Geiger Smith (16)

In this young readers’ edition of Thank You for Voting, debut author and journalist Erin Geiger Smith presents a fascinating look into America’s voting history and inspires young people to get involved! 

Voting is a privilege and a right, but it hasn’t always been for many people. From the founding fathers to Jim Crow to women’s suffrage to gerrymandering—and everything in between—readers will get a look at the complex history of voting and become empowered to ask BIG questions like:

—What can I do to support my favorite leader?

—Who can I talk to about the issues I believe in?

—How can I make a difference in my community?

Every citizen has the right to vote. Let each one count!

 

Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life by Winifred Conkling (30)

Throughout the years, Gloria Steinem is perhaps the single-most iconic figure associated with women’s rights, her name practically synonymous with the word “feminism.”

Documenting everything from her boundary-pushing journalistic career to the foundation of Ms. magazine to being awarded the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom, Winifred Conkling’s Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life is a meticulously researched YA biography that is sure to satisfy even the most voracious of aspiring glass-ceiling smashers.

Gloria Steinem was no stranger to injustice even from a young age.

Her mother, Ruth, having suffered a nervous breakdown at only 34, spent much of Gloria’s childhood in and out of mental health facilities. And when Gloria was only 10 years old, her father divorced her mother and left for California, unable to bear the stress of caring for Ruth any longer.

Gloria never blamed her mother for being unable to hold down a job to support them both after that, but rather blamed society’s intrinsic hostility toward women, and working women in particular. This was the spark that lit a fire in her that would burn for decades, and continues to burn brightly today.

 

July

True or False : A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News by Cindy L. Otis (28)

A former CIA analyst unveils the true history of fake news and gives readers tips on how to avoid falling victim to it in this highly designed informative YA nonfiction title. 

“Fake news” is a term you’ve probably heard a lot in the last few years, but it’s not a new phenomenon. From the ancient Egyptians to the French Revolution to Jack the Ripper and the founding fathers, fake news has been around as long as human civilization. But that doesn’t mean that we should just give up on the idea of finding the truth.

In True or False, former CIA analyst Cindy Otis will take readers through the history and impact of misinformation over the centuries, sharing stories from the past and insights that readers today can gain from them. Then, she shares lessons learned in over a decade working for the CIA, including actionable tips on how to spot fake news, how to make sense of the information we receive each day, and, perhaps most importantly, how to understand and see past our own information biases, so that we can think critically about important issues and put events happening around us into context.

True or False includes a wealth of photo illustrations, informative inserts, and sidebars containing interesting facts and trivia sure to engage readers in critical thinking and analysis.

 

August

 

Into the Streets: A Young Person’s Visual History of Protest In The US by Marke Bieschke (4)

This lively book guides readers through the art and history of significant protests, sit-ins, and collective acts of resistance throughout US history. Photos, artwork, signs, and other visual elements highlight the history of social action, from American Indian resistance to colonists through Black Lives Matter and Women’s Marches.

Into the Streets introduces the personalities and issues that drove these protests, as well as their varied aims and accomplishments, from spontaneous hashtag uprisings to highly planned strategies of civil disobedience. Perfect for young adult audiences, this book highlights how teens are frequently the ones protesting and creating the art of the resistance.

 

 

Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy edited by Kelly Jensen (18)

My book!

It’s time to bare it all about bodies!

We all experience the world in a body, but we don’t usually take the time to explore what it really means to have and live within one. Just as every person has a unique personality, every person has a unique body, and every body tells its own story.

In Body Talk, thirty-seven writers, models, actors, musicians, and artists share essays, lists, comics, and illustrations—about everything from size and shape to scoliosis, from eating disorders to cancer, from sexuality and gender identity to the use of makeup as armor. Together, they contribute a broad variety of perspectives on what it’s like to live in their particular bodies—and how their bodies have helped to inform who they are and how they move through the world.

Come on in, turn the pages, and join the celebration of our diverse, miraculous, beautiful bodies!

April 2020 Debut YA Novels

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What a weird time to be a human. I can only imagine for debut authors, this time is not only weird but fraught with fear about their first books being released without the fanfare so often practiced when a book comes out: visiting the book in a local store, signing copies, attending events. I’m running this month’s debut roundup a little earlier than normal in part because I hope to get these titles on more radars and so they’re regaled at least a little bit longer this month than normal. Let’s take a peek at the debut YA novels of April 2020.

 

 

This round-up includes debut novels, where “debut” is in its purest definition. These are first-time books by first-time authors. I’m not including books by authors who are using or have used a pseudonym in the past or those who have written in other categories (adult, middle grade, etc.) in the past. Authors who have self-published are not included here either.

All descriptions are from Goodreads, unless otherwise noted. If I’m missing any debuts that came out in April from traditional publishers — and I should clarify that indie/small presses are okay — let me know in the comments.

As always, not all noted titles included here are necessarily endorsements for those titles. List is arranged alphabetically by title. Starred titles are the beginning of a new series.

Note: for some reason, the 2020 debut groups that have been so helpful for me in the past in compiling these lists seem to be scant this year. Likewise, those groups which do exist don’t have book titles or publication dates readily accessible. Here’s my repeat plea for making that easily located, not just for me but for literally any reader, librarian, and teacher who wants the essential information without having to click a ton of links.

I’m aware some book releases have been shifted, but this list is as up-to-date as is possible.

 

April 2020 Debut YA Novels

 

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (4/28)

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren’t Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson’s emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.

