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Anyone looking for a book with a strong female character will find it in Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera. Set in East Los Angeles, Rivera’s book features twelve-year-old Natalie de la Cruz Rivera y Santiago, aka Nat. A hard-to-contain fat girl with astucras (cunning), Nat feels it is her duty to school anyone who acts out of bounds. Bull-dozing her way into situations, she’s fearless. After seeing the performance of an artistic swimming team, the LA Mermaids, Nat decides she wishes to be on the synchronized swimming team. She not only wants to do something glamorous but to wear the sequined and shiny costumes. However,Read More →

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With her recent historical fiction novel for middle grade readers, J. Anderson Coats has written a poignant coming-of-age tale. Over the course of six months—April through September—A Season Most Unfair tells the story of Scholastica Greenwell (aka Tick) who lives in St Neots with her papa and stepmother, Mama Elly, who “bubbles over with warmth and hugs and the coziest of welcomes” (51). Tick cherishes the time she spends with her papa making candles. She feels needed and loved. However, without Tick’s knowledge, Papa takes an apprentice, and suddenly Henry’s gains become her losses. Tick is angry and hurt that her father no longer hasRead More →

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Edited by Nafiza Azad and Melody Simpson, Writing in Color is a guidebook of sorts for any aspiring writer. This collection of fourteen essays not only shares lessons on the writing craft and the publishing trade but offers encouragement and advice to all of us. One tidbit of wisdom suggests that to grow as writers, we need to explore the world. The more experiences we acquire and the more perspectives we are able to take, the more material we will have at our disposal for storytelling and empowerment purposes. After all, “stories are vessels of entertainment, understanding, and knowledge; they change every person they touch”Read More →

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Set in the 70s in Santa Monica, Clouds over California by Karyn Parsons tells the story of a mixed-race sixth grader. Stephanie Morrison, aka Stevie, moves to a new neighborhood at a critical time in her life, so making friends adds a layer of challenge. Her best friend from her former school has moved on, and talking about boys and fingernail polish are not Stevie’s thing. For Stevie, the library is a kind of church. She’s also loves to skate and imagines herself in an Olympic arena as a Roller Derby queen defending the team’s lead. When her older cousin Naomi comes to live withRead More →

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The plot of Sabina Khan’s recent book, What a Desi Girl Wants, revolves around the life of Mehar Rabbani, a mixed race girl who lives in Newton, Kansas. Speaking her mind is Mehar’s brand, which doesn’t always work in her favor. Prone to whining, Mehar hates being reasonable—a trait that backfires on her when she makes a trip to India to reconnect with her family on her father’s side. Hoping to salvage her relationship with her father, Mehar is intent on apologizing to him and mending their fractured bond. She also wishes to reconnect with her judgy grandma while in India for her father’s wedding.Read More →

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Although Forty Words for Love by Aisha Saeed is certainly a story about love, the plot runs much deeper to embrace other topics, as well. Topics like immigration, socioeconomic status, truth, and following one’s dreams also find a place in these pages. Saeed shares multiple morals as the story of Raf and Yas unfolds. When the story opens, readers learn briefly of Raf’s trek from Golub and about a sacred tree that allows or denies passage from one world to another. People from Raf’s world have a golden leaf birthmark that pulses and warms in warning if a person has moved beyond the perimeter ofRead More →

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On par with books by David Levithan, All the Yellow Suns by Malavika Kannan is a story about a sixteen-year-old queer Indian-American girl who believes art’s power is to disrupt narratives and to recreate reality. Mayavati Krishnan is an optimistic, talented, and opinionated social justice activist. Set in Florida, Kannan’s book follows the lives of several brown teens who are fighting to be seen, not to be targeted and bullied by authority figures. Maya and her mother have been abandoned by Maya’s artist father whose true love is art. Because Rajendra made the choice to stay in India, Maya is angry, an emotion that sheRead More →

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Although Finding Jupiter by Kelis Rowe is a romance novel, it is also about coping with loss, the effects of blame, and the importance of hope. Set in Tennessee, Rowe’s novel features two teens: Ray Evans and Orion Roberson. With her found poetry, Ray turns words into art. Entertained by romance, but not captivated by its drama, Ray spends her spare time on volleyball, classes, and art. Someone who likes creating beautiful things, Ray is also an artist on roller skates. After seeing the effect that love has had on her mother, Ray is afraid to love because of the risk of loss. She findsRead More →

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Melissa See describes her novel Love Letters for Joy as “a love letter in itself—to disability, queer identity, and the intersectionality of the two.” Set in New York City, Love Letters for Joy tells the story of Joy Corvi, a quiet, academically-minded girl with cerebral palsy who wants the world to see her for who she is, not for her condition. Working hard to achieve valedictorian honors, Joy is in competition with her academic rival, fellow senior, Nathaniel Wright. Both hope to attend California Institute of Biology where they will pursue degrees in medicine. Because Joy, who attends Caldwell Preparatory Academy, wonders if there isRead More →