Sadly, this century’s 20s have so far failed to provide us with the glamor and sultry decadence we associate with the original Roaring 20s. I know I’m not the only one who moped her way through lockdown while fantasizing about the excessive and perhaps even destructive 1920s-style parties that would hopefully emerge on the other side of the pandemic. Sadly, two years into our own 20s and still no mysterious self-made billionaire is inviting us to parties huge and lavish enough to draw his long-lost love along with the crowds of free-loaders. And so, as it so often does, it falls to books to make up for the deficiencies of reality. Here are six fabulous new and upcoming books set in the 1920s with all the glitz and adventure we’ve been missing.

RISE OF THE SNAKE GODDESS by Jenny Elder Moke
(June 7th, 2022)

Samantha Knox is back for another adventure in this 1920s female-driven mystery-adventure series!

Sam Knox’s second adventure takes her to the island of Crete, just off the coast of Greece, where she discovers the ancient Snake Goddess’s golden girdle in the depths of a cave shrine that has been buried for decades. After having been belittled by her archaeology professor throughout her first college semester, Sam knows this triumph will prove her worth in the field, but before she can take credit for the find, the girdle is stolen and the island is hit with a series of earthquakes that don’t feel quite geological.

Soon Sam, Bennett and Jo are embroiled in a wild hunt―one that takes them to tiny island shops, a glamorous auction party and a near fiery death―to find the girdle before someone can use it to raise an ancient goddess from her slumber. The final battle features gryphons, a labyrinth, the minotaur of legend and lots of snakes. Lots.

OUR VIOLENT ENDS by Chloe Gong
(November 16th, 2021)

The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.

After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.

Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.

Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.

A SISTERHOOD OF SECRET AMBITIONS by Sheena Boekweg
(June 1, 2021)

Behind every powerful man is a trained woman, and behind every trained woman is the Society. It started with tea parties and matchmaking, but is now a countrywide secret. Gossips pass messages in recipes, Spinsters train to fight, and women work together to grant safety to abused women and children. The Society is more than oaths—it is sisterhood and purpose.

In 1926, seventeen-year-old Elsie is dropped off in a new city with four other teenage girls. All of them have trained together since childhood to become the Wife of a powerful man. But when they learn that their next target is earmarked to become President, their mission becomes more than just an assignment; this is a chance at the most powerful position in the Society. All they have to do is make one man fall in love with them first.

FIRE BECOMES HER by Rosiee Thor
(February 1st, 2022)

In Rosiee Thor’s lavish fantasy novel with a Jazz Age spark, a politically savvy teen must weigh her desire to climb the social ladder against her heart in a world where magic buys votes.

Flare is power.

With only a drop of flare, one can light the night sky with fireworks . . . or burn a building to the ground — and seventeen-year-old Ingrid Ellis wants her fair share.

Ingrid doesn’t have a family fortune, monetary or magical, but at least she has a plan: Rise to the top on the arm of Linden Holt, heir to a hefty political legacy and the largest fortune of flare in all of Candesce. Her only obstacle is Linden’s father who refuses to acknowledge her.

So when Senator Holt announces his run for president, Ingrid uses the situation to her advantage. She strikes a deal to spy on the senator’s opposition in exchange for his approval and the status she so desperately craves. But the longer Ingrid wears two masks, the more she questions where her true allegiances lie.

Will she stand with the Holts, or will she forge her own path?

DEAD DEAD GIRLS by Nekesa Afia
(June 1st, 2021)

Harlem, 1926. Young black girls like Louise Lloyd are ending up dead.

Following a harrowing kidnapping ordeal when she was in her teens, Louise is doing everything she can to maintain a normal life. She’s succeeding, too. She spends her days working at Maggie’s Café and her nights at the Zodiac, Manhattan’s hottest speakeasy. Louise’s friends might say she’s running from her past and the notoriety that still stalks her, but don’t tell her that.

When a girl turns up dead in front of the café, Louise is forced to confront something she’s been trying to ignore–several local black girls have been murdered over the past few weeks. After an altercation with a local police officer gets her arrested, Louise is given an ultimatum: She can either help solve the case or let a judge make an example of her.

