QUEER YOUNG ADULT FANTASY

After being double-crossed by her lousy crew a century ago, ghost pirate Captain Amir seeks to break her immortal curse by using her ghostly powers to “help” two people fall in love. Naturally, she finds the perfect targets in teenage best friends Princess Mira and fisherman John, and recruits the kids under the guise of leading them to her fabled lost treasure.

But as Amir strongarms the should-be lovebirds into an island-hopping adventure, treasure hunting proves to be as tricky as curse-breaking, especially since headstrong Mira is already falling for another princess and introspective John is grappling with a shifting gender identity. Worse—the more time Amir spends with the kids, the more she actually starts to care about their problems, threatening to send the quest belly-up before anyone gets a happily-ever-after.

With her freedom at stake and a colonizing general, a scorned prince, and a gang of panicked parents in pursuit, Amir must decide if breaking her curse is worth sacrificing the happiness of the only crew she’s ever loved.

The setting of The Pirate, the Princess, and John was inspired by the tropical field ecology and marine biology research Sara conducted while staying at the Gerace Research Center on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. The flora and fauna described in the book are all native to the island, and the food, drink, and way of life were deeply influenced by Bahamian culture.

San Salvador Island is famously known as the place where Christopher Columbus first made landfall in the New World. At the time, the island was inhabited by an Indigenous people known as the Lucayans. The island's complicated history with its European settlers inspired Sara to explore colonization as a central theme in The Pirate, the Princess, and John—particularly how it shapes and disrupts personal identity for queer teens.

This beautiful map of the Isle of Elysia was designed by Sara's critique partner and friend, Amy Kruzan.