Just Read It

The Dating Dare

The Dating Dare is about Tara and Seth, two people in their late twenties who live no-strings-attached lives. Tara only does fuck buddies, Seth only does one night stands… it’s a match made in heaven. So when attending the wedding of Tara’s best friend and Seth’s older brother, the two of them get a little drunk and make a dare. Four dates, no one can fall in love, and it’s for the month that Seth has left in America before he moves to Paris. They’re both more than willing to participate in this dare if it means they get to tear each other’s clothes off, and who’s to say how long that will take?

The Abyss Surrounds Us

The world as we know it is completely changed. Imagine an apocalypse that focuses on water and is slow. It’s more like when global warming finally starts to actively destroy our infrastructure and people can’t deny its existence anymore. Cas, our main character, has grown up on land and has been training her whole life to be a reckoner trainer. Reckoners are kaiju that are specifically used to safely transport ships across the waters. Why are they so important? Because in this new world, pirates are a plenty and are powerful. They conquer ships and steal and kill and it is the reckoner’s job to bring down pirate ships and keep their crew safe. And Cas would love nothing more than to be on a boat directing a reckoner.

Only Mostly Devastated

In this queer Grease retelling, we follow Ollie as his life gets uprooted to North Carolina after he had a summer romance while there, and while the boy he spent his days and nights with isn’t texting him back, he still thinks about him. Will, the dream boy from summer who somehow ends up going to the new school that Ollie has just joined. The only thing is, Will is still in the closet.

Late to the Party

A YA contemporary romance set in Georgia about Codi, a seventeen-year-old girl who never parties, never dated, never had a first kiss. She and her friends are all in the same boat and in the summer before their senior year, Maritza wants to change all that. JaKory is game and eager to find a boy that he can get his first kiss with, but Codi is hesitant, she doesn’t like the idea of changing everything about herself to go along with her friend’s plan. Until one night when Codi is needed to drive home Maritza and JaKory from a party, she runs into two boys kissing and they did not want to be caught. In an effort to ease the teen’s anxiety, she reveals to him that she is a lesbian. And so Ricky, because of his nerves and embarrassment, asks her to head inside and get him something, and Codi, despite her fears, enters a party for the very first time.

Legendborn

I have a lot of feelings about this book so strap in.

Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire

This is going to have spoilers for the final season of Legend of Korra, if you do not want to be spoiled, please leave now and come back after you’ve watched it!

The Shadow of Kyoshi

In the sequel to Rise of Kyoshi, we follow Kyoshi and her band of misfits as they continue on their mission only this time, Kyoshi is determined to find Yun at all costs.

Rick

You may remember Alex Gino for his book George about a transgender girl in elementary school. Well now we have a story about an asexual boy in middle school and it is just as sweet.

The Henna Wars

When I tell you that this book has heart, great discussions on racism and cultural appropriation, familial bonds, friendship, and romance, I mean it. For such a seemingly innocent ya contemporary, this book packs a lot into it and all of it is handled with nuance and care. I mean this is exactly the kind of thing we mean when we talk about diverse books. It brings up the things that people of color (in this case our main character, Nishat, is Bengali) deal with and how they feel and it makes what the go through more real to people who haven’t experienced it. It also means that we get to see cute romcoms about diverse people and that is important.

My Contrary Mary

In the new series by the trio of hilarious and talented authors who wrote the Janies trilogy, My Contrary Mary follows Mary Queen of Scots and her relationship with Prince Francis of France. As with all of the books these three authors have penned, it was full of funny jokes, great contemporary references, and tongue-in-cheek remarks. One thing I love so much about their books is just how clever and funny they are.