 

 

 

The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund (4/7)

It seemed like a good plan at first.

When the only other virgin in her group of friends loses it at Keely’s own eighteenth birthday party, she’s inspired to take things into her own hands. She wants to have that experience too (well, not exactly like that–but with someone she trusts and actually likes), so she’s going to need to find the guy, and fast. Problem is, she’s known all the boys in her small high school forever, and it’s kinda hard to be into a guy when you watched him eat crayons in kindergarten.

So she can’t believe her luck when she meets a ridiculously hot new guy named Dean. Not only does he look like he’s fallen out of a classic movie poster, but he drives a motorcycle, flirts with ease, and might actually be into her.

But Dean’s already in college, and Keely is convinced he’ll drop her if he finds out how inexperienced she is. That’s when she talks herself into a new plan: her lifelong best friend, Andrew, would never hurt or betray her, and he’s clearly been with enough girls that he can show her the ropes before she goes all the way with Dean. Of course, the plan only works if Andrew and Keely stay friends–just friends–so things are about to get complicated.

Cameron Lund’s delightful debut is a hilarious and heartfelt story of first loves, first friends, and first times–and how making them your own is all that really matters.

 

The Best Week That Never Happened by Dallas Woodburn (4/21)

After her parents’ bitter divorce, family vacations to the Big Island in Hawaii ceased. But across the miles, eighteen-year-old Tegan Rossi remains connected to local Kai Kapule, her best friend from childhood. Now, Tegan finds herself alone and confused about how she got to the Big Island. With no wallet, no cell phone, purse, or plane ticket, Tegan struggles to piece together what happened. She must have come to surprise-visit Kai. Right? As the teens grow even closer, Tegan pushes aside her worries and gets swept away in the vacation of her dreams.

But each morning, Tegan startles awake from nightmares that become more difficult to ignore. Something is eerily amiss. Why is there a strange gap in her memory? Why can’t she reach her parents or friends from home? And what’s with the mysterious hourglass tattoo over her heart?

Kai promises to help Tegan figure out what is going on. But the answers they find only lead to more questions. As the week unfolds, Tegan will experience the magic of first love, the hope of second chances, and the bittersweet joy and grief of being human.

 

A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen (4/28)

Seventeen-year-old Ellie had no hope left. Yet the day after she dies by suicide, she finds herself in the midst of an out-of-body experience. She is a spectator, swaying between past and present, retracing the events that unfolded prior to her death.

But there are gaps in her memory, fractured pieces Ellie is desperate to re-assemble. There’s her mother, a songbird who wanted to break free from her oppressive cage. The boy made of brushstrokes and goofy smiles who brought color into a gray world. Her brooding father, with his sad puppy eyes and clenched fists. Told in epistolary-like style, this deeply moving novel sensitively examines the beautiful and terrible moments that make up a life and the possibilities that live in even the darkest of places. Perfect for fans of the critically-acclaimed Speak, I’ll Give You the Sun, and If I Stay.

 

 

Clique Bait by Ann Valett (4/28)

Pretty Little Liars meets Burn for Burn in this thrilling debut from Wattpad star Ann Valett.

Chloe Whittaker is out for revenge. Last year her best friend Monica’s life was unceremoniously ruined by the most popular students at their high school, so this year Chloe plans to take each and every one of them down. She traded her jeans and T-shirts for the latest designer clothes, deleted everything on social media that would tie her to Monica (and blow her cover), and carefully devised a way to befriend the members of the popular clique. Now all that’s left to do is uncover their deepest, darkest secrets and reveal them to the world.

Chloe has the perfect plan…that is, until she begins to fall for one of the people she’s determined to destroy.

 

 

 

Don’t Call The Wolf by Aleksandra Ross (4/28)

When the Golden Dragon descended on the forest of Kamiena, a horde of monsters followed in its wake.

Ren, the forest’s young queen, is slowly losing her battle against them. Until she rescues Lukasz—the last survivor of a heroic regiment of dragon slayers—and they strike a deal. She will help him find his brother, who vanished into her forest… if Lukasz promises to slay the Dragon.

But promises are all too easily broken.

 

 

 

 

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost (4/14)

In this sweeping Dust Bowl-inspired fantasy, a ten-year game between Life and Death pits the walled Oklahoma city of Elysium-including a girl gang of witches and a demon who longs for humanity-against the supernatural in order to judge mankind.

When Sal is named Successor to Mother Morevna, a powerful witch and leader of Elysium, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to the town. Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she’s a liar, she knows she’s a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn’t shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa’s exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.

Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium’s favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game.

 

A Girl In Three Parts by Suzanne Daniel (4/14)

Allegra Elsom is caught in the middle. Some days she’s eleven, and others she feels closer to nineteen. Some days she knows too much, and others she feels hopelessly naive. Some days she is split in three, torn between conflicting loyalties to her grandmothers, Matilde and Joy, and her father, Rick—none of whom can stand to be in a room together since the decades-old tragedy that hit their family like a wrecking ball.

Allegra struggles to make peace in her family and navigate the social gauntlet at school while asking bigger questions about her place in the world: What does it mean to be “liberated”? What is it about “becoming a woman” that earns her a slap in the face? What does it mean to do the right thing, when everyone around her defines it differently?

As the feminist movement reshapes her Sydney suburb, Allegra makes her own path—discovering firsthand the incredible ways that women can support each other, and finding strength within herself to stand up to the people she loves.

Readers will not soon forget Suzanne Daniel’s poignant debut, or the spirit of sisterhood that sings out from its pages.

