Congratulations, august clarke! METAL FROM HEAVEN (Erewhon) was listed on Publishers Weekly list for Best Books of 2024!
Nov 012024
Oct 222024
He who controls ichorite controls the world.
A malleable metal more durable than steel, ichorite is a toxic natural resource fueling national growth, and ambitious industrialist Yann Chauncey helms production of this miraculous ore. Working his foundry is an underclass of destitute workers, struggling to get better wages and proper medical treatment for those exposed to ichorite’s debilitating effects since birth.
One of those luster-touched victims, the child worker Marney Honeycutt, is picketing with her family and best friend when a bloody tragedy unfolds. Chauncey’s strikebreakers open fire.
Only Marney survives.
A decade later, as Yann Chauncey searches for a suitable political marriage for his ward, Marney sees the perfect opportunity for revenge. With the help of radical bandits and their stolen wealth, she must masquerade as an aristocrat to win over the calculating Gossamer Chauncey and kill the man who slaughtered her family and friends. But she is not the only suitor after Lady Gossamer’s hand, leading her to play twisted elitist games of intrigue. And Marney’s luster-touched connection to the mysterious resource and its foundry might put her in grave danger – or save her from it.
Oct 222024
The King is dead. The Oluso rebel. War is here.
With the end of Alistair Sorenson’s tyrannical reign, Dèmi has accepted Jonas’s proposal to rule as his Queen with hopes to finally free her people, the magical Oluso. Yet social prejudice, corrupt council members, and the continued distrust of the nonmagical Ajès throughout the kingdom prove seemingly implacable obstacles. To make matters worse, Dèmi struggles to control her newly awakened iron blood magic. As Ekwensi’s rebel army—led in part by Colin, her best friend and one-time lover—become more triumphant in their mission, war seems inevitable.
Before long, a new evil appears that hunts Oluso and Ajè alike, promising desolation on a larger level than ever before. When the failed assassination puts the life of Dèmi’s loved one in danger as well as the future of the Oluso into question, Dèmi embarks on a treacherous journey to find an ancestral spirit whose aid could tip the scales in her favor. Whether her new powers will destroy the kingdom or heal the blood-soaked rifts that have pulled it apart, she does not know.
Beyond the battles of swords and magic, there is the battle for Dèmi’s heart. Jonas—the former enemy prince—has divided loyalties despite his love for Dèmi. And Ekwensi and Colin have every intention of winning her to their side, while a past pledge hangs over Dèmi’s head. Dèmi is caught between the kingdom, her people, and the spirits, and must decide what sacrifices she is willing to make for peace, and whether she can outrun the greatest danger that constantly puts her in peril—her own heart. Only one thing is for certain…
There will be blood.
Aug 012024
Publishers Weekly: YA author Clarke (the Scapegracers trilogy, written as H.A. Clarke) makes their adult debut with a slick and sexy queer fantasy western. Ignavia City is on the cusp of industrial revolution and roiling with discontent. When Marney Honeycutt’s family and childhood sweetheart are murdered in a strikebreak, she swears revenge on Yann Chauncey, the foundry owner who ordered the massacre. Fleeing the city, she falls into the hands of the Highwayman’s Choir, a troop of bandit revolutionaries fighting to bring about the Hereafter: a golden future with no work, wages, or poverty. Thanks to in-utero exposure to ichorite, the toxic, eerie metal on which Yann Industry’s fortune was built, Marney can control the metal and perceive memories of how it’s been worked but suffers debilitating fits if she touches it. The Choir give Marney shelter, family, and identity, but don’t hesitate to use her powers to further their cause. Together they hatch a plot that hinges on Marney seducing Gossamer Chauncey, Yann’s daughter. Clarke delivers a masterful and tragic exploration of the intersections of violence, faith, sexuality, and power, perfect for readers of challenging political fantasy in the vein of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Tyrant Philosophers series. Lyrical prose, meticulous worldbuilding, and steamy lesbian sex scenes make this a surefire hit. (Oct.)
Apr 022024
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants goes to the French Open in an emotionally honest and openhearted novel for fans of Yamile Saied Méndez and Mary HK Choi.
Three teen girls compete at an elite tennis tournament for a shot at their dreams—if only they knew what their dreams were.
Alice is on her own for the first time. She has no coach. No friends. Not even clothes that meet the Bastille Invitational’s strict dress code. There’s only the steady drumbeat of guilt inside—pressure to make the tournament’s costly expense “worth it” in the wake of Ba’s unexpected passing. But will a win on court justify the price she paid to get here?
Violetta is Bastille’s darling: social media influencer, coach’s pet, and daughter of a former tennis star who fell from grace. Bastille is her chance to reclaim the future her mother gave up to raise her. But is that what she wants for herself?
Leylah hasn’t competed in two years, thanks to a back-stabbing ex-friend. Bastille is her last chance to prove she’s ready for a life of professional tennis. But will her fixation on past wrongs keep her from reclaiming her rightful place at the top?
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One week at the elite Bastille Invitational tennis tournament will decide their futures. If only the competition between them stayed on the court.
The Misdirection of Fault Lines is an incisive coming-of-age story, infused with wit and wisdom, about three Asian American teen girls trying to find their ways forward, backward, and in some cases, back to each other again. Anna Gracia, acclaimed author of Boys I Know, delivers with a refreshingly true-to-life teen voice that perfectly captures the messiness of adolescence and the pressures of expectation.
Mar 052024
It’s the summer before senior year of college, and Grace is about to make the worst decision of her life in this “sexy, sun-drenched cocktail of chaotic good fun and heartfelt hilarity” (Sarah Kuhn, author of the Heroine Complex series) that captures the messiness of your early twenties, while highlighting the necessity of girlfriends at any—and every—age.
