Service Alert
May 19 – Victoria Day
Due to Victoria Day, CELA will be closed on Monday, May 19. Our office will reopen and our Contact Centre services will resume on Tuesday, May 20. Enjoy your holiday!
Due to Victoria Day, CELA will be closed on Monday, May 19. Our office will reopen and our Contact Centre services will resume on Tuesday, May 20. Enjoy your holiday!
Showing 1 - 20 of 22 items
By Abdi Nazemian. 2023
From the Stonewall Honor–winning author of Like a Love Story comes a sweeping story of three generations of boys in…
the same Iranian family. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and Darius the Great Is Not Okay. 2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself. 1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country's burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse—he's forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed. 1939. Bobby , the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he's thrust into has a dark side. Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are todayBy Jr, Keith F Miller. 2023
Concrete Rose meets Things We Couldn't Say in Pritty, a debut novel by Keith F. Miller Jr. — the inspiration…
behind the forthcoming animated short film of Kickstarter fame—that follows two boys who get caught in the crossfire of a sinister plot that not only threatens everything they love but may cost them their own chance at love. On the verge of summer before his senior year, Jay is a soft soul in a world of concrete. While his older brother is everything people expect a man to be—tough, athletic, and in charge—Jay simply blends into the background to everyone, except when it comes to Leroy. Unsure of what he could have possibly done to catch the eye of the boy who could easily have anyone he wants, Jay isn't about to ignore the surprising but welcome attention. But as everything in his world begins to heat up, especially with Leroy, whispered rumors over the murder of a young Black journalist and long-brewing territory tensions hang like a dark cloud over his neighborhood. And when Jay and Leroy find themselves caught in the crossfire, Leroy isn't willing to be the reason Jay's life is at risk. Dragged into the world of the Black Diamonds—whose work to protect the Black neighborhoods of Savannah began with his father and now falls to his older brother—Leroy knows that finding out who attacked his brother is not only the key to protecting everyone he loves but also the only way he can ever be with Jay. Wading through a murky history of family trauma and regret, Leroy soon discovers that there's no keeping Jay safe when Jay's own family is in just as deep and fighting the undertow of danger just as hard. Now Jay and Leroy must puzzle through secrets hiding in plain sight and scramble to uncover who is determined to eliminate the Black Diamonds before someone else gets hurt—even if the cost might be their own electric connectionBy Gabe Novoa. 2023
El Diablo is in the details in this Latinx pirate fantasy starring a transmasculine nonbinary teen with a mission of…
revenge, redemption, and revolution. On Mar León de la Rosa's sixteenth birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship. When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up their soul to save their father by the harvest moon, or never see him again. The task is impossible—Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there's no way their magic is a match for el Diablo. Then Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate—and the captain's son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption—or it could mean certain deathBy Robin Gow. 2023
"A triumphant coming-of-age story about gender identity, strength, and friendship, as well as the different ways that people discover who…
they are." -School Library Journal, starred review A moving middle-grade novel in verse, about a young trans boy dealing with the loss of his friend by writing to his favorite cryptid, Mothman Halfway through sixth grade, Noah's best friend and the only other trans boy in his school, Lewis, passed away in a car accident. Lewis was adventurous and curious, always bringing a new paranormal story to share with Noah. Together they daydreamed about cryptids and shared discovering their genders and names. After his death, lonely and yearning for someone who could understand him like Lewis once did, Noah starts writing letters to Mothman, wondering if he would understand how Noah feels and also looking for evidence of Mothman's existence in the vast woods surrounding his small Poconos town. Noah becomes determined to make his science fair project about Mothman, despite his teachers and parents urging him to make a project about something "real." Meanwhile, as Noah tries to find Mothman, Noah also starts to make friends with a group of girls in his grade, Hanna, Molly, and Alice, with whom he'd been friendly, but never close to. Now, they welcome him, and he starts to open up to each of them, especially Hanna, who Noah has a crush on. But as strange things start to happen and Noah becomes sure of Mothman's existence, his parents and teachers don't believe him. Noah decides it's up to him to risk everything, trek into the woods, and find Mothman himselfBy Michael Leali. 2023
