19 minute read
EDITOR’S NOTE
YOUNG ADULT | Laura Simeon
The Best YA Books of 2021
The pandemic may have brought tumult to every phase of the publishing process, but nothing could stop many exceptional books from being released this year, ones that are memorable, thought-provoking, and worthy of special recognition. Coming-of-age stories are naturally a YA staple. The following titles, exemplary of this genre, are rooted in specific communities, and the resulting authenticity speaks for itself. They will leave readers reeling with their devastating emotional impacts. In When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert (Simon & Schuster, March 9), Beth looks back at the intense high school years when she and her friends, all Asian American, were wrestling with questions of family, identity and belonging, sexuality, mental health, personal ambitions, and paralyzing fears. In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner (Crown, Aug. 10) follows two young people from rural Tennessee who have grown up with poverty and familial instability. Attending a New England boarding school brings unimaginable changes as they discover how we find, honor, and are buoyed by our people. (Read our interview with Zentner in the Aug. 1 issue.) Two historical novels about young people fleeing totalitarian regimes focus on escapes made by water rather than land. Each is a riveting, insightful page-turner; taken together, these are complementary reads that shed light on events that have echoes in our present and offer thoughtful perspectives for understanding contemporary refugees and migrants. Originally published in Australia in 2016, Freedom Swimmer by Kirkus Prize finalist Wai Chim (Scholastic, Nov. 2) is based on the experience of the author’s father as a young person who fled communist China for Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution. In Beyond the Blue Border by Dorit Linke, translated by Elisabeth Lauffer (Charlesbridge Teen, Sept. 7), two young East Germans in late-1980s Rostock, the author’s hometown, attempt a hazardous swim through the Baltic Sea to reach the West.
The ever timely subject of feminism provided rich material for several new works that offer nuanced interpretations of issues that are woven throughout society and affect everyone. In One Great Lie (Atheneum, June 1), a teenage girl gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she spends the summer in Venice at a young writers’ workshop with a celebrity author; author Deb Caletti explores sexual harassment and abuses of power by influential men. Feminist AF: A Guide to Crushing Girlhood by Brittney Cooper, Susana Morris, and Chanel Craft Tanner (Norton Young Readers, Oct. 5) is an empowering and comprehensive nonfiction survey that is enriched by the authors’ personal experiences of growing up as women of color. In Britta Lundin’s Like Other Girls (Freeform/Disney, Aug. 3), a young woman challenges bias in sports by joining the school football team— leading her on an unexpected journey to question her own internalized sexism and desire to be perceived as not being like the other girls. Three enchanting books tantalizingly explore the spaces between our world and others. A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido, Nov. 23) weaves traditional Lipan Apache storytelling into a textured tale of two people whose paths cross, one a human girl from Texas and one a cottonmouth snake person from the Reflecting World. Ciela, who works in her family’s pastelería, is La Bruja de los Pasteles in The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel & Friends, March 16). But following a sexual assault, she loses her magical abilities; healing lies in a connection she has with a new boy at school. With All Our Hidden Gifts (Candlewick, June 8), Irish author Caroline O’Donoghue presents a story of societal change and zealotry, the pain of friends abandoned, the necessity of honestly facing the consequences of one’s actions, and the allure of tarot.
vial of tears
and family. Becker perfectly captures the heady roller coaster of feelings that accompanies cross-cultural immersion, with ordinary activities serving as barometers of successful adaptation in a new country. The personal stakes of each encounter with Japanese life are even higher for Nao, throwing into relief her internal struggles over her identity. Nao is the focal point, but Hyejung and Tina are well developed, with complex, heartstring-tugging backstories. Most of the text is bilingual, but the occasional use of Japanese or Korean alone effectively mirrors the dislocation of language learners. The predominantly photorealistic art is enhanced with a range of stylized techniques that masterfully communicate emotion. Altogether, this work exemplifies what the graphic novel format can achieve.
