Review by Charmaine Lee
Finally, a tribute to young adults who have been herded into reading romance novels, but repeatedly feel disappointed by them, and have no idea why. … More Loveless by Alice Oseman
Review by Logaine Navascués
What is home? Is it a place? A people? A refuge? Or the memory of a smell you can almost taste? For Salma, a young Syrian girl who just immigrated to Canada, it’s all that and more: it means making her Mama smile again.
… More Salma the Syrian Chef by Danny Ramadan, Illustrated by Anna Bron
Review by Jieun Lee
Myra Louise is a very good thinker, reader, and best of all, listener. But other people only notice she’s quiet. In a society that views extroversion and vocalized opinions as signs of strength and success, thoughtfulness is not always valued or understood. … More Why Are You So Quiet? by Jaclyn Desforges, Illustrated by Risa Hugo
Review by Natasha Zippan
Me and Banksy is the sort of book that I wish existed when I was younger, because I was as precocious as its protagonist. This middle-grade novel is smart, sophisticated, sardonic, and filled with modern art, social justice, and friendship.
… More Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Review by Jennifer Irvine.
In this mystery, IT nerd Kya Caine and social media expert Fuse Fallon are bitter rivals for Paris Secord, famously known as DJ ParSec’s, attention. Then, 16-year-old ParSec is found lying dead on her turntable and Kya and Fuse happen to both be at the murder scene.
… More Spin by Lamar Giles
Review by Micah Killjoy
It’s 2003 and 19-year-old Juliet Palante is a queer Latinx babe living in the Bronx who’s got a newfound power in her womanhood and can call herself a feminist. Or can she really? … More Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
Review by Louise Brecht
To studious Becca Hart, real love is a temporary and tragic phenomenon. At its end, husbands abandon wives and fathers walk out on their pre-teen daughters without explanation. … More The Upside of Falling by Alex Light
Review by Louise Brecht
Émigré Susan Thomas is intrigued by desi boy Malcolm Vakil. She wants to fit in the way he does: to her new country, her new city—Mississauga, Ontario—and especially to her new school. Arthur Eldridge High is a world away from her last institution in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and even farther from the family’s home base in India, but her parent’s decree that Susan complete her senior year in Canada is absolute. … More The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena
Review by Jieun Lee
Iris Weijun Wang has a pretty great life. She’s almost done high school, she’s got a new Vera Wang dress to wear to prom, and she’s got a super cool, super sexy boyfriend named Peter to go with. But Madame Xing’s curse of being a flower-hearted tiger girl— … More My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong
Review by Louise Brecht
Change is rocking Sara Rodriguez’s world. The half-Latina academic all-star expected to spend her senior year of high school fleshing out Ivy League options for post-secondary studies, not to have her plans dashed by the consequences of one reckless rendezvous in May. … More Belly Up by Eva Darrows
