Gabe Cole Novoa

Sixteen-year-old Mar, a transmasculine Latinx pirate hiding magical abilities, must learn to use their magia to save their papá and newfound pirate familia from losing their souls to el Diablo.

The Wicked Bargain

thank you to random house children's, random house books for young readers, and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

queer pirates, forbidden elemental magic, and the literal devil himself. all set within the vibrant caribbean ocean’s. (quite literally pirates of the caribbean but what if it’s gay. but so much more.)

to say i fell in love with mar and their sea-faring adventures would be an understatement. we’re following their grief after losing their crew, their family. all while trying to see if they can bring them back from the dead. we meet bas and dami and learn to love their irritating but ultimately lovable charm. the way that mar has. we see mar grow their fire and ice powers, forming into their truest selves as the book progresses.

and especially, we see their non-binary identity play a large role in their everyday. while queerness is seen 

casually in this fantastical caribbean 1800s (these pirates are all so very gay)… we still see mar worry. not only with their magic, but with the fact that they do have body dysphoria. and while it always hits just a little to close to home, i appreciate the representation, the mentions, every. damn. time. because it’s real. because non-binary and trans pirates were really a thing. because it’s important representation for queer teens, and especially queer teens of color to see.

i also loved to see the incorporation of spanish into the book. i, personally, do not speak the language. and while i didn’t stop to translate every new word, i still stop many a times. i wanted the full context. i wanted to know their conversations, their thoughts. i am so curious to know why the author chose to swap words and where. but also, i get it. as a (mostly) bilingual person, sentences get muddled between the languages. and i know that not all readers will appreciate it, but i certainly do.

anyways, there’s nothing quite like starting a new book and 

knowing that it’s going to be a new all time favorite read. and that’s what this was.

ash (smokedshelves)

thank you to random house children's, random house books for young readers, and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

queer pirates, forbidden elemental magic, and the literal devil himself. all set within the vibrant caribbean ocean’s. (quite literally pirates of the caribbean but what if it’s gay. but so much more.)

to say i fell in love with mar and their sea-faring adventures would be an understatement. we’re following their grief after losing their crew, their family. all while trying to see if they can bring them back from the dead. we meet bas and dami and learn to love their irritating but ultimately lovable charm. the way that mar has. we see mar grow their fire and ice powers, forming into their truest selves as the book progresses.

and especially, we see their non-binary identity play a large role in their everyday. while queerness is seen so casually in this fantastical caribbean 1800s (these pirates are all so very gay)… we still see mar worry. not only with their magic, but with the fact that they do have body dysphoria. and while it always hits just a little to close to home, i appreciate the representation, the mentions, every. damn. time. because it’s real. because non-binary and trans pirates were really a thing. because it’s important representation for queer teens, and especially queer teens of color to see.

i also loved to see the incorporation of spanish into the book. i, personally, do not speak the language. and while i didn’t stop to translate every new word, i still stop many a times. i wanted the full context. i wanted to know their conversations, their thoughts. i am so curious to know why the author chose to swap words and where. but also, i get it. as a (mostly) bilingual person, sentences get muddled between the languages. and i know that not all readers will appreciate it, but i certainly do.

anyways, there’s nothing quite like starting a new book and immediately knowing that it’s going to be a new all time favorite read. and that’s what this was.

The Wicked Bargain

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