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The Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace's enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete--all except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yokai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari's fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yokai outcast. Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA...
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Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Pride and Prejudice gets remixed in this smart, funny, gorgeous retelling of the classic, starring all characters of color, from Ibi Zoboi, National Book Award finalist and author of American Street.

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can't stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick's changing landscape, or lose it all.

In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, critically acclaimed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.

TITLE: Pride
AUTHOR: Ibi Zoboi, narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
YEAR: 2018
LENGTH: 304 pages (6 hours 8 minutes)
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Contemporary, Romance
RECOMMENDED: Yes

Queer Rep Summary: No canon queer rep. A secondary character is possibly GNC.

PRIDE retells Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Ibi Zoboi makes this story fresh and new, placing old worries and new love in a modern context so seamlessly that you don't have to be familiar with the original to be pulled into Zuri's world. Her love for her family shines through, and her rapport with Darius Darcy has a wonderful mix of tension and romance. Elizabeth Acevedo's performance as the audiobook narrator is so perfect, bringing the story to life and making me believe that she is Zuri. 

CW for sexual content (brief), ableist language (brief), alcohol, child abuse (brief), sexual harassment (not depicted).

TW for Harry Potter reference (brief).

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