Rhodes and Iliana couldn't be more different, but that's not why they hate each other.They are in fierce competition with each other for the school's coveted Capstone scholarship. They both escape the pressure on a fanfic site where they are unknowingly collaborating on a graphic novel. And despite being worst enemies in real life, their anonymous online identities I-Kissed-Alice and Curious-in-Cheshire are starting to like each other...a lot. When the truth comes out, will they destroy each other's future? Macmillan
"Leilani's story of Edie, a broke 23-year-old black woman who gets involved with a wealthy older white couple, cuts to the quick of the often grim realities of being young and black in the US today. But it’s wincingly funny, too, Edie’s dry observational narration dissecting office, racial and sexual politics – and the way all three intersect, uneasily – amid the grind of city living and online dating." The Guardian.
"When [Ali] buys soda and gum from a grocery store one day, she becomes obsessed with the slightly older checkout girl, Justine, prompting her to apply for a job in the store, too. Over the course of a summer, Ali and Justine become fast friends. There are boys, but there is also a repressed queerness; there is a shared eating disorder; there is a growing awareness of wealth disparities; there are parties and pools. Both girls struggle to communicate, and there’s a tension between their emotionality and physicality." Shondaland
On its surface, this novel is a charming contemporary romantic comedy with a no-meet-cute premise: Tiffy needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon works nights and needs cash. They share the one-bed flat without having met each other, communicating through Post-It notes. In the meantime, Tiffy slowly recognizes the emotional and psychological abuse she experienced in her recent relationship.
Dani, a scholarship student at a prestigious private school, lives a very different life than Claire, an uber-wealthy student from China whose parents "parachuted" her into the spare room at Dani's house. In addition to racism, wealth, and privilege, Parachutes addresses gendered expectations, sexual harrassment and rape culture. It is also about how young women navigate the #metoo era, the tremendous terror and power inherent in speaking up and out.
When Ben comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Ben tries to keep a low profile in their new school for the last half of senior year. But Ben meets Nathan, a funny and charismatic student who decides to take Ben under his wing. Their friendship grows and their feelings for each other begin to change. What started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.
Black trans artist Felix Love, 17, has never been in love. His mostly supportive single father still struggles to call him by his name and pronouns, and Felix is convinced that nobody except his ride-or-die bestie, wealthy Ezra Patel, can appreciate him for who he is. Felix is attending an ultracompetitive arts summer program [...] when someone posts Felix’s dead name beside photos of him, pre-transition, in the school’s lobby. [...] Felix’s plot to get revenge throws him onto the path of love and self-discovery.
"After awkward tech millionaire Charles Winshaw is ousted from his Silicon Valley company, he [decides] to rehabilitate his image by becoming the next star of Ever After, a Bachelor-style reality show. He’s not expecting to find real love with any of the women competing for his proposal, but he does discover a genuine connection with handsome producer Dev Deshpande, a hopeless romantic tasked with making Charlie seem more personable on camera. Their relationship deepens in secret as Dev coaches Charlie through filming, but their obligations to the show threaten their happy ending." Publishers Weekly
Almost everything about Wallace is at odds with the Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem degree. An introverted young man from Alabama, black and queer, he has left behind his family without escaping the long shadows of his childhood. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends--some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness. But over the course of a late-summer weekend, a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with an ostensibly straight, white classmate, conspire to fracture his defenses while exposing long-hidden currents of hostility and desire within their community. Penguin Random House
The Tech sisters don’t date in high school. Not because they’re not asked. Not because they’re not interested. Not even because no one can pronounce their long, Thai last name—hence the shortened, awkward moniker. But simply because they’re not allowed. Until now
Babalola retells the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology with incredible new detail and vivacity. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from long-erased places.
Starting from the outside in, Savvy tackles her crumbling kitchen, her relationship with her body, her work–life balance (or lack thereof) and, last but not least, her love life.
"At age 36, while serving on a jury, author Molly Wizenberg found herself drawn to a female attorney she hardly knew. Married to a man for nearly a decade and mother to a toddler, Wizenberg tried to return to her life as she knew it, but something inside her had changed irredeemably. Instead, she would discover that the trajectory of our lives is rarely as smooth or as logical as we’d like to believe." Abrams
For fifty years, P. Carl lived as a girl and a queer woman, building a career, a life, and a loving marriage, yet still waiting to realize himself in full. As Carl embarks on his gender transition, he takes us inside the complex shifts and questions that arise throughout—the alternating moments of arrival and estrangement. Siman and Schuster
