Crystal Maldonado

Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard. Harder when your whole life is on fire, though. Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter. But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her? UGHHH. Everything is now officially a MESS. A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.

Could you plan the Fall Formal with your (hot) nemesis? Whit Rivera is about to find out. Frenemies Whit and Zay have been at odds for years (ever since he broke up with her in, like, the most embarrassing way imaginable), so when they’re forced to organize the fall formal together, it's a literal disaster. Sparks fly as Whitney—type-A, passionate, a perfectionist, and a certified sweater-weather fanatic—butts heads with Zay, a dry, relaxed skater boy who takes everything in stride. But not all of those sparks are bad. . . . Has their feud been a big misunderstanding all along? Blisteringly funny and profoundly well-observed, The Fall of Whit Rivera is a snug and cozy autumn romcom that also tackles weightier topics like PCOS, chronic illness, sexuality, fatphobia, Latine identity, and class. Funny, honest, insightful, romantic, and poignant, it is classic Crystal Maldonado—and it will have her legion of fans absolutely swooning . A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection "Meaningful. . . Multidimensional. . . An important addition to YA literature."— Kirkus Reviews , starred review " A celebration of love in all its forms—family, friends, romance, and (especially!) self. Whit Rivera's wry, optimistic voice will linger happily in your mind long after you turn the last page."—Monica Gomez-Hira, author of Once Upon a Quinceañera "Satisfying and delightful... Maldonado shines!"—Kelly Jensen, editor and author of (Don't) Call Me Crazy , Body Talk , and Here We Feminism for the Real World

You should know, right now, that I'm a liar. They're usually little lies. Tiny lies. Baby lies. Not so much lies as lie adjacent. But they're still lies. Twenty one-year-old Max Monroe has it all: beauty, friends, and a glittering life filled with adventure. With tons of followers on Instagram, her picture-perfect existence seems eminently enviable. Except it's all fake. Max is actually 16-year-old Kat Sanchez, a quiet and sarcastic teenager living in drab Bakersfield, California. Nothing glamorous in her existence--just sprawl, bad house parties, a crap school year, and the awkwardness of dealing with her best friend Hari's unrequited love. But while Kat's life is far from perfect, she thrives as Max: doling out advice, sharing beautiful photos, networking with famous influencers, even making a real friend in a follower named Elena. The closer Elena and "Max" get--texting, Snapping, and even calling--the more Kat feels she has to keep up the facade. But when one of Max's posts goes ultra-viral and gets back to the very person she's been stealing photos from, her entire world - real and fake -- comes crashing down around her. She has to figure out a way to get herself out of the huge web of lies she's created without hurting the people she loves. But it might already be too late.

When Chloe Torres plans the perfect summer to reunite her estranged BFFs—a cross-country road trip to see their favorite boy band!—there’s only one difficulty… getting them to actually go along for the ride. Chloe Torres’ birthday has always marked the end of summer—but as she turns eighteen and prepares to leave for her freshman year of art school, it feels like the end of more than that. It’s the end of her adolescence, which means it’s time to leave the past behind… but can she really let go of the two estranged best friends she left there? NOPE. Chloe decides to take one more shot at healing the friend breakup she’s always regretted: planning the bucket-list trip neither girl can say no to. She’s taken care of everything: the car, the hotels, and concert tickets to see their favorite boy band’s reunion show in Las Vegas—stage seats, so close they can fangirl right in front of the boys’ faces. But first, her ex-BFFs have to say yes. And to say yes, they’d all have to be talking… which they haven’t done since Ramona kissed Chloe, and everything imploded. But with some clever finagling (and some undignified begging) Chloe gets them all on board. Of course, being in a car together for two weeks brings back old feelings… a lot of old feelings… and soon enough, Chloe wants Sienna, Ramona wants Chloe, and everything is on fireeeee. This sizzling summer adventure from YA star Crystal Maldonado is a hilarious and heartfelt romcom with a little something for everyone: fat positivity, sapphic romance, a blazing love triangle, ADHD representation, a diversity of Latine identities, a once-in-a-lifetime roadtrip—and the perfect it’s-finally-happening kiss.

Charlie Vega peut être décrite de plein de manières : intelligente, drôle, artiste, ambitieuse, grosse. Mais certaines personnes ont parfois un problème avec ce dernier mot, surtout sa mère ! Charlie veut un rapport sain à son propre corps, mais c'est difficile dans la société actuelle, surtout quand sa mère laisse sur sa commode des boissons amincissantes. Le monde entier et toutes les personnes qui l'entourent semble avoir une opinion le physique qu'elle devrait avoir : plus fine, plus légère, un visage moins joufflu, des cheveux plus raides. Et puis surtout, elle devrait être plus petite, plus blanche, plus calme. Heureusement, il y a une personne qui est toujours de son côté : Amelia, sa meilleure amie. Qui est maigre, populaire et sportive. Bref, elle assure ! Aussi, quand Charlie essaie de sortir avec Brian, son camarade de classe sexy (et premier mec au monde à la remarquer), tout semble parfait... jusqu'à ce qu'elle apprenne une chose : il avait demandé, d'abord, à Amelia de sortir avec lui. Doit-elle comprendre qu'elle n'est qu'un lot de consolation ? Est-ce qu'il s'intéresse réellement à elle ? Parce qu'il est vraiment temps que le monde la voit, elle, Charlie Vega !