A 2024 LAMBDA AWARD FINALIST ""This enchanting, modern homage to Pinocchio reminds us anything is possible if we're true to…
ourselves."" -Cynthia Leitich Smith, award-winning author of Ancestor Approved and Sisters of the Neversea Eleven-year-old Matteo has never felt like one of the other boys. He's sure that will change when he joins the Blue Whales, the baseball team his dad once played for. This is his chance to grow into a son his father can be proud of. And grow Matteo does, but not the way he expected. Instead, he starts sprouting leaves and finding bark all over his skin. Alarmed, Matteo starts digging for the truth about what's happening to him-and finds that all clues lead back to the oak tree at the center of town, which Creeksiders have always believed is a little bit magic. As his parents start noticing something is wrong, the truth gets harder to hide-and Matteo makes some surprising discoveries about himself, his hometown, and his entire family tree. From Michael Leali, author of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy, this earnest deconstruction of what it means to be a "real boy" is full of humor and heart, and a surefire home run for readers of Mark Oshiro, Anne Ursu, and Katherine ApplegateBy Maxine Rae. 2023
Eighteen-year-old Rory Quinn-Morelli doesn't want to die; she wants refuge from reality for even a minute: the reality where she…
survived the car crash eight months ago, and her best friend, Liv, didn't. Yet her exasperating mother won't believe the Xanax incident was an accident, and her therapist is making it increasingly hard to maintain the detached, impenetrable "cold girl" façade she adopted from Liv. After she unintentionally reconnects with Liv's parents, Rory must decide: will she keep Liv's and her secrets inside, or will she finally allow herself to break? And if she breaks, what will she unearth amid the pieces?By Leah Johnson. 2023
From award-winning YA author Leah Johnson comes her middle grade debut: a laugh-until-you-cry, cry-until-you-laugh story about friendship, change, and the…
power we have to love ourselves. Ellie Engle doesn't stand out. Not at home, where she's alone with her pet fish since her dad moved away and her mom has to work around the clock . Not at the bakery, where she helps out old Mr. Walker on the weekends. And definitely not at school, where her best friend Abby-the coolest, boldest, most talented girl in the world-drags Ellie along on her never-ending quest to "make her mark." To someone else, a life in the shadows might seem boring, or lonely. But not to Ellie. As long as she has Abby by her side and a comic book in her hand, she's quite content. Too bad life didn't bother checking in with Ellie. Because when a freak earthquake hits her small town, Ellie wakes up with the power to bring anything back to life with just her touch. And when a video of her using her powers suddenly goes viral, Ellie's life goes somewhere she never imagined-or wanted: straight into the spotlight. Surviving middle school is hard enough. Surviving middle school when paparazzi are camped out on your front lawn and an international pop singer wants you to use your powers on live tv and you might be in love with your best friend but she doesn't know it? Absolutely impossibleBy Karen Wilfrid. 2023
In this beautifully written contemporary middle grade debut, an eighth grader's study of asexuality in science class leads her to…
understand her own asexual identity as she embarks on a journey toward self-discovery and self-advocacy. For readers of Alex Gino and Ashley Herring Blake. There's the part of me that doesn't understand kissing or cuteness or attraction, and then there's the part of me that feels so lonely. How do I make sense of those two parts? Maybe I'll never make sense of them. What do you do when there's a question inside you that feels so big, you don't know how to put words to it? How do you even begin to ask it? Fourteen-year-old Lizzie is experiencing a lot of change: Her family had to move after the incident with their neighbor, leaving behind not only her beloved apple tree but what feels like her childhood along with it. Lizzie's brother is too busy for her in his first semester of college, and her friends are more interested in dating than dolls. It's hard not to feel left behind, especially as she tries to explain the fact that she still has zero interest in boys, girls, or the baffling behavior known as "flirting." But just as Lizzie's world feels like it's closing in, a class lesson on asexual reproduction in plants piques her curiosity, leading her to look up whether people can be asexual too-and suddenly, her world opens up. Lizzie finally finds an identity, a word for all her messy, unnamable feelings that feels like it fits, although she quickly realizes that a label isn't enough if no one believes it's real. Accessible, moving, and compassionate, Just Lizzie effortlessly braids a nuanced individual journey of identity with the bittersweet angst of growing up, growing apart, and learning there are many ways to live and love. