12 must-read September YA releases to pair with your PSL

September 2021 release: So Many Beginnings – Bethany C. Morrow

One of the most frequent criticisms aimed at the generally accepted canon of classic literature is that it is often so heavily tailored toward white, male, and cishet voices. But a new YA Remixed Classics series is looking to change all that and will feature authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpreting familiar stories through their own unique cultural lens.

One of the first in the series is a YA remix of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women by national bestselling author Bethany C. Morrow, author of A Song Below Water and A Chorus Rises.

In the original Little Women, four young sisters come of age during the American Civil War in Boston. But in Morrow’s version of the story, the March family are reimagined as recently emancipated former slaves who live on Roanoke Island Freedpeople’s Colony in North Carolina, the first place they’ve finally been able to safely put down real roots.

The official synopsis describes the story as follows.

"North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the old life. It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters: Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own. Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained. Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose. Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family’s home. As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together."

So Many Beginnings is available on September 7.