Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
A coming of age paranormal LGBTQ+ story
A joyous and painful book that follows the story of the trans-Latinx boy Yadiel and the ghost of the school bad boy Julian who has lots of unfinished business. Between fighting for acceptance from his family to be recognised as both a boy and a brujo while also helping Julian in the quest to discover how exactly he died and how all the people he is leaving behind are doing. An engaging and heartfelt story definitely worth reading for all.
“It made Yadriel feel ashamed of who he was. Their blatant rejection felt personal because it was personal. It was an outright rejection of who he was—a transgender boy trying to find his place in their community”.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
An enchanting story centred on a magical circus
An atmospheric and deeply magical story that details the rise of the mystical Night Circus, its inhabitants and those who follow it. Within the circus, two powerful young magicians work in a competition where the rate of the circus and their own destiny weights in the balance. A definite slow-burn story where the magic lies in the intricacies and imagery of the circus and atmosphere that it builds. Beauty over plot.
And I Darken by Kiersten White
A female reimagining of Vlad the Impaler
Introducing the forceful character of Lada Dragwkya who is determined to carve her place in the world, where she believes should be at the head of her forgotten homeland Wallachia. Complications being those unwilling to see her as the soldier she is and leader she could be and the Sultan Mehmed who cares for her and sits at the head of the empire Lada swore to fight against. There is also Radu her brother who must establish where he belongs while envious of the Sultans attentions on Lada who seems able to dismiss what he most wants.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
A high school story centred on surviving hardship
A story following Melinda as she starts high school and deals with the fallout of an after-summer party that branded her an outcast and left her alone with no one to tell what really happened and how it’s still affecting her. Trigger warnings for rape, depression. “When people don’t express themselves, they die one piece at a time.”