Tag Archives: Marieke Nijkamp

New Releases: July 2025

After We Burned by Marieke Nijkamp (1st)

A terrible accident. A horrible loss. A regrettable tragedy. That’s all anyone in Fenix can talk about when a fire consumes the local high school, taking the life of a student. The town mourns, except who really knew―let alone cared about―Eden when she was alive? And why was she in the building that night?

Five teens each hold a piece of the truth about what happened. They also have their own secrets, secrets they will fight to protect with the same fury as the blaze that killed Eden. But silence is meant to be broken, and this story can’t be extinguished…

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading New Releases: July 2025

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Young Adult Fiction: July-December 2025

After We Burned by Marieke Nijkamp (July 1st)

A terrible accident. A horrible loss. A regrettable tragedy. That’s all anyone in Fenix can talk about when a fire consumes the local high school, taking the life of a student. The town mourns, except who really knew―let alone cared about―Eden when she was alive? And why was she in the building that night?

Five teens each hold a piece of the truth about what happened. They also have their own secrets, secrets they will fight to protect with the same fury as the blaze that killed Eden. But silence is meant to be broken, and this story can’t be extinguished…

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Young Adult Fiction: July-December 2025

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Middle Grade: July-December 2025

Goat Magic by Kate Wheeler (August 19th)

Destinies collide when a village goat herder meets the palace princess in Goat Magic!

Trill, a spirited goat herder with a unique ability to communicate with her flock, yearns for a life beyond mountain pastures. Her “goat magic” feels common compared to the sorcery taught in the city’s prestigious magic schools, which are off-limits to her. Meanwhile, Princess Alya, known as the “Ordinary Princess” and heir to the kingdom of Capeya, doubts her own royal potential.

Their worlds collide when an assassination attempt on the queen leaves Alya cursed to transform into a black goat each sunrise. Seeking refuge in Trill’s goat herd, Alya discovers her new friend’s hidden talent is her only hope to break the spell. Together, they embark on a perilous journey back to the castle, facing treacherous foes and uncovering a web of betrayal and rebellion.

As Alya battles to reclaim her throne and restore order to Capeya, the girls discover a deep connection, their shared experiences forging an unbreakable bond. When Alya comes face to face with the ones who betrayed her, will she have what it takes to take back the crown and rule an unstable kingdom? Will Trill find confidence in her magic and the growing affection she has for her friend?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Middle Grade: July-December 2025

New Releases: June 3, 2025

This post is sponsored by Timothy Jay Smith and Fire on the Island, out today in paperback! Set against the very real refugee crisis on the beautiful, sun-drenched Greek islands, Fire on the Island paints a nuanced and loving portrait of a community in crisis while shedding light on the challenges of life in contemporary Greece.

Buy it!

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Continue reading New Releases: June 3, 2025

Happy Autism Acceptance Month 2025!

It’s Autism Acceptance Month, and we are of course celebrating by highlighting books with queer autistic protagonists!

Middle Grade

Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass

55624941. sx318 Thirteen-year-old Ellen Katz feels most comfortable when her life is well planned out and people fit neatly into her predefined categories. She attends temple with Abba and Mom every Friday and Saturday. Ellen only gets crushes on girls, never boys, and she knows she can always rely on her best-and-only friend, Laurel, to help navigate social situations at their private Georgia middle school. Laurel has always made Ellen feel like being autistic is no big deal. But lately, Laurel has started making more friends, and cancelling more weekend plans with Ellen than she keeps. A school trip to Barcelona seems like the perfect place for Ellen to get their friendship back on track.

Except it doesn’t. Toss in a new nonbinary classmate whose identity has Ellen questioning her very binary way of seeing the world, homesickness, a scavenger hunt-style team project that takes the students through Barcelona to learn about Spanish culture and this trip is anything but what Ellen planned.

Making new friends and letting go of old ones is never easy, but Ellen might just find a comfortable new place for herself if she can learn to embrace the fact that life doesn’t always stick to a planned itinerary.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Happy Autism Acceptance Month 2025!

