Maggie Horne

Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One

Perfect for fans of The Half of It, Maggie Horne's debut YA contemporary novel is an ode to lifelong friendships and discovering queer community. You only get one soulmate, and I'm not throwing mine away. Alana and Gray have been the perfect couple ever since they got together before high school – and neither of them think that should have to change just because Alana came out as a lesbian. Sure, things are a little different now: their romantic relationship is over, but their best-friends-since-forever relationship is stronger than ever. And yeah, Alana sees the way her other friends now exclude her in tiny, almost unnoticeable ways, but she still has Gray, and that’s all that’s ever mattered to her. Really, the only difference is that instead of kissing Gray herself, Alana sets him up with other girls to do that. But when new girl Tal arrives, she stops Alana and Gray in their tracks. Suddenly, Gray’s all-in on his plan to get Tal to fall in love with him, and, for the first time, Alana’s reluctant to help. As Alana and Tal grow closer, and Alana begins to think Tal might share her feelings, she has to decide whether to embrace her queerness and risk losing the life she thought she was building, or continue to hide parts of herself and maintain the status quo. Don’t Let it Break Your Heart is a tender and romantic exploration of identity, love, and friendship that turns the friends to lovers romance trope on its head.

Don't Let It Break Your Heart

Noah Frye Gets Crushed

Perfect for fans of The Half of It, Maggie Horne's debut YA contemporary novel is an ode to lifelong friendships and discovering queer community. You only get one soulmate, and I'm not throwing mine away. Alana and Gray have been the perfect couple ever since they got together before high school – and neither of them thinks that should have to change just because Alana came out as a lesbian. Sure, things are a little different now: their romantic relationship is over, but their best-friends-since-forever relationship is stronger than ever. And yeah, Alana sees how her other friends now exclude her in tiny, almost unnoticeable ways, but she still has Gray, and that’s all that’s ever mattered to her. Really, the only difference is that instead of kissing Gray herself, Alana sets him up with other girls to do that. But when the new girl Tal arrives, she stops both Alana and Gray in their tracks. Suddenly, Gray’s all-in on his plan to get Tal to fall in love with him, and, for the first time, Alana’s reluctant to help. As Alana and Tal grow closer, and Alana begins to think Tal might share her feelings, she has to decide whether to embrace her queerness and risk losing the life she thought she was building, or continue hiding parts of herself and maintain the status quo. Don’t Let it Break Your Heart is a tender and romantic exploration of identity, love, and friendship that turns the friends to lovers romance trope on its head.

In this cute and queer contemporary middle grade comedy about friendship, first crushes, and first kisses, twelve-year-old Noah Frye comes up with a foolproof plan to teach herself how to have a crush on a boy to fit in better with her friends—only to discover she’s been looking in the wrong place, and her crush was right beside her all along . . . Noah Frye just had the Best Summer Ever. Not only did she have an epic time at science camp, but her new camp friend Jessa is going to Noah’s school in the fall. Noah can’t wait to introduce Jessa to her best friends Zoey and Luna when classes start. But when the friend group is reunited after their summer apart, something seems to have changed: Zoey and Luna have discovered boys, and now it’s all they want to obsess over. Suddenly, it feels like Noah is the odd one out in their friend group, especially since Noah hasn’t ever even considered boys in that way. When Noah finds herself caught in a lie about having a boy crush of her own, she decides she’ll do anything to fit in with her friends again—even if that means using the scientific method. Noah’s crush experiment is simple: find a boy, fake a crush until it turns real, and get her friends back. But that might be easier said than done, especially when Noah can’t stop thinking about Jessa. What ensues is a hilarious and heartwarming turn of events in this queer contemporary middle grade story about friendship, first crushes, and self-discovery.

'I'll stop listening in ten seconds,' I say. 'Starting now.''Fine,' he says. He looks around one more time to see if anyone might overhear us, and then pauses again.'Ella Quinn ... has a crush on you.'Girls in Hazel's school are being harassed by an anonymous person online, someone who seems to know all about their insecurities and dreams. With no one willing to stand up and face the bully, how will Hazel be able to prove her suspicions?Hazel Hill is Going to Win This One confronts bullying, both online and in person, to give children the power to stand up for themselves and speak out against harassment.

Hazel Hill is Gonna Win this One

A "must-read for tweens and their parents" (SLJ, starred review), this funny, feminist, and queer contemporary middle grade debut follows 12-year-old loner Hazel Hill, who after one of her classmates is harassed online, devises a plan to catch the school's golden boy in the act. Seventh grader Hazel Hill is too busy for friends. No, really. She needs to focus on winning the school-wide speech competition and beating her nemesis, the popular and smart Ella Quinn, after last year's embarrassing hyperbole/hyperbowl mishap that cost her first place. But when Hazel discovers Ella is being harassed by golden boy Tyler Harris, she has to choose between winning and doing the right thing. No one would believe that a nice boy like Tyler would harass and intimidate a nice girl like Ella, but Hazel knows the truth--and she's determined to prove it, even if it means risking everything. Deeply relatable and surprisingly humorous, Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One is a wonderfully empowering story about friendship, finding your voice, and standing up for what you believe in.

Maggie Horne

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