Growing up in a safe—that is, dull—neighborhood in Brooklyn in the 1960s, I inevitably dreamed of escape. So it was no surprise that I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy novels. Books crammed full of distant planets ripe for adventure and exploration, boasting bizarre alien creatures totally unlike the pigeons and squirrels that marked my own humdrum existence. There was, however, one thing these novels almost invariably lacked: strong female characters. Exceptions existed, of course, but most science-fiction novels of that era (almost overwhelmingly written by men) featured only certain female types: the girlfriend, the mom (“Why do you spend so much time tinkering with that spaceship, Jimmy? Have some milk and cookies.”), occasionally the enticing alien. Even back then, I almost immediately realized that the women in my own life were far different from the ones in the books I’d been reading. (Beginning with the fact that my own mother, a physician, was usually far too busy to serve me milk and cookies.) As I grew, it became obvious how much the books had missed. My whole life is full of equally uncategorizable women. From my wife, daughter, and niece, through the women writers I know, to…

Hi everyone! I’m back with Part 2 of some of my favorite YA reads this year. I’m always so nervous about these lists because I undoubtedly find new favorites in the middle of writing them or immediately after, while we’re still in the same year. Just in the two weeks since Part 1, I’ve already found another book or two I love. As fun as these lists are, this is a solid reminder that even if you’ve already read these or don’t see any to your taste, other fabulous books are still waiting. HIT by Delilah S. Dawson About HIT Review In order to save her mother, a teen is forced to become an indentured assassin in this sizzling dystopian thriller. No one reads the fine print. The good news is that the USA is finally out of debt. The bad news is that we were bought out by Valor National Bank, and debtors are the new big game, thanks to a tricky little clause hidden deep in the fine print of a credit card application. Now, after a swift and silent takeover that leaves 9-1-1 calls going through to Valor voicemail, they’re unleashing a wave of anarchy across the…