The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt is out today! This young adult romance will be one that you won’t forget soon. Take a look here!
The Radius of Us has been taunting me from my Kindle for the last few weeks, and I finally got time to start it! I’m currently somewhere in the middle, and I have to say, I’m really enjoying this novel.
It’s a star-crossed romance, but steeped in a modern-day storyline that’s very relatable. Take a look at the summary below, and be sure to put this one on your TBRs or one-click it today!
Gretchen Ashland is a sheltered and privileged white girl living in a posh Atlanta suburb. Phoenix Flores Flores is an El Salvadoran teenager who’s fled his country to save his twelve-year-old brother Ari—and himself—from being forced into a life of gangs. After a disastrous journey through Mexico that landed him in detention and separated him from Ari (who has lost his ability to speak because of the traumatic experience), Phoenix has found temporary shelter with a couple he describes as “sweet churchy lesbians” in Gretchen’s neighborhood.
With a monitoring bracelet around his ankle to keep him within a twenty mile radius, he manages a community garden project and tries to keep a low profile. On the surface the two teens have nothing in common, yet they find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other. They discover that they both have been victims of gang violence and as a result, fear rules their lives. As they fall in love with each other, Gretchen and Phoenix learn to face the terrors that are holding them back and imagine a future together.
Marie Marquardt is an author of young adult novels, a college professor, and an immigration advocate. Her debut novel, Dream Things True (St. Martin’s Press), was a 2015 YA BEA Buzz Panel choice praised in Kirkus as a “worthy examination of undocumented immigration in the American South through the lens of young love.”
Dr. Marquardt is a Scholar-in-Residence at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and has been an advocate for social justice for Latin American immigrants in the South for two decades. She has published many articles and co-authored two non-fiction books on the issues involved and has been interviewed on National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and BBC America, among many other media outlets. She is also the co-chair of El Refugio, a Georgia non-profit that serves detained immigrants and their families.
Marie Marquardt is a proud member of the We Need Diverse Books team and lives in a busy household in Decatur, Georgia with her spouse, four children, a dog and a bearded dragon.