An unforgettable story of personal growth in an exqui-
sitely rendered setting. (note on accents) (Graphic fiction. 13-adult)
VIAL OF TEARS
Bishara, Cristin Holiday House (320 pp.) $18.99 | Oct. 5, 2021 978-0-8234-4641-4
A magical coin strands sisters in a Phoenician underworld. Sam and Rima receive a family heirloom from their great-grandfather who lives in their mother’s hometown in Lebanon—a clay jug with ancient coins in it. The sisters, who live in poverty with their mother (their White father is dead), wonder if this could be the solution to their financial woes. But one coin is frighteningly cold, and when Rima holds it, she summons a mysterious man and a windstorm that sweeps the girls from Michigan to a magical underworld where monsters and gods roam freely. The man—Eshmun, half god and half mortal—furiously wants his precious coin back. Sam gets her bearings in this world that is part historical Lebanon and part mythological, as she learns Eshmun’s role in a prophecy that may affect her and her sister as well. Throughout, Sam keeps her focus firmly on rescuing her sister, whose life hangs in the balance after being attacked by a beast, and returning home. Themes of destiny and death build up to an ending that’s just bittersweet enough. In the author’s note, Bishara, who shares her protagonists’ heritage, details her historical research and the family stories and photographs that inspired her. She generously shares recipes passed down through her family—an addition most appreciated, as the mouthwatering food descriptions are a crown jewel among the vividly painted settings, clothing, and people.
A heroic tale that feels both classic and fresh. (Fantasy. 14-adult)
ONE GREAT LIE
Caletti, Deb Atheneum (384 pp.) $19.99 | June 1, 2021 978-1-5344-6317-2
Budding writer Charlotte Hodges has a dream: “to say something that says something.” She gets the chance when she spends the summer under the guidance of her idol on his private island in the Venetian Lagoon. Luca Bruni is a kindred spirit: His semiautobiographical writing speaks directly to 18-year-old Charlotte’s personal pain. At first, Bruni is charming and brilliant—as Charlotte always expected. Reality creeps in as his true nature slowly emerges: He’s a middle-aged, arrogant snob hiding serial lechery behind a mask of empty, performative feminism while preying on the young women who attend his sought-after summer program. Charlotte’s dreams crumble when this powerful man who can make or break a writing career sets his sights on her. Third-person–present narration foreshadows the dreadful events to come, giving the story a fairy-tale tone and inspiring readers to absorb every luminous detail as the narrative slows down to describe Venice in gorgeous, flowing prose. Each chapter is prefaced with information about a female poet from the Italian Renaissance who, despite her accomplishments, has been forgotten or is only remembered for her connection to a man. In a subplot, Charlotte investigates one such woman, an ancestor who may have penned a famous poem claimed by her lover as his own. Readers won’t miss the parallels between this woman’s life and what is happening to Charlotte in the present. Most characters are assumed White.
A potent story of how one young woman finds the power
to write her own story. (Fiction. 14-18)
FREEDOM SWIMMER
Chim, Wai Scholastic (256 pp.) $18.99 | Nov. 2, 2021 978-1-338-65613-8
A young man lives out his father’s dream and learns the meaning of freedom. Opening in coastal southeastern China during the 1960s and continuing until the 1970s, this gripping story introduces 11-year-old orphan Ming Hong, who is mourning his mother, who recently starved to death, like countless others during the Great Leap Forward. Ming’s fateful encounter with Lam Feiyen, a girl who was running away from her abusive home, gives him hope and evolves into a sustaining plot strand as the tale dives into the Cultural Revolution era. Sweeping social experiments, such as sending city youths to the countryside to learn through engaging in labor, bring Li to Ming’s
black birds in the sky
village, where the teen boys’ paths cross. Using spare prose and straightforward language, dual narrators Ming and Li relate their perspectives as acquaintances struggling for a sense of purpose while enduring cruelty and suffering imposed by politics that pitted peasants against city dwellers, friends against one another, and children against their own parents. As Ming processes his long-deceased father’s failed bid for freedom and ponders his own ambition to swim to the British colony of Hong Kong, Li persuades Ming they should attempt this escape together. Their breathtaking journey and subsequent events feel plausible and poignant, not only because they are based on the lived experience of the author’s father, but also thanks to Chim’s gift for storytelling.
