all the yellow suns

For her entire life, sixteen-year-old Maya Krishnan, an aspiring artist, has held her tongue against injustice. While she’s fiercely protective of her friends, immigrant community, and single mother, she knows better than to rock the boat in her conservative Florida suburb, Citrus Grove. Then Maya is invited the Pugilists: a secret society of artists, vandals, and mischief-makers who fight for justice at their school. Maya descends deeper into the Pugilists’ world of change-making and resistance. Maya confronts challenges in her own life —changing friendships, long-lost fathers, first loves, and budding queer  sexuality — with newfound fire, accidentally torching a few things along the way. As she strays farther from the girl she used to be, she wonders if she'll ever be the same.

​​​

press:

​

read my profile in the LA Times

& in the San Francisco Chronicle!

​​

praise:

​

"An achy, stunning coming-of-age story about activism and identity, family and belonging." — Teen Vogue

​​​​

“The protagonist’s passion, outrage, and longing are vividly expressed through ruminative first-person prose and sharp dialogue ... A turbulent and cathartic account of self-discovery, activism, and first love.”—Kirkus

​

"Malavika Kannan’s sapphic coming-of-age debut is beautifully heartbreaking." — Bookpage

​

"Debut author Malavika Kannan’s critiques of law enforcement, misogyny, and racism are astute, and Maya’s perceptive first-person narration is both polished and emotionally raw, making for a socially conscious self-love story about identity, family, and belonging." — Publisher's Weekly

​

"Maya is a dynamic character, full of the ups and downs of adolescence on the cusp of adulthood. The breakneck plot will grab readers, while Maya's personality will carry them to the end." — Booklist

​

Paste Magazine's Most Anticipated LGBTQ YA Books of Summer 2023 

​

Finalist for the Northern California Book Award