On Under The Radar, we're diving into the popular genre of young adult (YA) fiction in this special August edition of “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club.”

YA fiction and nonfiction is targeted at older teens, positioned in the editorial space between books for children and adults. But half of the readers are adults drawn to the common themes of family dynamics, friendship, first love and coming of age. YA authors tell their stories through multiple literary genres, including science fiction, romance, memoir, horror, fantasy, graphic novel, mystery and historical fiction.

Guests:

Crystal Maldonado is a writer by night and a marketer and social media manager by day. Her debut novel, “Fat Chance Charlie Vega” is a coming of age story featuring a biracial teen. The book earned a featured review on the list, Best Fiction for Young Adults. Maldonado is the co-founder of the online website Positively Smitten. She has been published in Latina magazine, the Hartford Courant, and Dogster. The University of Connecticut graduate lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband and baby daughter.

Brittney Morris is the author of the YA novel “Slay” and Marvel’s “Spider Man: Miles Morales-Wings of Fury.” Her latest YA book is “The Cost of Knowing,” a gripping family story featuring two Black male teens, which has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Morris, who graduated from Boston University with a degree in economics, is also the founder and former president of the Boston University Creative Writing Club. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and son.

Malinda Lo is the author of six YA novels including her latest, “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950’s Red Scare. “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” which has received eight starred reviews, was also named by Oprah Magazine, one of 50 LGBTQ Books That Will Heat Up the Literary Landscape in 2021. The three time finalist for the Lambda Literary Award also writes a biweekly newsletter, Lo & Behold. She graduated from Wellesley College and earned master’s degrees from both Harvard and Stanford. She lives in Massachusetts with her wife Amy Lovell.