With affectionate comparisons having been made to Meg Cabot’s blockbuster series The Princess Diaries, Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians series, as well as to Dennie Gordon’s film What A Girl Wants, Emiko Jean’s Tokyo After After (Tokyo Ever After #1) is a lively and fresh thrown-into-the-royal-spotlight contemporary young adult title. Izumi ‘Izzy’ Tanaka has never quite felt at home in her hometown of Mount Shasta, California. As a Japanese-American in a predominantly white town and raised by her single mom (a respected, Harvard-educated professor), Izumi often wondered about the missing parts of her life and her self. And mostly, about her father- someone her mother has never been keen to speak much about or reveal details about. The last few months before her graduation from high school however, the desire and need to know about her father and her Japanese family history grows to a bursting point. Aided by the research and help of her trio of best friends- and by a sneak into her mother’s few mementos- Izumi finds out that her birth father is none other than the Crown Prince of Japan (or, as her friends also refer to him, the Asian George Clooney). Izumi’s life is fundamentally, forever altered. In breakneck pace, Izzy- Crown Princess Izumi- soon finds herself at the airport, ready to say goodbye to her mom and spend two weeks in Japan, getting to know her father. And the rest of the Imperial House of Japan. And everything else that this new, seemingly fairytale twist will bring. What Izumi discovers when she lands in Japan- and not only gets to know her father but also an incredibly dense, almost impenetrable new way of conduct and expectations- are reeling waves of emotions and experiences. As life in this new spotlight and new country begins and swiftly takes off, Izzy navigates some dicey family bonds as well as a serious attraction to the handsome young man assigned to protect her life. Tokyo Ever After is a lovely blend of romance, familial relationships and dynamics, as well as a fascinating dive into the Imperial Family and its inner mechanics. At times, it feels as though the novel teeters a bit- almost taking on too many topics, subplots and tonal shifts- arguably leaving the most captivating elements (that of Izzy’s relationship to the spotlight and crown, her father and mother, and barriers with love interest Akio)- unattended for bursts of time. All in all, however, Tokyo Ever After is a delight; seriously engaging and heartfelt. Izzy is a fascinating, evolving character- chameleon-like and constantly surprising- and it will be a treat to read more of her adventures in a planned second Tokyo Ever After!

Now here’s a quick look at some other YA fiction, YA graphic novels, and adult fiction I’ve read an enjoyed! In no particular order here they are: Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera; Beetle and the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne; Skim by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki; The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity, illustrated by Christopher J. Baldwin; the very funny, sharp and thrilling Finlay Donovan is Killing It (Finlay Donovan #1) by Elle Cosimano; the wonderfully romantic, sweet, and captivating Get A Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert; the stunningly written, deeply felt Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson; the completely swoon-worthy, glorious historical romance Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1) by Evie Dunmore; the twisty and surprising Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid; and last but not least, The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow, extraordinarily beautiful Pride & Prejudice story from Mary Bennet’s vantage point.

I received a copy of Tokyo Ever After title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own. All titles featured have been published and are currently available.

I know I’m not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They’re mean, and scary, and they’re always destroying something or saying something dumb or both. I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel…unsafe.

It’s the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone’s going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can’t stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.

You may recognize the name of author and illustrator Mike Curator as the creator of the beloved Little Elliot series of picture books, as well as Worm Loves Worm (written by J.J. Austrian). Flamer is not only the debut graphic novel (and YA debut) of Curato’s, but also a title that has been on the receiving end of tremendous acclaim and multiple starred reviews since its fall release. An incredibly powerful, wrenching, beautiful graphic novel that draws on aspects of Curato’s own experiences growing up, Flamer is not to be missed.

Spending the summer at Boy Scouts Camp, fourteen-year-old Aiden Navarro is walking multiple tightropes. Harassed due his being biracial, sensitive about his weight, and troubled by consistent, pressing thoughts and questions about his sexuality (amongst a group of teens and environment where homophobia and homophobic aggressions are depicted as the norm), Aiden feels intense pressure. And confusion. And self-disgust. While attempting to appear ‘normal’- I.e. heterosexual- for his own sanity, and for the benefit of his Scouts troop, Aiden can’t help but think about, wonder about, and dream about his most reliable Scout friend Elias. But…being gay is unacceptable…isn’t it? Aiden can’t be…isn’t gay, right? He can’t be gay if his religion dictates it a sin, right? …So why can’t his thinking about Elias just stop?

A starred review from Booklist noted that Flamer is exemplary in its ‘nuanced’, ‘visual storytelling’, and I wholeheartedly agree. The graphic novel is predominantly in black and white, with unmissable red, orange, fiery tones reserved for the most emotional, combustible moments and scenes. Characters and dialogue are illustrated by thicker defined charcoal-like lines. The rawness of Aiden – his expressions, his drifts into memory and fantasy, his confrontations (with himself and with others), his immediate thoughts, and lengthier dialogues are at the center of the story here.

