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FOR READERS: Mature Content in YA

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FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Amy Leibowitz Mitchell: What level of mature content (i.e., coarse language, violence, sex) would you expect or prefer in YA books? Writers: This is a writer chat – you are welcome to share your own book/link, as long as it fits the chat, but please do so as part of a discussion about the topic. Join the chat

ANNOUNCEMENT: Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks, by ‘Nathan Burgoine

QSFer ‘Nathan Burgoine has a new YA fantasy book out: Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks. Being the kid abducted by old Ms. Easton when he was four permanently set Cole’s status to freak. At seventeen, his exit plan is simple: make it through the last few weeks of high school with his grades up and his head down.  When he pushes through the front door of the school and finds himself eighty kilometers away holding the door of a museum he was just thinking about, Cole faces facts: he’s either more deluded than old Ms. Easton, or he just teleported.  … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Balance of Power, by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

Balance of Power

QSFer Damien Benoit-Ledoux has a new queer superhero book out, the final book in the Guardians pentology: Balance of Power. As The Order’s decimated leadership cowers and licks its wounds after Blake’s brutal blitz against the Archimandrion Council and the successful capture of the Seavey Island facility by U.S. Marines, the maniacal Victor Kraze seizes control of the organization’s resources and strikes back at teenage superhero Quinn McAlester. Dumbfounded by Victor’s sudden and zealous propensity for destruction and revenge, Quinn enlists the help of the enigmatic and reluctant tutor Ana Maria Garcia to stop the super villain from enacting his … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Ultimate Sacrifice, by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

Ultimate Sacrifice

QSFer Damien Benoit-Ledoux has a new MM superhero book out, the penultimate book in his Guardians series: Ultimate Sacrifice. More determined than ever, superhuman Quinn McAlester navigates the dramas of high school and family life while balancing the growing responsibilities of being the world’s first superhero. Having won over the respect and trust of the authorities who sought to capture him, Quinn unites a team of unique individuals and devises a plan to infiltrate The Order and rescue his best friend, Blake Hargreaves, from the clutches of mastermind Victor Kraze. When the people he loves discover his secret superhero identity, … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane, by Bryce Bentley-Tales

The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane, by Bryce Bentley-Tales

Bryce Bentley-Tales has a new queer YA paranormal book out: The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane. Thirteen-year-old Colton and his best friend Jade spend their free time investigating a local urban legend concerning an old abandoned house in their hometown in Ireland. The run-down building is said to be haunted and some of the things they’ve seen seem to confirm it. Colton has a crush on foreign-exchange student, Dylan, who is visiting his aunt from America. But Dylan isn’t your average American kid, and soon Colton and his friends are embroiled in more than urban legend and must find a … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Ciarrah’s Light, by Lou Hoffman

Ciarrah's Light

QSFer Lou Hoffman has a new queer YA Fantasy book out: Ciarrah’s Light. Luccan, future Suth Chiell of the Ethran Sunlands, also known as Lucky, has reached the end of a months-long adventure and gained much. Now he wants nothing more than to relax and recover at home. His mother’s apparition has other ideas, and dark dreams drag Lucky further and further into unconsciousness until he’s nearly dead. With help from Lucky’s sentient obsidian blade, Ciarrah, he makes it back to the light, only to find his country is in deep distress, and it’s getting deeper. The wizard Thurlock, Lucky’s … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Power Surge, by Sara Codair

Power Surge

QSFer Sara Codair has a new enby/pansexual paranormal/fantasy book out in The Evanstar Chronicles: Power Surge. Erin has just realized that for the entirety of their life, their family has lied to them. Their Sight has been masked for years, so Erin thought the Pixies and Mermaids were hallucinations. Not only are the supernatural creatures they see daily real, but their grandmother is an Elf, meaning Erin isn’t fully human. On top of that, the dreams Erin thought were nightmares are actually prophecies. While dealing with the anger they have over all of the lies, they are getting used to … Read more

FOR READERS/WRITERS: Young Adult – Who Decides?

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FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Richard Wood: Who makes the decision whether a LGBT book or story is YA suitable or not? Is it the author or the publisher and do different publishers have different standards of what is suitable as far as depictions of sex in a LGBT YA rated story? This is a legacy chat. Join the chat

ANNOUNCEMENT: Quarterling, by Natasja Hellenthal

Quarterling

QSFer Natasja Hellenthal has a new lesbian YA fantasy book out: Quarterling. Seventeen-year-old Fay Comyenti has it all: lots of freedom, great parents, a budding romance, and super animal abilities most can only dream of. Only, those powers have to be kept a secret in order for her kind to stay safe. After being rejected by her love interest, Elodyn, Fay leaves her village to do some good with her skills in the world despite the concerns of her comyenti mother and human father. Zemandu, the last of the tracar people has been following Fay from a distance for a … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: A Light Amongst Shadows, by Kelley York & Rowan Altwood

A Light Amongst Shadows

QSFer Kelley York and Rowan Altwood have a new MM historical paranormal YA tale out: James Spencer is hardly the typical “troubled youth” who ends up at Whisperwood School for Boys. Instead of hating the strict schedules and tight oversight by staff, James blossoms, quickly making friends and indulging in his love of writing, while contemplating the merits of sneaking love poems to the elusive and aloof William Esher. The rumours about William’s sexuality and opium reliance are prime gossip material amongst the third years. Rumours that only further pique James’ curiosity to uncover what William is really like beneath … Read more