A Queer Latinx Pirate Fantasy, YA Voices from Africa, and More YA Book Talk: February 27, 2023

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New Releases

I’m on this week’s episode of All The Books and talked about two awesome YA books that hit shelves this week, Chaos Theory and She Is a Haunting. But we’ve got so many good books out this week, I did not want to repeat them here. So listen to the episode for enthusiastic recommendations of those two, and then dig into these two, too.

Want more? You can peep the entire roundup of new YA books out this week here.

I’ll Take Everything You Have by James Klise

A queer coming-of-age set in 1930s Chicago? Count me in.

Joe comes to Chicago in 1934 in order to make enough money to save the family farm. He’s been set up at a hotel job, and he decides to take part in a con coordinated by his cousin in order to make a lot of money really fast. As he’s in on the scheme, Joe befriends two guys who expose him to things he’s never seen: a rich queer life in the city.

But Joe soon finds himself in big trouble. Between the con and being caught up in danger with the cops and gangsters, he knows he’s gotta get out of town. Leaving, though, means deciding who he truly wants to be.

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa

Mar, a nonbinary transmasc Latinx pirate, can manipulate fire and ice. Unfortunately, as magical as that power is, they’re not strong enough to reverse a bargain made by their father. El Diablo is out for revenge, hoping to collect Mar’s father’s soul and the rest of those on the ship.

By miracle, there’s hope. But not for long: now El Diablo wants to make a bargain with Mar.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

New African Voices

We don’t see enough YA books set in Africa, let alone YA books set in Africa (or not!) by authors who call the great continent home. Let’s take a look at 2 newer YA books by authors who live and work in Africa — one in Zimbabwe and one in Nigeria.

All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri

Mati is being visited by a gender queer ghost who dresses outlandishly. That ghost is helping Mati work through the grief of losing her mother, as well as process the loss of Caroline, her best friend. As a means of grieving, Mati’s father takes her, her older sister ChiChi, and younger brother Tana, back to his homeland of Zimbabwe from Britain. On this road trip across ancestral lands, Mati begins to unravel what happened to her family and why it is she has a new friend no one else can see.

This is a short book, clocking in under 200 pages, but it packs in a lot in that sparseness.

How You Grow Wings by Rimma Onoseta

Set in contemporary Nigeria, Onoseta’s debut follows the lives of sisters Zam and Cheta who, despite having grown up in the same house, have had very different experiences with their parents. Zam gets the opportunity to leave home and live with relatives and her life expands in ways she hadn’t anticipated. Cheta, still at home, is desperate for a way out and chooses several options that put her in danger.

This well-written, character-driven novel is a fascinating read about sisterhood, about racism and colorism, as well as abuse and mental health. It’s a slower and quieter one, but the journey of each sister is immersive, and their journeys toward and away from each other challenging, honest, and compelling.

Thanks for hanging out. Today, spend some time reading up on a new law being proposed in Oklahoma that would require rating every book in school and public libraries. Then write your local legislators wherever you live to demand First Amendment Rights for all.

See you later this week,

— Kelly Jensen