Hello, YA readers! This is Danika, filling in for Kelly as she takes some well-deserved time off. Today, I have a couple YA paperback releases for you, as well as some bisexual YA book recommendations to read for Bisexual Visibility Month.
Before we get into this week’s YA paperbacks and recommendations, did you know that Book Riot’s editorial team is writing for casual and power readers alike over at The Deep Dive? During the month of September, all new free subscribers will be entered to win Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, plus five mystery books from The Deep Dive. To enter, simply start a free subscription to The Deep Dive. No payment method required!
Bookish Goods
Heartstopper Leaves Tote Bag by TesonStore
It’s fall in the northern hemisphere, which means it’s Heartstopper season! You can get those iconic leaf illustrations on just about anything on Etsy, including this tote bag that is perfect for carrying your books. $10
New Releases
Find below two of this week’s paperbacks.
Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu
You might recognize Jennifer Mathieu from her book-turned-movie Moxie. In this novel, she reimagines The Outsiders with female main characters. Set in Houston in 1964, Evie and her group of friends are “bad girls” who are too loud and wear too much makeup. They’re fiercely loyal to each other. But when Evie is saved from disaster by a “good girl,” she has to reevaluate what she thought she knew about friendship.
Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
Book two in this duology, Foul Heart Huntsman, is out today, and so is the paperback version of book one! In a fantasy version of 1930s Shanghai, Rosalind has healing powers as a result of a strange experiment, and she’s using them to be a spy. Now, to keep her cover, she has to pose as the wife of another spy, Orion. What could go wrong?
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Bisexual YA Book Recs
I know Kelly generally does YA book news at this point, but I don’t know where her sources are, because I was having trouble digging up much. So instead, I’m going to recommend a couple of bisexual YA books for Bisexual Visibility Month.
Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi
When CeCe and her girlfriend Silvie breaks up, it’s more than heartbreaking: it’s a threat to her brand. CeCe’s whole life is online, and Cevie was supposed to be #RelationshipGoals. When she starts to fall for a very offline guy, how will he react to her online life, and how will the Cevie fans respond? I love how this book explores bisexuality as a distinct identity, including CeCe’s feeling like she doesn’t quite belong in either straight or queer spaces. It’s also one of the few books I’ve read with a bisexual main character who has a preference for one gender (women). I think this deserves way more attention.
Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles
Gio is a Black bisexual teenage boy who is just starting to feel stable in his life after his mother left eight years ago. Now, she’s suddenly reappeared, looking for forgiveness, and Gio doesn’t know how to feel about her. Meanwhile, he’s starting to become closer friends with a teammate on his basketball team, David, and might be falling for him — but Gio isn’t sure he can handle any more complicated relationships in his life right now. There are still so few books with bisexual men or boys as main characters, and even fewer with Black bisexual men, so this is a must-read. Also, this cover is stunning in real life.
That’s it for me! You can usually find me writing the Our Queerest Shelves newsletter. I also have a sapphic book blog called the Lesbrary, and you can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.
Happy reading!
Danika