Where There’s Room for Us

In a reimagined Victorian era in which entering a queer marriage—though fully accepted in high society—means forfeiting one’s inheritance rights, teenage American poet Ivy moves to the English countryside with her older brother, Prescott, after he inherits an estate. Upon arrival, Ivy joins a local organization seeking to change the inheritance laws. She also falls for socialite Freya, who—as one of the only daughters in her family to favor men—feels burdened by the pressure put upon her to marry a man and deliver a male heir. But as she and Ivy spend more time together, Freya must reconcile her growing romantic feelings for Ivy with her belief that she must secure her family’s legacy. Simultaneously, Ivy’s rebellious reputation precedes her, casting doubt on the girls’ potential romance. Via Ivy and Freya’s candid alternating POVs, Kiyoko (Girls Like Girls) presents a hopeful love story between ideological opposites whose attraction to each other is complicated by familial obligation, social niceties, and fear of the unknown. Worldbuilding rooted in queer community-making and found family elements provides the protagonists ample room to safely explore their feelings across a somewhat unevenly paced narrative that capitalizes on the raw, turbulent experience of first true love. Ivy and Prescott have Japanese heritage; other characters read as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Katelyn Dougherty, Paradigm Agency. (Nov.)