author results for Callender, Kacen

Hurricane Child

Callender, Kacen — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, twelve-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl--and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.

Hurricane Child

Callender, Kacen — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

On the island of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, twelve-year-old Caroline is known for her bad luck because she was born during a hurricane. A new student from Barbados named Kalinda arrives and becomes Caroline's only friend--and her first crush. As Caroline works through her feelings for Kalinda, the two set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother and are followed by a mysterious spirit.

Felix Ever After

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend.

Felix Ever After

Callender, Kacen — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend.

Felix Ever After

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

A Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time

From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he's painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it's like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What's worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he's one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix's deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn't count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle....

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

"Felix is attending an ultracompetitive arts summer program to have a better shot at a full scholarship to Brown when someone posts Felix's dead name beside photos of him, pre-transition, in the school's lobby. Felix's plot to get revenge throws him onto the path of love and self-discovery." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")

This Is Kind of An Epic Love Story

Callender, Kacen — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Budding screenwriter Nate, sixteen, finds his conviction that happy endings do not happen in real life sorely tested when his childhood best friend and crush, Oliver James Hernandez, moves back to town.

We Are Villains

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

After taking time off from Yates Academy to grieve his best friend Ari's death, Milo returns to school, only to find himself drawn into a dangerous web of secrets involving the school's most popular student, Liam, who is accused of murdering Ari.

Infinity Alchemist

Callender, Kacen — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Discovered practicing alchemy by apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash must help her find a sacred text of extraordinary power--a journey that forces him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he will go to seize it.

Queen of the Conquered

Callender, Kacen — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT

"An ambitious young woman with the power to control minds seeks vengeance against the royals who murdered her family, in a Caribbean-inspired fantasy world embattled by colonial oppression. Sigourney Rose is the only surviving daughter of a noble lineage on the islands of Hans Lollik. When she was a child, her family was murdered by the islands' colonizers, who have massacred and enslaved generations of her people -- and now, Sigourney is ready to exact her revenge. When the childless king of the islands declares that he will choose his successor from amongst eligible noble families, Sigourney uses her ability to read and control minds to manipulate her way onto the royal island and into the ranks of the ruling colonizers. But when she arrives, prepared to fight for control of all the islands, Sigourney finds herself the target of a dangerous, unknown magic. Someone is killing off the ruling families to clear a path to the throne. As the bodies pile up and all eyes regard her with suspicion, Sigourney must find allies among her prey and the murderer among her peers... lest she become the next victim. Queen of the Conquered reckons with the many layers of power and privilege in a lush fantasy world -- perfect for readers of S. A. Chakraborty, Ken Liu, and Tasha Suri"--

Lark & Kasim Start A Revolution

Callender, Kacen — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Seventeen-year-old nurodivergent and nonbinary Lark pretends that they are the creator of a viral thread that their ex-best friend, Kasim, accidentally posted onto their Twitter account, declaring his unrequited love, but living a lie takes its toll on Lark, forcing them to deal with their own messy emotions.

King of the Rising

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

"A revolution has swept through the islands of Hans Lollik and former slave Loren Jannik has been chosen to lead the survivors in a bid to free the islands forever. But the rebels are running out of food, weapons and options. And as the Fjern inch closer to reclaiming Hans Lollik with every battle, Loren is faced with a choice that could shift the course of the revolution in their favor-or doom it to failure"--

King and the Dragonflies

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

"In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself"--

Chaos King

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

"Ever since he rose up against his father and saved New Anglia from destruction, Ash has been struggling to adapt to his new life. He has nightmares every night, haunted by strange black orbs and his screaming dead mother. Ash is sure she's trying to warn him that the world is still in danger, and becomes determined to find a way to speak to her again--but communicating with the dead isn't easy, even for an alchemist as powerful as Ash. It doesn't help that violent anti-alchemist sentiment is spreading across New Anglia. When Ash is captured by a radical group, [he's] inspired by his father's legacy [and] must decide if alchemist rights can be trusted in the hands of the Houses--along with his partners Callum and Ramsay--or if Ash must follow the path his father laid for him, and become the leader of an alchemist revolution"--