A story that tells of hatred, of internalized homophobia, of rampant external homophobia, of religious confusion and reckoning, as well as contemplation of death, Flamer is never easy, but it is necessary. It should also be stressed and noted, readers, that Flamer is ultimately a story of finding hope, self-acceptance, and possibility. Sure to affect and long linger in the minds of readers, Flamer is a superb graphic novel. Extras: For more on Flamer, take the time to read this post by Mike Curato. You can also download a discussion guide available via the author-illustrator’s website

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

In this all-new interview, I am delighted to have the opportunity to welcome Canadian author Tanya Lloyd Kyi! Tanya’s latest, the contemporary middle grade novel, Me and Bansky, was recently been released; you may also recognize the author from the middle grade novel Mya’s Strategy to Save the World, various non-fiction titles, as well as young adult novels like Prince of Pot. Please enjoy this special interview with Tanya, where we talk everything from favourite protagonists, the need for non-fiction, social justice issues affecting young readers, and much more! A mighty thank you to Tanya Lloyd Kyi as well as Penguin Random House Canada for being so generous with their time and help putting this post together. Be sure to check out the author’s catalogue of terrific books if you get the chance. I hope you all enjoy!

Your latest book, the fantastic- and fascinating- contemporary middle grade novel Me and Banksy was just released in January of this year- congratulations! For readers who might not be familiar with the book, could you give us a little bit of background and information about Me and Banksy?
Thirteen-year-old Dominica and her friends attend a posh private school for gifted kids. Because of the principal’s security concerns, there are cameras in their classrooms. Dominica doesn’t see any problem with this, until someone hacks the system and starts posting embarrassing photos and videos online. A shot of Dominica doing something innocuous — flipping her shirt right-side-out in a quiet corner of the library — looks like a strip tease when it’s edited and posted. Inspired by the street artist Banksy, Dominica begins an art-based protest. And as the privacy concerns at her school multiply, her rebellion grows in scope and size.

The main protagonists from your recent middle grade novels are the kind of young characters that readers can look to for motivation and inspiration. Who were your favourite heroes or protagonists of fiction when you were growing up? What kind of characters did you gravitate towards most when you were growing up?
I loved characters like Emily of New Moon and Jo March — girls who were dedicated to their dreams despite pressure to conform. My daughter once called me “a very quiet rebel,” and I took that as a compliment. Although the characters I write tend to be a little less quiet about their opinions.

In both Mya’s Strategy to Save the World and Me and Bansky, I was immediately taken in with the lead protagonists’ voices: they come across as so genuine, bright, and slightly, perfectly zany. The kinds of characters I adore now- and would have absolutely loved growing up. How do you go about best capturing authenticity in younger characters, and do you find writing teen voices or tween/children’s voices more difficult to get ‘right’?
When I was writing Mya’s Strategy to Save the World, my tween daughter had recently discovered activism. She was writing letters to save the whales and running her own environmental club at school. Some of my favourite moments in the book — the water-bottle throw, and the club meeting that goes awry — came directly from her experiences. As I wrote, Mya grew into her own person, and became more of a know-it-all than my daughter. But let’s just say there are some shared personality traits…

I’m not as sure about the origins of my Me and Banksy cast. One of my favourite characters is Holden, who is exasperating on the surface but very sweet underneath. I may have accidentally created my ideal high school boyfriend. (Who unfortunately never existed in real life!)

Your most recent fiction titles, Prince of Pot, Mya’s Strategy to Save the World, and Me and Banksy are contemporary titles that all have a real-world, noteworthy element to them (illegal grow ops, social justice, refugee crisis, abuse of surveillance technology). Do you feel it is now more critical than ever to present young characters actively involved in relevant, world issues in your fiction? And have you had experiences in publishing where you were ever asked to hold back and/or minimize those components in your books?
My daughter once told me that her generation was the first to live without hope. It broke my heart. But sometimes, the best antidote for despair is to take action. Our young people have been the world’s most successful activists for change, and I think it’s important that we give them empowered role models, in real life and in fiction.

Canadian publishers are at the forefront when it comes to addressing big topics and asking young readers to think for themselves. When I look at books such as Robin Stevenson’s My Body My Choice (Orca), or Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves (Cormorant), I’m so proud of our industry.

My own editors have been endlessly supportive. The social justice themes in Mya’s Strategy to Save the World really came to life under the guidance of Lynne Missen, my editor at Penguin Random House. (Thank you, Lynne!)

In a recent interview with the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, you talked about inspirations and motivations for your middle grade titles. For Mya’s Strategy to Save the World, you referenced your daughter’s letter to a politician; for Me and Bansky, you referenced being inspired by your research for your non-fiction title Eyes and Spies. For your forthcoming book with This is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science is Tackling Unconscious Bias (Kids Can Press), did your inspiration for the subject matter come from a specific life event, and do you think you might be keen to explore the subject area further in a new book?
My husband was born in Burma. A few years ago, he was giving the keynote lecture at a conference in a Canadian city. He stopped by the conference room the day before to check the set-up. A woman bustled in from the neighbouring room and said, “Thank goodness you’re here. We’ve been waiting forever to get the heat turned up.”

She assumed he was the maintenance guy.

She was of course very embarrassed when she discovered her mistake, and my husband laughed off the incident, but this sort of thing happens to him ALL THE TIME!

Situations like this one, plus the sort of micro-agressions that happen to us as girls and women, also ALL THE TIME, had me mulling over the ways our brains work, and how we might get them to work a bit better. Or a lot better, preferably!

Would I tackle this topic in other books? I don’t think the racism issue is necessarily mine to address in fiction, but I am working on a middle-grade novel about censorship, and about a girl who has to learn to raise her voice in her own defence. There are definitely some connections to stereotypes and sexism… which I didn’t think about until this exact moment.