 

In Good Hands: Remarkable Female Politicians from Around the World Who Showed Up, Spoke Out and Made Change by Stephanie MacKendrick (4/21)

Written for young women interested in running for office, this book shares stories of eighteen women role models along with all the tools and resources needed to get a campaign off the ground.

Stephanie MacKendrick, a former journalist now dedicated to women’s career advancement, believes the time for women in political leadership is now. Judging by the recent wave of activism that developed into a flood of women seeking elected office, she’s not alone.

MacKendrick has created a one-of-kind insider’s guide for young women interested in joining this movement and becoming part of the political system. It explores everything from what to expect in a campaign, to how to deal with the inevitable challenges, to why it’s worth it to run. It combines stories of women who have run for office with practical strategies for doing so.

 

It Sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood (4/7)

When her parents announce their impending divorce, Natalie can’t understand why no one is fighting, or at least mildly upset. Then Zach and Lucy, her two best friends, hook up, leaving her feeling slightly miffed and decidedly awkward. She’d always imagined she would end up with Zach one day―in the version of her life that played out like a TV show, with just the right amount of banter, pining, and meaningful looks. Now everything has changed, and nothing is quite making sense. Until an unexpected romance comes along and shakes things up even further.

It Sounded Better in My Head is a compulsively readable love letter to teenage romance in all of its awkward glory, perfect for fans To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Emergency Contact.

 

 

 

The Loop by Ben Oliver (4/7)

It’s Luka Kane’s sixteenth birthday and he’s been inside The Loop for over two years. Every inmate is serving a death sentence with the option to push back their execution date by six months if they opt into “Delays”, scientific and medical experiments for the benefit of the elite in the outside world. But rumors of a war on the outside are spreading amongst the inmates, and before they know it, their tortuous routine becomes disrupted. The government issued rain stops falling. Strange things are happening to the guards. And it’s not long until the inmates are left alone inside the prison.

Were the chains that shackled Luka to his cell the only instruments left to keep him safe? He must overcome fellow prisoners hell-bent on killing him, the warden losing her mind, the rabid rats in the train tunnels, and a population turned into murderous monsters to try and break out of The Loop, save his family, and discover who is responsible for the chaos that has been inflicted upon the world.

 

The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson (4/7)

May is a survivor. But she doesn’t feel like one. She feels angry. And lost. And alone. Eleven months after the school shooting that killed her twin brother, May still doesn’t know why she was the only one to walk out of the band room that day. No one gets what she went through–no one saw and heard what she did. No one can possibly understand how it feels to be her.

Zach lost his old life when his mother decided to defend the shooter. His girlfriend dumped him, his friends bailed, and now he spends his time hanging out with his little sister…and the one faithful friend who stuck around. His best friend is needy and demanding, but he won’t let Zach disappear into himself. Which is how Zach ends up at band practice that night. The same night May goes with her best friend to audition for a new band.

Which is how May meets Zach. And how Zach meets May. And how both might figure out that surviving could be an option after all.

 

*The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park (4/7)

Nate Jae-Woo Kim wants to be rich. When one of his classmates offers Nate a ridiculous amount of money to commit grade fraud, he knows that taking the windfall would help support his prideful Korean family, but is compromising his integrity worth it?

Luck comes in the form of Kate Anderson, Nate’s colleague at the zombie-themed escape room where he works. She approaches Nate with a plan: a local tech company is hosting a weekend-long survivalist competition with a huge cash prize. It could solve all of Nate’s problems, and Kate needs the money too.

If the two of them team up, Nate has a true shot at winning the grand prize. But the real challenge? Making through the weekend with his heart intact…

 

 

The Silence of Bones by June Hur (4/21)

I have a mouth, but I mustn’t speak;
Ears, but I mustn’t hear;
Eyes, but I mustn’t see.

1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.

As they delve deeper into the dead woman’s secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.

But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

June Hur’s elegant and haunting debut The Silence of Bones is a bloody tale perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Renée Ahdieh.

 

Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer (4/21)

Seventeen-year-old Zelda Bailey-Cho has her future all planned out: improv camp, then Second City, and finally Saturday Night Live. She’s thrilled when she lands a spot on the coveted varsity team at a prestigious improv camp, which means she’ll get to perform for professional scouts—including her hero, Nina Knightley. But even though she’s hardworking and talented, Zelda’s also the only girl on Varsity, so she’s the target for humiliation from her teammates. And her 20-year-old coach, Ben, is cruel to her at practice and way too nice to her when they’re alone. Zelda wants to fight back, but is sacrificing her best shot at her dream too heavy a price to pay?

Equal parts funny and righteous, Unscripted is a moving debut novel that Printz Award winner Nina LaCour calls “a truly special book, written at exactly the right time.”

 

 

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter (4/7)

There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.

He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…

Except who she really is.

Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.

That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.

Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.

If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels.

 

 

 

2020 YA Books in Verse

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April is right around the corner, and even if we find ourselves still quarantined for the next month, one thing is for certain: we’re going to see a lot of creative poetry popping up. Whether it’ll be on Instagram, via book spines on Twitter, or even in the books that will be highlighted around the book world, poetry will be celebrated in honor of the season.

Every year, I love rounding up the year’s upcoming YA verse novels, and this year, we’re in for a treat. There are a ton, and they range from novels to non-fiction, digging into topics like racism, to fictional biographies, to the Donner Party, and so much more.

