3 of 5 Finalists for 2021 National Book Awards for Young People’s Literature Have Queer Protagonists

All five shortlisted finalists for the National Book Awards for Young People’s Literature, announced today, focus on people with marginalized identities. Three of the five have queer protagonists. I’ve reviewed all three, so come and meet them again!

When I first reviewed Malinda Lo’s young adult novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club (Dutton — Amazon; Bookshop), I said “Shortlist this one for all the awards.” I’m glad to have been proven right. This is a dazzling lesbian love story set in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1954. Lo is keenly aware of the complexities of intersectionality, yet the serious topics never come across as pedantic; they are all just different threads of the protagonist’s identities and experiences, which combine to make her who she is and shape her interactions with the world. Full review.

Too Bright to See (Dial Books — Amazon; Bookshop), Kyle Lukoff’s first middle grade novel (after the Stonewall Award-winning picture book When Aidan Became a Brother and the Max and Friends series), is a coming-of-age story and a mystery/ghost story rolled into one, told from the first-person perspective of 11-year-old Bug, whose gender identity is evolving. Even in his picture books, Lukoff has had a knack for thoughtful phrasing, and his skill and lyricism show even more on this bigger canvas. Full review.

The Legend of Auntie Po, by Shing Yin Khor (Kokila — Amazon; Bookshop), is a graphic novel set in a Sierra Nevada logging camp in the late 19th century, weaving the historical setting with a hefty dose of magical realism. Thirteen-year-old protagonist Mei straddles the traditions of her Chinese-born father and the stories and possibilities of her new country. She also has a crush on the foreman’s daughter, Bee, and expressly says she is not interested in boys, though this is only one aspect of her story. Full review.

The other two finalists are Me (Moth) (Feiwel & Friends — Amazon; Bookshop), a YA novel-in-verse by Amber McBride, about a Black teen girl grieving the deaths of her family, and a Navajo/Diné teen boy who crosses her path, as they set off to discover their ancestry; and Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People, by Kekla Magoon (Candlewick – Amazon; Bookshop), a comprehensive history of the Black Panther Party and its community activism.

Any of the five books is worthy of winning the award, which will be announced November 17. I’m focusing on the queer-inclusive ones here, since that’s my beat, but I’d be delighted with any of the choices. Young people of all marginalized identities deserve representation. Although books that focus on people and communities with marginalized identities are among the most likely to be challenged, these finalists prove that such stories can be a) of superlative quality and b) good business choices for their publishers. (Within two hours of the shortlist announcement, I received an e-mail about it from Penguin Young Readers, which owns the imprints for all three queer-inclusive books above.)

These are not the first queer-inclusive books to be shortlisted for the Young People’s Literature award; Kacen Callender’s King and the Dragonflies even won last year. I believe this is the most that have been shortlisted in any given year, however.

Congratulations to all!

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