Love In English

Love in English by Maria E. Andreu

LOVE IN ENGLISH is a young adult novel layered with themes of cultural identity and finding your voice in any language. 

Sixteen year old Ana has just moved to New Jersey from Argentina for her Junior year of high school. She’s a poet and a lover of language except that now, she can barely understand what’s going on around her, let alone find the words to express how she feels in the language she’s expected to speak.

All Ana wants to do is go home until she meets Harrison, the very cute, very American boy in her math class. And then there’s her new friend Neo, the Greek boy she’s partnered up with in ESL class, who she bonds with over the 80s teen movies they are assigned to watch for class (but later keep watching together for fun), and Altagracia, her artistic and Instagram fabulous friend, who thankfully is fluent in Spanish and able to help her settle into American high school.

But is it possible that she’s becoming too American as her father accuses and what does it mean when her feelings for Harrison and Neo start to change? Ana will spend her year learning that the rules of English may be confounding, but there are no rules when it comes to love.

With playful and poetic breakouts exploring the idiosyncrasies of the English language, Love in English tells a story that is simultaneously charming and romantic, while articulating a deeper story about what it means to become “American”.

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Reviews

“The teen love triangle at the center of this warm and humorous novel by Andreu is threaded with experiences that accompany acclimation to a new school and country. But as a budding poet (her journals punctuate the chapters), Ana’s real love affair is with language itself. Andreu captures Ana’s cultural and linguistic roller coaster with eloquence and precision, as Ana wonders “if learning one language doesn’t sometimes mean forgetting a little bit of another,” a process described as bittersweetly as coming-of-age itself.” — Publishers Weekly

“The novel, focusing on Ana’s experience as a documented immigrant, effectively explores the character’s struggle to navigate unlike cultures and languages while she learns to communicate in English, discovers different facets of herself, falls a bit in love, and ultimately finds her footing—and her voice—in the U.S. A wholesome immigration story with a healthy dose of romance on the side.”  — Kirkus Reviews

I Must Betray You

 

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Trust no one.

Tell no one

Spies are everywhere.

Romania, 1989.

Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

Reviews 

New York Times Book Review 

“The power of I Must Betray You [is] it doesn’t just describe the destabilizing effects of being spied on; it will make you experience them too.”

Shelf Awareness 

“Sepetys keeps readers riveted to this vivid, heartbreaking and compelling novel, locked into every meticulously researched detail . . . Through poetic writing, sympathetic characters, revolutionary plot and pacing, it grips the heart and soul and leaves one breathless.” 

(starred review)

Oprah Daily

“Ruta is passionate about the power of history and fiction to foster awareness and connectivity. In this book, she opens a startling window into the real-life coerced citizen spy network—including teenagers as young as thirteen—that bred an atmosphere of paranoia and fear, as people were forced to inform on one another.” 

Check out current and past CYRM nominees, as well as previous winners here! 

 

Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix

Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi

Jerusalem, 1192. The Third Crusade rages on. Rahma al-Hud loyally followed her elder sister Zeena into the war over the Holy Land, but now that the Faranji invaders have gotten reinforcements from Richard the Lionheart, all she wants to do is get herself and her sister home alive.

But Zeena, a soldier of honor at heart, refuses to give up the fight while Jerusalem remains in danger of falling back into the hands of the false Queen Isabella. And so, Rahma has no choice but to take on one final mission with her sister.

On their journey to Jerusalem, Rahma and Zeena come across a motley collection of fellow travelers—including a kind-hearted Mongolian warrior, an eccentric Andalusian scientist, a frustratingly handsome spy with a connection to Rahma's childhood, and an unfortunate English chaplain abandoned behind enemy lines. The teens all find solace, purpose and camaraderie—as well as a healthy bit of mischief—in each other's company.

But their travels soon bring them into the orbit of Queen Isabella herself, whose plans to re-seize power in Jerusalem would only guarantee further war and strife in the Holy Land for years to come. And so it falls to the merry band of misfits to use every scrap of cunning and wit (and not a small amount of thievery) to foil the usurper queen and perhaps finally restore peace to the land.

Winner of the 2022 Middle East Book Award in Youth Literature

In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This thrilling female-led Robin Hood Remix reframes the legend’s tales of the Third Crusade from a Muslim perspective, rewriting its origin’s male and overwhelmingly white Euro-centric narrative.

"Rousing ... Wholly original in its cultural perspective and its centering of strong female characters. ... By creating an almost all-female cast, Safi makes women the heart of her story at a time when they were seen as a 'bargaining chip.'" —Shelf Awareness, starred review

"If you love heists, found family, and stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, then put Aminah Mae Safi's heartfelt and humorous take on Robin Hood at the very top of your TBR." —Jodi Meadows, New York Times bestselling co-author of My Lady Jane

I'm Not Dying With You Tonight

I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

From The Publisher

Lena and Campbell aren't friends.

Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she’s going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.

When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together.

They aren’t friends. They hardly understand the other’s point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they’re going to survive the night.

Reviews

"A vital addition to the YA race relations canon."—Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin

"An absolute page turner, I’m Not Dying with You Tonight is a compelling and powerful novel that is sure to make an impact. "—Angie Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give

"An astounding achievement. This novel is an incendiary experience, one that does not shy away from difficult questions about privilege and violence. But Jones and Segal don’t hold our hands to provide us easy answers; this is a book meant to be devoured in a single sitting and discussed for years to come." ― Mark Oshiro, Schneider Family Book Award Winner – 2019 for Anger is a Gift

Where I Belong

Where I Belong by Marcia Argueta Mickelson

From the Publisher

An immigrant teen fights for her family, her future, and the place she calls home.

In the spring of 2018, Guatemalan American high school senior Milagros "Millie" Vargas knows her life is about to change. She has lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, ever since her parents sought asylum there when she was a baby. Now a citizen, Millie devotes herself to school and caring for her younger siblings while her mom works as a housekeeper for the wealthy Wheeler family. With college on the horizon, Millie is torn between attending her dream school and staying close to home, where she knows she's needed. She is disturbed by what's happening to asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, but she doesn't see herself as an activist or a change-maker. She's just trying to take care of her own family.

Then Mr. Wheeler, a U.S. Senate candidate, mentions Millie's achievements in a campaign speech about "deserving" immigrants. It doesn't take long for people to identify Millie's family and place them at the center of a statewide immigration debate. Faced with journalists, trolls, anonymous threats, and the Wheeler's good intentions-- especially those of Mr. Wheeler's son, Charlie-- Millie must confront the complexity of her past, the uncertainty of her future, and her place in the country that she believed was home.

Reviews

”Full of thought-provoking conversations, messy answers, and lots of heart, this novel’s a quiet knockout. Utterly compelling.”—starred, Kirkus Reviews

“In Milagros Vargas, author Marcia Argueta Mickelson has brilliantly captured a voice for our times.” —Diana López, author of Lucky Luna

“A thought-provoking book. Filled with courage, Millie will show us the way to a kinder, more compassionate way of being in the world.”—Guadalupe García McCall, Pura Belpré Award-winning author

“A great addition to YA contemporary collections, this book would also provide fuel for discussion in high school Government/Civics classrooms.” — Susan the Librarian

Book Trailer presented by the author of Where I Belong.

 

Elatsoe

 

   Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

A Texas teen comes face-to-face with a cousin’s ghost and vows to unmask the murderer. 

Elatsoe—Ellie for short—lives in an alternate contemporary America shaped by the ancestral magics and knowledge of its Indigenous and immigrant groups. She can raise the spirits of dead animals—most importantly, her ghost dog Kirby.

When her beloved cousin dies, all signs point to a car crash, but his ghost tells her otherwise: He was murdered. Who killed him and how did he die?

With the help of her family, her best friend Jay, and the memory great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Elatsoe must track down the killer and unravel the mystery of this creepy town and its dark past. But will the nefarious townsfolk and a mysterious Doctor stop her before she gets started?

 A breathtaking debut novel featuring an asexual, Apache teen protagonist, Elatsoe combines mystery, horror, noir, ancestral knowledge, haunting illustrations, and fantasy elements in one of the most-talked about debuts of the year.

ISBN: 978-1646140053

Ages 12 and above

Reviews

"[A] refreshing voice. Indigenous myths, modern-day technology, and the supernatural successfully blend to build a fast-paced murder mystery."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A brilliant, engaging debut. It seamlessly blends cyberstalking with Vampire Citizen Centers and Lipan Apache stories." - KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)

"Creative and meticulously plotted. a Lipan Apache Sookie Stackhouse for the teen set." - SHELF-AWARENESS starred review

"Groundbreaking." -TIME

"A fresh voice and perspective, weaving in folktales, omens, and urban legends of the protagonist's Lipan Apache culture." - BOOKLIST (starred review)

"A strong heroine, a supernatural mystery and a unique and powerful Native American voice."-BOOKPAGE (starred review)

?"This absorbing and haunting speculative fiction debut challenges expectations at every turn."- HORN BOOK (starred review)

"Utterly magical." - SYFYWIRE

"Beautiful. Sinister. Deeply enjoyable from start to finish." - NPR