A compelling historical story that highlights timeless
themes. (note about phonetics, map) (Historical fiction. 12-18)
BLACK BIRDS IN THE SKY The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Colbert, Brandy Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (224 pp.) $19.99 | Oct. 5, 2021 978-0-06-305666-4
The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 was not only a devastating attack on one community, but part of a history of violence against African Americans.
The attack on the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, that began on May 31, 1921, was triggered in part by a mob of Whites seeking to punish an African American teenager for allegedly assaulting a White woman. However, this exploration shows that the violence that destroyed the thriving community known as Black Wall Street was part of a long history of brutality and displacement. In addition to describing the event itself and the subsequent active suppression of information about it, Colbert provides important context for the founding of Tulsa, as Muscogee (Creek) people who were forcibly removed from their land by the U.S. government settled there in 1833. The end of Reconstruction saw paroxysms of violence and the rise in discriminatory laws against African Americans, and many sought sanctuary in Indian Territory. By weaving together many elements, this sophisticated volume makes clear that the destruction of Black property and lives in the Tulsa Race Massacre was not an isolated incident. Beginning with the author’s personal foreword and continuing throughout the detailed narrative, readers are guided to see the complex, interconnected nature of history. The clear, readable prose supports a greater understanding both of how and why incidents like the one in Tulsa happened and their exclusion from curriculum and conversations about U.S. history.
A compelling recounting that invites and encourages readers to grapple with difficult history. (afterword, bibliog-
raphy, sources, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)
FEMINIST AF A Guide to Crushing Girlhood
Cooper, Brittney, Chanel Craft Tanner & Susana Morris Norton Young Readers (240 pp.) $16.95 paper | Oct. 5, 2021 978-1-324-00505-6
Three members of the Crunk Feminist Collective, a group of feminists of color, join forces to deliver a bold and thorough guidebook.
This title delivers wisdom and insight garnered from lived experiences and decades of research and practice in language that is mature but still accessible to young people. Divided into four major sections, the book touches on significant topics, including race, sexuality, disability, body image, friendship and family dynamics, and more. Intersectional feminism is a throughline, with inclusive stories and comprehensive counsel that provide knowledge, solidarity, comfort, and hope for its audience. Along with analyses of politics that address existence and survival across marginalized identities, the work discusses systems and structures that affect individual and societal outcomes. The authors offer specific, relevant anecdotes from their own lives as well as the media and popular culture that reflect the complex issues that girls and nonbinary youth face, accompanied by thoughtful, compassionate, honest, and realistic advice. Text boxes provide valuable background and context as well as recommendations of movies, TV shows, and books to check out. All these elements come together to create a work that reads like far more than just a handbook for a young feminist’s journey but rather presents as a guide to life as a whole.
A necessary life companion for readers of all backgrounds.
(glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)
MAZIE
Crowder, Melanie Philomel (352 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 23, 2021 978-0-525-51674-3
In 1959, the star soloist of her small Nebraska farm town leaves everything behind for a chance at musical-theater stardom in New York City. Triple-threat high school senior Mazie Butterfield dreams of getting out of Fairbury and breaking into Broadway even if it means bidding farewell to her loving family and serious boyfriend, Jesse. When an unexpected graduation gift offers enough money for a train ticket and six weeks in the city, Mazie hurriedly takes off for a bed in a “boardinghouse for theatrical young ladies” run by Mrs. Cooper, a Black former Broadway dancer. Mazie quickly falls into a repetitive cycle of auditions and rejections, and although she’s disheartened to be deemed too sturdy, Midwestern, and plain for most parts, she eventually scores
an understudy gig for an “industrial” (a corporate-sponsored, limited-run musical) touring the Corn Belt to promote a new tractor model. Throughout the story, White, sheltered Mazie uncovers some truths about life in the arts, such as that several male counterparts are gay, that married women with children have trouble returning to the business, and that certain producers and directors sexually harass and intimidate the women in their shows. Filled with Broadway trivia, the book is a dream for musical theater fans, and the love story between Mazie and Jesse is heartfelt. The characters, including secondary ones, are well developed and fully realized, and the book features noteworthy queer representation.
