George by Alex Gino
My first Pride read was the absolutely darling middle grade novel, George. This is the story of a trans girl who wants to star as Charlotte in her school's production of Charlotte's Web, but isn't allowed because she's a boy. George is written by a trans woman, meaning this is also own voices representation. I was thoroughly charmed by this book! It's a really accessible book for young kids without being overly preachy or simplistic. It talks frankly about how George/Melissa feels, there's a variety of reactions to her identity without being filled with exploitative violence that many queer stories have. This book is so well celebrated and completely deserving of it.
Release by Patrick Ness
Patrick Ness is one of my favorite writers, so I was really excited to read this. Release tells the story of a day in the life of Adam, the gay son of an Evangelical pastor. He's dealing with a lot of change all in one day, so this novel is filled to the brim with introspection. Meanwhile a mystical queen has risen which could mean an end to the world. I had no idea about the fantasy elements of the book, so I was pretty thrown off by it. I loved Adam's story, but the fantasy didn't have much depth. I felt so confused. Ultimately the stories come together at the very end, but it wasn't satisfying since I only cared about one half of the story. I would have loved this book had it just been about Adam's story. Also, as Ness is a gay man, this is another own voices story.
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
This novel was described as magical realism Romeo and Juliet and compared to The Night Circus, so I was totally sold on this. This is the story of two feuding performance families, the Palomas, a Mexican family who perform as mermaid stunts in the water, and the Corbeaus, a French Romani family who climb tightropes with large wings. It focuses on Lace and Cluck (yes his name is ridiculous) and how they overcome their families differences and fall in love. The writing in this is absolutely dreamy, although I had wanted just a bit more of the magic. Although this is a love story between a boy and a girl, McLemore identifies as demisexual, and states that this love story was partially inspired by her own with her trans husband. This book was really lovely, and I can't wait to read more by McLemore.
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
This book is pretty much a modern YA classic, so it was about time I read it. This is the story of twins Noah and Jude told from both their alternating perspectives. Noah's story covers ages 13-14, and Jude's is age 16. Noah is a closeted gay boy who is constantly drawing and dreaming of acceptance to a prestigious art high school. Jude is an anxious student at said art school who talks with her grandmother's ghost. The two stories ultimately come together in a very satisfying way. I didn't vibe with Nelson's writing style, as the characters tended to go off on so many tangents that felt distracting, but she created a really intriguing plot that had me flying through the last third of the book.
If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan
I had never heard of Sara Farizan before this month, but I did some googling to find queer YA voices, and she popped up. Farizan is Iranian and set this story in Iran. Sahar and her best friend Nasrin are in love, but homosexuality is illegal in Iran. Nasrin's parents plan to marry her off and Sahar is desperate to find a solution. This book was really angsty and sad, as the consequences of being gay are so much higher stakes than the USA. I had a lot of trouble with Sahar's decision making in the book. She's only 17, which means of course she doesn't consider any consequences but I was a bit turned off by it. Additionally, I don't like present tense writing. But I was really glad to read a book set outside the US since that's another way to get a diversity of reading.
The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian
This was my first male/male romance novel, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I ended up really liking this. It's set in Regency England, which is the setting for the vast majority of historical romance I've read. It was a bit sad to not have a wedding at the end, but of course gay marriage was not legalized! Anyway, I adored Cat Sebastian's writing. This book was so sexy and there was a really wonderful dynamic between the characters. I'm really looking forward to reading more from her as she makes LGBTQ+ characters a priority in her historical romance novels, which makes sense as these identities are not a new invention.
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
This book was a little all over the place for me. It's set in 2002, and follows Juliet, a gay Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx, who comes out to her family just before she heads off to Portland to intern for a famous white woman feminist. For one, Rivera has a wonderful voice. She's incredibly funny and paints Portland and hippy feminism so accurately, I couldn't stop rolling my eyes at the speeches the characters made. Rivera also makes Latina and brown and black voices really prominent in the story, which is so important. However, this book came through an indie publisher and had a lot of editing issues. The formatting was off in the book, and it needed a really strong editor to make the story a lot tighter. So while I didn't love this, I'm really looking forward to seeing what else Rivera is writing.
That's it! I had some really great reads this month, and I'm happy for once again expanding my horizons in terms of reading. It's important to make an effort to read a better variety of stories, which is what I've been doing with these monthly challenges. One book I didn't summarize is The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. I didn't want to include it on its own as the author is straight (I believe) and the main character is straight. However, the main character is the daughter of lesbians, and her twin is a lesbian dating a pansexual girl, so there was still a lot of queerness in the novel.
I'm definitely up for more stories to read and more authors to check out, so I'm always open to recommendations! I don't want to just read queer stories during Pride Month, or black authors during Black History Month, because they deserve to be read all year round.
No comments:
Post a Comment