It seems as though there has been a boom, if not at least more deserved recognition, being carved out children’s non-fiction. Have you found the Canadian publishing space more open towards publishing a broader variety of current/critical children’s non-fiction in the last decade or so? And how do you go about selecting your topic(s) for your non-fiction projects?
I love non-fiction! I think you’re right that people are paying more attention to information books — and thank goodness, because we need to raise a new generation of critical thinkers, and information books are one of the best ways to teach kids to question everything.

I find my non-fiction ideas in all sorts of places, from news stories to podcasts to coffee shop conversations. (It’s possible that I eavesdrop.) Writing information books means that I get to be endlessly curious. It’s the best part of my job.

For your younger readers who have a desire to stay on top of current events/political news/social justice issues, do you have any recommendations for sources or individuals/associations to follow on social media? Or reliable non-fiction book resources or authors you could recommend?
We could start a whole new blog about this topic alone. Some of my favourite writers to follow and read are Robin Stevenson, Monique Polak, Monique Grey Smith, and Mary Beth Leatherdale. I love podcasts, too! My personal favourite is NPR’s Hidden Brain.

Let’s talk book covers, and specifically the cover of Me and Banksy which is pretty fabulous and eye-catching! The jacket art and design was done by John Martz, a wonderful illustrator and cartoonist. With your background in graphic design and Me and Banksy’s subject matter, can you tell us how your book cover came together, and what kind of input you had in the look of the book’s cover?
Ha! My contribution to the Me and Banksy cover was entirely this: “A squirrel? Are you sure?” I’m so glad I was outvoted!

For the fall of 2020, readers can look forward to a new non-fiction release; I have also read that you’re working on a picture book manuscript! Can you tell readers a bit more about the picture book project? And are there any other projects in the works that you are able to speak to?
So many projects in the works! You’re right that I’ve been trying my hand at picture books, though it seems even my tiny stories have a slightly non-fiction slant to them. Working in a new format, and learning the rules of writing for very young children, has been both fun and challenging.

The other new project I’m excited about is a proposal I’ve sent away to my agent. It’s for a non-fiction book co-written by my daughter and me. Fingers crossed!

What were some of your standout reads of 2019? What books are on your must-read list for 2020?
On the list of information books I wish I’d written: The Superpower Field Guide series by Rachel Poliquin [ed. note: and illustrated by Nicholas John Frith]. They’re so much fun. I’m in the middle of reading The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys, and loving it, and I have Maybe He Just Likes You, by Barbara Dee, waiting for me at the library. So many books, so little time!

Thank you for having me, Michelle, and for all of these thought-provoking questions!

Thank you so much, this has been a tremendous pleasure!

Keep up with Tanya Lloyd Kyi online:
Website: www.tanyalloydkyi.com
Twitter: @tanyakyi

I reviewed Me and Banksy for Quill & Quire prior to the arrangement of this interview. All opinions and comments regarding the review are my own and were in no way impacted by the interview. Thank you to author Tanya Lloyd Kyi for her generosity and time, and Penguin Random House Canada.

Hello lovely readers! In case you are wondering whether the headliner is, in fact, true…IT IS! I had the tremendous and thrilling- and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity- to meet Rainbow Rowell, the New York Times bestselling author of hits such as Fangirl, Eleanor & Park, Carry On, and more! 

Thanks to a generous prize draw courtesy of Raincoast Books and the author, I had a chance to interview Rainbow Rowell before a special author event featuring Rainbow and acclaimed graphic novelist (and Pumpkinheads illustrator!) Faith Erin Hicks took place. Rainbow and Faith were doing an author event on behalf of their graphic novel collaboration Pumpkinheads, which released in August of this year. Rainbow also welcomed the publication of Wayward Son, book two in the Simon Snow series, in late September of this year.

After opening with a congratulations to Rainbow on the release of both Pumpkinheads and Wayward Son, I had to mention that my first introduction to Rainbow’s work was, in fact, her debut novel Attachments -a novel I love very dearly- and one that Rainbow called a ‘sleeper’.

Onto the questions we go, and I hope you all enjoy! 

I would like to extend a mighty thank you to Rainbow Rowell for her time and consideration of my questions, as well as to the kind folks at Raincoast Books for organizing this wonderful opportunity. It was such a fabulous, fun- and happily surreal- experience!

When Walt Whitman fan Jonathan Hopkirk and football player Adam “Kurl” Kurlansky are partnered together in a weekly pen pal assignment, they don’t expect to get much out of it. With each letter, however, the two are led deeper into a friendship that eventually grows into love. But faced with homophobia, bullying, and devastating family secrets, Jonathan and Kurl must struggle to hold on to their relationship—and each other.

This gripping, gorgeously written novel celebrates love and life with engaging characters and stunning language, making it perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson, Nina LaCour, and David Levithan.

Canadian writer and professor Sarah Henstra won the Governor General’s Literary Award in fiction for The Red Word and made her debut with the young adult historical novel Mad Miss Mimic. Henstra makes a return here to young adult fiction with her highly-praised contemporary novel We Contain Multitudes.

“Maybe it is always like this. We are granted these tiny windows of time, these small pockets of space, where nothing else intrudes. Maybe that’s all we can ever hope to get, together. And maybe, just, maybe, it will be enough.”