Deserves a standing ovation. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 12-18)
CHESSBOXER
Davies, Stephen Andersen/Trafalgar (320 pp.) $9.99 paper | March 1, 2021 978-1-78344-840-1
A grieving chess prodigy ups her game. “Intelligence and irritability are a bad combination,” writes 17-year-old Leah—and she should know. Massive quantities of both drive her to not only quit tournament chess just as she’s about to score a grandmaster rating, but also, in the two years since her father’s death, to mercilessly savage anyone who tries to get close to her. The game won’t let her go, though, and after some lucrative but painful experiences as a chess hustler in Washington Square Park, she finds a perfect outlet for her passion and rage in chessboxing— an actual sport alternating timed rounds of boxing and chess. Readers who regard chess as a genteel, cerebral pursuit are in for a shock as the game action (described with technical precision) is presented in language as compellingly tense and brutal as that of the rings. Readers will also admire the new friends and adult supporters (including a grief therapist) who are willing to look past Leah’s caustic shell. Eventually she’s taking on Zelda “The Reaper” Haas, a scary opponent tattooed up to and including the eyeballs, for the women’s world championship. Told through blog posts, Leah’s narrative seethes with raw feelings and combines taut suspense with dizzying lows and highs, even occasional hilarity, as it tracks her progress toward learning to live with herself and with devastating loss. The main cast presents White.
A rising, rousing bout fueled by brains, brawn, and bel-
ligerency. (afterword) (Fiction. 13-18)
THE SISTERS OF RECKONING
Davis, Charlotte Nicole Tor Teen (352 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 10, 2021 978-1-250-29974-1 Series: Good Luck Girls, 2
The Good Luck Girls spread a little bad luck. When we last saw Aster, she and her sister, alongside two more former Luckers (girls forced into sex work at welcome houses, or brothels), had finally escaped the Scab and made it to the border of Ferron, a country ready to receive them as refugees from Arketta. A year later, Aster is helping the Lady Ghosts, an underground network that supports escapees, working right under the noses of the wealthy landowners, capitalists, and government officials who live in the border city of Northrock. There, Aster comes across Violet Fleur, the girl she thought was killed during their escape. Violet now seems to be in league with the McClennon family, whose patriarch led the hunt for the runaways. Charged with opening the first welcome house in Northrock, Violet may actually be on the side of the Lady Ghosts, and Aster may have a shot at taking down Arketta’s elite. While The Good Luck Girls (2019) focused on the subjugation of women in Arkettan society and the dangers associated with resistance, this sequel does that and more, exploring and exposing the workings of a nation created by exiled convicts who exerted force over Indigenous peoples and created a system of de facto slavery through colorism, sharecropping, and unfair debt systems. The worldbuilding—slang, settings, gory dangers, and all—is rich and complex in this novel featuring a racially diverse cast.
A smart, thrilling duology closer. (Speculative adventure. 15-adult)
PAUL ROBESON No One Can Silence Me: The Life of the Legendary Artist and Activist (Adapted for Young Adults)
Duberman, Martin The New Press (288 pp.) $19.99 | March 9, 2021 978-1-62097-649-4
The definitive biography of 20th-century Renaissance man Robeson, whose signature legacy of merging arts and activism serves as a timely message for a new generation of change-makers, is here adapted for younger audiences.
In the foreword of this work that is deserving of deep engagement, Jason Reynolds invites readers into the story of this world-famous Black entertainer whom he sees as “perhaps the greatest reminder of the possibilities of a single person.” The son of an escaped slave, Robeson became a superstar
the broken raven
college athlete, valedictorian, lawyer, actor, singer, globe-trotter, polyglot, and committed humanitarian. Yet, as his involvement in freedom struggles for Black Americans and working people’s struggles around the world clashed with Cold War–era conservatism, his unparalleled legacy has been erased from public memory. Readers will connect with Robeson’s miraculous and hard-fought rise, from his unprecedented success in Hollywood to his yearslong struggle with the U.S. government to reinstate his passport, confiscated due to McCarthyist opposition to his political activities. The work balances his achievements despite overwhelming odds with his human vulnerabilities and missteps. Archival images and text boxes offer historical context, presenting details of Robeson’s bold stands that will resonate with new generations familiar with Black public figures like Colin Kaepernick and Maya Moore.
