"WINNER, Lambda Literary Award; Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction
Finalist, Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction; Amazon Canada First Novel Award; Indigenous Voices Award; Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award; Firecracker Award for Fiction
Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize
A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year
A tour-de-force debut novel about a Two-Spirit Indigiqueer young man and proud NDN glitter princess who must reckon with his past when he returns home to his reserve.
"You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine" is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling debut novel by poet Joshua Whitehead.
Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living. Self-ordained as an NDN glitter princess, Jonny has one week before he must return to the "rez"-and his former life-to attend the funeral of his stepfather. The seven days that follow are like a fevered dream: stories of love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and the heartbreaking recollection of his beloved kokum (grandmother). Jonny's life is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages-and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life.
Jonny Appleseed is a unique, shattering vision of First Nations life, full of grit, glitter, and dreams.
Bespeak Audio Editions brings Canadian voices to the world with audiobook editions of some of the country's greatest works of literature, performed by Canadian actors."
"Her body is encoded with a secret. To expose the truth, she may have to give her life…
America, 2055. Cass Armstrong fears the same cybernetic enhancements that saved her could become her undoing. On the run with her girlfriend, the information encrypted in her implants act like a beacon for the tech-phobic terrorists hot on their trail. And her only way out is to find someone to rewrite her identity…
Forced to seek aid from underworld hackers, Cass must become a criminal to survive. But if she doesn’t meet their demands, the pack hunting her will permanently erase her last hope of bringing their extremist agenda to an end.
Can Cass stay alive long enough to expose the horrific truth?
Cyber’s Underground is the pulse-pounding third book in the Sapien's Run cyberpunk trilogy. If you like gritty heroines, fast-paced action, and standing up for diversity, then you’ll love Jamie Davis’s thrilling adventure.
Buy Cyber’s Underground today to end prejudice forever!"
"This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.
In Red Skies Falling, Alex London's thrilling sequel to Black Wings Beating, the epic fantasy Skybound Saga continues as twins Kylee and Brysen are separated by the expanse of Uztar, but are preparing for the same war--or so they think.
Kylee is ensconsed in the Sky Castle, training with Mem Uku to master the Hollow Tongue and the Ghost Eagle. But political intrigue abounds and court drama seems to seep through the castle's stones like blood from a broken feather. Meanwhile, Brysen is still in the Six Villages, preparing for an attack by the Kartami. The Villages have become Uztar's first line of defense, and refugees are flooding in from the plains. But their arrival lays bare the villagers' darkest instincts. As Brysen navigates the growing turmoil, he must also grapple with a newfound gift, a burgeoning crush on a mysterious boy, and a shocking betrayal.
The two will meet again on the battlefield, fighting the same war from different sides. But the Ghost Eagle has its own plans."
"'Narrators James Fouhey and Briggon Snow give stellar performances in this quiet YA romance...Both narrators authentically capture the ups and downs of teen romance and keep listeners engaged.' -- AudioFile Magazine
Lauren Shippen's The Infinite Noise is a stunning, original debut based on her wildly popular and award-winning podcast The Bright Sessions.
Caleb Michaels is a sixteen-year-old champion running back. Other than that his life is pretty normal. But when Caleb starts experiencing mood swings that are out of the ordinary for even a teenager, his life moves beyond “typical.”
Caleb is an Atypical, an individual with enhanced abilities. Which sounds pretty cool except Caleb's ability is extreme empathy—he feels the emotions of everyone around him. Being an empath in high school would be hard enough, but Caleb's life becomes even more complicated when he keeps getting pulled into the emotional orbit of one of his classmates, Adam. Adam's feelings are big and all-consuming, but they fit together with Caleb's feelings in a way that he can't quite understand.
Caleb's therapist, Dr. Bright, encourages Caleb to explore this connection by befriending Adam. As he and Adam grow closer, Caleb learns more about his ability, himself, his therapist—who seems to know a lot more than she lets on—and just how dangerous being an Atypical can be.
“What if the X-Men, instead of becoming superheroes, decided to spend some time in therapy?” (Vox on The Bright Sessions)"
"A poignant, heartbreaking, and uplifting, story in the tradition of The Perks of Being a Wallflower about three friends coming-of-age in the early 1980s as they struggle to forge their own paths in the face of fear of the unknown. Michael is content to live in the shadow of his best friends, James and Becky. Plus, his brother, Connor, has already been kicked out of the house for being gay and laying low seems to be Michael's only chance at avoiding the same fate. To pass the time before graduation, Michael hangs out at The Echo where he can dance and forget about his father's angry words, the pressures of school, and the looming threat of AIDS, a disease that everyone is talking about, but no one understands. Then he meets Gabriel, a boy who actually sees him. A boy who, unlike seemingly everyone else in New York City, is interested in him and not James. And Michael has to decide what he's willing to risk to be himself."
"It's been a year since the Catalog Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace. Like everyone else in town, eighteen-year-old Mac Bell is trying to put that horrible summer behind him—easier said than done since Mac's best friend Connor was the murderer's final victim. But when he finds a cryptic message from Connor, he's drawn back into the search for the killer—who might not have been a random drifter after all. Now nobody—friends, neighbors, or even the sexy stranger with his own connection to the case—is beyond suspicion. Sensing that someone is following his every move, Mac struggles to come to terms with his true feelings towards Connor while scrambling to uncover the truth."
"An epic case of mistaken identity puts a teen looking for a hookup on the run from both the FBI and a murderous cult in this compulsively readable thriller.
