Miss Liberty

Weather-obsessed Savvy Montrose, who reads as white, dreams of following in her older sister Levi’s footsteps by winning the Miss Liberty pageant and taking on the coveted role as the star of town Liberté’s long-running Independence Day parade. It’s a position that could open doors to future opportunities—and could mean that Savvy will never feel overlooked again. This year, the anxious 12-year-old hopes to finally show off her tap skills as part of the pageant’s talent portion. But everything goes wrong: the pageant runner refuses to acknowledge her dance abilities, the parade is in danger of being canceled, and worst of all to Savvy, Levi uses the traditionally quiet and compliant Miss Liberty role to raise awareness of voting inequity following the closure of Liberté’s voting center. In this heartfelt debut, Haley sensitively portrays a character who’s struggling to hold on to the comfort of the familiar while contending with fear regarding an uncertain future. Savvy’s personal ambitions (“Being Miss Liberty is the secret to getting everything you want in life”) collide with her desire to support her sister’s efforts (using her position as Miss Liberty to “guard and nurture” their town), making for engaging, relatable familial and internal drama. Ages 8–12. Agent: Molly O’Neill, Root Literary. (May)