 

I’ve done the best I can to make this as comprehensive as possible. But getting every 2020 YA verse novel on this list isn’t possible, given that not all book descriptions for the year are out and also because not every description makes it clear. If you know of a traditionally published YA book — fiction or nonfiction, despite my continued use of “novel” here, which we know means fiction — hitting shelves that’s in verse this year, drop it in the comments.

Descriptions and publication dates come from Amazon. Know that because of the daily changes going on in publishing with the pandemic, some publication dates might not be accurate. Preorder them anyway if they appeal to you and be surprised when it arrives.

2020 YA Verse Novels

 

Apple (Skin To The Core) by Eric Gansworth (October 6)

How about a book that makes you barge into your boss’s office to read a page of poetry from? That you dream of? That every movie, song, book, moment that follows continues to evoke in some way?

The term “Apple” is a slur in Native communities across the country. It’s for someone supposedly “red on the outside, white on the inside.”

Eric Gansworth is telling his story in Apple (Skin to the Core). The story of his family, of Onondaga among Tuscaroras, of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds.

Eric shatters that slur and reclaims it in verse and prose and imagery that truly lives up to the word heartbreaking.

 

Beauty Mark: A Verse Novel of Marilyn Monroe by Carole Boston Weatherford (September 8)

From the day she was born into a troubled home to her reigning days as a Hollywood icon, Marilyn Monroe (née Norma Jeane Mortenson) lived a life that was often defined by others. Here, in a luminous poetic narrative, acclaimed author Carole Boston Weatherford tells Marilyn’s story in a way that restores her voice to its rightful place: center stage. Revisiting Marilyn’s often traumatic early life—foster homes, loneliness, sexual abuse, teen marriage—through a hard-won, meteoric rise to stardom that brought with it exploitation, pill dependency, and depression, the lyrical narrative continues through Marilyn’s famous performance at JFK’s birthday party, three months before her death. In a story at once riveting, moving, and unflinching, Carole Boston Weatherford tells a tale of extraordinary pain and moments of unexpected grace, gumption, and perseverance, as well as the inexorable power of pursuing one’s dreams. A beautifully designed volume.

 

Being Toffee by Sarah Crossen (July 14)

I am not who I say I am, 
and Marla isn’t who she thinks she is.

I am a girl trying to forget. 
She is a woman trying to remember.

Allison has run away from home and with nowhere to live finds herself hiding out in the shed of what she thinks is an abandoned house. But the house isn’t empty. An elderly woman named Marla, with dementia, lives there – and she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past named Toffee.

Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be. And so, Toffee is who she becomes. After all, it means she has a place to stay. There are worse places she could be.

But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real friend, she begins to ask herself – where is home? What is a family? And most importantly, who is she, really?

 

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (May 26)

A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed UK poet and performer Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kacen Callender.

Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he’s navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough.

As he gets older, Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs—and the Black Flamingo is born.

Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are—and allow us to shine.

 

 

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (May 5)

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

 

 

 

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh (September 22)

Candice Iloh weaves the key moments of Ada’s young life—her mother’s descent into addiction, her father’s attempts to create a home for his American daughter more like the one he knew in Nigeria, her first year at a historically black college—into a luminous and inspiring verse novel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Am Here Now by Barbara Bottner (August 4)

Set in the 1960s, Barbara Bottner’s I Am Here Now is a beautiful novel in verse about one artist’s coming of age. It’s a heartbreaking, powerful and inspiring depiction of what it’s like to shatter your life―and piece it all back together.

You can’t trust Life to give you decent parents, or beautiful eyes, a fine French accent or an outstanding flair for fashion. No, Life does what it wants. It’s sneaky as a thief.

Maisie’s first day of High school should be exciting, but all she wants is to escape.

Her world is lonely and chaotic, with an abusive mother and a father who’s rarely there to help.

So when Maisie, who finds refuge in her art, meets the spirited Rachel and her mother, a painter, she catches a glimpse of a very different world―one full of life, creativity, and love―and latches on.

But as she discovers her strengths through Rachel’s family, Maisie, increasingly desperate, finds herself risking new friendships, and the very future she’s searching for.

 

 

Junk Boy by Tony Abbott (October 13)

Junk. That’s what the kids at school call Bobby Lang, mostly because his rundown house looks like a junkyard, but also because they want to put him down. Trying desperately to live under the radar at school―and at the home he shares with his angry, neglectful father―Bobby develops a sort of proud loneliness. The only buffer between him and the uncaring world is his love of the long, wooded trail between school and home.

Life grinds along quietly and hopelessly for Bobby until he meets Rachel. Rachel is an artist who sees him in a way no one ever has. Maybe it’s because she has her own kind of junk, and a parent who hates what Rachel is: gay. Together the two embark on journeys to clean up the messes that fill their lives, searching against all odds for hope and redemption.

Narrated in Bobby’s unique voice in arresting free verse, this novel will captivate readers right from its opening lines, urging them on page after page, all the way to its explosive conclusion.

 

Kent State by Deborah Wiles (April 21)

May 4, 1970.

Kent State University.

As protestors roil the campus, National Guardsmen are called in. In the chaos of what happens next, shots are fired and four students are killed. To this day, there is still argument of what happened and why.

Told in multiple voices from a number of vantage points — protestor, Guardsman, townie, student — Deborah Wiles’s Kent State gives a moving, terrifying, galvanizing picture of what happened that weekend in Ohio . . . an event that, even 50 years later, still resonates deeply.