Written entirely via letters, We Contain Multitudes details the inextricable bond and relationship that is formed between Jonathan “Jo” Hopkirk and Adam “Kurl” Kurlansky after they are assigned as writing partners for a high school pen pal project. At the onset, both Jonathan and Kurl are curious about their pairing: what will Kurl- a seemingly gruff, intimidating senior and football player- and Jonathan- a quiet, often bullied sophomore, with an unquenchable passion for Walt Whitman- write about in their letters? Even though Kurl notes in an early letter to Jonathan not to get his hopes up about their writing continuing, it soon turns out that Jonathan and Kurl have their entire live and life stories to not only share, but also to build up, tear apart, and change forever.

“So I think this is the thing, Jo. This is why I can’t agree with your life-begins-after-high-school-so-just-wait-it-out philosophy…It’s that now-right now, right this second- is the only actual time we’re alive. I mean our minds can live in the past or worry about the future but our bodies are only alive and feeling things right here, right now.”

As the writing back and forth between Kurl and Jo takes off, the scope and intensity of their letter contents changes. No longer strangers to one another at school, Jonathan and Kurl have now “met”; they start to know private, personal and hidden things about the other person and they begin to notice each other… to really see each other at school. The two begin to connect, first in hallways, between classes, and when Kurl comes to save Jonathan, who is openly gay, from hateful, spewing, homophobic bullies. Their connection deepens and their back-and-forth writing soon expands to cover their time spent together outside of school and with their respective families. At a few aching, aching, pivotal moments, Jonathan and Kurl shift their relationship to one that becomes something so much more; one of desire, of intensity, of sexual exploration, and of love. While the core of We Contain Multitudes falls on the relationship and love between Kurl and Jonathan, Henstra simultaneously manages multiple plot lines involving deceased parents, trauma, grief, substance abuse, PTSD, familial abuse, toxic masculinity, and rampant homophobia. At times, it is lot to unpack and the mass of topics threatens to overwhelm and divert, especially towards the last third of the novel as more betrayal and violence occur, and the promise of an unbroken, uninterrupted love between the two young men seems impossible. There is, however, a beam of hope and light- flickering as it may be at times- that does win out; a cautious hope for and belief in some kind of contented, perhaps even happy, future for our unforgettable protagonists.

A captivating and heartrending epistolary novel, We Contain Multitudes is a strong YA offering, steered beautifully by Henstra’s lyrical writing, so fluid and romantic yet impeccable and precise. Readers who have enjoyed the work of authors such as Nina LaCour, Jeff Zentner, Abdi Nazemian, or YA novels such as Meredith Russo’s Birthday, might especially find themselves enraptured by Kurl and Jonathan’s story.

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

Birthday by Meredith Russo
Source: ARC courtesy of Raincoast Books. Thank you!
Publication: May 21, 2019 by Flatiron Books
Book Description:

Two best friends. A shared birthday. Six years. . .
ERIC:There was the day we were born. There was the minute Morgan and I decided we were best friends for life. The years where we stuck by each other’s side – as Morgan’s mom died, as he moved across town, as I joined the football team, as my parents started fighting. But sometimes I worry that Morgan and I won’t be best friends forever. That there’ll be a day, a minute, a second, where it all falls apart and there’s no turning back the clock.
MORGAN:I know that every birthday should feel like a new beginning, but I’m trapped in this mixed-up body, in this wrong life, in Nowheresville, Tennessee, on repeat. With a dad who cares about his football team more than me, a mom I miss more than anything, and a best friend who can never know my biggest secret. Maybe one day I’ll be ready to become the person I am inside. To become her. To tell the world. To tell Eric. But when?
Six years of birthdays reveal Eric and Morgan’s destiny as they come together, drift apart, fall in love, and discover who they’re meant to be – and if they’re meant to be together. From the award-winning author of If I Was Your Girl, Meredith Russo, comes a heart-wrenching and universal story of identity, first love, and fate.

Author Meredith Russo, whose stellar debut novel If I Was Your Girl won a Stonewall Award in 2017, returns with the uniquely told, unforgettable contemporary young adult novel, Birthday.

Alternating between the first-person narratives of Morgan and Eric, Birthday begins when our protagonists- best friends who share the same birthday- turn thirteen, and revisits Morgan and Eric on their birthdays each year to the age of eighteen. When they turn thirteen and are celebrating at a water park with their families, Morgan is close to bursting and needs to tell Eric something momentous and also terrifying: that she was assigned the wrong gender at birth. But what is Morgan, football player, with a grieving, distant football coach father, stuck in the small and (presented-as) crumbling, dead-end town of Thebes, Tennessee, to do? Morgan wants to tell Eric, her best friend, closest confidante, person who means everything-in-the-world to her, but holds back year after year, to mostly catastrophic turns. Hate, homophobia, and bigotry run rampant in Morgan’s world- from adults who ignore and/or dismiss the abuse hurled, to classmates and teens who are exceedingly hateful and prejudiced. As Morgan struggles and moves back and forth between moving forward to become her true self as a young woman and the seemingly infinitesimal possibility of breaking from her life in Tennessee, Eric himself is simultaneously dealing with a threatening, abusive father, a family tearing apart, and complex feelings for Morgan. What I adore about Russo’s writing is that, even in overwhelming sadness and tragedy, and overwhelming anger and dissolution, there are rays of hope…of kindness…of intense love…of something to show that the world her characters inhabit (and that we inhabit) is not all grim and execrable. Without giving away too much here, I do want to note that Eric and Morgan do have beautiful, hopeful moments- moments that counter the ugliness they have had to endure- and Russo gives hopeful readers weighty and gloriously incandescent denouements to characters we have come to know, love, and feel keenly for.