A history of a global luminary figure that serves as a reminder of the courageous freedom-fighting work in front of us. (further information, Robeson’s music and movies,
sources, image credits, index) (Biography. 12-18)
HOME IS NOT A COUNTRY
Elhillo, Safia Make Me a World (224 pp.) $17.99 | March 2, 2021 978-0-593-17705-1
What happens when both the place you come from and the place you are feel distant and unaccepting? These are the questions Nima sets out to answer. A 14-year-old, workingclass, Muslim, immigrant kid raised by a single mother in suburban America—that’s Nima. They left their unnamed homeland (contextual clues point to Sudan) in pursuit of a better life, one that didn’t seem to find them. But Nima’s mind often wanders back to her roots, to the Arabic songs she listens to on cassette and old photographs of her parents—things she longs to be a part of. At school, Nima is bullied for her accented English, her obvious poverty, and her mother’s hijab. Haitham, the neighbor boy who’s more like a sibling, goes to the same school and is Nima’s only friend. But one day Haitham is beaten up in a hate crime, winding up in the hospital hooked up to machines. The abyss between Nima and her mother begins to grow as Nima learns more about her father’s absence. Elhillo’s novel, which contains light fantastical elements, tells the story of a Muslim girl traversing post–9/11 America with the baggage of a past she does not yet fully understand. The vivid imagery creates a profound sensory experience, evoking intense emotions in a story that will resonate with readers from many backgrounds.
Movingly unravels themes of belonging, Islamophobia, and the interlocking oppressions thrust upon immigrant
women. (Verse novel. 12-18)
THE BROKEN RAVEN
Elliott, Joseph Walker US/Candlewick (336 pp.) $17.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 978-1-5362-0748-4 Series: Shadow Skye, 2
The sequel to The Good Hawk (2020) sends characters both familiar and new into the wider world surrounding its fantasy version of medieval Skye. Agatha and Jaime have returned triumphantly after rescuing their clan from slavery. But their enclave is still held by enemies, and those in their current refuge want them gone. After Agatha accidentally unleashes the deadly sgàilean, Jaime is sent back to Scotia to seek magical assistance while Agatha defiantly warns a rival clan. Meanwhile, young Sigrid is sold to the cruel Norvegian monarch who is busy scheming with the eldritch Inglish king. All three suspenseful plotlines are deftly interwoven, giving each alternating narrator a distinctive voice: fierce, proud, impatient Agatha, with her disabilities that cause some to treat her cruelly and her uncanny rapport with animals; careful, depressed Jaime, prone to both panic attacks and reluctant flashes of bravery; and earthy, brash Sigrid, gifted with an eidetic memory and unexpected compassion. Major and minor characters alike are fully rounded; Jaime in particular struggles with his newfound fascination for dark magic and a same-sex attraction that is not accepted in his culture. The worldbuilding is rich, integrating various magical systems into the landscapes and cultures of diverse countries and clans. The narrative gallops along, with hefty doses of humor, tenderness, and violence, until the storylines meet on a final page that will leave readers desperate for more.
A superlative middle volume, adding depth and scope
without sacrificing clarity or theme. (Fantasy. 12-18)
WALLS
Elliott, L.M. Illus. by Megan Behm Algonquin (352 pp.) $19.95 | July 27, 2021 978-1-64375-024-8
Young people, separated by politics and ideology, search for common ground. Berlin, 1960. His dad’s latest tour of duty brings 15-year-old Drew and his family to a city divided—a fact brought home by meeting his cousin Matthias who lives in the city’s Communist-controlled section. As the teens warily circle each other, conflicting in temperaments as well as doctrinaire views of each other’s cultures but gradually building bonds, Elliott both fills in the historical background—aided by Behm’s mixing of period photos, contemporary news, and pop-culture notes— and crafts a tale of rising tensions that culminates in a suspenseful climax that catches Drew on the wrong side of the east-west
