Today on the site we’ve got Brazilian queer YA rock star Vitor Martins, revealing the cover of his newest import to the US, This is Our Place, which was translated by Larissa Helena and releases from Scholastic on November 1st! Here’s the story:
If the walls of Number 8 Sunflower Street could talk …
As Ana celebrates the new millennium, she is shocked to learn that she must leave behind her childhood home, her hometown, and — hardest of all — her girlfriend for a new life in Rio de Janeiro.
Ten years later, Greg is sent to live with his aunt — who runs a video rental store from her garage and owns a dog named Keanu Reeves — as his parents work out their not-so-secret divorce.
And ten years after that, Beto must put his dreams of becoming a photographer on hold as the COVID-19 pandemic arrives in Brazil, forcing him to live with his overprotective mother and overachieving sister.
Set in and narrated by the same house, Number 8 Sunflower Street, and in three different decades – 2000, 2010, and 2020 respectively – This Is Our Place is a novel about queer teens dealing with sudden life changes, family conflict, and first loves, proving that while generations change, we will always be connected to each other.
Doesn’t that sound absolutely stunning? Well here’s the beautiful cover to match, illustrated by Douglas Lopes and designed by Stephanie Yang!
And here are a few words from the author himself!
“The story for This is Our Place came to me during 2020, a hard and challenging year for the whole world. I found myself constantly looking over my window and imagining what my neighbors were going through. Alongside with the constant desire to go back in time and enjoy life a little bit more, I came up with the story of three queers teens that lived in the same house in three different moments in time. The house itself is the narrator and it’s a quite funny house.
This is Our Place is a book about family, goodbyes, and trying times. It’s about all the shared experiences for queer youth over the decades and all details that changes perspectives in 10 years forward or backward. But it’s also a fun love story full of gay panic, house jokes and a cute dog named Keanu Reeves. I am so thrilled about this book and I just can’t wait to American readers finally meet Ana, Greg and Beto!”
Preorder: Amazon | IndieBound
Vitor Martins received his degree in journalism but works as an illustrator. He published his first YA novel Here the Whole Time in the U.S. in fall 2020. Already an established YA author in Brazil prior to coming to Scholastic, Vitor’s books have garnered much praise, including a starred review. Here the Whole Time was co-winner of the 2021 Global Literature In Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Award. The book has been sold in several foreign territories, including The U.K./Commonwealth (Hodder Children’s Books), Germany (LYX, Bastei Lübbe AG), and Russia (Mann, Ivanov, and Ferber). It is also a finalist for the 2021 Latino Book Award for best young adult book originally in Portuguese. Additionally, Here the Whole Time‘s film rights have been optioned by Conspiração Films, one of the most prominent film producers in Brazil. Vitor is very active in the American and Brazilian YA communities – even having translated Abdi Nazemian’s Like A Love Story into Portuguese.