Stars in your Eyes

Callender, Kacen — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

"Logan Gray is the stereotypical bad boy of Hollywood--a talented but troubled actor who the public loves to hate. Mattie Cole is an up and coming golden boy, adored by all but plagued by insecurities. When Mattie is cast as the love interest in Logan's newest film, the two are persuaded into a fake dating scheme to bring positive publicity to the project. But as the two actors get to know their new characters, real feelings start to develop. And while both need the movie to be a success for their own reasons, neither thought opposites would really attract. But as the public scrutiny intensifies and old wounds resurface, will they have the courage to chase their own happily ever after?"--

Moonflower

Callender, Kacen — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Moon is convinced that they do not belong to this world: that most of the time they are invisible (unless they stay still too long), that they belong to the stars, and want to go back to them--they live entirely in their imagination with an imaginary spirit guide who can appear in any shape and refuses to speak to anyone, lest their words tie them to a world they reject.

King and the Dragonflies

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family. It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy, that he thinks he might be gay. But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death.

We Are Villains

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

From bestselling and award-winning author Kacen Callendar comes a thrilling, dark academia YA about murder, blackmail, and the one person determined to discover the truth, no matter the cost
What happened to Arianna Reynolds?

Ari's death was ruled an accident, but for her best friend Milo, it's shrouded in mystery. Why was she in the woods on the night of the fire? Had she been alone? Figuring out what happened the night Ari died is the only reason Milo returns to Yates Academy, even knowing he'll be in constant danger. . .

Liam is the King of Yates, a role he keeps hold of through his family's old money—and the threat of violence. So when he begins receiving ominous letters from another student accusing him of murdering Ari, the suspect list is long.
Desperate to prove his innocence before the accusation ruins his reign, Liam enlists Milo's help to find the blackmailer. But the more Milo helps Liam, the more he becomes certain that Liam has something to hide.

As Milo comes closer to the truth, he uncovers secrets that everyone wants to keep buried . . .
Featuring a cast of queer characters of color, We Are Villains is an electrifying mystery that will keep readers guessing.

Infinity Alchemist

Callender, Kacen — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Infinity Alchemist is a spellbinding fantasy novel about a quest that leads three young alchemists toward dangerous truth, legendary love, and extraordinary power.

With their signature "prowess" (FIYAH) and "unbridled creativity" (New York Times Book Review), acclaimed author Kacen Callender turns their formidable skill to young adult fantasy for the first time.
The hardcover edition features a beautiful jacket with gold foil and a foil case stamp, an in-world map, and special illustrated endpapers.

"Spellbinding." —AIDEN THOMAS

"Thrilling." —ELANA K. ARNOLD

"A blast of heart-racing magic." —ANDREW JOSEPH WHITE

"Expands the possibilities of YA fantasy." —A. R. CAPETTA
For Ash Woods, practicing alchemy is a crime.
Only an elite few are legally permitted to study the science of magic—so when Ash is rejected by Lancaster College of Alchemic Science, he takes a job as the school's groundskeeper instead, forced to learn alchemy in secret.
When he's discovered by the condescending and brilliant apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash is sure he's about to be arrested—but instead of calling the reds, Ramsay surprises Ash by making him an offer: Ramsay will keep Ash's secret if he helps her find the legendary Book of Source, a sacred text that gives its reader extraordinary power.
As Ash and Ramsay work together and their feelings for each other grow, Ash discovers their mission is more dangerous than he imagined, pitting them against influential and powerful alchemists—Ash's estranged father included. Ash's journey takes him through the cities and wilds across New Anglia, forcing him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he and other alchemists will go to seize it.
Featuring trans, queer, and polyamorous characters of color, Infinity Alchemist is the hugely anticipated young adult fantasy debut from the extraordinary author of Felix Ever After, King and the Dragonflies, Queen of the Conquered and more.
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

Moonflower

Callender, Kacen — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Kacen Callender, National Book Award winner of King and the Dragonflies, delivers a stunning novel that invites readers into a child's struggles with mental health, and their journey to wholeness.

