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Young Adult

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Tiger’s Watch, by Julia Ember

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The Tiger's Watch

QSFer Julia Ember has a new MM YA fantasy book out: Sixteen-year-old Tashi has spent their life training as a inhabitor, a soldier who spies and kills using a bonded animal. When the capital falls after a brutal siege, Tashi flees to a remote monastery to hide. But the invading army turns the monastery into a hospital, and Tashi catches the eye of Xian, the regiment’s fearless young commander. Tashi spies on Xian’s every move. In front of his men, Xian seems dangerous, even sadistic, but Tashi discovers a more vulnerable side of the enemy commander—a side that draws them … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Heathens, by Jonah Bergan

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Heathens

QSFer Jonah Bergan has a new gay YA sci fi book out: Can one very angry boy save the world? I mean sure, maybe he could if he had super powers, but he doesn’t. He only has a little talent. He can push things with his mind. That’s something, but it’s not enough. He can fight. That’s something too, but that’s not enough either. Since the world ended that’s pretty much all he’s done anyway-fight. It hasn’t changed anything—not for the better anyhow. No, he needs something else. He needs some kind of real power. He needs the one thing … Read more

Jeff Baker: Boogieman in Lavender – Sleator and Selden; of Genies and Singularities

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Jeff Baker

We are out there. We are not always obvious. In the days before the 21st Century’s sometimes grudging acceptance of LGBT YA authors, such authors labored largely in the closet, their works publicly known while their orientation was not. Two authors whose works have recently crossed my desk again are William Sleator and George Selden. Both names are probably jogging a bygone memory or two. Both had at least one familiar hit; Sleator with “Interstellar Pig,” and Selden with “The Cricket in Times Square.” And both men had definite LGBT connections. I’ll start with Sleator (pronounced “Slater.”) I first encountered … Read more

Announcement: Familiar Path, by AM Burns

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Familiar Path

QSFer A.M. Burns has a new contemporary magical YA book out: Lugh’s mother packed up and moved them from sunny Florida to tiny Steamboat Springs, Colorado after his father’s accidental drowning. Resigned to his mom having to work a lot, and only just beginning to deal with his dad’s death, Lugh is disappointed when she is called in to work on his fifteenth birthday. After an unnerving dream, he decides to head to the nearby river where he ends up following a strange, urgent, internal pull. When another boy helps him rescue a young cat from the river, Lugh discovers a … Read more

Gay Characters Taking Over YA Fiction

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Drag Teen author Jeffrey Self

Gay characters remain a minority in television and film, but they have become a sensation in young adult fiction over the past seven years. Teenage readers have gobbled up books with titles like One Man Guy and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Queerness has always existed between the lines in novels about teenagers. Authors like Nancy Garden, Jacqueline Woodson, and Francesca Lia Block all highlighted gay undertones in their young heroes and heroines. In 2003, David Levithan—the author of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and now the publisher and editorial director of Scholastic—ushered in a golden age of gay … Read more

Announcement: Hold, by Rachel Davidson Leigh

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QSFer Rachel Davidson Leigh has a new YA sci fi book out: Luke Aday knew that his sister’s death was imminent—she had been under hospice care for months—but that didn’t make her death any easier on him or their family. He returns to school three days after the funeral to a changed world; his best friends welcome him back with open arms, but it isn’t the same. When a charismatic new student, Eddie Sankawulo, tries to welcome Luke to his own school, something life-changing happens: In a moment of frustration, Luke runs into an empty classroom, hurls his backpack against the … Read more

Jeff Baker–Boogieman In Lavender

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                                                                                                         Queer 101                                                    By Jeff Baker               When I was scoping out markets for LGBT-themed science-fiction/Fantasy/Horror (1) short-stories (2) about five years ago, I decided to do my research. Not just into markets but into what sort of fiction of this type had been written and was being written today. The “had been” is important; there have been complaints that today are readers who gush over “Twilight” who have never heard of “Dark Shadows.”             So here are some, not all, of the books I perused (3) while I was figuring out exactly … Read more

Dispatches from Hogwarts G.S.A.: Tropes we’d like to see

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A famous writer once said: “There is no such thing as a new idea.” That writer was Mark Twain, who is pretty hard to argue with (especially since he’s dead), and here’s his elaboration, which, naturally, is wise and brilliant: “It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.” … Read more

Announcement: As I Descended, by Robin Talley

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As I Descended

QSFer Robin Talley has a new YA FF horror book out: From the acclaimed author of Lies We Tell Ourselves, Robin Talley, comes a Shakespeare-inspired story of revenge and redemption, where fair is foul, and foul is fair. Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—but one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey. Golden child Delilah is a legend at exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. But Delilah doesn’t know that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to unseat Delilah for the … Read more

This Is How It Ends (Deadworld Book 1) by Nick Wilgus

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Title: This Is How It Ends (Deadworld Book 1) Author: Nick Wilgus. Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Young Adult. Publisher: DSP Publications Pages/Word Count: 276 pages Blurb: High school juniors Billy Gunn and Rory Wilder return from a weekend camping trip to find a mysterious plague has wiped out their small town of Port Moss, Mississippi. The question of why is only the beginning especially when the dead refuse to stay dead. Figuring out what happened is job one for Billy and Rory. But complications quickly set in. Not only do the dead rise, but a freak storm threatens torrential downpours … Read more