With terrific reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, as well as a starred review from ALA Booklist, Meredith Russo’s Birthday is the author’s second excellent novel and another not-to-be-missed read. Intensely heartbreaking- at times, almost too much for a heart to bear-gorgeously written and achingly hopeful and beautiful, Birthday is a real standout. Readers who have previously read Russo’s revolutionary If I Was Your Girl, and those who are fans of authors such as Kacen Callender, Claire Kann, Nina LaCour, Jeff Zentner, S.K. Ali, or Alex Gino might especially be interested in reading this excellent, deeply heart-rending novel.

(Note: Related to trans author voices, as Meredith Russo’s If I Was Your Girl was one of the first broadly published books featuring a trans protagonist written by a trans woman: be sure to check out this crucial list, from Ray Stoeve).

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review and for the purposes of this blog tour. All opinions and comments are my own.

Review: Here to Stay by Sara Farizan

What happens when a kid who’s flown under the radar for most of high school gets pulled off the bench to make the winning basket in a varsity playoff game? If his name is Bijan Majidi, life is suddenly high fives in the hallways and invitations to exclusive parties—along with an anonymous photo sent by a school cyberbully that makes Bijan look like a terrorist.

The administration says they’ll find and punish the culprit. Bijan wants to pretend it never happened. He’s not ashamed of his Middle Eastern heritage; he just doesn’t want to be a poster child for Islamophobia. Lots of classmates rally around Bijan. Others make it clear they don’t want him or anybody who looks like him at their school. But it’s not always easy to tell your enemies from your friends.

Here to Stay is a painfully honest, funny, authentic story about growing up, speaking out, and fighting prejudice.

“You’re the son of rich histories. You are from the places where numbers and language were born.”

“Nobody at Granger cares about that, Mom,” I said. “I don’t want to be the poster child for this!” To the kids at Granger, I looked like an extra for Claire Danes to chase down in some alley for information…To them, I looked like I didn’t belong at their school. 

Sara Farizan, author of Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel and If You Could Be Mine, returns with her third young novel, the terrific contemporary YA title Here to Stay.

During a potentially season-ending basketball game, Bijan Majidi, a self-described “nonentity on loan from JV” is swapped in to play when a popular player on his team fouls out. As Bijan somewhat nervously goes out on the court, he surprises with some serious plays- one of which leads their team, the Granger Gunners, to defeat a competing prep school. Bijan becomes somewhat of an instant sports star at his elite school…but while his mom, closest friends, and some classmates and teammates are genuinely proud of Bijan, there are those who are seemingly jealous and spew hostility at Bijan. When Bijan becomes involved with a classmate’s petition to change the school mascot to one that represents nonviolent ideals- an act which angers key basketball team members and big donor contributors to the school-  an email soon circulates out to the school population with a picture of Bijan Photoshopped on the head of a terrorist, proclaiming him as the school’s new mascot.

…something had something had shifted when that image appeared on my screen. Since that moment, I had felt the weight of somebody else’s living, throbbing, unimaginative hatred on my body. It sat like lead in my gut.

This act of hate emboldens those with racist attitudes toward Bijan (including a few select basketball teammates and classmates)- leading to horrific moments off the basketball court and on. While trying to keep his head down as much as possible and maintain his existing friendships, Bijan’s increasingly solid and attention-receiving basketball playing won’t let up the unwanted spotlight. The unsolved cyber hate crime, and the disturbing reaches of Islamophobia sit heavily over Bijan, his mom, his tight group of friends, and his deeply divided basketball team …until another cyber crime strikes a different target and erupts (exposes) even more bigotry at his school. Farizan deftly combines and manages weighty topics including identity, homophobia, and pushing back against racist tormentors in and around subjects like friendship upheavals, team sport chronicles, and potential romantic interests. Bijan’s first-person narrative is so well-done and compelling: self-deprecating, very funny yet wry, often tinged with sadness, and highlighted by remarkable moments of incisiveness.

“I’m a sixteen-year-old student, and I don’t have all the answers you want me to have.”

Overall, Here to Stay is simply a great novel. Sharply written, bittersweet, often funny and engrossing all the way through, featuring a stellar protagonist and strong cast of secondary characters. Sara Farizan’s Here to Stay is a perfect pick for readers who enjoy the work of authors such as Randy Ribay, Jason Reynolds, Kelly Loy Gilbert, or Kwame Alexander. You can read this terrific and insightful author interview via Kirkus Reviews, as well as a detailed cover reveal and interview with the author via Entertainment Weekly.

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Thomas Allen & Son in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

A sweet, funny contemporary teen romance for the inner geek in all of us from graphic novelist Faith Erin Hicks.

