Trans essayist, humorist and author Jaz Joyner’s Juniper Leaves: The Otherworldly Tale of a Lonesome Black Girl offers an under-told story of black queerness in the world of young adult books. It provides, in Joyner’s words, a “universally relatable” character for anyone who has ever felt inadequate or unworthy of being uplifted. The author behind a new book telling the story of a queer, magical black teen who goes on an adventure to save the world hopes her work will encourage young people who don’t often see themselves represented in literature. In the book, 15-year-old Juniper Bray is a young, nerdy, science-obsessed teen who goes on a journey to discover that she has magical powers. “I want readers to leave understanding better how relatable a story lead by a black queer protagonist can be.

Source: Huffington Post January 15, 2018 15:56 UTC