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Bitter

By Akwaeke Emezi

By Akwaeke Emezi

By Akwaeke Emezi

By Akwaeke Emezi

By Akwaeke Emezi

By Akwaeke Emezi

By Akwaeke Emezi

By Akwaeke Emezi

By Akwaeke Emezi
Read by Bahni Turpin

By Akwaeke Emezi
Read by Bahni Turpin

Best Seller
Paperback $12.99

Jul 18, 2023 | ISBN 9780593309063 | Young Adult

Hardcover $18.99

Feb 15, 2022 | ISBN 9780593309032 | Young Adult

Hardcover $20.99

Feb 15, 2022 | ISBN 9780593309049 | Young Adult

Ebook $8.99

Feb 15, 2022 | ISBN 9780593309056 | Young Adult

Audiobook Download $20.00

Feb 15, 2022 | 432 Minutes | Young Adult

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    Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
    Paperback $12.99
    Jul 18, 2023 | ISBN 9780593309063

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    • $12.99

      Jul 18, 2023 | ISBN 9780593309063 | Young Adult

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • $18.99

      Feb 15, 2022 | ISBN 9780593309032 | Young Adult

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • $20.99

      Feb 15, 2022 | ISBN 9780593309049 | Young Adult

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Feb 15, 2022 | ISBN 9780593309056 | Young Adult

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Feb 15, 2022 | ISBN 9780593416655 | Young Adult

      432 Minutes

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    About Bitter

    From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution–and how youth lead the way.

    Bitter is an aspiring artist who has been invited to cultivate her talents at a special school in the town of Lucille. Surrounded by other creative teens, she can focus on her painting–though she hides a secret from everyone around her. Meanwhile, the streets of Lucille are filled with social unrest. This is Lucille before the Revolution. A place of darkness and injustice. A place where a few ruling elites control the fates of the many.

    The young people of Lucille know they deserve better–they aren’t willing to settle for this world that the adults say is “just the way things are.” They are protesting, leading a much-needed push for social change. But Bitter isn’t sure where she belongs–in the art studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the Revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: what are the costs?

    Acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi looks at the power of youth, protest, and art in this timely and provocative novel, a companion to National Book Award Finalist Pet.

    Praise for PET:

    “The word hype was invented to describe books like this.” –Refinery29
    NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
    “[A] beautiful, genre-expanding debut. . . . Pet is a nesting doll of creative possibilities.” —The New York Times
    “Like [Madeleine] L’Engle, Akwaeke Emezi asks questions of good and evil and agency, all wrapped up in the terrifying and glorious spectacle of fantastical theology.” –NPR

    About Bitter

    From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to the critically acclaimed PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution–and how youth lead the way.

    After a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille.
     
    Bitter’s instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus . . . but  her  friends  aren’t  willing  to  settle  for  a  world  that’s  so  far  away from what they deserve. Pulled between old friendships, her artistic passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn’t sure where she  belongs—in  the  studio  or  in  the  streets.  And  if  she  does  find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost? 
     
    This  timely  and  riveting  novel—a  companion  to  the  National  Book Award finalist Pet—explores the power of youth, protest, and art.
     

    About Bitter

    From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to the critically acclaimed PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution–and how youth lead the way.

    After a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille.
     
    Bitter’s instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus . . . but  her  friends  aren’t  willing  to  settle  for  a  world  that’s  so  far  away from what they deserve. Pulled between old friendships, her artistic passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn’t sure where she  belongs—in  the  studio  or  in  the  streets.  And  if  she  does  find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost? 
     
    This  timely  and  riveting  novel—a  companion  to  the  National  Book Award finalist Pet—explores the power of youth, protest, and art.
     

    About Bitter

    From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to the critically acclaimed PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution–and how youth lead the way.

    After a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille.
     
    Bitter’s instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus . . . but  her  friends  aren’t  willing  to  settle  for  a  world  that’s  so  far  away from what they deserve. Pulled between old friendships, her artistic passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn’t sure where she  belongs—in  the  studio  or  in  the  streets.  And  if  she  does  find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost? 
     
    This  timely  and  riveting  novel—a  companion  to  the  National  Book Award finalist Pet—explores the power of youth, protest, and art.
     

    About Bitter

    From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to the critically acclaimed PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution–and how youth lead the way.

    After a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille.
     
    Bitter’s instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus . . . but  her  friends  aren’t  willing  to  settle  for  a  world  that’s  so  far  away from what they deserve. Pulled between old friendships, her artistic passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn’t sure where she  belongs—in  the  studio  or  in  the  streets.  And  if  she  does  find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost? 
     
    This  timely  and  riveting  novel—a  companion  to  the  National  Book Award finalist Pet—explores the power of youth, protest, and art.
     

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    Also by Akwaeke Emezi

    Somadina
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    Dear Senthuran
    The Death of Vivek Oji
    Pet
    See all books by Akwaeke Emezi

    Also by Akwaeke Emezi

    Somadina
    Little Rot
    Dear Senthuran
    The Death of Vivek Oji
    Pet
    See all books by Akwaeke Emezi

    Also by Akwaeke Emezi

    Somadina
    Little Rot
    Dear Senthuran
    The Death of Vivek Oji
    Pet
    See all books by Akwaeke Emezi

    Also by Akwaeke Emezi

    Somadina
    Little Rot
    Dear Senthuran
    The Death of Vivek Oji
    Pet
    See all books by Akwaeke Emezi

    Also by Akwaeke Emezi

    Somadina
    Little Rot
    Dear Senthuran
    The Death of Vivek Oji
    Pet
    See all books by Akwaeke Emezi

    About Akwaeke Emezi

    Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji, which was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize; Pet, a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; and Freshwater, which… More about Akwaeke Emezi

    About Akwaeke Emezi

    Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji, which was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize; Pet, a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; and Freshwater, which… More about Akwaeke Emezi

    About Akwaeke Emezi

    Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji, which was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize; Pet, a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; and Freshwater, which… More about Akwaeke Emezi

    About Akwaeke Emezi

    Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji, which was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize; Pet, a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; and Freshwater, which… More about Akwaeke Emezi

    About Akwaeke Emezi

    Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji, which was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize; Pet, a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; and Freshwater, which… More about Akwaeke Emezi

    Product Details

    Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Social Issues

    Paperback | $12.99
    Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
    Jul 18, 2023 | 272 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | Young Adult | ISBN 9780593309063

    Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Social Issues

    Hardcover | $18.99
    Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
    Feb 15, 2022 | 272 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | Young Adult | ISBN 9780593309032

    Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Social Issues

    Hardcover | $20.99
    Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
    Feb 15, 2022 | 272 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | Young Adult | ISBN 9780593309049

    Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Social Issues

    Ebook | $8.99
    Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
    Feb 15, 2022 | 272 Pages | Young Adult | ISBN 9780593309056

    Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Social Issues | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $20.00
    Published by Listening Library
    Feb 15, 2022 | 432 Minutes | Young Adult | ISBN 9780593416655

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    Praise

    ★ “A compact, urgent, and divine novel.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

    ★ “Emezi once again deftly conjures an ethereal world in which hope is a practice, teen voice and choice are uplifted, and art is validated and lauded as a form of resistance.” —SLJ, starred review
     
    ★ ”[A] timely… story with vivacious queer characters of color who have the agency to define the future for themselves and their city.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review 

    “Accomplished in its use of uneasily dreamy language.” —The Horn Book

    “Mesmerizing from start to finish.” —Booklist

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