Moon's depression is overwhelming. Therapy doesn't help, and Moon is afraid that their mom hates them because they're sad. Moon's only escape is traveling to the spirit realms every night, where they hope they'll never return to the world of the living again.The spirit realm is where they have their one and only friend, Wolf, and where they're excited to experience an infinite number of adventures. But when the realm is threatened, it's up to Moon to save the spirit world.With the help of celestial beings and guardians, Moon battles monsters and shadows, and through their journey, they begin to learn that a magical adventure of love and acceptance awaits them in the world of the living, too.This story of hope shows readers that our souls blossom when we realize that we are as worthy and powerful as the universe itself.

Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution

Callender, Kacen — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

From National Book Award winner Kacen Callender, a contemporary YA that follows Lark's journey to speak the truth and discover how their own self-love can be a revolution
Lark Winters wants to be a writer, and for now that means posting on their social media accounts––anything to build their platform. When former best friend Kasim accidentally posts a thread on Lark's X declaring his love for a secret, unrequited crush, Lark's tweets are suddenly the talk of the school—and beyond.
To protect Kasim, Lark decides to take the fall, pretending they accidentally posted the thread in reference to another classmate. It seems like a great idea: Lark gets closer to their crush, Kasim keeps his privacy, and Lark's social media stats explode. But living a lie takes a toll—as does the judgment of thousands of strangers on the internet.
Lark tries their best to be perfect at all costs, but nothing seems good enough for the anonymous hordes––or for Kasim, who is growing closer to Lark, just like it used to be between them . . .
In the end, Lark must embrace their right to their messy emotions and learn how to be in love.

King of the Rising

Callender, Kacen — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

King of the Rising is the searing conclusion to an unflinching and powerful Caribbean-inspired fantasy series about colonialism, resilience and defiance.
A revolution has swept through the islands of Hans Lollik and former slave Loren Jannik has been chosen to lead the survivors in a bid to free the islands forever.
But the rebels are running out of food, weapons and options. And as the Fjern inch closer to reclaiming Hans Lollik with every battle, Loren is faced with a choice that could shift the course of the revolution in their favor — or doom it to failure.
Islands of Blood and StormQueen of the ConqueredKing of the Rising

King and the Dragonflies

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature!

Winner of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry!

In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself.

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It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy-that he thinks he might be gay. "You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?"

But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death.

The Thing About Jellyfish meets The Stars Beneath Our Feet in this story about loss, grief, and finding the courage to discover one's identity, from the author of Hurricane Child.

Felix Ever After

Callender, Kacen — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

A Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

Hurricane Child

Callender, Kacen — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Prepare to be swept up by this exquisite novel that reminds us that grief and love can open the world in mystical ways.

Winner of the Stonewall Book Award!Winner of the Lambda Literary Award!Caroline Murphy is a Hurricane Child.Being born during a hurricane is unlucky, and twelve-year-old Caroline has had her share of bad luck lately. She's hated and bullied by everyone in her small school on St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands, a spirit only she can see won't stop following her, and — worst of all — Caroline's mother left home one day and never came back.But when a new student named Kalinda arrives, Caroline's luck begins to turn around. Kalinda, a solemn girl from Barbados with a special smile for everyone, becomes Caroline's first and only friend — and the person for whom Caroline has begun to develop a crush.Now, Caroline must find the strength to confront her feelings for Kalinda, brave the spirit stalking her through the islands, and face the reason her mother abandoned her. Together, Caroline and Kalinda must set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother — before Caroline loses her forever.

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story

Callender, Kacen — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

~Lambda Literary Award finalist for the best LGBT YA novel of 2018~

A fresh, charming rom-com perfect for fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Boy Meets Boy about Nathan Bird, who has sworn off happy endings but is sorely tested when his former best friend, Ollie, moves back to town.

Nathan Bird doesn't believe in happy endings. Although he's the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate's seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist in real life.

Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel—but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernández, his childhood best friend.

After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after?