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobookBy Brittany N Williams. 2024
Saint-Seducing Gold is the second book in Brittany N. Williams's stunning YA historical fantasy trilogy-the Forge & Fracture Saga-that New…
York Times bestselling author Ayana Gray called "nothing short of spectacular". There's danger in the court of James I. Magical metal-worker Joan Sands must reforge the Pact between humanity and the Fae to stop the looming war. As violence erupts across London and the murderous spymaster Robert Cecil closes in, the Fae queen Titanea coerces Joan into joining the royal court while holding her godfather prisoner in the infamous Tower of London. Now Joan will have to survive deadly machinations both magical and mortal all while balancing the magnetic pull of her two loves-Rose and Nick-before the world as she knows it is destroyed forever. The Forge & Fracture Saga That Self-Same Metal (#1) Saint-Seducing Gold (#2)By Nina LaCour. 2023
A charming new audiobook by bestselling author Nina LaCour Welcome to 1106 Wildflower Place: It is no ordinary apartment house,…
but you, listener, are no ordinary visitor. So, please, come in! Two new tenants have just arrived, and nine-year-old Ella is determined to help them settle in. Who better to teach them about the glitchy lights and the nighttime noises? After all, Ella knows all the neighbors. Well, almost all. No one has met the mysterious Robinsons who live on the top floor. Will a special neighborly celebration change all that? This bighearted audiobook by bestselling author Nina LaCour celebrates community, friendship, family, and home. It is a place of walking dogs that aren’t yours, keeping surprises secret, and making everyone feel welcome. Here, the eccentric joy of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of The City merges seamlessly with the antic fun of Ivy + Bean , the family tenderness of The Penderwicks , and the madcap adventure of Eloise in an irresistible story that will leave you eager for the next one!By Brittany N Williams. 2023
Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is a gifted craftswoman who creates and upkeeps the stage blades for William Shakespeare's acting company, The…
King's Men. Joan's skill with her blades comes from a magical ability to control metal-an ability gifted by her Head Orisha, Ogun. Because her whole family is Orisha-blessed, the Sands family have always kept tabs on the Fae presence in London. Usually that doesn't involve much except noting the faint glow around a Fae's body as they try to blend in with London society, but lately, there has been an uptick in brutal Fae attacks. After Joan wounds a powerful Fae and saves the son of a cruel Lord, she is drawn into political intrigue in the human and Fae worlds. Swashbuckling, romantic, and full of the sights and sounds of Shakespeare's London, this series starter delivers an unforgettable story-and a heroine unlike any other.By Harry Woodgate. 2021
A Stonewall Honor BookBest Illustrated Book -- Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2022"As warm and friendly as a kind grandparent." Kirkus…
Reviews, STARRED REVIEW"For the hope for new adventures, and the glimpse of intergenerational kindness and understanding, this lovely book should be on every shelf." School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW Best Picture Books of 2021--School Library JournalFuture Classic Picture Books of 2021--Bookstagang's Best of 2021"An effective tool for teaching empathy, and the intergenerational bond at the story's center is a heartstrings puller. This picture book, in which a girl helps her grandfather embrace life again following the death of Gramps, may well aid young readers in understanding others' grief." Shelf Awareness Discover a wonderful grandfather-granddaughter relationship, as a little girl hatches the perfect plan to get her Grandad adventuring again.Gramps and Grandad were adventurers. They would surf, climb mountains, and tour the country in their amazing camper. Gramps just made everything extra special. But after Gramps died, granddad hasn't felt like traveling anymore. So, their amazing granddaughter comes up with a clever plan to fix up the old camper and get Grandad excited to explore again.This beautiful picture book honors love and reminds us not only to remember those we have lost, but to celebrate them.By Michael Leali. 2023
