New GLBT Canadian YA books!

I’m always thrilled to be able to add new books to the Big List of Canadian GLBT YA Fiction! I’ve added two more titles–thanks to Robin and Kristyn for letting me know about their new books!

Big Big Sky by Kristyn Dunnion.

Sometimes it’s harder to kill than pod might think.
I crouch in the dark, stare into the manimal’s shining eyes. It blinks right at me. It shakes in fear. Its thrumping furred chest quickens my own pulse. The thing wave-sends a sonic roll of pure emotion: terror, disbelief, and a wee glimmer of hope. . .

Rustle is a young scout in a tight-knit female warrior group of five. They’re trained to be aggressive, quick thinking, obedient-though for what exact purpose they couldn’t quite tell you. But somehow the group is falling apart now. The leader Shona turns out to be a traitor to them. Roku has disappeared. Rustle has failed to show her killing skills in a crucial test of courage, and is feeling quite separate from the others. Loo is a true warrior, ready and able for action of the most extreme kind, though Rustle’s private yen for her has not dimmed. Solomon, the healer of the group, is a steady hand, but not even her stability can save them.

So when their StarPod is transported to the Living Lab, they all know that it’s time to make a run for it, or else they’ll be deplugged – finished, dead. It takes a lot of wit and energy, but eventually they make it to the outside of the great mountain where they’ve been raised and trained and programmed-and here for the first time they behold the big, big sky of the real world.

And thus begins this account of five mutant girls who have to find their way in a totally unfamiliar world where they learn to survive. . . or not.

Big Guy by Robin Stevenson, 2008.

That picture I sent? It was taken last year, before Mom left. Before I packed on all this fat. That was a good eighty pounds ago though: you wouldn’t even recognize me if you saw me now.
I barely recognize myself.

Derek thinks he might be falling in love. The problem is, he hasn’t been entirely honest with his on-line boyfriend. Derek sent Ethan a photo taken before he got depressed and gained eighty pounds. Derek hasn’t been honest with his employer either. When he lied about his age and experience to get a job with disabled adults, the last thing he expected was to meet a woman like Aaliyah. Smart, prickly and often difficult, Aaliyah challenges Derek’s ideas about honesty and trust. Derek has to choose whether to risk telling the truth, or to give up the most important relationship in his life.

5 responses to “New GLBT Canadian YA books!

  1. Hi!

    I’m working on a list of fat positive (or fat neutral — it’s the same thing, heh) children’s books. Could I ask you for a spoiler about Big Boy? At the end, what’s the message about his fatnes? I assume he decides to be honest with the online BF, but does the narrative voice imply that he needs to lose the weight? Does he start to lose the weight and/or hint that he’s going to?

    Thanks!

  2. Hi Rebecca,
    Just saw your question and wanted to respond. Derek doesn’t lose weight or decide to try to lose weight, and I don’t think that the narrative voice implies that he should. Having said that, there is a scene in which he makes a connection between his eating and all the other things people do to get through the day, including religion and alcohol. There is also some self-loathing related to being fat at the start of the book, but the overall journey throughout the story is towards self-acceptance and honesty– not weight loss. I’ve always hated make-over stories. If you want to e-mail me (robin@robinstevenson.com) I can send you a couple of relevant excerpts.

    Good luck with the list– great idea. Hope you decide to include Big Guy!

    Best wishes– Robin Stevenson

  3. Oops- Elisabeth, I just realized you have my book listed as Big Boy… It’s actually Big Guy. Thanks- Robin

  4. Oops! Sorry, Robin! Thanks for pointing that out.

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