I’m currently reading The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He. The Ones We’re Meant to Find follows two sisters trying to find their way back to each other. Cee wakes up on a deserted beach with almost no memory of her past except that she has a sister and she must get back to her. Kasie has spent 3 years mourning the disappearance and presumed death of her older sister. Set on a future earth beset by the terrible consequences of climate change where people spend most of their life in a virtual “holo” world to minimize energy spent to travel or creating unnecessary items, this sci-fi thriller is perfect for fans of Scott Westerfeld (Uglies) and Neal Shusterman (Scythe).

I'm currently reading A Chorus Rises, by Bethany C. Morrow, the companion novel to A Song Below Water. It comes out on Tuesday, June 1st, so learners can put it on hold now! Both books take place in a slightly magical version of Portland, Oregon where sirens, mermaids, and gargoyles are all real. A Song Below Water follows Tavia, a Black siren who must keep her identity - and her powerful voice - a secret. When she is wrongly stopped by the police, she accidentally uses her siren call. Tavia's sister Effie is also going through something magical - patches of scales are appearing on her body and her hair seems to have a mind of its own. A Chorus Rises takes place a year after the original story, following popular influencer Naema, an Eloko with a melody that can charm those around her. Naema was accused of "outing" Tavia as a siren, and she feels she's being unfairly cast a villain. Both stories use the fantastic to examine being Black in America, touching on everything from police brutality to media perception to code switching.