The YA space is welcoming another new voice this week, as Malavika Kannan has officially released her debut novel All the Yellow Suns. The novel centers on 16-year-old Maya Krishnan, a queer, Indian-American teenager living in conservative Florida. It follows Maya as she is brought into a “world of change-making and resistance,” soon confronting not just her personal challenges, but whether her friends are really who they say. All the Yellow Suns is available for purchase now online and in stores.
Kannan is a digital creative who has worked with companies such as Spotify and Instagram, is a cartoon artist, and has been part of several notable projects such as the Homegirl Project, the podcast Brown Sugar, and Refinery29’s poetry campaign entitled Slam Gun Violence. She has been featured on Seventeen magazine, Good Morning America, Vice, and more. On July 14, Kannan will kick off her tour for All the Yellow Suns in New York City.
The official synopsis for All the Yellow Suns reads:
“Sixteen-year-old Maya Krishnan is fiercely protective of her friends, immigrant community, and single mother, but she knows better than to rock the boat in her conservative Florida suburb. Her classmate Juneau Zale is the polar opposite: she’s a wealthy white heartbreaker who won’t think twice before capsizing that boat.
When Juneau invites Maya to join the Pugilists—a secret society of artists, vandals, and mischief-makers who fight for justice at their school—Maya descends into the world of change-making and resistance. Soon, she and Juneau forge a friendship that inspires Maya to confront the challenges in her own life.
But as their relationship grows romantic, painful, and twisted, Maya begins to suspect that there’s a whole different person beneath Juneau’s painted-on facade. Now Maya must learn to speak her truth in this mysterious, mixed-up world—even if it results in heartbreak.”