 

 

 

The Language of Cherries by Jen Marie Hawkins (Available now)

When Evie Perez is cut off from everything she loves and forced to move to Iceland for the summer, she takes her canvas and paintbrushes into the picturesque cherry orchard behind her guesthouse. She stains her lips with stolen cherries in the midnight sun and paints a boy she’s never met. Oskar is startled to discover Evie in his family’s orchard, and even more surprised to see himself on her canvas. Too ashamed to reveal his stutter, he remains quiet as Evie returns day after day to paint, spilling confessions she wouldn’t even tell her priest.When the magic intensifies and their connection deepens, everything they share is at stake, forcing Oskar to decide how long to maintain his silence.

 

 

 

 

Punching The Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (September 1)

From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo. 

The story that I thought

was my life

didn’t start on the day

I was born 

Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he’s seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. “Boys just being boys” turns out to be true only when those boys are white.

The story that I think

will be my life 

starts today

Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?

With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.

Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann (Available now — this appears to be a UK title)

When Amber runs, it’s the only time she feels completely free – far away from her claustrophobic home life. Her father wants her to be a dutiful daughter, waiting for an arranged marriage like her sister Ruby.

Running is a quiet rebellion. But Amber wants so much more – and she’s ready to fight for it.

It’s time for a revolution.

 

 

 

 

 

The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep by Alan Wolf (September 8)

In 1846, a group of emigrants bound for California face a choice: continue on their planned route or take a shortcut into the wilderness. Eighty-nine of them opt for the untested trail, a decision that plunges them into danger and desperation and, finally, the unthinkable. From extraordinary poet and novelist Allan Wolf comes a riveting retelling of the ill-fated journey of the Donner party across the Sierra Nevadas during the winter of 1846–1847. Brilliantly narrated by multiple voices, including world-weary, taunting, and all-knowing Hunger itself, this novel-in-verse examines a notorious chapter in history from various perspectives, among them caravan leaders George Donner and James Reed, Donner’s scholarly wife, two Miwok Indian guides, the Reed children, a sixteen-year-old orphan, and even a pair of oxen. Comprehensive back matter includes an author’s note, select character biographies, statistics, a time line of events, and more. Unprecedented in its detail and sweep, this haunting epic raises stirring questions about moral ambiguity, hope and resilience, and hunger of all kinds.

 

Three Things I Know Are True by Betty Culley (Available now)

Life changes forever for Liv when her older brother, Jonah, accidentally shoots himself with his best friend Clay’s father’s gun. Now Jonah needs round-the-clock care just to stay alive, and Liv feels like she’s the only person who can see that her brother is still there inside his broken body.

With Liv’s mom suing Clay’s family, there are divisions in the community that Liv knows she’s not supposed to cross. But Clay is her friend, too, and she refuses to turn away from him—just like she refuses to give up on Jonah.

This powerful novel is a stunning exploration of tragedy, grief, compassion, and forgiveness.

 

 

 

 

Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario (Available now)

Rowena feels like her family is a frayed string of lights that someone needs to fix with electrical tape. After her mother died a few years ago, she and her sister, Ariana, drifted into their own corners of the world, each figuring out in their own separate ways how to exist in a world in which their mother is no longer alive.

But then Ariana disappears under the cover of night in the middle of a snowstorm, leaving no trace or tracks. When Row wakes up to a world of snow and her sister’s empty bedroom, she is left to piece together the mystery behind where Ariana went and why, realizing along the way that she might be part of the reason Ariana is gone.

Haunting and evocative—and told in dual perspectives—Turtle Under Ice examines two sisters frozen by grief as they search for a way to unthaw.

 

 

What Goes Up by Christine Heppermann (August 18)

When Jorie wakes up in the loft bed of a college boy she doesn’t recognize, she’s instantly filled with regret. What happened the night before? What led her to this place? Was it her father’s infidelity? Her mother’s seemingly weak acceptance? Her recent breakup with Ian, the boy who loved her art and supported her through the hardest time of her life?

As Jorie tries to reconstruct the events that led her to this point, free verse poems lead the reader through the current morning, as well as flashbacks to her relationships with her parents, her friends, her boyfriend, and the previous night.

With Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty and Ask Me How I Got Here, Christine Heppermann established herself as a vital voice in thought-provoking and powerful feminist writing for teens. Her poetry is surprising, wry, emotional, and searing. What Goes Up is by turns a scorchingly funny and a deeply emotional story that asks whether it’s possible to support and love someone despite the risk of being hurt. Readers of Laura Ruby, E. K. Johnston, Elana K. Arnold, and Laurie Halse Anderson will find a complicated heroine they won’t soon forget.

 

With a Star in My Hand by Margarita Engle (Available now)

As a little boy, Rubén Darío loved to listen to his great uncle, a man who told tall tales in a booming, larger-than-life voice. Rubén quickly learned the magic of storytelling, and discovered the rapture and beauty of verse.

A restless and romantic soul, Rubén traveled across Central and South America seeking adventure and connection. As he discovered new places and new loves, he wrote poems to express his wild storm of feelings. But the traditional forms felt too restrictive. He began to improvise his own poetic forms so he could capture the entire world in his words. At the age of twenty-one, he published his first book Azul, which heralded a vibrant new literary movement called Modernismo that blended poetry and prose into something magical.

In gorgeous poems of her own, Margarita Engle tells the story of this passionate young man who revolutionized world literature.

