“Last night at the Telegraph Club” Malinda Lo

Rated 5 stars ***** Dutton Books (Penguin Random House). 2021.415 p. (Includes “Author’s note,” “Select bibliography,” and “Discussion guide.”)

In the 1950’s of San Francisco’s Chinatown, Lily Hu had always been a good Chinese girl. Though the girls in her neighborhood knew their futures involved husbands and children, Lily dreamed of flying a rocket ship while her fellow classmate, Kath Miller, wanted to fly airplanes. Lily felt different around Kath. She felt heard and seen, and something about Kath made her heart beat faster.

When Kath invited her to the Telegraph Club, Lily discovered a new world. There women impersonated men and held hands with other women. She and Kath were thrilled by their newfound feelings for each other, but Lily knew that outside of the club she could never let anyone know about them. The FB had revoked her father’s citizenship papers for not calling someone a communist, while homosexuality was against the law. She had to be careful not to get her father in trouble, but trouble has a way of showing up uninvited.

During Lily’s last year of high school Malinda Lo masterfully tackled how Chinese Americans were treated in the United States, the struggles of the Lesbian community, communism and more. Each issue was brought to life in a thorough way, and it’s easy to see why this book won the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature as well as the Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers Honor Awards.

Highly recommended for ages 17 and older.

“Different kinds of fruit” Kyle Lukoff

Rated 4 stars **** Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House). 2022.

Annabelle is excited to start sixth grade in her progressive private school, where she learns at her own pace, with experimental lessons and group work. She’s known all of her classmates in her small class since kindergarten, and is hoping something different happens for her last year of elementary school. That something arrives in the person of Bailey, a nonbinary student fresh from Seattle and full of new ideas about the LGBTQ world.

As Annabelle and Bailey spend quality time together, Annabelle begins to finally understand herself in new ways. Bailey also helped opened a dialogue with her parents about something they’d kept hidden from Annabelle for her entire life. In time Annabelle learns about the many different types of people in the LGBTQ world, who suffered unjustly for wanting to live life on their terms. As Annabelle’s classmates get educated on issues that affect them on a daily basis, they learn to accept that things are not always what they seem.

This was a heavy book, with many themes that help explain definitions like cis, nonbinary, trans and more in ways kids can understand. Readers are put into the shoes of those living their lives in ways that don’t hurt others but cause controversy from those who don’t believe they should have a say in their own lives. Young readers will be educated by the time they’re done reading.

Recommended for ages 14 and older.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Where the truth lies” Anna Bailey

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Atria Books. To be published August 3, 2021.

Since they were little, seventeen-year-old Emma and her best friend Abi have done everything together. Abi’s home life is far from ideal, while Emma’s father left her behind when he returned to Mexico when she was a child. As a result, the two of them depended upon each other for happiness. One night, during a party, Abi disappeared into the woods and was never seen again. Emma is wracked with guilt because she let Abi go. She is determined to find out what happened that night so enlists the help of Hunter Maddox, a local boy who used to party with Abi.

As Hunter and Emma try to find out what happened to Abi, characters in their small town make their debut. Abi’s mother and brothers have been severely beaten by their father for many years, as he’s still suffering PTSD from his time in Vietnam. They all have something to add to Abi’s story, but have their reasons for staying silent. Hunter’s father has his secrets to keep too. Noah, Abi’s brother, has a huge secret he’s not willing to share. As the townspeople’s secrets are revealed, we begin to realize this town is a place where only Americans are wanted, where a fanatical preacher willingly leads his congregation to religious fervor that can lead to death, and where being different or an outsider can cost your life.

A maelstrom of anger, guilt, prejudice, lust and fear, told through flashbacks and the present time, will keep readers anxiously turning pages to find out whodunit. When the shocking truth of what happened to Abi is finally revealed, you will be left dumbfounded. The many clues Bailey scattered throughout did nothing to prepare me. It won’t prepare you either.

Highly recommended for ages 17 and older.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Be dazzled” Ryan La Sala

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Sourcebooks Fire. 321 p. To be published January 5, 2021.

Seventeen-year-old Raffy loves cosplaying designs he creates from materials at his local craft store. What he sees in his mind comes to life in his hands, as he becomes the characters he creates. His Ion channel where he live streams himself as he creates has picked up a few thousand followers, but his dream is to win a big cosplay championship and get paid to create. Unfortunately he doesn’t have the support of his mother, as she belittles his work, accusing him of wasting time playing with arts and crafts. So far Raffy has managed to fool her into thinking he’s given up cosplaying, but her closed mindedness and inability to see his creativity weights heavily on his heart.