Louise has no choice but to take the case and soon finds herself toe-to-toe with a murderous mastermind. She’ll have to tackle her own fears and the prejudices of New York City society if she wants to catch a killer and save her own life in the process.

THE CHOSEN AND THE BEAUTIFUL by Nghi Vo
(June 1st, 2021)

Immigrant. Socialite. Magician.

Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society―she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer, Asian, adopted, and treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her.

But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how.

Nghi Vo’s debut novel reinvents this classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.

The post 6 Glitzy 1920s-Set Novels with All the Adventure We’ve Been Missing appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

I was already emotional when I read the introduction of this anthology. I should have taken that as a sign that this book will truly have an impact on me, not just as a reader but also as a fat person myself.

Every Body Shines managed to hurt me and comfort me at the same time. It’s an anthology that spans across various genres, featuring a diverse cast, celebrating body diversity and fat acceptance. Throughout these stories, we see fat people face fatphobia and a lot of it (and please be careful, as it can be jarring). However, we also see them challenge other people and their prejudice, build confidence for themselves, and start to live their lives the way they want it. Reading these different stories was heartbreaking, and moving, and beautiful.

Guilt Trip by Claire Kann – This was really fun and nice! I loved that we see fat people singing, dancing, and being fashionable in this story. I also loved that family, even though not by blood, was highlighted here.

Shatter by Cassandra Newbould – This was really interesting! I love the blend of science fiction and drama, plus it was really symbolic in its own way. The sapphic characters and the subtle sapphic romance were also a nice addition.

Prom Queers by Alex Gino – Oh, this was so beautiful and so precious. I loved the nonbinary rep, and how this story showed how gendered our clothes are (which really shouldn’t be). This also highlighted how hard it is to find clothes that make us look and feel fabulous and we can work on that.

Dupatta Diaries by Nafiza Azad – This one hit hard. This one really hit close to home. It was hard for me to read this story, but at the same time it was necessary and affirming. The way family is our own enemy, the one who berates us the most about our weight.

Food is Love by Chris Baron – Oh, I wanted more of this! I love how food is the main theme here, and how the main character is trying to make new memories and start a new despite not-so-great memories from the past. There was pain in this story, and yet there was also hope.

Orion’s Star by Catherine Adel West – This was really precious. I love how it focused on family relationships and dreams, and how sometimes we have to work and put in an effort to achieve both.

Weightless by Sheena Boekweg – This has to be my favorite in this anthology! This was so cute, and precious, and otherworldly. The character development was awesome, the science fiction and math part was so cool (I can’t believe this made math cool for me!), and the subtle romance made it all fit together. I also loved how this just showed that fat people are more than just their weight, that they deserve to be everywhere they want to be, that their worth and their talent and skills have nothing to do with being fat.

Outside Pitch by Kelly deVos – This one was odd in its own way, but somehow still a very enjoyable and cute read about taking chances.

Filling the Net by Monique Gray Smith – I adored reading this one. Loved that the focus was a family coming together, even after grieving. And that fat, Asian girls also excel in sports so wonderfully.

A Perfect Fit by Jennifer Yen – This was really emotional. And probably hard to read. It’s a story that represents many fat girls and how we’re subjected to fatphobic comments even from our own family. That said, it was great to see the main character grow and overcome each and every unnecessary comment from other people.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire by Rebecca Sky – This was really fun, despite tackling a touchy subject at first. Still, family and sportsmanship were main themes here, which was great!

Letters to Charlie Brown by Francina Simone – This had such a unique writing style and story telling technique. Told through letters to the fictional character, this was an interesting story. One that showed the innocence of the main character, and how she navigated childhood and pre-teens.

Love spells and lavender lattes by Amanda Lovelace – Well, this was interesting as well. The setting can be a bit confusing, but this took me on a small journey of love and magic.

Breathe You In by Hillary Monahan – Oh, this was brilliant! The Little Mermaid retelling with a dark, exciting twist? I loved it!

Unpleasant Surprises by Linda Camacho – This was an interesting one. Love that friendship and family were the main themes, and it also gives us an insight to coping with change and dieting, and more.

