Hey YA Readers!
I always find there is enthusiasm for a month-long celebration or awareness-building event when a month begins but it tends to wane near the end of the month. It makes sense: folks want to get the most out of the month, so putting the effort in at the front helps do just that. But there is a lot to be said about revisiting these things as the month progresses and, ultimately, as the month comes to an end and the discussions are no longer at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
Which is a preface to this saying that July is Disability Pride Month, and I wanted to make sure to highlight some great Disability reads before the month finished. I’m going to share a couple of books for your TBR, as well as a roundup of some links to keep your reading life — and your non-reading life — aimed at disability justice, awareness, and activism.
I always try to avoid self-promotion where possible, but because so many folks have been looking for specific representation of disability and invisible illnesses, I have to put a note out there that if you want essays and art exploring a wide range of human physical experiences, consider grabbing Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy. Among some of the pieces are those who’ve experienced ableism, Crohn’s Disease, PCOS, chronic pain, and more.
Bookish Goods
Disability Pride Spiral Notebook by Xenogenders
Keep notes on what you’re reading, learning, and experiencing with this Disability Pride spiral notebook. $14.
New Releases
Grab the entire list of new YA book releases over here.
Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min
When Santi accidentally leaked Memo’s song and it became an overnight hit, Memo — Santi’s best friend and romantic interest who he only knows from the internet — disappears. Santi’s heart is broken.
Three years and a new high school later, it’s possible Santi has found Memo, but in a way he never anticipated nor dreamed.
This one’s for fans of enemies-to-lovers stories and features a significant trans character.
Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen
This is the first book in a series about Violet, a morally gray witch who has a lot of power within the royal court. She doesn’t mind lying. Prince Cyrus hopes to get Violet out of her role when he takes the crown at the end of summer, but when Violet launches a false prophecy on behalf of the king — one meant to show Cyrus his “one true love” for the royal ball — she accidentally unleashes a a curse…and she may be falling for the one person she can’t stand to fall for, too.
This one is described as perfect for fans of The Cursed Prince and Serpent and Dove and it sounds like a lot of fun. I love a good lying main character.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Kendra, one of our contributing editors at Book Riot, is a disabled writer and has been putting out incredible stuff this month worth reading (and her work extends well beyond this month, but she’s developed a whole series specifically for Disability Pride Month):
- A book lover’s guide to disability pride month
- How to be a better disability ally on the bookish internet
- A nondisabled reader’s guide to disability literature
Over on Instagram, Dogbuttsandbooks (what a great name!) developed a month-long disability pride reading bingo. It’s not too late to take part and more, this is an incredible tool for building a year of reading more disability narratives.
There are several roundups of disability in YA from the part few years on Book Riot, too, worth highlighting:
- 20 must-read YA books with disabled characters
- New YA nonfiction about disability (written last fall, now all of these titles are available!)
- #OwnVoices disability YA titles
Not a list, but I’ve been increasingly annoyed by how few “inclusive” book covers feature disability in any discernible way. There are so many creative ways to do it, too!
And if you’re looking for some 2022 disability YA readers, here are some more lists from around the web:
As always, thanks for hanging out. We’ll see you later this week with your YA paperback releases and YA book news.
Until then, happy reading!
— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter.