#H.A. Clarke

[layaart]

scapegracers character art part 2: Daisy & Jing!

[angsty-worm]

god I am such a sucker for ridiculously devoted fictional friend groups. they drive each other up the wall. they want to kill each other. they’ll die for each other. they share a soul. they share half a braincell. their story might be tragic. it might not be. they’re all a little in love with each other.

[aroaessidhe]

The Feast Makers, H.A. Clarke

[lottiesoka]

The Scapegracers; Sideways, Jing, Daisy, and Yates.

[lgbtqreads]

Most Anticipated Queer Young Adult Fiction: January-June 2024

Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia (January 2nd) Tara just wants to be treated like any other girl at Ainsley Academy. That is, judged on her merits—not on her transness. But there’s no road map for being the first trans girl at an all-girls school. And when she tries to join the Sibyls, an old-fashioned Ainsley sisterhood complete with code names and special privileges, she’s thrust into the…

[lakecountylibrary]

Read What We're Reading!

Here's reader's advisor Jae's current TBR pile:

From top to bottom:

Bloodguard by Cecy Robson

My Kind of Trouble by L.A. Schwartz

Defy by Sara De Waard

Heaven Official's Blessing book 1 by Tian Guan Ci Fu

Metal from Heaven by H.A. Clarke

Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli

Darkly by Marisha Pessl

Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas

Fortune's Kiss by Amber Clement

[libraryleopard]

Third book in the Scapegracers trilogy (releases 3/26)

Sideways's magic has been restored & their hoping to get through the rest of senior year with their coven (and perhaps avoid confronting what will come after), but the broader witch community convenes to put Madeline on trial for stealing another witch's magic, Sideways knows they have to get involved

Meanwhile, more witch hunters are also gathering in Sycamore Gorge for a memorial and tensions begin to come to a head

Explores justice, punishment, and redemption–how should Madeline be punished for crimes? And who gets to decide?

The coven must also grapple with their end imminent separation at the end of high school as the four of them try to figure out their future paths in life

At the same time, Sideways navigates a growing romance with one of their coven members

Also some great twists that add stakes/recontextualize things we thought we knew

Fierce & queer & snarky & complex

Nonbinary butch lesbian main character, Chinese American bi love interesting, Black sapphic side character, nonbinary side character, femme lesbian side character

[trailtrackery]

The Feast Makers, H.A. Clarke

[readingrobin]

The Scapegracers by H.A. Clarke

An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process.

Skulking near the bottom of West High’s social pyramid, Sideways Pike lurks under the bleachers doing magic tricks for Coke bottles. As a witch, lesbian, and lifelong outsider, she’s had a hard time making friends. But when the three most popular girls pay her $40 to cast a spell at their Halloween party, Sideways gets swept into a new clique. The unholy trinity are dangerous angels, sugar-coated rattlesnakes, and now–unbelievably–Sideways’ best friends.

Together, the four bond to form a ferocious and powerful coven. They plan parties, cast curses on dudebros, try to find Sideways a girlfriend, and elude the fundamentalist witch hunters hellbent on stealing their magic. But for Sideways, the hardest part is the whole ‘having friends’ thing. Who knew that balancing human interaction with supernatural peril could be so complicated? - Storygraph

Reading this book was like shooting a glorious cocktail of Joan Jett, The Craft, and glorious butch lesbian energy straight into my veins. Angry girl gangs are a trope right up my alley and The Scapegracers doesn’t disappoint. What I really appreciated was the core dynamic of the group. With your typical girl groups à la Heathers or Mean Girls, once the power structure is threatened, the girls basically turn on each other and rip the others to shreds. Here, it’s clear that these friends are ride or die for each other to a somewhat intimidating degree. If anyone dares to hurt one of their own, it’s open season and the aftermath is going to be bloody. High school party legends Jing, Daisy, and Yates never really fall into the holier than thou popular rich girl group stereotype, as they readily bring witchy loner Sideways into the fold once they see that her abilities are no joke. Despite their reputations, they’re very earnest in their intentions, and do what they can to make her feel welcome. It’s a welcome departure from the usual popular kids embracing the school loser story and leads to some great interactions between them all.

Sideways is a character that is all barbed wire and jagged edges. Like many an angry queer teen, she desires to kick a hole square in the face of the universe and disregard any sort of conventional living. Some may find her personality and narration abrasive, but it absolutely jives with the tone and direction of the story. She is just the right amount of pissed off for the audience to cheer her on while not being totally put off by her attitude. I think what also really helps is that we are shown constantly that Sideways is not a totally unfeeling person. There are people that she loves, like her amazing, incredibly supportive dads, Julian and Boris, as well as her new friends and mysterious crush. It goes a long way in humanizing her and shows that what she ultimately wants is some sort of connection to others.