Letting Go by Renée Watson – The perfect ending to this anthology. Really short, but the sweetest.

I felt like crying reading this book. I’ve gotten so used to fatphobic remarks and microaggressions that reading about body positivity and seeing fat people celebrate their bodies, felt like an honest-to-god breath of fresh air. Like being cooped up in a very small house for so long and then finally stepping out, moving about, and seeing the sun. That’s how it was for me.

These stories try to show that fat people deserve to be here, that we deserve to take up space, and we do deserve the same respect and kindness. These stories speak of love and life, of friendship and family, and it’s just wonderful to see these different authors get together to write this anthology.

Every Body Shines is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 25th 2021.

Will you be picking up Every Body Shines? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

An intersectional, feminist YA anthology from some of today’s most exciting voices across a span of genres, all celebrating body diversity and fat acceptance through short stories.

Fat girls and boys and nonbinary teens are: friends who lift each other up, heroes who rescue themselves, big bodies in space, intellects taking up space, and bodies looking and feeling beautiful. They express themselves through fashion, sports and other physical pursuits, through food, and music, and art. They are flirting and falling in love. They are loving to themselves and one another. With stories that feature fat main characters starring in a multitude of stories and genres, and written by authors who live these lives too, this is truly a unique collection that shows fat young people the representation they deserve.

With a foreword by Aubry Gordon, creator of Your Fat Friend, and with stories by Nafiza Azad, Chris Baron, Sheena Boekweg, Linda Camacho, Kelly deVos, Alex Gino, Claire Kann, amanda lovelace, Hillary Monahan, Cassandra Newbould, Francina Simone, Rebecca Sky, Monique Gray Smith, Renée Watson, Catherine Adel West, Jennifer Yen

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Themes of kingdoms and battles for the throne are so common in Young Adult literature right now! Why do you think we (as writers and readers) are so attracted to these kinds of stories? 

SHEENA: The whole idea of happily ever after is often ingrained in us from childhood through a history of mothers whispering those bedtime stories as we fall asleep. It becomes part of our understanding of how the world is supposed to work. But it’s fascinating to follow the ways that idea changes as we grow older. Teens are learning the difference between fairy tales and reality, but there is something so appealing about finding a place for real people with real flaws inside the magic of living the life we thought was promised.

LANI: Absolutely! I think the idea of living in castles and finding your prince or princess is so ingrained into our society from childhood that these stories almost become nostalgic. They remind us of simpler times when we thought we could storm the castle and defeat the dragon, when love might have been as simple as finding a glass slipper. I also think we are fascinated with this other way of life that seems like it would be so much more glamorous or exciting. We are attracted to the idea of success, of absolute power, and fantasize about what that would be like for us to live.

How do you take the nostalgia of royalty stories and put a fresh spin on it?

LANI: That’s such a challenge because you want it to be new and exciting enough that it’s fresh, but you also want to make sure you stay true to the elements that make us love these stories in the first place. For me, I really tried to draw on history for inspiration. In studying the structure of ancient Mesoamerican societies, a common theme is the idea of independent city-states that are conquered and united into a single powerful empire. The Chicome Empire in The Seventh Sun is entirely fictional, but I designed it using that same historical structure. Each of the families of the individual city-states are their own royal family in a way, but still underneath the emperor. I also included that the royalty are descended from the gods and their blood contains the power of the gods, which adds an interesting power dynamic beyond a crown.

SHEENA: I really wanted to show how easily royalty could topple. It’s that time after a kingdom falls and there’s this vacuum of power and people rushing to try to claim it that’s the most fascinating to me. Glitch Kingdom started as a YA fantasy world first, with magic spun from ghosts and pious clerics of the Savak who can see the future by drinking from seer water, and a prince who betrayed the kingdom for a very good reason he doesn’t quite understand. Then came the idea that this fantasy world was actually a fantasy video game that was breaking down with the characters stuck inside it. It made approaching the traditional structure a little more meta, so I could play with the rules of magic by giving it a logic even the reader can’t deny. Also the main character Dagney is the daughter of an executioner whose first kill is supposed to be the traitorous prince who once made fun of her at a royal ball. She hates him, and now she’s in the position to decide whether or not she can kill him. I often find the most interesting people inside royalty stories are the ones who don’t wear the crown, but the common people who move the crowns like chess pieces.

