★ 05/30/2022
Min’s debut is a luminous homage to music, art, and the power of found family. When 14-year-old Filipino Santiago Arboleda inadvertently causes his online best friend Memo’s song to go viral, Memo seemingly disappears from the internet, subsequently breaking Santi’s heart. Now 17, Santi has relocated to L.A. to join the Sunshowers, De Longpre High’s award-winning marching band. Though he’s swiftly absorbed into the rambunctious Sunshowers crowd, Santi is haunted by his past as he navigates a future filled with possibility upon meeting Japanese and Korean drum major Suwa Moon, a trans boy who finds Santi as annoying as Santi finds him enchanting. The narrative is split into two parts, mimicking sides of an album. Side A follows Santi’s heart-on-his-sleeve earnestness as he tries to atone for his mistakes; Side B features reserved Suwa’s stumbling efforts to carve his own path in the world. This achingly romantic novel features racially diverse and variously queer characters, each of whom is given ample space to develop. Min’s personal-feeling prose epitomizes the current age, in which lifelong bonds are forged through computer screens and group chats, emphasizing connection in its myriad forms. Ages 14–up. Agent: Dana Murphy, Book Group. (July)
★ 10/01/2022
Gr 10 Up—Seventeen-year-old Santi's life has been a mess since his childhood best friend (a person Santi had only known online as "Memo") ghosted him. With the loss of Memo, Santi also lost a part of himself. To help Santi move on and reconnect with life, Aya, Santi's guardian, moves them to her hometown of Los Angeles and pushes her charge to join the marching band that was so pivotal to her in her youth. There, Santi is welcomed with open arms by nearly everyone, except for one surly boy named Suwa, a musical genius who seems destined for a promising career. When Santi helps Suwa through a panic attack, the two forge a truce, which tenuously turns into friendship before blossoming into love. However, when Santi shares a painful realization, Suwa cuts Santi and their friends out of his life without a word. The love story between Santi, who identifies as Filipino, and Suwa, whose family is of Japanese and Korean descent, builds slowly and vividly, then shatters suddenly, leaving readers as bereft as Santi himself. There is a breadth of ethnic diversity and LGBTQIA+ representation in this book (including Santi, who is bisexual, and Suwa, who is a transgender man), and the supporting characters are so nuanced they could be the leads in stories of their own. This gorgeous debut deftly explores themes around gender dysphoria, abuse, loss, anxiety and depression. VERDICT A must-have for all collections serving older teens—especially those looking to add more high-quality realistic queer fiction to their shelves.—Leighanne Law
★ 2022-03-29
Music is at the heart of this love letter to Los Angeles, anime, and art.
Santi, who describes himself as “mixed” and has a Filipino mother, mistakenly leaked a song by Memo, his online best friend, who ghosted him after it went viral. After the breakup makes him spiral out of control, he moves to LA from Florida for a fresh start with Aya, his mother’s queer best friend from childhood and the guardian who has cared for him since his mother died when he was 7. He arrives at his new high school for marching-band camp, where he is welcomed by everyone but Suwa. Suspicious yet enamored by the new kid, Suwa, who is Korean and Japanese, is a singer/songwriter whose family disapproves of his transitioning and his quest for stardom. The two boys soon move from friends to something more. Min writes with finesse and care, grappling with the complexities of navigating the music industry and growing up queer. Santi and Suwa are full-fledged characters whose posturing, developed as defenses against homophobia, racism, and transphobia, is grounded by their chosen family. Like a vinyl record, the story is divided into an A-side, narrated by Santi, and a B-side, narrated by Suwa, offering singular points of view through their tempestuous relationship and fledgling artistic careers.
A lyrical, rhythmic, and promising debut, this queer romance is a hit. (Romance. 13-18)
ALA's Rainbow Book List Top Ten Title for Teen Readers
Named a best book of the year by BuzzFeed, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, Kirkus Reviews, Chicago Public Library, and more!
"A master class in modern loss and reconnection, and in ways that are both wholly universal and deeply unique to queer and trans communities. I loved every minute of the roller coaster ride from joy to devastation and back again."
—The New York Times
"[Min shows] us the violence and ecstasy of what it means to become an artist, to really be seen, both as and beyond a young adult.”
—Chicago Review of Books
"This book is alive with ache, grief, hunger, love, pain and awe. . . . It should be read for the reasons all good books should be read: because it’s beautiful and moving, nuanced and humane. Most of all, because it’s fun." —Los Angeles Times
"An artful debut about the joys and heartaches that come with existing as your own self." —Booklist, starred review
"[A] gorgeous debut . . . a must-have for all collections serving older teens—especially those looking to add more high-quality realistic queer fiction to their shelves." —SLJ, starred review
"Min's exploration of coming out and owning your story as an artist is particularly exhilarating and nuanced. . . It's an epic tale of queer validation, filtered through the light of the California sun and Sailor Moon, and an essential read for anyone searching for a blueprint of their soul." —BookPage, starred review
"A lyrical, rhythmic, and promising debut, this queer romance is a hit." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"A luminous homage to music, art, and the power of found family. . . achingly romantic." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"At times incredibly romantic, at times wildly devastating, this debut about identity, belonging, kinship, fandom, and starting over is one of the best books you'll read all year." —BuzzFeed
"Blistering, deeply emo, and shimmering with the messiness of intimacy, Beating Heart Baby is a dizzying, occasionally infuriating, gleefully sexy, and utterly heartfelt exploration of identity, culture, and finding home within your art and in yourself. Brimming with music, profoundly specific internet, and the magic of cooked food with chosen family, Lio Min’s debut is as much a salve as it is nourishment." —Mary H. K. Choi, author of Yolk
"A stunning heartbreak of a novel that will mean so much to so many. I couldn’t put it down—following the always tender and often romantic journeys of these beautiful boys. A story about how love can shape you and open up the entire world. Lio Min is a superstar to watch." —Maurene Goo, author of Throwback
"A beautiful story about finding family, messy first loves, and the power of music. Beating Heart Baby will break your heart in the best way." —Emiko Jean, author of Tokyo Ever After
"You know that feeling, when you hear your favorite song for the first time? Lio Min has captured it in electrifying prose. Beating Heart Baby reached deep inside me and healed wounds I always assumed I’d be carrying forever." —Adib Khorram, author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay
“Beating Heart Baby combines an anime-addled queer coming-of-age with a luxurious, sensual love story. You won’t know whether to swoon or seethe with jealousy that you weren’t this cool in high school.” —Meredith Russo, author of If I Was Your Girl
“An altogether wildly moving story of finding yourself while chasing down dreams, Beating Heart Baby reads like the best kind of love song and leaves you wanting to hit repeat, with chapter after chapter positively humming in your head. And the beating heart of this beautiful novel? A story of love and forgiveness like no other.” —Eric Smith, author of Don't Read the Comments
“A vivid and vital gift to queer teens everywhere.” —Peyton Thomas, author of Both Sides Now
"Beating Heart Baby creates the eclectic, stylish world of every teen weirdo’s dreams. Readers will connect to the struggle and yearning of young queer love while finding warmth and acceptance within its diverse and compassionate cast." —Jen Wang, author of The Prince and the Dressmaker
