Clementine H. Hopeful Is Not a Hero (Clementine H. Hopeful Is Not a Hero #1)

In Corey’s subversive fantasy debut—informed, per an endnote, by the author’s experience with genderqueerness and childhood psychosis—a tween endeavors to create a better world. No matter how hard he tries to prove that he is “very normal,” spider-obsessed seventh grader Clementine H. Hopeful always feels like an outsider. Worse, he seems to be the only person who can see the mysterious floating faces in the nearby woods. Then he meets 12-year-old Bug and Bug’s friend Anise, homeschool kids who use their mysterious magical abilities to spend their nights playing wildly imaginative games in the forest. With Bug and Anise, Clementine feels free to embrace the things about himself he hides from others—“(like that he was fidgety) (and sort of sweaty) (and wearing pink sneakers)”—and to further explore his own personal expression and growing feelings for Bug. As reality and fantasy begin to overlap, Clementine discovers that there are monsters hiding in plain sight within his small Idaho town. Throughout this dreamlike tale, Clementine considers the cost of acquiring enough power to change his world and take charge of his own destiny. Clementine, Bug, and Anise cue as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Emily Forney, BookEnds Literary. (Mar.)