When Luca enters his life, eager to create and cosplay with him, Raffy is nervous but thrilled. Though Luca is more interested in looking good and distracting him from his creations, they work well together and soon fall in love. Raffy had always held himself back from relationships, believing he worked best alone, but being with Luca changed his outlook. Since Luca hasn’t yet outed himself their relationship has to be kept a secret, but Raffy is fine with their stolen moments. In time Luca becomes distant, and breaks Raffy’s heart. Months later they’re thrown together in one of the biggest cosplay competitions of his life where Raffy will have to decide what’s more important than his angry mother and his broken heart.

The love stories of two boys who are the same yet very different are told in alternating chapters going from the past to the present. Their authentic voices will resound with readers, as each works hard to be accepted by their own mothers. The author’s detailed explanations of the creativity and competition involved in cosplaying may create a new legion of fans. I definitely learned a lot about it.

Highly recommended for ages 16 and older.

“Junk boy” Tony Abbott

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins). To be published October 13, 2020.

Fifteen-year-old Bobby Long lived with his angry, drunk, invalid father in a broken down shack surrounded by junk. They existed side-by-side but couldn’t connect on anything. His father blamed him for his mother leaving, and Bobby blamed himself. The boys at school nicknamed him “Junk” because his house looked like a junkyard, and made his life miserable every chance they got. None of the teachers knew what to do with him, so he was mostly ignored. Bobby spent a lot of time in the woods, thinking and wondering about his mother.

Rachel was an amazing artist. Her mother beat her for being gay and insisted she go to church to be converted straight. As a result she hated her mother with a passion. When her parents split she wanted to change schools so she could live with her father and attend art school but her father thought she should stay with her mother. She didn’t know how she could survive without her art. As she and Bobby began to spend time together they found that they could see each other in ways no one else could see. Through their shared pain for what their lives had become, they struggled to understand what the future held in store for them.

Rachel and Bobby were so believable that my heart hurt for them. I read this book in one sitting, hoping for good things for both of them. I hope teens with similar issues will see there is hope beyond their pain, and that they have a future.

Highly recommended for ages 14 and older.

I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Darius the great deserves better” Adib Khorram

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Dial Books (Penguin Random House); Darius the Great #1. To be published August 25, 2020.

Since returning from Iran, Darius has felt a bit more confident. He joined the soccer team and came out to his teammates. He knows they have his back, and enjoys the feeling of being part of a team and having friends. He has his first real boyfriend, Landon, and even got his first job in a teashop where he gets to try different flavors. Soccer is going great, they’re having a winning season and Chip is turning out to be a good friend. Everything seemed to be looking up, until things began to go slowly downhill.

His parents started to work more hours, so his grandmothers came to live with them for a while even though they hadn’t spent much time with them in the past. His dad was away for longer periods of time, while Landon kept pressuring him about their relationship. Chip turned out to be a good guy, but his best friend Trent keeps bullying Darius. While his grandfather’s health gets worse, Sohrab is facing trouble in Iran. With all of these issues Darius feels more conflicted than ever, but he finds strength in his friendships, his family and himself.

Readers will definitely relate to Darius and all of his issues, and will feel as if he’s one of their own classmates. I loved reading about Darius again, and can’t wait to see what happens in the next book of the series.

Highly recommended for ages 14 and older.

I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“The inexplicable logic of my life” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Rated 5 stars ***** 2017. Clarion Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). 452 p.

Who am I? The year he turned 17, Salvador’s mind was full of unanswered questions. He had always been able to tell his best friend Samantha anything, as she was like a sister to him, but he felt he couldn’t tell her he didn’t want his wonderful and supportive gay father, who adopted him and who he dearly loved, to know he was thinking of his real father. He’d been getting into lots of fights; leaving him wondering if the anger he felt came from his real dad. Was he an offshoot of his dad? Did he inherit his dad’s anger issues? Who is he really? Sal doesn’t know.

Sal knows he doesn’t want to go to college, doesn’t want to write his admission essay, and doesn’t want his beloved grandmother Mima to leave him. He loves his family but has lots of questions about his place in the world. While Sal tries to figure out some answers to the craziness going on in his head, stuff keeps happening. Death, sadness, grief, anger and sorrow keep entering his life; along with the love that comes from a close knit family and good friends. Why does his life feel so messed up? Who is he really?

