and the classic gay theme of having the bravery to move away from what you know.


Ciara Smyth Not My Problem Anderson Press, 25th May, £7.99, 9780062957146 Schoolgirl Aileen struggles with her own problems but jumps at the chance to help her overachieving classmate deal with hers. Soon all of her classmates are calling on her for help. Charming novel for young lesbians.


Chris Whitaker The Forevers Hot Key Books, 8th July, £12.99, 9781471410956 Crime writer Whitaker turns his hand to YA with this tale of Mae and her friends, who find out an asteroid is heading towards the Earth and will cause certain destruction. This asks what you would do if you knew you had a short amount of time to find love.


much going for him. He meets a gorgeous girl— who also has a hairdress- ing best friend—and finds the course of true love never did run smoothly. Tell me about it.


Kalynn Bayron This Poison Heart Bloomsbury YA. 29th June, £7.99, 9781526632791 Bayron scored a huge hit with Cinderella is Dead (reissued this summer). June sees publication of her latest story, about a young girl’s magical powers over nature. Inspired by The Secret Garden, this explores issues of racism, LGBTQ+ lives and the preciousness of nature. It’s expected to be a major hit.


Gareth Peter Forever Star Penguin, 5th Aug, £6.99, 9780241453025 The author, who is a gay father, was discovered through Penguin Random House’s impressive WriteNow scheme to empower underrepre- sented voices in publish- ing. This story is the tale of Tim and Tim, a couple trying to bring their very own starchild into the world.


Melvin Burgess Three Bullets Anderson Press, 1st July, £12.99, 9781839130502 Considered one of the founding fathers of modern teen fiction, Burgess is back with a punchy novel about white supremacy and urban warfare in a collapsing Britain. Lead character Marti is mixed-race and trans, reflecting the trend of YA books addressing intersectional issues in ways the adult market struggles to.


Susin Nielsen Tremendous Things Andersen Press, 3rd June, £12.99, 9781839130618 From the author of the hit We Are All Made of Molecules, the story of a young boy called Wilbur who feels he hasn’t got


TheBookseller.com


Abigail Balfe A Different Sort of Normal Penguin, 22nd July, £8.99, 9780241508794 The author is a writer, illustrator and stand-up comic, and is on a mission to educate the world about what it means to be autistic. This significant title is billed as of appeal to anyone who has ever felt different, and will have a picture book spin-off released in 2022.


The Gravity of Us is one of the most popular gay- themed YA books and this, the latest from Phil Stamper, is the story of Marty, arriving in London to explore his sexuality. It touches on anxiety, eating disorders and the eternal gay story of finding your own chosen family.


Charlotte Nicole Davis The Sisters of Reckoning Hot Key Books, 25th August, £7.99, 9781471409318 A sequel to the hugely popular fantasy YA novel The Good Luck Girls, about a young Black woman and her sister, on a quest to find freedom. Exciting young author Davis continues her commen- tary on class, race, sexual- ity and gender in faraway fantasy worlds.


Hot Key Books, 2nd Sep, £7.99, 9781471408687 The fourth in the award- winning STAGS series, about the dark goings-on at a country boarding school, this sees our protagonist travel to India to visit her sick father, where she feels the presence of her chilling boarding school, St Aidan The Great, even though she’s far from home.


in YA or adult fiction. Lucy Powrie


The Paper and Hearts Society: Bookishly Ever After Book 3 Hodder Children, 13th May, £7.99, 9781444949278 The final installation in the popular Paper and Hearts Society series from Youtuber Lucy Powrie, book three is a celebration of modern lives, young romance and letting yourself be weird—as well as books themselves.


Written with pop biogra- pher Lucy O’Brien, this is a well-deserved cultural moment from one of rock’s only “out” lesbian stars.


Deirdre Sullivan Precious Catastrophe Hot Key Books, 2nd Septem- ber, £7.99, 9781471410680 A sequel to the award winning Perfectly Preventable Deaths, about sisters Caitlin and Madeline, who fight undead people (don’t we all?) in the small Irish village of Bellyfran. The prequel is a brilliantly written macabre witchy delight, so expect big things.


Jonne Kramer


The Riddle of the Sea Piccadilly Press, 14th Octo- ber, 9781800780378 This début, nominated for several Dutch prizes, is a sweet tale about a lost father and a cursed ship. The story is about Ravian, who goes in search of his missing father and discovers the importance of love and relationships. With stun- ning illustrations.


Gavin McCrea The Sisters Mao Scribe, September, £16.99, 9781912854394 The story of two families, one in London, another in Beijing, both buffeted by Europe’s sexual revolution and China’s Cultural Revolution as two sisters plan an attack on the theatre their mother is performing in, while Chairman Mao’s wife rehearses a ballet perfor- mance in which she will attack her critics.


Anthony Veasna So Afterparties Grove Press, 19th August, £14.99, 9781611856514 The story of Cambodian American immigrants making a new life in California and grappling with the complexities of the genocide they have escaped from and the new attitudes America holds towards race, family rela- tionships and sexuality.


Tanya Byrne Afterlove Hodder Children, 21st July, £7.99, 9781444955958 The popular author of four YA books, Tanya Byrne returns with a story of lesbian love that only death can get in the way of. A young girl dies on New Year’s Eve and is about to become a “reaper” on the other side, but is determined to see her first love Poppy one last time...


YA non-fiction


Various Allies DK, 1st July, £12.99, 9780241505953 The phrase “How can I be an ally?” was apparently one of the most-searched questions online last year. Made up of contributions from various celebrated YA authors, this sweet- sounding book gives answers to that question, aiming to increase support for women, Black and Asian people, LGBTQ+ folk and anyone else who doesn’t sit in the apparent “mainstream”.


Phil Stamper As Far as You’ll Take Me Bloomsbury YA, out now, £6.55, 9781526630728


M A Bennett STAGS 4: Tigers


Adiba Jaigirdar Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating Hachette Children, 27th May, £7.99, 9781444962246 Teenage girls Hani and Ishu couldn’t be less alike but, in the greatest rom-com tradition, they are slowly drawn to each other. A warm début from Irish newcomer Jaigirdar that features two gay Asian girls as the book’s heroines, something rare


Biography


Skin & Lucy O’Brien It Takes Blood and Guts Simon & Schuster, 16th Sep, £9.99, 9781471194948 An autobiography of iconic Black queer rocker Skin from 1990s indie sensation Skunk Anansie plotting Skin’s early life in Brixton, her rise to fame via pub gigs, and her struggles to overcome racism and homophobia.


Frances Bingham Valentine Ackland: A Transgressive Life Handheld Press, 20th May, £15.99, 9781912766406 Frances Bingham writes an illustrated biography of lesbian poet, environ- mentalist, communist and peace campaigner Valentine Ackland, who lived in Dorset with her lover until 1969. Billed as an important addition to British lesbian history.


Ian Collins John Craxton: A Life of Gifts Yale University Press, May, £25, 9780300255294 Acclaimed British artist John Craxton, who died in 2009, was considered a neo-romantic; he was heavily influenced by Blake, Palmer and Picasso. The only other book about his work was Ian Collins’ 25,000-word monograph of 2011. This, extended to 135,000 words, includes information the artist wanted to be published only after his death.


Graphic novels


Alice Oseman Heartstopper Volume 4 Hachette Children’s, 13th May, £10.99, 9781444952797


One to Watch


Charlie didn’t think Nick could ever love him back. Now


they’re dating, they have 19


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