580 ratings | 205 reviews | avg rating:4.44

A.J.’s Year In Books

A.J.’s 2024 Year in Books

Take a look at A.J.’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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A.J. Sass’s Followers (292)

A.J.’s Bookshelves

to-read (1807)
currently-reading (2)
read (845)
2019 (98)
2020 (118)
2021 (101)
2022 (97)
2023 (42)
2024 (28)
2025 (11)
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A.J.’s Friends (234)

Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books)

1,768 books | 1,214 friends

Mallory

841 books | 112 friends

Grace

1,850 books | 148 friends

Lewis Weinstein

4,395 books | 2,435 friends

Sasha

491 books | 207 friends

Leah

1,461 books | 311 friends

Laura

107 books | 32 friends

Jess

712 books | 110 friends

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A.J. Sass

Goodreads Author

Website

https://sassinsf.com

Twitter

matokah

Genre

Contemporary, Children's, Gay and Lesbian

Member Since

July 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/matokah

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A. J. Sass (he/they) is an author whose narrative interests lie at the intersection of identity, neurodiversity, and allyship. He is the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Rainbow Book List Top 10 titles Ellen Outside the Lines, which was also a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and Ana on the Edge, as well as the co-author of Camp QUILTBAG (with Nicole Melleby). All three books are Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections.

A. J. is the author of the upcoming middle-grade book Just Shy of Ordinary (Little, Brown, 2024), and a contributor to the This Is Our Rainbow (Knopf Books for Young Readers), Allies (DK/Penguin Random House), and On All Other Nights (Abrams, 2024) anthologies. His debut picture book with illustrator Noa Kelner, Shabbat ...more

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Combine Editions
A.J. Sass’s books

Average rating: 4.25 · 5,299 ratings · 1,123 reviews · 8 distinct works • Similar authors

	Ana on the Edge 4.36 avg rating — 1,571 ratings — published 2020 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ellen Outside the Lines 4.33 avg rating — 1,360 ratings — published 2022 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us by Katherine Locke (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Nicole Melleby (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Eric Bell (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.14 avg rating — 1,046 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Camp QUILTBAG by Nicole Melleby (Goodreads Author), A.J. Sass (Goodreads Author) 4.10 avg rating — 566 ratings — published 2023 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Allies: Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, And Trying Again by Shakirah Bourne (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Dana Alison Levy (Goodreads Author) (Editor), I.W. Gregorio (Goodreads Author) 4.32 avg rating — 412 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Just Shy of Ordinary 4.07 avg rating — 405 ratings — published 2024 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Being an Ally by Shakirah Bourne (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Dana Alison Levy (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Derick Brooks (Contributor) 4.07 avg rating — 124 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Shabbat Is ... by A.J. Sass (Goodreads Author), Noa Kelner (Illustrator) 4.43 avg rating — 7 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by A.J. Sass…

A.J. is Currently Reading

A.J. is currently reading

The Starving Saints

by Caitlin Starling (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, 2025, adult, horror, lgbtqia, religion, owned

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Sep 30, 2025 03:13PM

A.J. is currently reading

Limelight

by Andrew Keenan-Bolger

bookshelves: currently-reading, 2026, arc, agent-sibs, historical, lgbtqia, young-adult

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Sep 05, 2025 01:39PM

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A.J. is on page 63 of 352 of The Starving Saints The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling (Goodreads Author) progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 11, 2025 01:29PM · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
A.J. finished reading Fence, Vol. 3 by C.S. Pacat (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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A.J. finished reading Prince by KaerWrites	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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A.J. wants to read Children of the Book: A Memoir of Reading Together by Ilana Kurshan	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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A.J. made a comment on Melony Breeze’s review of Dark Heir (Dark Rise, #2) " I am contenting myself with writing my own attempts at twisty morally gray upper YA in the meantime (but, idk, there's just something about Pacat's wr ...more "
Oct 02, 2025 10:23AM · see review
A.J. wants to read A Vile Season by David Ferraro	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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More of A.J.'s books…

Quotes by A.J. Sass (?)

“A year might not feel like a long time, but years add up. Every single one has bought me closer to the person I am now.”
― A.J. Sass, Being an Ally

tags: ally, gender-euphoria, love, non-binary, sentimentalism, transgender, years

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“Not every person fits neatly into categories. Life doesn't always stick to a planned itinerary.”
― A.J. Sass, Ellen Outside the Lines

tags: categories, spontaneity

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“Pretty sure this is it,” Andy says. Isa takes it in. “It looks like…” “… a hot mess,” Gibs finishes. For once, I agree with Gibs. La Pedrera looks like someone threw clay onto a building that dried before it could be smoothed out. It’s the opposite of symmetrical.”
― A.J. Sass, Ellen Outside the Lines

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Polls

What book should we read in March?

As always, you may write in titles, provided the book is a 2025 Newbery contender and already published.

The Misfits #1: A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee

29 votes 25.0%

Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming (write-in)

19 votes 16.4%

Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston

18 votes 15.5%

Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell

17 votes 14.7%

The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel and Bethany Strout Illustrated by Sammy Savos

8 votes 6.9%

Just Shy of Ordinary by A.J. Sass

6 votes 5.2%

Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renee Watson (write-in)

6 votes 5.2%

The Misfits (write-in)

4 votes 3.4%

Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell (write-in)

2 votes 1.7%

Black Girl You are Atlas (write-in)

2 votes 1.7%

Ligh and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell (write-in)

2 votes 1.7%

Misfits (write-in)

1 vote 0.9%

light and air (write-in)

1 vote 0.9%

Light and Aire by Mindy Nichols Wendell (write-in)

1 vote 0.9%

116 total votes

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