Where There’s Room for Us

Gr 9 Up–Pop star Kiyoko’s sophomore teen romance transports readers to an alternate Victorian England where same-sex relationships are commonplace, but legal complications remain. Only male heirs can inherit titles, putting immense pressure on the dutiful Lady Freya Tallon. With two of her three sisters in same-sex relationships, Freya feels she is one of the family’s last chances to produce a male heir. Cue the arrival of Ivy Yada-Lovell, a bold, half-Japanese American sapphic poet newly arrived after her brother, Prescott, inherited the neighboring viscountcy. Freya’s plans to marry well are upended when sparks fly between her and Ivy at a ball, beginning a secret courtship full of love letters and waterfall rendezvouses. Their love is threatened by Freya’s sense of duty and a disastrous misunderstanding involving a political activist group, but everything wraps up a little too quickly and neatly in the end. Freya’s journey from a sheltered daughter to a woman claiming her own desires is compelling, while Ivy’s vulnerability beneath her confident public persona is endearing. Their chemistry makes for an enjoyable read. Freya and her family are presumed white, and while most of the supporting cast is as well, there is some diversity in the secondary characters.