"This enchanting, modern homage to Pinocchio reminds us anything is possible if we're true to ourselves." —Cynthia Leitich Smith, award-winning…
author of Ancestor Approved and Sisters of the NeverseaEleven-year-old Matteo has never felt like one of the other boys. He’s sure that will change when he joins the Blue Whales, the baseball team his dad once played for. This is his chance to grow into a son his father can be proud of.And grow Matteo does, but not the way he expected. Instead, he starts sprouting leaves and finding bark all over his skin. Alarmed, Matteo starts digging for the truth about what’s happening to him—and finds that all clues lead back to the oak tree at the center of town, which Creeksiders have always believed is a little bit magic. As his parents start noticing something is wrong, the truth gets harder to hide—and Matteo makes some surprising discoveries about himself, his hometown, and his entire family tree.From Michael Leali, author of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy, this earnest deconstruction of what it means to be a “real boy” is full of humor and heart, and a surefire home run for readers of Mark Oshiro, Anne Ursu, and Katherine Applegate.By A. J. Irving. 2023
An LGBTQ-inclusive story about understanding your peers, your feelings, and yourself, The Wishing Flower is a love letter to longing,…
belonging, and longing to belong.Birdie finds comfort in nature and books, but more than anything she longs for connection, to be understood. At school, Birdie feels like an outsider. Quiet and shy, she prefers to read by herself, rather than jump rope or swing with the other kids. That all changes when Sunny, the new girl, comes along. Like Birdie, Sunny has a nature name. She also likes to read, and loves to rescue bugs. And when Sunny smiles at her, Birdie&’s heart balloons like a parachute. From the acclaimed author of Dance Like a Leaf, with stunning illustrations by Kip Alizadeh, this book will inspire readers to honor their wishes and show the world their truest selves.By Andy Passchier. 2023
A fun, approachable and easy-to-use guide to gender identity for 7+ readers with colourful illustrations throughout. What is gender and…
what does it mean to you? What are ways people express their gender? What if you don't feel like the gender everyone says you are? This book is a simple approach to the subject communicated through an accessible and fun format, pitched perfectly for the age group.At a time when trans rights are being discussed all over the globe, a book speaking directly to kids in accessible and accepting language is desperately needed. Trans non-binary illustrator Andy Passchier breaks down modern-day conversations about gender identity into easily understandable sections, providing essential support to young people and the grown-ups in their lives.By Leah Johnson. 2023
From award-winning YA author Leah Johnson comes her magical middle grade debut: a laugh-until-you-cry, cry-until-you-laugh story about an ordinary girl…
whose life is turned upside down by some extraordinary powers. Ellie Engle doesn’t stand out. Not at home, where she's alone with her pet fish since her dad moved away and her mom has to work around the clock . Not at the bakery, where she helps out old Mr. Walker on the weekends. And definitely not at school, where her best friend Abby—the coolest, boldest, most talented girl in the world—drags Ellie along on her never-ending quest to “make her mark.” To someone else, a life in the shadows might seem boring, or lonely. But not to Ellie. As long as she has Abby by her side and a comic book in her hand, she’s quite content. Too bad life didn’t bother checking in with Ellie. Because when a freak earthquake hits her small town, Ellie wakes up with fantastical powers that allow her to bring anything back to life with just her touch. And when a video of her using her powers suddenly goes viral, Ellie’s life goes somewhere she never imagined—or wanted: straight into the spotlight. Surviving middle school is hard enough. Surviving middle school when paparazzi are camped out on your front lawn and an international pop singer wants you to use your powers on live tv and you might be in love with your best friend but she doesn’t know it? Absolutely impossible.By Karen Wilfrid. 2023
In this beautifully written contemporary middle grade debut, an eighth grader's study of asexuality in science class leads her to…