Miriam’s family should be rich. After all, her grandfather was the co-creator of smash-hit comics series The TomorrowMen. But he sold his rights to the series to his co-creator in the 1960s for practically nothing, and now that’s what Miriam has: practically nothing. And practically nothing to look forward to either-how can she afford college when her family can barely keep a roof above their heads? As if she didn’t have enough to worry about, Miriam’s life gets much more complicated when a cute boy shows up in town . . . and turns out to be the grandson of the man who defrauded Miriam’s grandfather, and heir to the TomorrowMen fortune.

In her endearing debut novel, cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks pens a sensitive and funny Romeo and Juliet tale about modern romance, geek royalty, and what it takes to heal the long-festering scars of the past (Spoiler Alert: love).

You may recognize the name of Canadian author Faith Erin Hicks as the graphic novelist behind popular titles such as The Nameless City series, Friends With Boys, or The Adventures of Superhero Girl. With Comics Will Break Your Heart, Hicks dives into the world of contemporary young adult with a beautifully written, poignant story.

Told in alternating third person points of view- from Miriam ‘Mir’ Kendrick and Weldon Warrick- Hicks’ novel debut is the story about two teens coming together in the face of their respective families’ profoundly bitter history. After a spell of bad behavior and bad choices, Weldon Warrick is relegated to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in the tiny East Coast town of Sandford, Nova Scotia. While exploring the rundown Emporium of Wonders comics shop in Sandford’s small downtown, Weldon meets Miriam Kendrick, working at the counter. It is Miriam who first puts together that Weldon is a Warrick from that family. For Mir and her family, the Warrick family has been and continues to be a source of painful memories, anger and soured feelings. Mir’s grandfather, Micah Kendrick, was the original artist behind the exceedingly popular comic strip the TomorrowMen, which was started in the 1960s with friend Joseph Warrick.  A horrible and lengthy legal battle followed the families for years as Micah unknowingly sold rights at a bargain and Joseph Warrick essentially took TomorrowMen from the Kendrick family and began a separate comics empire that blossomed into a hugely successful conglomerate. Mir’s hatred of the Warrick family rests mostly on the unfairness of it all: Mir sees the immense wealth of present-day Warrick Studios- an empire she sees as stolen from her family- and compares it with her own family’s relative lower-income stature and feels the burn of it all. Mir thinks about how much she works, how desperately she saves her money and constantly worries about how she might be able to afford university, and finds it desperately ironic, strange, and possibly laughable that she finds herself drawn to the grandson of Joseph Warrick…(similarly in how Weldon is captivated and drawn in by Miriam and her family).

Hicks tells such an intriguing and thoughtfully layered story here: of arguments behind ‘owning’ art, of profiting off of art, and the trail of spite and burnout that theft of art- whether determined as legal or not- causes; of a teen’s worry about their life beyond high school and their small town, and of the friends who don’t want to leave; and of desire for an unfamiliar person and for an unknown life that are terrifying, dazzling, and assumed to be out-of-reach. While a portion of story energy is spent on detailing the Kendrick-Warrick history, it is a fascinating component of Comics Will Break Your Heart, and necessary to better understand Miriam, and the developments that occur in Mir and Weldon’s relationship. From Sandford all the way to San Diego Comic Con (which does indeed make an appearance later in the story!), Weldon and Mir’s story is keenly thoughtful, quiet yet incredible all at once, with the world of comics- and the richly imagined, fictitious TomorrowMen – as a backdrop to their story.

Overall, a thoughtful, engrossing, and felt contemporary young adult title. The relationship between Mir and Weldon is especially achingly beautifully, though the entire story is very well-developed and wonderfully unexpected. For readers who appreciate their YA on the quieter, unhurried, but emotionally powerful side- think along the lines of Jennifer E. Smith, Susin Nielsen, Lisa Moore, or Nina LaCour- Comics Will Break Your Heart is a fantastic pick.

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

Welcome to one of the last stops on the Raincoast Books blog tour for Canadian author Eileen Cook‘s latest YA novel, You Owe Me a Murder!  Read on for my thoughts on the novel as well as a Q&A with Eileen. Be sure to take a look at the postcard at the bottom of the post and check out the rest of the participating bloggers.

You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook
Source: ARC courtesy of Raincoast Books. Thank you!
Expected publication: March 5, 2019 by HMH Books for Young Readers
Book Description:

Seventeen-year-old Kim gets more than she bargained for when she is set up for murder. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying, E. Lockhart, and Gillian Flynn.

17-year-old Kim never expected to plot a murder. But that was before her boyfriend dumped her for another girl. Now, Kim’s stuck on a class trip to London with him and his new soulmate and she can’t help wishing he was a little bit dead, even if she’d never really do that.

But when Kim meets Nicki, a stranger on the plane who’s more than willing to listen to Kim’s woes, things start to look up. Nicki’s got a great sense of humor, and when she jokes about swapping murders, Kim plays along-that is, until Kim’s ex-boyfriend mysteriously dies.

Blackmailed by Nicki to fulfill her end of the deal, Kim will have to commit a murder or take the fall for one.

Author Eileen Cook has a few mystery novels to her names, including titles such as The Hanging Girl and With Malice.  In You Owe Me a Murder, Cook turns once again to the mystery genre, with an unnerving young adult story that packs a few great surprises.

