Let’s squeeze a little more brat out of what’s left of this summer, shall we? If you’re An Old like me, you may have no idea what that means, so let me attempt to clear things up. It’s intense emotions and being bright eyed and bushy tailed. It’s being a mischievous little scamp with some light rebellion against the status quo thrown in for good measure. It’s the drunk girl in the bar bathroom who gives you a tampon and tells you to break up with that asshole while fixing your makeup and making you feel like the master of the universe. Brat is brat. Take a page from The Youths and get into the brat summer spirit with these five science fiction and fantasy novels. Normally in this column I try to cover both young adult and adult, but since brat is a Gen Z phenomenon, I’m sticking with YA.
Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee (Sidekick Squad #2)
Bells Broussard is a shapeshifting trans kid growing up in a world where superheroes and supervillains battle it out. After helping his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby expose a cover-up lead by the Heroes’ League of Heroes (see Not Your Sidekick), Bells is labeled a villain and chased by the ex-hero Captain Orion. When YA does superpowers, it often involves teens rueful over their new responsibilities and afraid of their powers. Bells couldn’t be bothered. Although he struggles at superhero training, he loves being a shapeshifter. Bells is an energetic teen with a daredevil streak and a witty charm that is so endearing. I still don’t understand why no streamer has picked up the rights to this series. How could you not want to put queer teen supes on my television screen? (Duet Books, 2017)
Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria
Dysfunctional found families and brat summer go together like cinnamon and sugar, as Beneath the Citadel proves. With nothing left to lose, Cassa, Newt, Evander, and Alysa take on not just their oppressive rulers but destiny itself. In a world dominated by prophecies, these four teen must forge their own fate. Although this is tonally the most serious of the books on this list, I think there’s just enough brat to count. Cassa is the wild child rebel, Evander is brash and loud, Alysa is a quiet kind of brilliant yet fierce enough to not want to get on her bad side, and balancing them out by Newt, a kid who is shy but in a way that makes you want to scoop him up into a hug. (Amulet Books, 2018)
The Disasters by M.K. England
Speaking of dysfunctional found families, the teens in this sci-fi novel are a motley crew of failures and rejects who are impossible to not love. It’s 2194 and Nax, Case, Zee, Rion, and Asra get blamed for a terrorist attack on the lunar training academy Ellis Station. The kids go on the run, as you do, and try to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. What makes this whole thing soar isn’t just the battles and heists and romances but the way the kids bond together as a crew. Each of them are flawed in some pretty big ways, and yet they all fit together like puzzle pieces. If you want a YA version of The Expanse, look no further. (HarperTeen, 2018)
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman (Tess of the Road #1)
Rachel Hartman first introduced Tess in the Seraphina duology, where she comes of as, well, a bit of a brat, but in the negative connotation of that word. She’s young, naive enough to get involved with a bad crowd and foolish enough to think that makes her cool. In Tess of the Road, the first of a powerful duology, Tess faces the harsh consequences of her bratty behavior. As she journeys across the kingdom of Goredd, she learns a lot about herself and what she wants out of the world. In a way, it’s about finding the positive qualities of brattiness. All the things she was taught were personality flaws she learns to use to help people. Tess becomes the kind of brat you love to have around instead of the one that makes you roll your eyes in frustration and disappointment. (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2018)
The Kindred by Alechia Dow
Aliens in Florida? You betcha. Joy and Felix are bonded as Kindred, meaning they both have implanted chips that allow them to communicate telepathically. Creating Kindreds was meant to help bring peace to the planet of Hali, but inequalities are still pervasive. Felix pretty much defines “brat.” He’s carefree and casual, a queer teen who leans into his impulses and away from his responsibilities. Joy, trapped in poverty, doesn’t have the luxury of idle indulgences. After an assassination attempt, the teens are forced to flee their homeworld and they crashland in Florida of all places. The Kindred is a standalone, but it’s also the second book in an unofficial series involving the Ilori, a colonizing alien race that fuck around in the first book, The Sound of Stars, and find out in the third, A Song of Salvation. Joy teaches Felix how to do something meaningful with his life, and he teaches her how to chill out for a hot minute and relax. (Inkyard Press, 2022)