How far would you go to win back an ex?
If Grace is being honest, she knows her choices skate past questionable and probably into destructive. But her heart is broken and the guy who broke it—her ex Josh—keeps hinting at a reunion. So when her best friends, Tiff and Camille, suggest they take a girls trip to help her get over her heartache, Grace doesn’t hesitate to recommend Cancún. She just doesn’t mention that Josh also happens to be there.
But juggling her friends, Josh, and the increasing number of lies she’s telling is a lot harder than she expected. And things only get more complicated when she clicks with a hot local guy, Daniel, who turns out to be half Taiwanese too. As the days unfold, Grace starts to think maybe she’ll get away with it. But will her past decisions and her need for closure come back to ruin the relationships that matter most to her?
“Full of true friendship, deep self-discovery, and all the swoons,” (Courtney Kae, author of In the Event of Love), The Breakup Vacation captures the hilarious chaos of being twenty-one, when love is still new, when adulthood feels so close and yet so far away, and when friends are everything.
Feb 262024
The Bulletin: At the prestigious Bastille Invitational, three Asian American would-be teen tennis stars vie for the title under enormous pressure to win: newbie Alice Wu, who’s anxious to show she’s worth her family’s sacrifices; Lê “Leylah” Ha, determined to prove the viability of a tennis career to her high-achieving immigrant parents; and Violetta Masuda, rising social media star, desperate to please her former champion mother. Assigned to share a room, these should-be rivals soon turn could-be friends. Past betrayals, however, cause Leylah to clash with former bestie Violetta, and as challenges mount on and off the court, each teen wrangles with personal demons, from disordered eating and a growing drug habit to self-destructive anger and overwhelming grief and guilt. The world of competitive tennis provides a wealthy, white backdrop to explore the impact of race on the pursuit of pro-career dreams, but like many a sports story, athletics are the least important part here, a supporting player to the young women’s personal crises and interpersonal drama. As the narrative volleys between the trio’s perspectives, individual stories sometimes lose traction, but as tournament action picks up, so does the pace, providing a strong finish. The girls are all eminently likable, learning that it’s okay for girls to be loud, take up space, and direct their own lives and readers will root for them to get the love, help, and wins they deserve. Give this to sports-hungry readers, but also to fans of the 2000 film Center Stage, who like their heroines vulnerable, strong-willed, and ambitious.
Feb 222024
Publishers Weekly: Three elite tennis players randomly assigned as roommates compete at Bastille, a tournament where they go head-to-head both on and off the court, in this multilayered novel by Gracia (Boys I Know). When 16-year-old Japanese American Violetta Masuda arrives at Bastille’s tennis academy, she’s expecting to have a roommate with whom she’ll share her dorm for the duration of the tournament. What she’s not expecting, however, is that along with Taiwanese American high school sophomore Alice Wu comes 17-year-old Cambodian and Vietnamese American Leylah Lê, Violetta’s former best friend. The stakes are high, as is the pressure to come out on top, and as the teen athletes wrestle with their performance and their families’ expectations, they each struggle with their own challenges—Leylah uses an insulin pump to manage her diabetes and Violetta vapes to mitigate stress—and their desires to live a “normal” life. Via the trio’s alternating first-person POVs, Gracia—a former D1 collegiate player—imbues the narrative with insider knowledge and traces the competition as the girls move through their draws and navigate romance, racism, and friendship. The supporting cast is racially diverse. Ages 14–up.
Feb 132024
Jesse Logan doesn’t want a fresh start. He wants his old life back—before an injury made his career as a firefighter impossible, before his grandfather’s Alzheimer’s got so bad he doesn’t recognize Jesse anymore. When a friend tells him about a paid psychological study, Jesse sees it as a chance to get back to the man he was while making a little extra cash.
All Lulu Banks is asking for is a fresh start. Back home after a devastating breakup, she’s struggling to find her place. She’s always been a lot—too loud, too eager, too obvious about her feelings. The friendship study seems like a great idea…until she’s paired with Jesse Logan, who recently ghosted her after a blind date that led to a steamy make-out session.
Now that old familiar tension is back. Despite the program’s strict “no romance” rule, Jesse and Lulu are quick to find a work-around that allows them to explore their tenuous connection. And soon they’re on their way to total self-improvement…
As long as they don’t get caught.
Jan 112024
Kirkus: For three teen competitors at the exclusive Bastille Invitational tennis tournament in Florida, there’s more at stake than the winner’s trophy.
Taiwanese American Alice Wu arrives still reeling from the loss of her father, who was also her coach. Mixed with her grief is the betrayal she feels toward the rest of her family, who hid Baba’s illness so she could have a “normal” life as long as possible. Alice receives another shock when she discovers that she’s rooming with rising tennis star Violetta Masuda, a white-passing social media influencer of Japanese and European descent. Violetta is bubbly, glamorous, and well connected, but there are cracks beneath the surface. Relentless pressure from her mother, a former professional tennis player, drives Violetta to increasingly seek relief through vaping. It doesn’t help that the dorm’s third occupant is Leylah Lê, Violetta’s former friend. Leylah holds her partially responsible for the disastrous conclusion to her previous appearance at the Bastille Invitational. Leylah, who has Type 1 diabetes and whose parents are Khmer and Vietnamese, is determined to prove that she belongs in the tennis world without compromising who she is, from her appearance to her brusque demeanor. Gracia engages readers from the start with well-developed characters whose motivations and secrets are carefully revealed over the course of the tournament. Chapters alternate between Alice’s, Violetta’s, and Leylah’s perspectives and examine trauma, addiction, class, and representation through the passion—and desperation—of elite athletes.
Compelling and memorable. (Fiction. 13-18)