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. Her classmate, Juneau Zale, is Maya’s polar opposite: she’s a wealthy white heartbreaker who won’t think twice before capsizing that boat. And yet, as tension mounts at their racist high school, the girls become unlikely allies in activism and art.
 

Juneau invites Maya to join 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. She and Juneau forge a friendship over trips to the Orlando Museum of Art, crusades for social justice, and life-or-death escapades in Citrus Grove. Ignited by Juneau, Maya confronts challenges in her own life -- changing friendships, long-lost fathers, first loves, and budding sexuality -- with newfound fire, accidentally torching a few things along the way.
 

But as their relationship grows romantic, painful, and twisted, Maya begins to suspect that there’s a whole different person beneath Juneau’s painted-on facade. The longer she stays with Juneau, the farther they stray from the girls they used to be. Now, Maya will never be the same.

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praise

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

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“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

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

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"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

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"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

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"Kannan's language is as magical as the story she weaves. This book, with its vibrant world and infectious heroine, is sure to enchant its readers."​ —Amanda Gorman, Poet Laureate of the United States

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 “A celebration of storytelling by a sparkling new voice who is bound to be a star.” —Roshani Chokshi, NYT bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves

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