All the Yellow Suns

Gr 9 Up–While she and her mom live in Citrus Grove (so-called “armpit of Florida”), queer, Indian American Maya’s sophomore year is anything but boring. Maya stands up to the principal, skips class, smokes weed, gets her first kiss, and so much more. All signs point to white senior Juneau, who not only draws Maya into her intoxicating orbit but also invites her to join the Pugilists. The secret activist group’s latest mural project about the overpolicing of Black and brown students starts an all-out war with the administration, catalyzing change in perhaps more ways than intended. Kannan’s latest novel balances reflective, first-person narration with insightful dialogue about power and privilege. With its three-act structure, the multilayered plot speaks to the complexities of life all happening at once—and is impressively wrapped up by the end. The cast is majority-BIPOC.