This Week in YA — Issue #60
Welcome to the Voyage newsletter!
It’s another new week and another installment of this newsletter for you this week, my fellow YA enthusiasts. We’ve got a lot of great information for you this week—from a look back at books highlighted for Black History Month to a look ahead to books releasing this fall. I also had a surprise piece of bookish news of my own, listed in one of the links below, and as always, we’ve got a fresh interview with a YA author to share!
News and Resources
It’s the last day of Black History Month, but if you’re looking for fantastic titles by Black authors to read the rest of the year, check out the 28 Days Later books highlighted throughout the month of February on the Brown Bookshelf.
If you’re looking for love as we head into March, check out these 11 Swoonworthy YA Novels for Teen Romance Readers on Kirkus. We featured many of these authors and books right here in the newsletter!
EpicReads shared another fantastic list for romance fans featuring 25 Incredible YA Books Celebrating Black Love.
Mara at BookRiot recently shared a great group of Aromantic Books to Celebrate Aromantic Awareness Week.
Looking for what’s coming a bit further down the pipeline? Publishers Weekly has the Fall 2023 Children’s Sneak Previews, including plenty of YA titles to look out for.
‘LA Times’ Reveals Finalists for 2023 Book Prizes, including five YA finalists.
The 5 Questions Interview Series
Each week, this newsletter will include interviews with industry professionals sharing insight about the who, what, where, when, why in YA today.
Today we’ve got an interview with YA author Gabe Cole Novoa, whose latest YA novel, The Wicked Bargain, is out today! It’s about a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate—hello! And it’s already received two starred reviews and plenty of great buzz. I personally remember gasping when I first saw the announcement—it just sounded so amazing to me and I can’t wait to read. So I’m thrilled that it’s finally here!
5 Questions Interview with Gabe Cole Novoa, YA author
ABOUT THE WICKED BARGAIN
El Diablo is in the details in this Latinx pirate fantasy starring a transmasculine nonbinary teen with a mission of revenge, redemption, and revolution.
On Mar León de la Rosa's sixteenth birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship.
When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up their soul to save their father by the harvest moon, or never see him again. The task is impossible--Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there's no way their magic is a match for el Diablo. Then Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate--and the captain's son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption--or it could mean certain death.
ABOUT GABE COLE NOVOA
Gabe Cole Novoa (he/him) is a Latinx transmasculine author who writes speculative fiction featuring marginalized characters grappling with identity.
Now leveled up with an MFA in Writing for Children, when he isn't being nerdy at his day job, or buried under his TBR pile, you’ll likely find him making heart-eyes at the latest snazzy outfit he wants to add to his wardrobe.
Gabe is the author of The Wicked Bargain (out Feb 2023), an untitled Pride & Prejudice retelling (Winter 2024), and the Beyond the Red trilogy, written under a former pseudonym. He also runs a popular writing-focused YouTube channel, bookishpixie and is very active on Twitter @thegabecole.
1. Who: Who are your instabuy, go-to YA authors? And which new talent have you discovered recently?
My biggest instabuy YA author right now is Margaret Owen—I absolutely devoured The Merciful Crow duology and I adored Little Thieves. Additionally, one of my favorite reads last year was Katherine Locke’s This Rebel Heart and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
As for new talent, I’m very much looking forward to Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker!
2. What: What was the most joyful moment in preparing to bring The Wicked Bargain into the world?
Honestly, seeing reviews from early readers—especially queer early readers (especially especially trans and nonbinary early readers!) has been absolutely incredible. The Wicked Bargain is my most personal book yet, so hearing that Mar’s experience as a trans person has resonated with people has meant so much to me. I’ve gotten teary-eyed over a review or two and I’m so happy The Wicked Bargain will be available to more readers soon.
3. Where: Where is the state of YA right now, from where you sit? Where do you hope to see it go next?
You know, I’ve seen The Wicked Bargain on multiple booklists of 2023 Trans Books and the fact that there are enough for there to be lists is absolutely amazing. I’m so excited that we’ve finally reached a point where there are loads of queer YA books—across genres—to read. That kind of varied representation is so needed, especially right now when trans teens are under attack here in the US.
Moving forward, I really want to see more YA by trans feminine authors. We have a lot of books coming out from trans masculine and nonbinary authors (which is fantastic!) but not nearly as many from trans feminine authors. I’d really like to see that gap bridged, so that trans feminine teens can see themselves represented in books across genres much more easily.
4. When: Looking ahead to next year (or beyond), what exciting things are next on the horizon for you?
I actually have two more books coming out Winter 2024! The first is a super queer Pride & Prejudice retelling in which the second eldest Bennet is a trans boy and Darcy is gay. The second book hasn’t technically been announced yet but I can say it’s a very queer fantasy with demons and curses that I look forward to talking more about in the future.
5. Why: Why YA? What draws you to writing for this age group?
There are a lot of answers to this, including that I love reading YA, but the most important answer is I like writing books that I think would have helped my own teen self. I didn’t know I was trans as a teen, but I also literally had never heard of trans masculine people until I was sixteen—and even then it was presented to me in an incredibly negative light. Now, writing books for teens with trans protagonists, I hope it brings comfort to trans teens who are living in a very difficult time to be a young trans person. I also hope it helps connect some dots for teens who know they don’t feel quite right, but don’t yet understand what it is, exactly, that doesn’t fit.
Writing Inspiration from Kip
This week included once-in-a-lifetime news for me, with my verse novel, The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin, listed as a finalist for a major award alongside some of my favorite books of 2022. This was completely unexpected and the happiest surprise to me. Not only am I ridiculously excited that I’ll get to meet these other authors in person for the ceremony in April, but I’m also so incredibly thrilled that my book might reach additional readers! Because in the end, if a teen who needs a book like this one ends up picking it up, then that means more to me than anything else.
I feel like Gabe’s latest book is going to mean a lot to readers, too. I love his answer to the question about the joy of getting in early reviews from queer readers, and the way Mar’s experience resonated with them. Indeed! It’s wonderful that there are more books by trans authors getting published—and I hope that continues! But individual experiences are so different, so seeing such unique stories as this one (and others) will surely mean that each of them will become absolute favorite books for some readers. I find that simply wonderful, and I can’t wait to see what other books will be in the works in the coming years.
Thank you for joining me on this voyage!