The worldbuilding is fun and creative, the twists are satisfying, and it is super queer in the best way. The kind where readers will fall in love with every character who is messy and sexy and terrible in their own way. The kind readers will force into their friends' hands and shout, 'Read this now!'. ' This is the kind of book that changes young lives.

Absolutely unhinged and utterly unforgettable.' - Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us 'Sharp as a blade, twice as vicious, and an outstretched hand all at once a reminder to messy, angry kids that they can find their power no matter what they must do to survive. But as worlds collide and the past catches up with the present, Gem will discover that everyone has something to hide. It’s a good thing they’ve still got Enzo. They’ve made a lot of enemies in the pantheon-enemies who, like the Goddess of Death, will keep coming.

But Gem – or at least who Gem used to be - hasn’t always been the most benevolent deity. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who’ve known and loved each other across lifetimes. When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life and finally offers some answers. So how the hell does Willa Mae Hardy? The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions, and seems to know things about them they’ve never told anyone else. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who’s a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn.īut even Enzo doesn’t know about Gem’s dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence that have always felt too real. Known for being their peers’ queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath. Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Maybe I have always just been bad at being human because I’m not one.

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon