As we approach the final few days of Pride Month, I wanted to share a few book recommendations that feature LGBTQIA+ writers, topics, and themes. It's been a tough month from many of us this year. Some of these books may be an escape for you, others a hope for a better future, and a few might inspire you to action. These books are different genres - fiction and non-fiction. Some teach us a history that has long been squashed in the name of "propriety".
Starting out in non-fiction...and what I'm currently reading, I'd like to recommend Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States by Samantha Leigh Allen. Allen is a transgender woman who grew up Mormon, went to BYU, and eventually found her true self in Atlanta Georgia.
Though I haven't yet finished this book, it's been a mood lifter. There's a temptation for coastal liberals and LBGTQIA+ people to write off the the southern and midwestern parts of United States - not that their politics make a good case for them. However, Allen emphasizes that Queer people are all over the United States, they are not afraid to fight for their rights, and they don't want to (or can't) leave their homes.
The book was written during the early days of the Trump administration and chronical Allen's trip across the United States with her friend who is a transgender man. They learn and recount about the problems and issues faced by the queer people in red states and deeply conservative areas. Though things continue to become more difficult, this book shines a light of hope for places that seem the most aggressive to LGBTQIA+ people.
Following up with some historical non-fiction is Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women's Suffrage Movement by Wendy L. Rouse.
This book is more for the academically inclined readers. That doesn't mean it's not a good book, it's just a bit of a dense read. It's packed full of information around the Queer history of women during the Suffrage Movement - much of which had been suppressed, ignored, or erased. The Suffrage Movements had many distinct periods from its inception up to when the 19th Amendment was passed in the United States. The LGBTQIA+ community was there for all of it.
It also doesn't just cover the middle to upper middle class white queer community, but includes stories and information on the contributions of Black, Indigenous, Asian, and other minority communities.
My final non-fiction recommendation is a little different from the above works. The graphic novel Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing starts as a small project to define what it means to be a woman and turns into a self reflective, soul search piece that leads Ewing to realize they are non-binary.
The graphic novel isn't told in a linear fashion, instead recounting interviews Ewing had with many different people as it applies to their own journey to discovering their identity. The drawings are fantastic with Ewing depicting their interviewees' stories with beautiful detail.
Like Real Queer America, Fine focuses on gender identity in the midwestern United States. This is primarily because this is where Ewing is from. The interviews start in 2012 and go to 2019 with flashbacks to interviewees and Ewing's own pasts.
Moving to fiction, but continuing with journey of self discovery, I'd like to recommend the poetic YA novel The Girl and the Goddess: Stories and Poems of Divine Wisdom by Nikita Gill.
I've made it no secret that Nikita Gill is my favorite poet (as of writing this). I've been collecting her work for a few years now. What makes The Girl and the Goddess different from her typical work, is that there is an overarching narrative that links each poem and story. There's a lot of magical realism mixed with Gill's Indian background. If you love poetry, Hindu goddesses, and Queer main characters, definitely check out The Girl and the Goddess.
Another YA Novel that's perfect for the upcoming spooky season (I know Halloween and fall are a few months off, but go with me here) is Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. Thomas is a non-binary Latinx author and Cemetery Boys is their debut novel.
I loved this book. It's perfect for someone looking for a spooky paranormal mystery with a splash of romance. The main character, Yadriel, is a Mexican American transgender boy trying to prove to his family of brujos that he too is a brujo...
not a bruja. Yadriel thankfully does have a fairly good support system, despite not being fully understood by his family. However, this novel does have some violence, mentions child abuse, and features homeless children - some of whom lost their family to deportation or jail. It doesn't shy away from the realities of being Latinx, Black, Queer, and/or transgender in the United States (the book takes place in Los Angeles).
My next recommendation is a straight up horror novel. Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester is unapologetically feminist.
Taking place in the American south, with most of the action set in the great city of New Orleans,
Such a Pretty Smile radiates the heat and humidity that accompanies the novel's uncomfortable atmosphere. One of the main characters is a young girl coming of age and dealing with her crush on her not so nice best friend. The other main character is the girl's mother, still haunted a past she can't fully remember.
I did find the message and themes of the book to be a little on the nose at times, but that doesn't take away from the horrific imagery or monstrous actions happening with little explanation. Make no mistake, this isn't a creature feature in the traditional sense. This book won't chill you to the bone, but sit in your gut like a stomach bug.
And my final recommendation is:
Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor as the illustrator. I had the opportunity to meet Axelrod a few years ago as she was one of my Writer's Group's presenters. I've been following her on Twitter for years and was so excited when she announced her superhero comic Galaxy: The Pretties Star.
I was even more excited when DC Comics picked it up to part of it's superhero universe.
Galaxy: The Prettiest Star doesn't start out with it's main character, Taylor fighting any supervillains. She's just your average high schooler playing basketball and hiding out as a human boy in her small town. You see, Taylor is actually a princess from another planet. Her Earth family are comprised of the survivors of a an attack on their home world. Taylor is forced to assume the identity of a human boy as an added layer of protection, but she's not a boy.
Unfortunately, their an accident with the device that keeps Taylor's identity a secret and her real form is revealed - much to the annoyance, hate, and hostility of her community. All Taylor wants to do is live her most authentic life and go to the homecoming dance with her girlfriend, Kat. But the school administration don't want her anywhere near the school.
The art is fantastic and so colorful. The story is great and you're rooting for Taylor the whole way through. Also there's a corgi sidekick named Argus who is just the best!
So there are my recommendations for Pride Month reading. The list may be coming out at the end of the month, but the books here will keep you occupied throughout the whole year.
Let me know if you've read any of these books and if you have any to recommend for me.
Until next week.
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