Today we welcome Christina Li to Rich in Color. Christina is the author of the recently released book True Love and Other Impossible Odds. [Our review can be found here.] Publisher summary: College freshman Grace Tang never meant to rewrite the rules of love. She came to college to move on from a grief-stricken senior year and to start anew. But when her roommate encounters dating woes and Grace takes an intriguing mathematics class, she develops an algorithm for a class project, the Match-Up, to find people’s perfect matches on campus. The algorithm takes campus by storm and matches up half o ..read more

With spring on its way out, I thought it would be fun to do a quick roundup of some contemporary romances. Here are three that are out this month–which ones are on your reading list? Bite Me, Royce Taslim by Lauren Ho Disney Hyperion Agnes Chan never expected to be the punchline of her own life . . . But how else do you explain getting accidentally run over and seeing a lifetime of careful preparation, endless training, and all your hopes of a track scholarship to college destroyed in a split second? Not to mention the only witness to your humiliation being your #1 archnemesis, Royce Taslim. S ..read more

True Love and Other Impossible Odds by Christina Li Summary: College freshman Grace Tang never meant to rewrite the rules of love. She came to college to move on from a grief-stricken senior year and to start anew. So she follows a predictable routine: Attend class, study, go home and visit her dad every weekend. She doesn’t leave any room in her life for outliers or anomalies. Then, Grace comes up with an algorithm for her statistics class to pair students with their perfect romantic partners. Though some people are skeptical, like Julia, Grace’s prickly coworker, Grace is confident that her ..read more

Title: Where Was Goodbye? Author:  Janice Lynn Mather Genres:  Contemporary Pages: 304 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Review Copy: ARC by publisher Availability: Available April 30th Summary: Karmen is about to start her last year of high school, but it’s only been six weeks since her brother, Julian, died by suicide. How is she supposed to focus on school when huge questions loom: Why is Julian gone? How could she have missed seeing his pain? Could she have helped him? When a blowup at school gets Karmen sent home for a few weeks, life gets more things betwe ..read more

Title: Icarus Author: K. Ancrum Genres: Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQIA, Thriller Pages: 382 Publisher: HarperTeen Review Copy: Review copy provided by publisher Availability: Available now Summary: Icarus Gallagher is a thief. He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target in revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t ..read more

April is National Poetry Month and I thought I’d highlight some amazing books. Novels in verse and YA poetry collections are becoming more popular as teens respond to the genre. I thought I’d share a few that I’ve read and loved. Saints of the Household by Ari Tison Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down. But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, inst ..read more

Welcome to our group discussion of Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Please note that this is a full spoiler discussion! You will be spoiled if you continue reading. Valentina Tran was named after Valentine’s Day, which used to be her favorite holiday. But when Val learns the truth behind what happened with her parents and why she’s being raised by a single father, she realizes true love is a lie. This is reinforced when she meets the spirit of Saint Valentine, who tells her she and her family are cursed to always be unlucky in love. Val is ready to g ..read more

Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid by Ngozi Ukazu & Mad Rupert First Second Publisher Summary: Molly Bauer’s first year of college is not the picture-perfect piece of art she’d always envisioned. On day one at PICA, Molly discovers that—through some horrible twist of fate—her full-ride scholarship has vanished! But the ancient texts (PICA’s dusty financial aid documents) reveal a loophole. If Molly and 9 other art students win a single game of softball, they’ll receive a massive athletic scholarship. Can Molly’s crew of ragtag artists succeed in softball without dropping the ball? My Tho ..read more

I’m interested in all of the new releases this week–especially A Tempest of Tea–since tea is in my cup every day. It’s another to add to our list of books featuring tea. Along with the vampire and tearoom book, we have a contemporary story and another fantasy with demons and curses. It looks like a good week to read. Conditions of a Heart by Bethany Mangle Margaret K. McElderry Books  Brynn Kwan is desperate for her high school persona to be real. That Brynn is head of the yearbook committee, the favorite for prom queen, and definitely not crumbling from a secret disability that’s rapidly ..read more

Title: Wander in the Dark Author: Jumata Emill Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller Pages: 400 Publisher: Delacorte Press Review Copy: eARC provided via NetGalley Availability: Available now Summary: Amir Trudeau only goes to his half brother Marcel’s birthday party because of Chloe Danvers. Chloe is rich, and hot, and fits right into the perfect life Marcel inherited when their father left Amir’s mother to start a new family with Marcel’s mom. But Chloe is hot enough for Amir to forget that for one night. Does she want to hook up? Or is she trying to meddle in the estranged brothers’ messy ..read more