How are the princes and princesses in your stories different from the traditional “prince charming” and “damsel in distress” characters?

SHEENA: My handsome prince, Prince Ryo is a goofball who’d rather be playing a prank with his best friend, but at his heart he’s just a kid who has lost his parents and who can’t understand why he feels so invincible. He’s trying to cope with grief while also trying actively not to die. There’s not a princess in Glitch Kingdom. Dagney is the plus-sized daughter of an executioner who approaches problems with both hands holding an axe, McKenna is an assassin queen who doesn’t know the players she thinks she is tagging out of the game actually die, and the most badass character in my book is a disabled hacker named Bluebird_ofdeath who breaks into the game in order to save the boy she loves. Her weapon is her heart and her brilliance and her laptop.

LANI: I love that! I think so often we only think of “strong women” as ones that can wield a deadly weapon (WHICH IS STILL AWESOME BY THE WAY), but strength can take many forms, including strength of your heart and strength of your conviction. I really wanted Mayana to be a character that is strong because of her empathy and her ability to stand up for what she believes in no matter the consequences. Ahkin is definitely not your traditional “prince charming” either. I kind of imagine him to be a little surly, a little grumpy, but in an endearing way. He struggles with insecurity and wants to maintain an image of control, but underneath he really fears that he doesn’t have what it takes to lead his empire. He hopes that by interpreting the stars or gaining knowledge that he can prepare, but life doesn’t always work out that way. The concept of duality is huge in ancient Mesoamerican thought, and I really wanted Ahkin and Mayana to be dualities of each other, dualities of heart and mind. The beautiful thing about duality is finding balance, and I think Mayana and Ahkin have a lot to learn from each other.

What message are you hoping to send to your readers through your story?

SHEENA: Both Dagney and Bluebird choose their ingame bodies to reflect who they are outside the game, and that to me is the ultimate act of rebellion against the idea that women should only look a certain way. They could choose the standard princess image, but instead they chose themselves. I hope my readers take away the message that no matter their size, and no matter their health, they are enough. And I hope I can echo that message now by recommending SICK KIDS IN LOVE by Hannah Moskowitz, and UNBROKEN edited by Marieke Nijakamp. Disabled voices tell disabled stories best, and I’m well aware of the privilege that let me tell Bluebird’s story of hope and happiness while also silencing and rejecting stories by disabled writers unless they stick to stories of pain. Disabled stories matter, and I’m here to lift and amplify your voices any way I can.

LANI: The biggest message I want readers to take away from The Seventh Sun is the importance of following your heart. I think so many times we don’t share what we think or we don’t stand up for what we believe in because we are afraid of the consequences. We are afraid of being true to who we really are. But as Mayana learns in the book, “if you ignore the heart for too long, when it finally does grab your attention, it often screams and demands that you listen.”

What are some of your favorite royalty stories?

LANI: I am a huge fan of Sarah J. Maas, and I especially love her Throne of Glass series. I love Aelin as a strong female character with a ton of personality. I enjoy watching how she comes into her own power and fights to take back the throne she’s lost. I love the political dynamics of the different kingdoms. I think the details she puts in to bring these very distinct worlds to life is incredible. I also really enjoyed the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black and how she explores the darker side of politics and power against the backdrop of a fantasy faerie realm.

SHEENA: I have to recommend WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT by Isabel Ibanez which is an extraordinary Bolivian Fantasy with an evil king, told with authenticity and love and a side of salteñas. I also adored THE MERCIFUL CROW by Margaret Owens, which is a masterclass of worldbuilding and approaching prejudice and privilege, while also following around an angry girl and two dumb royal boys. And I’m super excited for A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A Brown which is an own voice West- African inspired fantasy about a princess and a refugee trying to save their families which comes out in June.

You can find Lani on  Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, along with at her website.

You can find Sheena on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, along with at her website.

The post Authors In Conversation: Lani Forbes & Sheena Boekweg appeared first on The Nerd Daily.