 

What I’ve Raved About On All The Books

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Did you know I’m a cohost on Book Riot’s “All The Books” podcast once a month? This is a neat and super challenging part of my job, as I read a ton of books for consideration. Some weeks I have an abundance of titles I’m ready to scream about, while other times, I have a hard time finding four that really speak to me. Those are the weeks I tend to remove myself from the reading equation and consider who it is the book is for and try to connect with it in that capacity.

I’m preparing to record March’s edition this week and thought it’d be fun to share the first eight books I’ve talked about this year. I try to be conscious of highlighting both fiction and nonfiction, both in YA and in adult and middle grade. Since I don’t tend to write reviews here much, this feels like a way to give some reviews without, well, having to write up a ton of reviews.

There’s a little bit of something for every kind of reader here. All of the books are available now.

January Picks

You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing And Why It Matters by Kate Murphy

There are shelves and shelves of books about communicating, how to give a speech, how to negotiate, how to be effective in relating to others verbally. But so few take on what Murphy does in this book: listening. 

When’s the last time you really felt listened to? What made you have that feeling? Chances are it wasn’t someone interjecting their own experiences or sharing an anecdote that may or may not be related to what you shared. Rather, what made you feel listened to was what the listener brought to their engagement: curiosity. This, Murphy says, is what makes someone a great listener. They don’t one up or interject. They don’t parrot or offer hollow sentiments back. Rather, they engage with curiosity, asking questions that encourage the speaker to dig deeper. 

Every page of this book was fascinating and engaging, and it made me think a lot about the role of listening in everyday communication. It also made me think a lot about online communication and really cracked open what makes some social media tools like Twitter great for broadcasting, but ineffective for real conversation. Listening cannot happen because people can too easily forget that listening involves engagement, rather than inputting their own ideas or thoughts without quiet, even prolonged, thought. 

I found one of the sections about conversations with strangers surprising. I’d dread listening to a seatmate talk on a commute, but the study cited and explained here that people who really practiced listening to their seatmates rated their commutes better than those who had silence. The right kind of listening, and the right kind of curiosity, can take a potentially dreadful situation and make it something to look forward to. People are interesting, and it’s through listening that we get to discover that fact. 

As someone who does life coaching, I find that people seek it out is for coaching, of course, but also because the coach is trained in how to really listen. Conversations are about inquiry and curiosity, as opposed to offering a solution to whatever it is someone brings to the session. The ways forward are forged in co-creating solutions, and that co-creation comes from active listening and inquiry, and how often do we ever get the chance to truly be heard in such a way? It’s rare. 

Data can be helpful in many arenas. It can be combed and culled online. But it’s no substitute for real listening, as data isn’t vulnerable. And it’s vulnerability that connects us to one another, and real vulnerability is about allowing the space to listen, to thoughtfully inquire, and to allow quiet and space and pauses in conversation.

Highly, highly recommended. I don’t hold on to many books I get for review, but this one is going in my professional collection because I know it’s one I’ll want to reference and lend out.  

Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown

This fabulist novel is going to be a powerful read for many, while it’ll be a bit confounding for others. This is why it’s quite magic. The audience will find it and connect deeply.

Echo is growing up on the East Side of Cleveland with her mother, who is addicted to drugs and who is the victim of sexual assault, along with two bothers, one of whom lands in juvenile detention for a period of time. But she’s exceptionally resilient, and part of that is because she’s really a wizard. She can turn every day situations around using the power of her mind. She can choose to tap into the darkness and black veil that surrounds everyone or she can turn toward their lightness. Echo strikes up a friendship with Elena, a white-passing, queer hijabi, and together, they use their wizarding powers to help Echo’s brothers see their own potential. 

But then something tragic happens to Echo and she sees herself in her own mother’s shoes. She’s detached from reality, from her world, and she doesn’t know if she has the power to go on. Until she remembers the power she has within her and discovers a passion for words, for poetry, and for wanting to rise from her situation and live her best dream life. 

Told in a non-linear fashion, this is a book about literal Black girl magic. It’s about race and poverty, about intergenerational trauma, and about the ways Black women have always been systemically oppressed. Echo herself is dark skinned and experiences not only racism, but also colorism; this becomes a huge challenge for her when she’s given the opportunity to thrive in a new living situation, where she sees what looks like a healthy, functioning interracial relationship. 

Brown’s debut novel is about Black pain, but it’s also about Black magic, Black resilience, and Black lives that can thrive, even when the world around them wants them not to. It’s a challenging read for all that we see Echo and her family go through, as well as how Brown chooses to tell the tale in disparate timelines and in vignettes. The payoff, though, both for Echo and for the reader, is more than worth it. 

We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan

Told through a collective voice, this is a slow-burn story that is a telling of a story of revenge. It’s the first residency for a class of MFA writing students at a small college in Vermont (think: Bennington). Everyone is feeling one another out, making choices about who they’d be connecting with over the course of these residencies. But there’s one new teacher, an ingenue, who immediately commands everyone’s attention. 

As the story goes, Simone — this new teacher — tore apart one of the new students’ writing to the point he was crying. That he felt he could do no good. It was a brutal critique that eventually led to Jimmy doing something drastic. . . that brought about his fellow MFA peers to seek revenge upon Simone and unravel the truth of her “genius.”

This book takes a while to get to what’s going on, but Zancan’s writing is immersive, atmospheric, and easy to stick with. Interestingly, this is the second MFA-set book I’ve read this year, and it, too, is a clever take down of the systems and privilege within such programs. It’s a take down of the academicification of creative writing and a sharp critique about the ideals of good, worthy story telling. 

