#H.A. Clarke

[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!

[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…

[tickety-boo-af]

“Lucky me, the unicorn is a much stranger creature than my youth-brain initially understood. Beagle spends a ridiculous amount of prose space establishing that a unicorn isn’t a weird horse or anything like that, but its own specific amalgamation of various animal shapes that makes something distinct, precise, and important. There is so much care taken by the text in shaping the unicorn and letting the audience know that their generic expectation of a unicorn, horse-with-horn, is incomplete and lacking a complete image of what being a unicorn entails. When I was a kid, I was a guilty party who assumed that unicorn meant horse-with-horn. I was delighted to be wrong—it meant that I could be wrong about other things. I desperately needed to be wrong.”

— Hannah Abigail Clarke from their queer reading of The Last Unicorn

[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)

[the-knights-who-say-book]

inspired by The Scapegracers by H. A. Clarke (bookshop.org affiliate link)

a playlist for angry teen witches, queer girl friendship, and welcoming a demon into your veins

Gravel to Tempo — Haley Kiyoko. Catch my name for kicks / Thinking I would be right by your side / I don't feel adequate / Thinking I'm a monster in disguise

Control — Halsey. And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me" / I can't help this awful energy / God damn right, you should be scared of me / Who is in control?

Heaven in Hiding — Halsey. Sitting on the concrete in your basement / But I don't have no time for conversation / Said, "this ain't what you usually do, and a girl like me is new for you" / And I can tell you mean it 'cause you're shaking

Control — VÉRITÉ. Please excuse me for the way I act / So I've asked too many times / Drawing circles to show where I'm at / As if they leave me to unwind

Haunted House — Sir Babygirl. This party's just another haunted house / I can't wait to lose all my friends tomorrow / This party's just another haunted house / I can't wait to carry it with me forever

Witch’s Rune — S. J. Tucker. Darksome night and shining moon / Balance of the dark and light / hearken ye our witch's rune / as we perform our sacred rite

Human — (cover by) Kim Petras. Pay my respects to grace and virtue / Send my condolences to good / Give my regards to soul and romance / They always did the best they could

Floor — VÉRITÉ. It's no surprise on most nights / How black skies poured down around us / And I'm tired of waiting for our lives to crash against the surface

In the Woods Somewhere — Hozier. When I awoke / The moon still hung / The night so black that the darkness hummed

clementine — Halsey. Wish I could see what it's like to be the blood in my veins / Do the insides of all of my fingers still look the same? / And can you feel it too, when I am touchin' you? / And when my hair stands on ends, it's saluting you

Siren Song — Julian Moon. They say I've got a serpent's tongue / And a body like a loaded gun / You wanna tame me / You wanna make me forget where I come from

Mile Magnificent — molly ofgeography. This is my favorite part, the start / Not the fire but the sparks / The hold-your-breath, let loose your heart / We burn ourselves to ashes / Lighting fires in the dark

Hold Me Down — Halsey. My demons are begging me to open up my mouth / I need them mechanically make the words come out / They fight me, vigorous and angry, watch them pounce / Ignite me, licking up the flames they bring about

Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene — Hozier. With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean / She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene / With her straw-blonde hair, her arms hard and lean

It Will Come Back — Hozier. Oh, please, give me mercy no more / That's a kindness you can't afford / I warn you, baby, each night, as sure as you're born / You'll hear me howling outside your door

Need Nothing — VÉRITÉ. I'm sorry I'm not what you wanted / A blissful expectation of something you never got / And I'm sorry we're not where we started / You've wasted all your time in holding on

Graveyard — Halsey. They say I may be making a mistake / I would've followed all the way, no matter how far / I know when you go down all your darkest roads / I would've followed all the way to the graveyard

[layaart]

scapegracers character art part 3: Yates & Shiloh!

[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

[booklovinghobbit]

Y'all ever read a book so damn good that it leaves you feeling full? a book so lovingly written that it physically warms you? that you have no choice but to cry at the end because this book loves you in a way that your parents never could?

[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…