Something new to read?

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 I mentioned on Twitter yesterday that we get our English PGCE interns at Oxford to review a newish YA novel each, and that this year we had a focus on own voices. The list of books they've chosen is too good not to share - there's some I'd been looking forward to on here, and then there's a whole load I'd not heard of that I now can't wait to read. The list is: 


The Girls I've Been Tess Sharpe

Between Perfect and Real Ray Stoeve

The Ghosts We Keep Mason Deaver

The Gravity of Us Phil Stamper

The Dark Lady Akala

The Passing Playbook - Isaac Fitzsimons

The Lonely Castle in the Mirror Mizuki Tsujimura

Wonderland Juno Dawson

Cemetery Boys Aiden Thomas

Some Girls Do Jennifer Dugan

On Midnight Beach Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

Run Rebel Manjeet Mann

The Runaway Girls Jacqueline Wilson

Song beneath the tides Beverly Birch

Black Flamingo Kay Atta

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

The Henna Wars Abida Jaigirdar

Wranglestone Darren Charlton

The Cost of Knowing Brittney Morris

Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths by Maisie Chan

Loveless Alice Osman

When Life Gives You Mangoes, Kereen Getten

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

The Upper World Femi Fadugba

Felix Ever After Kacen Callendar

After the Rain Natalia Gomes

Clap when you land Elizabeth Acevedo

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando

Amari and the Night Brothers B.B. Alston

This is my truth Yasmin Rahman


One thing I've found interesting is that we are now able to source many more UK based Black and Asian authors, but most of the LGBTQIA+, and especially the T bit of that, comes from the US. This is not surprising given the current anti-trans atmosphere created by a small number of vocal people, but it does sadden me, particularly on behalf of the teens looking to fiction to understand the way they are feeling. 




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