Seventeen year old Kim Maher is waiting to board a flight from Vancouver to London, England. She and a group of students- which includes her rather awful ex-boyfriend Connor and his current girlfriend Miriam- are on their way abroad for an international student program. We learn that Kim had planned- begged- her parents to let her go on the trip when she and Connor were together, and now she is stuck facing him and his annoying, loud new relationship for a few weeks. When a stranger named Nicki strikes up a conversation with Kim in the airport waiting lounge, they bond immediately and Kim divulges details of her ex, and Nicki divulges all about her own problems with her mom. Then, on the plane with her new friend, Kim and Nicki drink and gossip, with Kim detailing all the things she hates about Connor…and the new friends agree that it would really be better if he was dead. Well, not actually dead, Kim stresses, of course she doesn’t actually wish Connor dead, that would be awful!

In a horrifying turn, Connor dies shortly after they arrive in London, and it turns out that Nicki is behind it. And now Nicki expects- no, demands- Kim to return the favour of Connor’s murder… by Kim murdering Nicki’s mother! In the midst of Nicki’s disturbingly pathological behavior and demented ultimatum that is threatening to overtaking Kim’s entire school trip, Kim unexpectedly begins a relationship with an extremely kind and thoughtful student on the exchange program named Alex. As the pressure from Nicki grows, her threatening behavior increases to a startling moment, and Kim grows even more sick with dread that she may never escape from Nicki’s demand. Will Kim actually have to resort to a murder to escape Nicki’s imprisonment or is there another way out?

You Owe Me a Murder is at its strongest when the surprises (i.e reveals from Kim, Nicki, and other characters) come to the surface and convoluted turns from Nicki are happening; those moments, particularly in the last third of the novel, are genuinely fascinating and add a great thrilling angle to the novel. I think I would have liked earlier portions of the novel to have tightened to focus more on Kim’s tendencies that veer her into unreliable narrator territory, and on deeper dives into Nicki’s past; there is significant information exposed at the end about Nicki, with not enough time for eager readers to unpack and digest! On the whole though, Cook does so well in balancing an unhinged protagonist, a vacillating, often uncertain narrator, an international setting, and a burgeoning teen relationship- all under the shroud of a terrifying, murderous countdown.

While it might seem odd to deem a novel about a teen hounded by a diabolical stranger fun– that’s just what You Owe Me a Murder is! Fast-moving, totally readable, with a solid, overarching sinister hook to keep the reader in and guessing. If you have previously enjoyed Cook’s mystery novels, then I’d suggest checking this latest one out. Likewise, if you’re a fan of entertaining YA mysteries- think along the lines of April Henry, Jessica Warman, Caleb Roehrig, Kimberly McCreight- then You Owe Me a Murder might be right up your alley.

Q&A with Eileen Cook!

Q: You Owe Me A Murder feels like a departure of sorts from your previous mystery novels. In With Malice, there is the hook of memory loss and amnesia; in The Hanging Girl, there is a dive into tarot cards and psychic abilities. How did you prepare to get inside the mind of or to write a character like Nicki, who is so deeply unsettling and arguably pathological?

A: In my real life I like to think of myself as a very kind person, but I will admit that writing someone who is so nasty was SO MUCH FUN. I enjoyed the opportunity to get inside someone’s head who could be so completely immoral, who wasn’t ever held back by common decency or ethics. At times she was a bit scary to write, but there was no doubt that she made the story interesting as I could count on her to make things worse at every turn. And in fiction- that’s what we tend to like- complicated situations. However, I wouldn’t like to meet her in real life. Nicki is charming, but cold.

Thank you so much for your time!

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review and for the purposes of this blog tour. All opinions and comments are my own.

You Are the Everything by Karen Rivers
Source: Hardcopy courtesy of Thomas Allen & Son. Thank you!
Publication: October 30, 2018
 by Algonquin Young Readers (an imprint of Algonquin Books)
Available in Canada through Thomas Allen & Son
Book Description:

Can you want something—or someone—so badly that it changes your destiny? Elyse Schmidt never would have thought so, until it happened to her. When Elyse and her not-so-secret crush, Josh Harris, are the sole survivors of a plane crash, tragedy binds them together. It’s as if their love story is meant to be. Everything is perfect, as perfect as it can be when you’ve literally fallen out of the sky and landed hard on the side of a mountain—until suddenly it isn’t.

 When the pieces of Elyse’s life stop fitting together, what’s left? You Are the Everything is a story about the fates we yearn for, the fates we choose, and the fates that are chosen for us.

Karen Rivers, the award-winner Canadian author behind The Encyclopedia of Me and The Girl in the Well is Me, returns with the potent contemporary young adult novel You Are the Everything.

You close your eyes and make a wish. You wish that something would happen before you land, something that would make this trip worthwhile, after all. A story you can tell, later, one that ends with, “And that’s how me and Josh Harris got together.” Ideally, that is.

The story begins with Elyse Schmidt, best friend Kath, longtime and secret crush Josh Harris, and classmates on a plane back to the Unites States from a trip to Paris. Elyse and Kath are in the midst of a tiff, and Josh takes up the empty seat next to Elyse and falls asleep, leaving Elyse to wonder…to think even more about Josh Harris (Elyse always refers to him to by his full name), to imagine a reality in which they are together in a relationship. Elyse’s love of Josh and inaction to do anything about it it frustrates Kath to no end- and arguably, Elyse’s intense adoration of Josh appears to border, perhaps, on the fanatical. But then, “SUDDENLY…the plane TILTS”. What follows is a horrifying plane crash that ends with Elyse and Josh as the only two survivors of the accident.