Tangent here, but Julian and Boris are probably some of the best parents I’ve come across in young adult fiction. Julian is the kind parent prone to flustering over the safety of his daughter, but at the same time is all for her joining up with a girl gang to act as a counter for the wealth of meathead jocks in the area. Boris is the more reserved of the two, still caring for Sideways and shares many interests with her, but is also respectful of her space and her secrets. Again loving the shakeups to the typical YA format of an angsty teen who is constantly at odds with their parents that only serve as another obstacle for them to face.

The treatment of magic in this world feels very unique, as it focuses more on its physical effects to the caster rather than solely on its outcomes. Magic is treated as this force that runs all throughout the body when in use, feelings of electricity and chills, coupled with coppery tastes on the tongue and sensations that defy reality. It makes magic more than just saying a cryptic word and hoping that it works, it is an elemental force that you dish out with your entire body. The magic in Scapegracers is chaotic, twisting and shaping itself based on the specific witch, better when done improvised and in the moment. I really like this interpretation, as it appears as this unpredictable power that can be called on in certain situations rather than completely mastered.

On the whole, a fantastic read if you’re looking for some hardcore witchy vibes and a tough-as-nails girl gang that would definitely conquer the world if given the chance. I found it a bit slow to start at the beginning, but after a few chapters it really picks up and doesn’t slow down until the very end.

(5/5)

[radioactivemoss]

to all scapegracers fans who make fanart!!!

Daisy has red hair and is described w ‘cheerleader muscles’

Jing is a peroxide blonde with a messy fringe and has ‘blackboard irises’

Yates has an afro that she likes to put flowers in

They’re all shorter than Sideways, who’s tall and strong with a buzz cut and a scar on the bridge of their nose

okay psa over

[duckprintspress]

Let’s Go Lesbians! 32 Books for Lesbian Visibility Day

TODAY! is Lesbian Visibility Day, the first day of Lesbian Visibility Week – April 26, 2024. We are, I’m sure you’re shocked to discover, celebrating with LOTS of lesbian books! 15 people contributed to making this list, all of us sharing our absolute faves, from graphic novels to epic novels, from memoirs to horror fiction, with explicit rep and implied. With this many awesome books to share, we’re prepared to guarantee that everyone who loves wlw lit can find something new to them on this amazing list!

Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa

Kiss Number 8 by Colleen AF Venable & Ellen T. Crenshaw

She Wears the Midnight Crown Anthology

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

The Scapegracers & The Scratch Daughters by H.A. Clarke

Spinning by Tillie Walden

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

The Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Those Who Wait by Haley Cass

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Into the Bloodred Woods by Martha Brockenbrough

From Here by Luma Mufleh

Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel

A Memory Called Empire & A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

Female General, Eldest Princess by Please Don’t Laugh

Clear And Muddy Loss of Love by Please Don’t Laugh

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone & Amal El-Mohtar

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

Can’t get enough books with lesbians? Yeah, us neither – this new list for 2024 is on top of THREE rec lists of titles featuring lesbians that we posted last year.

Lesbian Visibility Week Recs Part 1

Lesbian Visibility Week Recs Part 2

Duck Prints Press Short Stories with Lesbian Characters

You can also view this list (along with all our other wlw faves!) as a shelf on Goodreads!

See a book you want to buy? You can grab it through the Duck Prints Press Bookshop.org affiliate shop!

What are YOUR favorite reads with lesbian characters?

[layaart]

scapegracers character art part 1: sideways! (and mr scratch)

I started these over a year ago, I think i can finally call them finished!

[fantasyescapism]

LGBTQ+ Book Recs

Most of these are sapphic. If they are part of a series I just put the first book. I'll probably keep updating as I read more. A couple of these count as both sci-fi and fantasy.

Fantasy

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman

Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

Girls at the Edge of the World by Laura Brooke Robson

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

North is the Night by Emily Rath

Practical Rules for Cursed Witches by Kayla Cottingham

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland

The Scapegracers by H.A. Clarke

The Shattered Lands by Brenna Nation

The Society For Soulless Girls by Laura Steven

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Spirit Bears Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

The Valkyrie's Daughter by Tiana Warner

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Sci-Fi

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Ammonite by Nicola Griffith

Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Crier's War by Nina Varela

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

[aroaessidhe]

The Feast Makers, H.A. Clarke

[lottiesoka]

The Scapegracers

[lgbtqreads]

August 2023 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction Translator and winner of Columbia’s Henfield Prize Mariam Rahmani‘s LIQUID, pitched as a subversion of the marriage plot novel for fans of Paul Beatty, set in Los Angeles and Tehran, in which an early 30s queer Muslim adjunct professor sets out to marry rich, resolving to suffer through 100 dates in a single summer, to Evan Hansen-Bundy at Algonquin, in a pre-empt, by Danielle…