Fave Five: Fiction with Sapphic Knights

The Afterward by E.K. Johnston (YA)

Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell (YA)

A Knight to Remember by Bridget Essex

The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond

Her Pretty Knight by Mariah Rae Birch

Bonus: Coming in June 2025, Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner (YA)

Double Bonus: For two MG series with nonbinary knights, check out Splinter & Ash by Marieke Nijkamp and Sir Callie by Esme Symes-Smith

Gift Guide: Queer Fiction for DnD Lovers

Today’s gift guide is for the DnD lovers out there! It’s a combination of books actually featuring DnD (or similar games, especially if they’re fictional) and books with DnD vibes (a popular rec Ask!), and even a preorder option if you want to bring some future joy to a fan!

Middle Grade

Dungeon Club: Roll Call by Molly Knox Ostertag and Xanthe Bouma

This is the first in a series; the second is out as well.

Middle school is a dungeon… At least, that’s how Jess sees it.

Luckily, she and her best friend Olivia know how to escape into the sprawling worlds of their own imaginations. The two friends have always loved making up stories, first with little kid games of make-believe, and more recently with the fantasy roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons. When they play, Olivia runs the game as Dungeon Master and Jess is the solo party member, playing a take-no-prisoners, lone-wolf fighter of her own design named Sir Corius.

But when Olivia wants to add new players to their group, Jess finds herself struggling to share their game—and her best friend. Will their epic campaign withstand all this change, or has their adventure—and their friendship—finally come to an end?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Gift Guide: Queer Fiction for DnD Lovers

New Releases: September 10, 2024

Middle Grade

Splinter & Ash by Marieke Nijkamp

Ash—or Princess Adelisa—is the youngest child of the queen, recently returned to the city of Kestrel’s Haven after spending six years on the other side of the country. Ash was hoping for a joyous reunion, but the reality is far from it. Her mother is holding the kingdom together by a thread; her brother has only taunts and jibes for her; and court is full of nobles who openly mock and dismiss Ash, who uses a cane and needs braces to strengthen her joints.

Splinter is the youngest child of one of Haven’s most prominent families. She’s fierce, determined, and adventurous, and she has her sights set on becoming a knight just like her older brother. Even if everyone says she can’t because she’s not a boy. So what? She’s not a girl, either.

A chance encounter throws Ash and Splinter into each other’s orbits and changes the course of the kingdom’s history. The princess and her new squire will face bullies, snobs, gossips, and their own disapproving families. But when they uncover a shadowy group of nobles plotting to overthrow the queen, they will show everyone how legends are born. Together.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading New Releases: September 10, 2024

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Athlete is Agender ed. by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby

Today on the site, I’m thrilled to reveal the cover for Athlete is Agender, an exciting upcoming nonfiction Middle Grade anthology about queer and trans athletes edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby and releasing from Christy Ottaviano Books on May 13, 2025! Here to talk about it are Katherine and Nicole:

Continue reading Exclusive Cover Reveal: Athlete is Agender ed. by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby

Happy International Nonbinary Day 2024!

Early Reader

Batcat by Meggie Ramm

First in a full-color graphic novel series for emerging readers about accepting yourself and others from up-and-coming author-illustrator Meggie Ramm, creator of the comic strip The Littlest Dungeon Guard and cohost of the Pop! Whiz! Bang! comics podcast.

Batcat loves being all alone in their home on Spooky Island. Up in their tree house, they pass the time playing video games and watching TV. But when Batcat suddenly finds themself haunted by an annoying, ice cream–stealing ghost, they visit the local Island Witch for a spell to remove their ghastly guest permanently!

With their Ghost-B-Gone spell in hand, Batcat travels across Spooky Island to gather ingredients—to the Cavernous Caves where the bats tell them they’re too round to be a bat, and to the Whispering Cemetery where the cats will help only if they commit to being a true cat. But Batcat is neither and that’s what makes them special, right?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Happy International Nonbinary Day 2024!