Stick with this one and you’ll be rewarded with a revenge that is clever and downright enjoyable.

 

Saving Savannah by Tonya Bolden

The increase in the number of YA historical novels featuring teens of color at the center, and more specifically, girls of color at the center, is making me so happy to see. Bolden, who is a long-time writer for young people, brings readers to 1919 Washington DC in this story about an upper class black girl who wants nothing more than to make something interesting of her life.

Savannah knows she’s privileged in her wealth. But she’s worried she’ll never do something important or powerful in her life. Her brother has moved to New York City and has a photography shop, and she’s bored by her long-time friend and neighbor Yolande. When the housekeeper’s daughter steps in to clean the Riddle’s home, Savannah forms a quick bond with her, and it’s through her she finds her way to a school on the other side of town that helps less-privileged girls gain a solid education. Here she volunteers, but more, it’s here she meets someone who introduces her to the concepts of radicalism, socialism, and anarchy. 

It’s 1919 and while the Great War is over, and the Spanish Influenza is waning, race riots are heating up. Savannah, now pushing herself outside her comfortable area in DC, finds herself seeing and being too-close-for-comfort to experiences that put her life and future on the line. After one particularly close call, she expects to be reemed out by her mother and father. And it’s here when Savannah learns about the incredible young life her mother had and how, even though it doesn’t look like it, Savannah’s mother longed for — and found — a purpose and meaning to her life. This ultimately helps Savannah understand what it is she wants to do herself.

The third-person narration is refreshing in YA, and the exploration of such a specific historical moment through the eyes of a privileged Black girl is one that kept me hooked. Savannah is keenly aware of the politics going on around her, including the Anthony Amendment and the protest happening by Alice Paul and other white feminists to secure suffrage. Savannah is keen to the fact it’s for white women and that that couldn’t be what her deeper purpose is in terms of doing something important with her life. 

The author’s note in this one is a must-read, as it really offers a picture of this historical moment in a perspective I’ve not seen before. Too often, we only hear about the stories relating to poor and hurting Black people. This story, as well as those stories from which Bolden was inspired, are a reminder of how deep and wide the Black experience was throughout all historical periods. 

 

 

February Picks

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

Jamie’s cousin is running for a local election seat and he’s been roped into helping with the campaign. Canvassing and going door to door is the last thing in the world he wants to do. Maya, whose parents are in the midst of a “trial separation,” meaning that their normal ways of practicing Ramadan and celebrating Eid are out the window, feels unmoored and abandoned by her best friend — she’s preparing to go to college and doesn’t seem to be around for Maya any longer. When she bumps into Jamie, who she hadn’t seen since they were kids, he convinces her to join him canvassing so they can catch up. Maya isn’t stoked, but she’s game — besides, it’ll get her mind off things and, when she tells her mother what she’s doing, she’s presented an offer she doesn’t want to refuse: if she participates in helping with this election all summer, her mom will help her get her own car. 

It’s far from smooth sailing and Jamie and Maya go door-to-door, especially in more conservative areas of their district. An Islamophobic House Bill, paired with a local anti-Semitic campaign, puts the two of them in a unique position, not just of fear and hurt, but of the potential to encourage big change with their work canvassing and much, much more. Together, they agree to work hard to get Jamie’s cousin elected to office, to take down the discriminatory House Bill, and shed light on who is leaving their hate around town. 

This is a romantic comedy packed with big, real issues at heart. Jamie and Maya are both tentative about who they are individually, who they are collectively, and who they are in the grander scheme of the political realities of their world. Maya is Muslim, and Jamie is Jewish, and we see how their faith plays into their every day lives and how many ways they can make mistakes with one another in terms of honoring those beliefs. But they learn — and they learn which rules and practices are worth breaking in the name of their beliefs…and their feelings for one another.

At times this book is laugh-out-loud funny, and both Maya and Jamie have a fondness for spending time at Target that’s extremely #relatable content. They’re both passionate and hard-working, despite how many challenges are going on in their personal, private lives. It’s not going to necessarily end the way that they want things to with the campaign, but that’s not to say that change doesn’t happen…or that their relationship will suffer because of it. 

Full of heart, thoughtful explorations of current political realities, and well-rounded and compelling characters, this book is a delight to read. Saeed and Albertalli’s styles mesh well, and the perspectives they bring to their characters is authentic and meaningful. One of my favorite characters is Jamie’s grandmother, who is an Instagram fanatic and sensation. She’s a total delight through and through, and I love how she’s given her own plot line and chance to be a hero in the story, too. 

This fast-paced book is a winner. 

 

The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and The Hunt For The Perfect Bird by Joshua Hammer

Talk about a breathlessly-paced adventure story that is 100% true. This is the kind of bloodless true crime I find utterly fascinating and engaging, and this book would be a perfect one to pass along to fans of The Feather Thief.

In May 2010, Jeffrey Lendrum was arrested in the UK at an airport after a security guard in one of the lounges thought something suspicious was going on. Lendrum had left his partner in the lounge while he went into the bathroom for twenty minutes. The guard went in after and noticed nothing had been touched while he was in there — no shower, no running water. But there was a suspicious looking egg in the garbage can. Before long, it was discovered Lendrum had numerous eggs secured to his body, along with numerous eggs in his luggage. These were the eggs of falcons, each of which — were they to make it alive to his destination in Dubai — would net him a lot of money from political leaders in the region who practiced the art and sport of falconry. 