understand her own asexual identity as she embarks on a journey toward self-discovery and self-advocacy. For readers of Alex Gino and Ashley Herring Blake.There’s the part of me that doesn’t understand kissing or cuteness or attraction, and then there’s the part of me that feels so lonely. How do I make sense of those two parts? Maybe I’ll never make sense of them.What do you do when there's a question inside you that feels so big, you don't know how to put words to it? How do you even begin to ask it?Fourteen-year-old Lizzie is experiencing a lot of change: her family had to move after the incident with their neighbor, leaving behind not only her beloved apple tree, but what feels like her childhood along with it. Lizzie's brother is too busy for her in his first semester of college and her friends are more interested in dating than dolls. It’s hard not to feel left behind, especially as she tries to explain the fact that she still has zero interest in boys, girls, or the baffling behavior known as “flirting.”But just as Lizzie’s world feels like it's closing in, a class lesson on asexual reproduction in plants piques her curiosity, leading her to look up whether people can be asexual too—and suddenly, her world opens up. Lizzie finally finds an identity, a word for all her messy, unnamable feelings that feels like it fits, although she quickly realizes that a label isn’t enough if no one believes it’s real.Accessible, moving, and compassionate, Just Lizzie effortlessly braids a nuanced individual journey of identity with the bittersweet angst of growing up, growing apart, and learning there are many ways to live and love.By Keith F. Miller Jr.. 2023
Concrete Rose meets Things We Couldn’t Say in Pritty, a debut novel by Keith F. Miller Jr.—the inspiration behind the forthcoming animated short film of Kickstarter…
fame—that follows two boys who get caught in the crossfire of a sinister plot that not only threatens everything they love but may cost them their own chance at love. On the verge of summer before his senior year, Jay is a soft soul in a world of concrete. While his older brother is everything people expect a man to be—tough, athletic, and in charge—Jay simply blends into the background to everyone, except when it comes to Leroy.Unsure of what he could have possibly done to catch the eye of the boy who could easily have anyone he wants, Jay isn’t about to ignore the surprising but welcome attention. But as everything in his world begins to heat up, especially with Leroy, whispered rumors over the murder of a young Black journalist and long-brewing territory tensions hang like a dark cloud over his neighborhood. And when Jay and Leroy find themselves caught in the crossfire, Leroy isn’t willing to be the reason Jay’s life is at risk.Dragged into the world of the Black Diamonds—whose work to protect the Black neighborhoods of Savannah began with his father and now falls to his older brother—Leroy knows that finding out who attacked his brother is not only the key to protecting everyone he loves but also the only way he can ever be with Jay. Wading through a murky history of family trauma and regret, Leroy soon discovers that there’s no keeping Jay safe when Jay’s own family is in just as deep and fighting the undertow of danger just as hard.Now Jay and Leroy must puzzle through secrets hiding in plain sight and scramble to uncover who is determined to eliminate the Black Diamonds before someone else gets hurt—even if the cost might be their own electric connection.By Abdi Nazemian. 2023
Stonewall Book Award Winner * A Best Book of the Year from the Guardian, ALA Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and BookPage…
From the award–winning author of Like a Love Story comes a sweeping story of three generations of boys in the same Iranian family. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and Darius the Great Is Not Okay. 2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse—he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side.Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.By Meeg Pincus. 2023
A nonfiction picture book about Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride, who dreamed of making a difference as a kid and…
grew up to become the highest-ranking openly transgender political official in America. As a kid, Sarah McBride dreamed of running for office so she could help people in her community. When her friends asked for bicycles for Christmas, Sarah asked for a podium. Her friends and family encouraged her to follow this path, but there was one problem: they saw Sarah as a boy, and Sarah knew she was a girl. Every night, she’d replay the day in her head, watching how it would have played out if she was able to live as the girl she knew herself to be. In college, she finally came out as Sarah, and in 2020 she won her election to become a Delaware State Senator, making her the highest-ranking trans political official in the country and a hero to kids everywhere who want to live their dreams and be themselves!