“Waiting on Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine!
This week I’m waiting on…
Title Scarlett Undercover
Author Jennifer Latham
Pages 320 Pages
Genre Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery
Publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
To Be Published May 19th, 2015
Find It On Goodreads
Meet Scarlett, a smart, sarcastic, kick-butt, Muslim American heroine, ready to take on crime in her hometown of Las Almas. When a new case finds the private eye caught up in a centuries-old battle of evil genies and ancient curses, Scarlett discovers that her own family secrets may have more to do with the situation than she thinks – and that cracking the case could lead to solving her father’s murder.
The importance of diversity in fiction, particularly that aimed at a young adult audience, cannot be overstated. Readers deserve to, and more importantly need to, see their stories reflected back in the pages of the books they read. To know that they are significant. To know that they are heard. To know that they matter. To empower. To inspire. To breed compassion, empathy, and understanding. Thanks to the tireless efforts of movements such as Diversity In YA, significant strides have been made in recent years to write, publish and publicize novels featuring characters of all racial, religious, sexual, financial and social backgrounds. Thankfully, we have books like Jennifer Latham’s Scarlett Undercover to lead the way. That isn’t to imply that the fact that Scarlett is a Muslim American exclusively defines or limits what this novel is about but it’s no less important. The inclusion of people of colour in young adult literature is still disappointedly rare, which makes Latham’s debut all the more exciting. This is someone’s story. Sure, most teenagers aren’t hardboiled detectives searching for their father’s murderer while facing genies and evil curses. But at least one reader will look at this cover, at this synopsis, and think “Hey! That’s me!”. That, my friends, is a beautiful thing. Speaking more generally, as a child raised on a steady diet of Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and, later, Hercule Poirot, I’m no stranger to the mystery genre and, having revisited the genre again in my adulthood with wonderful books such as Kathryn Miller Haines’s The Girl Is Murder, it’s clear that this interest hasn’t waned. I’m eager to see how Latham plays upon the familiar tropes of the genre and makes them her own. If the synopsis is anything to go by, we’re in for a very special treat.
This week’s Waiting on Wednesday post has been brought to you by Veronica Mars. Because we’re all really Marshmallows at heart.
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13 Responses
Yes and so many more yeses to this one! I love YA crime/mystery novels so much
Alyssa recently posted…WOW Wednesday: Hold Me Like A Breath- Tiffany Schmidt
Okay but let’s be real: all posts (at least the ones I write) are somehow brought to you by Veronica Mars. Sometimes there’s a more specific reason than “because I am a Marshmallow always and forever and that is all that matters” but, like, a lot of the time, that’s not the case.
(But seriously: I’m ALSO really excited about this one! Great pick ^_^)
Gaby @ Bookish Broads recently posted…Review + Giveaway: I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
I haven’t heard of this book before now but it definitely sounds like something I’d enjoy!
A great WoW! Sharon – Obsession with Books
Sharon – Obsession with Books recently posted…Review: Mayhem by Jamie Shaw
This sound like an something I would love. Love veronica mars by the way. One of my favorite tv series ever and the Veronica Mars movie was amazing 🙂
This seems like a very interesting book. I’ll be sure to check it out.
My Waiting On Wednesday!
I’m a bit behind on coming soon titles, to be honest. So thanks!
Here’s my post, a bit on the adult side but oh well 🙂 : YA Story Teller
I haven’t heard of this title before! Sounds great though. Fab Pick!!
Check out our WOW Post
Happy Reading, Siobhán @ Totally Bookalicious
Siobhán recently posted…Waiting On Wednesday #38
I haven’t heard of this book before but I love a good mystery novel! Thanks for sharing and putting it on my radar! Check out my WoW:
Crystal @ Books Unbound
Crystal (BooksUnbound) recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday (141)
I couldn’t agree more for the need of diversity in today’s and tomorrow’s young adult novels. I highly look forward to Scarlett Uncovered, also because I need more crime novels in my life (:
-Courtney @ Storybook Slayers
Waiting on Wednesday
Courtney recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday (68): All the Rage
I love YA mysteries, throw in genies and evil curses and it’s pretty much my perfect book! I’ll definitely be picking up a copy of Scarlett Undercover and recommending it 🙂
Fi recently posted…Waiting On Wednesday #105 – Voyage of the Basilisk
I haven’t heard of this one and I love that this is about a muslim american girl. I think that kids need to see themselves reflected in popular literature. This sounds fun! Happy reading.
Ange/Libby Blog recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday #156 – We Can Work It Out & Dove Arising
I’ve been looking forward to this one too, ever since I saw it mentioned on Diversity in YA. Good pick!
Leeanna @ Leeanna.me recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: Half the World by Joe Abercrombie
Ohh as someone who is a minority and who loves diverse books this makes me excited about this book . Another one I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for!
Here’s our WoW 🙂