From here, the book follows the rise of falconry in the middle east and how it ties into their history, as well as how it is Lendrum got caught up in the theft of some of the world’s most rare raptor eggs and how he traversed some of the most dangerous places in order to steal the eggs and make a profit. It’s a fascinating and infuriating story, not only because of how it plays into disturbing nature and causing further harm to hurting species, but also because of how Lendrum’s passion for nature went so off-course from his boyhood days in South Africa. 

Books that marry true crime and history like this scratch such an itch for me. This one, besides its obvious exploration of theft of eggs, has some moments of animal harm, but it’s one I think those who are sensitive to that might be able to stomach without too much problem. Hammer offers a fair assessment of why Lendrum would partake in such illegal acts, while balancing the history and legacy of falconry in the middle east. It’s not an apology nor excuse for his behavior; rather, it’s context and conjecture for the whys, particularly where Hammer was unable to get the information first-hand. 

I blew through this one and will forever look at birds in a new way. 

 

Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario

Ariana has disappeared. Her sister Row is first to discover this, but she can’t find any clues as to where she might be. Told in two voices in verse, this is a heart-felt story about grief and the ways it can manifest and emerge so differently for everyone.

When Row and Ariana’s stepmother loses her 12-week pregnancy, Ariana spirals into grief as the wounds of losing her mother six years prior — and being the person with her as she died. Row, too, finds sadness welling up inside her again, but she takes it out by turning deep into her love of soccer. For her, whenever she’s on the field, her mother is right there with her. 

With the help of her friend Kennedy, Row begins to look for her sister, and it’s here we see the wells of her sadness emerge, particularly as Kennedy gets overbearing in relation to why it was she didn’t know Row’s stepmother had been pregnant. 

Ariana’s voice is present in this story, though it’s told primarily through flashbacks. She’s hopped on a bus, and we know there’s a piece of artwork in her lap. A few stops in, a former best friend gets on the bus, and she begins to share the story of the dissolution of their once-close connection. Ariana wanted to be so mired in her grief she couldn’t understand that other people, including this friend named Alex, deal with their personal losses in different means. 

Row finds Ariana, and the end of the book is a beautiful reflection of friendship, sisterhood, and the ways that loss and sadness can tie and unite people, as much as hurt and divide them. Rosario nails grief so perfectly, offering up the ways we can be cruel and isolating toward others, as much as the ways we can seek the comfort of a loved one through the things we cherish. For Ariana, it turns out, art is therapeutic in a way that she never anticipated until Row shares how much pouring herself into soccer has meant her mother is with her always. 

The verse is well written and the story is tightly told over a period of less than a single day. But within that day, we see a large expanse of life for both Row and Ariana. Both are girls of color who are part Filipino, and their ethnicity is something that furthers the power of exploring grief here — it’s not something palatable, clean, easy, and consumable like the white media and “research” suggests it should be.

This one hit me in some tender places, as I deal with a big loss in my own life. I felt both girls’ pains deeply and saw their methods of working through it as part of my own, too. This is a quick read, but it is in no way a slight one.  

The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming

My knowledge of Lindbergh is pretty limited, other than knowing he had something to do with flight and that there was the Lindbergh Baby situation. I went into this book, though, wanting to know more about those, but more than that, I wanted to see how Fleming took his story and made it relevant today. Because this is a book less about Lindbergh’s story ad more about how he became such a celebrity in the American eye and had influence on a number of political situations in the 30s and 40s. 

Fleming gives insight into Lindbergh’s privileged childhood on the Mississippi River, where he had a politician for a father and an extremely doting mother. His mother was so dotig, in fact, when Charles decided to attend college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, she went went him so they could live together. He didn’t last at the school long, as tended to be his way with formal education. He was fascinated with flight and realized he wanted to learn to do it. So he attended a flight school and eventually took on a mail route between St. Louis and Chicago. It was here he realized a new dream: be the first trans-continental flight, going from New York to Paris. When he’s successful, he becomes more and more well-known, to the point where he and his family need to relocate in order to achieve any semblance of privacy. He, of course, loved it even if he pretended otherwise, but it was this fame that led to his one-year-old son being kidnapped and murdered. 

Lindbergh and his wife Ann were both making names for themselves when they moved to the UK, and it was here when Lindbergh became fascinated with the Nazi regime in Germany. Turns out, he was a eugenist, and the Nazi’s showmanship of Berlin, the way their country “looked” to him, was what he believed an ideal world looked like. Nevermind that he’d been fooled by the Nazis. Being a eugenist, he already believed in white supremacy, and this only helped fuel his racism and bigotry harder. Lindbergh returned to the US and found himself able to rally supporters for his “America First” beliefs — sound familiar? — and take on a role in America’s entrance into World War II in an unexpected way. 

Fleming’s book is fair, offering the good Lindbergh offered, as well as the reality of the dark side of his character. He’s neither lauded nor chided. He’s presented as he was, and the story is utterly compelling. My one little quibble is that at the end of the book, details about some other scandals in his life are rushed. It’s likely the information isn’t easily available, but I wanted to know way more about the three (!) secret families Lindbergh managed to have and keep secret from his wife Ann and their children. I’d have loved, too, a little more about where he stands today in the public eye, though I thought the way Fleming made his story parallel today’s celebrity politicians savvy and spot-on. 

This is excellent YA nonfiction. It offers a fair and full look at a complicated individual without offering sympathy or excuses for his less-glamorous beliefs or behaviors. The photos in this book only make it that much stronger, too.