Kween

Vichet Chum

• Publisher: Quill Tree Books
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN:
  9780063223387
• Print ISBN:
  9780063223356
  9780063223356

“Some readers will see themselves reflected in Soma, some readers will learn about the history and culture of girls like Soma, and all readers will be rooting for Soma to realize her voice has power and that history is both a weight and a launchpad. Vichet Chum is a beautiful wordsmith and a fresh, welcome new voice in the YA canon.” — Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author
A searing, joyful debut about a queer Cambodian American teen’s journey to find her voice and step into her legacy, perfect for fans of Ibi Zoboi and Elizabeth Acevedo. Available in paperback!
Soma Kear’s verses have gone viral. Trouble is, she didn’t exactly think her slam poetry video through. All she knew was that her rhymes were urgent. On fire. An expression of where she was, and that place…was a hot mess.
Following her Ba’s deportation back to Cambodia, everything’s changed. Her Ma is away trying to help Ba adjust to his new life, and her older sister has taken charge with a new authoritarian tone. Meanwhile, Soma’s trending video pushes her to ask if it’s time to level up. With her school’s spoken word contest looming, Soma must decide: Is she brave enough to put herself out there?
To publicly reveal her fears of Ba not returning?
To admit that things may never be the same?
With every line she spits, Soma searches for a way to make sense of the world around her. The answers are at the mic.
From debut author Vichet Chum comes a celebration of Khmer identity, queerness, and embracing the complicated histories that shape who we are and want to be.

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Self-View
• Chapter 2: At the Precipice
• Chapter 3: The Toll
• Chapter 4: Have You Eaten Yet?
• Chapter 5: One Average Lowellian, Cambodian Youth
• Chapter 6: Dig Deep
• Chapter 7: An Inquisition
• Chapter 8: Khmer Kerouac
• Chapter 9: Captions
• Chapter 10: What’s the Point?
• Chapter 11: Lovebirds
• Chapter 12: Emails
• Chapter 13: A Khmer Scene
• Chapter 14: Crush Rut
• Chapter 15: Maid of Dishonor
• Chapter 16: A Rom-Com Mome
• Chapter 17: One Sneak In, One Sneak Out
• Chapter 18: What’s God to You?
• Chapter 19: A Dragon’s Story
• Chapter 20: After
• Chapter 21: Searching for Signs
• Chapter 22: Evie Has Entered the Chat
• Chapter 23: The Competition
• Chapter 24: After
• Chapter 25: Set Sail
• Chapter 26: My Confusion
• Chapter 27: The Performance
• Chapter 28: What I Would Have Said
• Chapter 29: What Happened?
• Chapter 30: Dear Ba
• Chapter 31: And Walk!
• Chapter 32: Wedding Rituals
• Chapter 33: Kweens
• Chapter 34: The Honeymoon
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Back Ad
• Books by Vichet Chum
• Copyright
• About the Publisher