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Teens of Color in YA

Cover art for THE QUEEN OF WATER
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 8, 2011
Kirkus Star THE QUEEN OF WATER
by Laura Resau, María Virginia Farinango
"By turns heartbreaking, infuriating and ultimately inspiring. (Fiction. 13 & up)"
The riveting tale of an indigenous Ecuadorian girl being sent away from her family to work for a middle-class mestizo (of Spanish heritage) couple, this collaborative novel by teen author Resau and Farinango is based on the life story of the latter. Read full book review >
Cover art for I AM J
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2011
Kirkus Star I AM J
by Cris Beam
"It was just good and bad and interesting and fucked-up and very human, like anything else." (Fiction. 14 & up)"
Finally, a book about a transgender teen that gives its central character a life in which gender and transition matter but do not define his existence! Read full book review >
Cover art for GLITZ
CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 1, 2011
GLITZ
by Philana Marie Boles
"There's enough wish fulfillment here to delight starry-eyed music lovers and enough cautionary realism to reassure a worried Gramma. (Fiction. 13 & up)"
Though comfortable with her private school, protective Gramma and house in Toledo, devoted underground hip-hop fan Ann Michelle Lewis sometimes wonders if she's missing out. Read full book review >
Cover art for YUMMY
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 2010
Kirkus Star YUMMY: THE LAST DAYS OF A SOUTHSIDE SHORTY
by G. Neri, illustrated by Randy DuBurke
"A much-needed look at the terrifying perils of life on the margins that will have all readers pondering the heady question of moral responsibility. (Graphic fiction. 12 & up)"
A haunting, ripped-from-the-headlines account of youth gang violence in Chicago provides the backdrop for a crucial mediation on right and wrong. Read full book review >
Cover art for MANIFEST
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 2010
MANIFEST
by Artist Arthur
"Krystal and her fellow Mystyx are all people of color, adding a dimension of diversity too rarely seen in the genre. (Paranormal mystery. YA)"
New Yorker Krystal, 15, moves to her mother's hometown of Lincoln, Conn., after her parents divorce. Read full book review >
Cover art for FOR THE WIN
CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2010
FOR THE WIN
by Cory Doctorow
"Fans, future bankers and future gametechs will be in heaven; those without interest will skim or give up by the halfway mark. (Science fiction. YA)"
In a future so close it will be easily mistaken for today, teens all over the world play massively multiplayer online role-playing games, but not all are in the game for fun. Read full book review >