Finding himself alone in a posh New York City hotel room for the night, Aidan does what any red-blooded seventeen-year-old would do-tries to hook up with someone new. But that lapse in judgement leads him to a room with a dead guy and a mysterious flash drive . . . two things that spark an epic case of mistaken identity that puts Aidan on the run-from the authorities, his friends, his family, the people who are out to kill him-and especially from his own troubled past.
Inspired by a Hitchcock classic, this whirlwind mistaken-identity caper has razor-sharp humor, devastating emotional stakes, and a thrilling storyline with an explosive conclusion to make this the most compelling YA novel of the year.
- Entertainment Weekly's Best YA Books of the Summer
- Seventeen Magazine's Best YA Books of the Year
- Goodreads Most Anticipated YA Books of the Year
- Buzzfeed's Best YA Summer Reads
- Most Anticipated Queer Books of 2019 (Hypable)
- Barnes & Noble's Most Anticipated LGBTQAP YAs of the year
- 11 New YA Books to Get Excited About (Pure Wow)
- 29 New LGBTQ+ YA Books To Add To Your Reading List (Pride.com)"
"'Authors Dunn and Raskin return to narrate another rollicking story featuring boisterous best friends Ava and Gen...listeners will find the characters relatable and hilarious as they converse about their young adult woes and triumphs.' — AudioFile
This program is read by the authors.
Ava and Gen are best friends. Ava knows what she wants and has plans to achieve her goals. Gen...not so much. But no matter how annoying, dramatic, or utterly bananas a 2 a.m. rant might get -- Ava has always been there for Gen and Gen for Ava. But then they graduated high school.
Now, they're in the same time zone (although over a thousand miles apart), and in the real world, and it's the worst, but they still have each other's support. For relationships. Questionable roommates. Internships. And whether or not it's a good idea to take in a feral cat. Through their hilarious, sometimes emotional, conversations, Ava and Gen help each other navigate. But as the two of them start to change, will their friendship survive the distance?
In Please Send Help, the hilarious new audiobook from the New York Times bestselling authors of I Hate Everyone But You, Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn perfectly capture the voice of young adults looking to find their place in the world, proving no matter how desperate things seem, your best friend is always there to reboot your life and send help."
"Groundbreaking narrative nonfiction for teens that tells the story of the AIDS crisis in America.
Thirty-five years ago, it was a modern-day, mysterious plague. Its earliest victims were mostly gay men, some of the most marginalized people in the country; at its peak in America, it killed tens of thousands of people. The losses were staggering, the science frightening, and the government's inaction unforgivable. The AIDS Crisis fundamentally changed the fabric of the United States.
Viral presents the history of the AIDS crisis through the lens of the brave victims and activists who demanded action and literally fought for their lives. This compassionate but unflinching text explores everything from the disease's origins and how it spread to the activism it inspired and how the world confronts HIV and AIDS today."
"A hilarious, snarky, and utterly addicting #ownvoices debut that explores friendship, sexual orientation, mental health, and falling in love (even if things might be falling apart around you).
When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you're talking to. Except there's two of them (it's a long story), and Haley thinks she's talking to the one she doesn't hate.A question about a class project rapidly evolves into an all-consuming conversation. Haley finds that Martin is actually willing to listen to her weird facts and unusual obsessions, and Martin feels like Haley is the first person to really see who he is. Haley and Martin might be too awkward to hang out in real life, but over text, they're becoming addicted to each other.There's just one problem: Haley doesn't know who Martin is. And Martin doesn't know that Haley doesn't know. But they better figure it out fast before their meet-cute becomes an epic meet-disaster . . ."
"Tech saved her life. It brought her love. Now it could tear her apart… 'Loved it! Cyber's Escape is an excellent follow-up to Cyber's Change...' K. Narayanan, Reedsy Discovery.
America, 2055. Cass Armstrong has changed. After being raised by a violently technophobic father, her cyber-enhancements preserved her life while her new girlfriend opened her mind. But as her break from college approaches, Cass lives in fear that a trip home will end in tragedy.
After escaping detection by the extremist Sapiens Movement, Cass breathes a momentary sigh of relief. But when she discovers her friends and neighbors spying on her and her girlfriend, she considers unleashing the dark secrets that could destroy her father’s hateful organization. If only she wasn’t surrounded by enemies willing to preserve the lie at any cost…
Will Cass break free before her own family spills her blood?
Cyber's Escape is the second book in the engrossing Sapien's Run cyberpunk trilogy. If you like diverse characters, futuristic societies, and heroes battling prejudice, then you’ll love Jamie Davis’s mind-twisting dystopia.
Buy Cyber’s Escape to watch a hero fight for survival today!"
"'Her Royal Highness will make you swoon.'-Entertainment Weekly
Regal romance abounds in this flirty, laugh-out-loud companion novel to Prince Charming, by New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins.
Millie Quint is devastated when she discovers that her sort-of-best friend/sort-of-girlfriend has been kissing someone else. Heartbroken and ready for a change of pace, Millie decides to apply for scholarships to boarding schools . . . the farther from Houston the better.
Soon, Millie is accepted into one of the world's most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Here, the country is dreamy and green; the school is covered in ivy, and the students think her American-ness is adorable.
The only problem: Mille's roommate Flora is a total princess.
She's also an actual princess. Of Scotland.
At first, the girls can't stand each other, but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, but Millie knows the chances of happily-ever-afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn't a fairy tale . . . or is it?
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins brings the feels and the laughs to her latest romance."