As the after of the plane crash begins, readers see what Elyse’s life has become. After months of hospital stay, rehabilitation, ongoing therapy, and much too much invasive tabloid interest in the two so-called miracle survivors, Elyse and her parents move to Wyoming. So has Josh Harris and his father. Now, Elyse and Josh are a couple, a boyfriend and girlfriend who enjoy things like romantic picnics in a field. As we get deeper into the after, Elyse’s memory and grasps on reality waver and become increasingly frenetic: panic attacks frequently invade, lengthy snippets of conversations with her deceased best friend Kath intersperse, and questions about her and Josh’s present-day lives constantly gnaw at Elyse’s mind. Rivers works uncertainty, could-be’s, what-is?, and plays with truth, memory and time so effectively and unnervingly, ensuring readers are- along with Elyse- kept on the very edge of the story. The use of second person point-of-view is terrifically done here; one does not often see this point of view used in YA (or much in general) and I would argue that this served perfectly to heighten the intensely disquieting, nebulous feel of Elyse’s story. At times, the singularity of Elyse’s all-encompassing feelings and thoughts about the oddly perfect Josh Harris feel extreme and can appear to overtake the broader narrative. However, Elyse’s narration does bend and expand to Josh Harris and far beyond; moreover, given the scope of the story and the frame of the finale, everything, in the end, connects.

The thing is that there isn’t a choice, there isn’t always a choice, sometimes the choice is made for you…

Overall, You Are the Everything is an unconventional, sometimes romantic, sometimes harrowing novel that bends memory and time in an uncommon narrative to make for a compelling, unnerving, and ultimately gut-wrenching read. Readers who enjoy novels with murky corners and cataclysmic twists, unpredictable narratives and unreliable narrators, or the work of authors such as Nova Ren Suma, E. Lockhart, Brenna Yovanoff,  or Tim Wynne-Jones might especially be keen to sink into You Are the Everything.

Get Your Copy of You Are the Everything:

Indigo
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com

About the Author:
Karen Rivers’s books have been nominated for a wide range of literary awards and have been published in multiple languages. When she’s not writing, reading, or visiting schools, she can usually be found hiking in the forest that flourishes behind her tiny old house in Victoria, British Columbia, where she lives with her two kids, two dogs, and two birds. Find her online at karenrivers.com and on Twitter: @karenrivers.

Follow Karen:
Website: https://www.karenrivers.com/
Twitter
Goodreads

Guest Post from Karen:

In this book, the two main characters have to deal with fame as one of the byproducts of surviving a tragic accident. Your previous book, A Possibility of Whales also dealt with the theme of fame, as a famous father had to navigate through fame while raising a daughter. Could you touch on the topic of fame or recognition and why you chose to explore it in your books?

I think that it’s easy to forget that, at the end of the day, a famous person is still just a person. Like my granny would have said, if she was given to saying things like this, “They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us!” Our society celebrates fame like no other before us. To an almost ludicrous degree, we look to celebrities for everything from make up tips to political advice. And with the rise of the YouTube generation, fame is something that seems to be doled out indiscriminately and almost mercilessly. We make people famous for wrongdoings. We make people famous because they filmed a funny 6-second vine. We use fame as a stamp of approval. But as quickly as we can dole out fame, we can also take it away. Does fame fundamentally change you? How close to a person do you need to be to see beyond their fame to the person who they are? Can a famous person really ever trust friendships to be true? And what about unwanted fame? Once fame is ascribed to you, it seems impossible to give it back, to go back to being invisible and unobserved. The way we treat people who have risen to fame teeters on a line between stalking and simply wanting. We want a piece of famous people, we want them to validate us in return for the way we’ve elevated them, we want and want and want. It’s a bizarre phenomenon because it seems particularly propelled by good looks. We make Kardashians famous, but we do not also make a Nobel-winning scientist famous, even though their achievements may change the course of human history. But then again, are we gifting them with fame or cursing them with it? I suspect that fame is aspirational only until you’re really in the thick of it, and then it becomes an inescapable prison where the relentless judgment, harassment and mockery prevent you from being yourself – you are forever trapped being the person that the fame-makers want you to be. Endlessly fascinating, from the inside and the outside, why do we do this? At what price fame?

Thank you so much, Karen!

Tour-Wide Giveaway Information:

The winner will receive 1 copy of You Are the Everything (HC) by Karen Rivers.


Giveaway Details:
-Canada Only (full rules found in the T&C on Rafflecopter)
-Giveaway ends on Wednesday Nov. 28th @ 11:59 pm EST
-Winner will be drawn randomly through Rafflecopter, contacted via email & will have 48 hours to claim their prize

Link to giveaway via Rafflecopter!

Blog Tour Information:

You Are the Everything Blog Tour Schedule:

Nov. 12 – RemarkablyLisa
Nov. 13 – TurningPageBooks
Nov. 14 – FabBookReviews
Nov. 15 – StellarBookBlog
Nov. 16 – TrishaJennReads
Nov. 19 – AdventuresinYAFiction
Nov. 20 – MickeyReads
Nov. 21 – AllThingsChristine

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Thomas Allen & Son in exchange for an honest review and for the purposes of this blog tour. All opinions and comments are my own. Guest post kindly organized and giveaway fulfilled by Thomas Allen & Son.