Many of Sal’s questions will ring true with teen readers, along with his emotional ups and downs. I was moved to tears by Mima and Sal’s friend Fito’s problems, and loved the strong friendship between Sal and Sammy. The strong and powerful love given to Sal by his dad is an example for all dads to follow. Once again Sáenz pens a winner.

Highly recommended for readers age 14 and older.

“Wide awake” David Levithan

Rated 5 stars ***** 2006. Knopf Books. 221 p.

Duncan and his boyfriend Jimmy, along with their friends, have been working hard on the campaign of Abraham Stein hoping he will become the first gay, Jewish President of the United States. Stein wins by 1000 votes, and everyone is ecstatic – except for the governor of Kansas who insists there was election tampering and hopes to have him defeated. With his opponent refusing to concede the election, hoping to have Stein lose votes in the recount, Stein invites Americans to join him in Kansas to protest the behind-the-scenes politics working to take away the people’s vote.

Jimmy fiercely believes in action when he spots wrongdoing, while Duncan hopes silence will make bad things disappear. Their differences of opinion begin to rise to the surface with Stein’s election issues, and the trip to Kansas seems to be the match that could set them off in different directions. With a strong belief in America’s founding principles of “liberty and justice for all,” the two embark on a trip that will forever change the views they hold of their country, its citizens and themselves.

Levithan mixes politics, romance, relationships and history to give readers a dystopian story that, though written in 2006, is eerily prescient of the 2016 elections. His descriptions of the Kansas rally reminded me of the Atlanta Women’s March, where I joined millions of other women across the nation to march in solidarity for civil rights and liberties. It’s impossible to not compare the hateful vitriol spewed forth from the opposition party in “Wide awake” to that emitted by supporters of our current administration.

Eleven years have passed since Levithan took pen to paper, and many things have happened politically – including the election of our nation’s first Black president. One can only hope America will have its own Abraham Stein to elect in the years to come. Thank you David for opening our eyes to its possibility.

Highly recommended for ages 14 and older.

“Girls like me” Lola StVil

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Published October 4, 2016. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 310 p.

Using a poetic style of writing, along with text messages, St. Vil tells the story of Shay, a lonely, overweight 15-year-old girl. Shay has learned to constantly eat to cope with the pain of bullying and missing her dead father, as it helps her forget she’s fat and alone with her evil stepmother. Her gay best friend Dash, and her dying-of-cancer friend Boots assure her she is beautiful and funny, but even they can’t give her the help and support she finds from eating.

A chance encounter with a boy in a chat room leads to days spent laughing and chatting online. Soon her humor and his wit combine to form love, but is it possible to fall for someone you’ve never met? Shay believes staying online is enough, and resists all attempts for them to meet in person. She is certain that once he meets her he will run away, so is willing to settle for second best. Can she learn to overcome her fear and stand up for herself?

“Girls like me” tells Shay’s, Dash’s and Boot’s stories of loneliness, friendship and heartache, along with the ups and downs that come with being seen as “different” by their peers. It is a story every teen should, hopefully, learn from as they read.

Highly recommended for ages 13 and older.

“The other boy” M.G. Hennessey

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Published September 20, 2016. Harper. 234 p.

Shane and his best friend Josh are in sixth grade. Video games and baseball consume their every waking moment, and girls are making an appearance. Even though his dad hasn’t made too many attempts to be part of his life or to come for visits after his parents divorce, Shane is doing just fine without him. When he and his mom left San Francisco for Los Angeles three years ago, Shane never looked back. With his days filled with baseball, his friendship with Josh, and designing his very own graphic novel, he is finally getting to become the person he always knew he should be.

Despite his rosy outside life, Shane is hiding a secret that would change everything about his life if anyone ever found out about it. With his secret getting closer to exposure every day Shane will soon learn that truth comes with a price, and will have to decide if he is willing to pay it.

Once I started reading “The other boy” I couldn’t put it down, and finished it in one sitting. Hennessey’s young readers have the opportunity to learn about the many difficulties and challenges, as well as the hopes and fears, faced by transgender boys and girls. Through reading Shane’s story in this finely crafted novel, it is hoped they will learn acceptance and tolerance. Every middle school and public library should have a copy of “The other boy” in its collection.

Highly recommended for ages 11-14.