Roar Cat Reads

Tag: trans

  • Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

    Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

    Genre | Contemporary YA Fiction
    Page #s | 391
    Publishing Date | May 2021

    Noah Ramirez thinks he’s an expert on romance. He has to be for his popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There’s just one problem—all the stories are fake. What started as the fantasies of a trans boy afraid to step out of the closet has grown into a beacon of hope for trans readers across the globe.

    When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah’s world unravels. The only way to save the Diary is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn’t have any proof. Then Drew walks into Noah’s life, and the pieces fall into place: Drew is willing to fake-date Noah to save the Diary. But when Noah’s feelings grow beyond their staged romance, he realizes that dating in real life isn’t quite the same as finding love on the page.

    In this charming novel by Emery Lee, Noah will have to choose between following his own rules for love or discovering that the most romantic endings are the ones that go off script.

    Goodreads

    By now, y’all know I love a fake dating trope. What I love even more is a book that deconstructs and questions the fake dating trope, which is exactly what Meet Cute Diary does!

    Noah is a young trans man who has exacting ideas about how love works, and all of those ideas are simplified and hyper-romantic. It’s right on target with how my teenaged brain thought of relationships, and Noah has an extra level of empathy because he just wants to believe that love is possible for trans kids. However, you may not be surprised to learn that the point of this book is upending Noah’s ideas of a Perfect Romance in favor of something messier, more complicated, and ultimately, more fulfilling.

    There was a lot to like about this book. The central plot about falling in love while spending the summer with your older brother in a new city is always fun, especially when you throw a summer camp into the mix. But the reason this book hit a different level of appreciation for me is how it layered complexity into a traditional romantic romp.

    For instance, one of our supporting characters offers a surprisingly deep portrayal of gender identity exploration as complicated by anxiety and panic attacks. There was also a fairly nuanced portrayal of online cancel culture; Noah’s blog falsely portrays his fantasies as true stories. While his followers are technically right in their complaints, the way they abandon ship (with PITCH PERFECT comments) is excruciating, as is his desperation to save himself. I love a plot where no one is right, and the whole thing has to be thrown out so something new can begin.

    Where this book faltered a little for me is Noah himself. Similar to Neil in The Feeling of Falling in Love, Noah is self-absorbed and a little cruel. This especially comes to light in his long-distance friendship, and I couldn’t help wondering why so many people wanted to be friends with this kid! He does grow, but this is not a protagonist that I want to hang out with in real life. Maybe this is just teens – cynicism and egotism is often the way we are at that age.

    A fun twist on an old favorite, Meet Cute Diary is a good time with some interesting things to say.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Share Meet Cute Diary with someone who could use a primer in how to handle a person asking them to use new pronouns.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver

    The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver

    Genre | Contemporary YA Fiction
    Page #s | 343
    Publishing Date | August 2022

    Just days before spring break, Neil Kearney is set to fly across the country with his childhood friend (and current friend-with-benefits) Josh, to attend his brother’s wedding—until Josh tells Neil that he’s in love with him and Neil doesn’t return the sentiment.

    With Josh still attending the wedding, Neil needs to find a new date to bring along. And, almost against his will, roommate Wyatt is drafted.

    At first, Wyatt (correctly) thinks Neil is acting like a jerk. But when they get to LA, Wyatt sees a little more of where it’s coming from. Slowly, Neil and Wyatt begin to understand one another… and maybe, just maybe, fall in love for the first time…

    Goodreads

    I love a book with a fake dating trope, and there were elements of this story that really worked for me. Unfortunately, its extremely unlikeable protagonist, combined with some highly dubious personal development, made it impossible for me to sink fully into the joy of the trope.

    Neil is a classic self-hating teen who pushes people away when they get too close. He’s uncomfortably rude and selfish, but multiple people find him charming to the point of falling in love with him. I mean, this guy deliberately tracked mud into his dorm room when his roommate specifically asked him to be cleaner, and this roommate apparently is harboring a secret crush on Neil. WHY?

    Anyway, Neil wants to show his hookup Josh just how little he cares about him by pretending to date said roommate Wyatt. Despite JUST being terrified by relational intimacy, he falls in love with Wyatt while fake dating him for approximately three days. He does become marginally nicer, largely because Wyatt insists he be treated with kindness. His character growth also applies to his family, who he loudly complains about throughout his brother’s wedding week until realizing that perhaps they are complex human beings. BUT THEN! Neil attempts a supposedly romantic gesture that just made me think he was as selfish as he’s always been, resulting in an entirely unsatisfactory ending.

    I didn’t love this, if you couldn’t tell. But I did read it quickly, and it’s got some wonderful queer representation and themes in the form of Neil, a trans man, and Wyatt, a pansexual genderqueer kid. We also get some heartbreakingly accurate family dynamics between transphobic grandparents and parents who don’t do enough to defend their kid. That stuff was all great. The plot? Less so.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Peter Darling by Austin Chant

    Peter Darling by Austin Chant

    Genre | Fantasy
    Page #s | 310
    Publishing Date | June 2021

    The Lost Boys say that Peter Pan went back to England because of Wendy Darling, but Wendy is just an old life he left behind. Neverland is his real home. So when Peter returns to it after ten years in the real world, he’s surprised to find a Neverland that no longer seems to need him.

    The only person who truly missed Peter is Captain James Hook, who is delighted to have his old rival back. But when a new war ignites between the Lost Boys and Hook’s pirates, the ensuing bloodshed becomes all too real – and Peter’s rivalry with Hook starts to blur into something far more complicated, sensual, and deadly.

    Goodreads

    Peter Darling is my first five-star book of 2023, and I think it will remain at the top of my favorites throughout the year because it is so exactly my kind of book. The original story of Peter Pan (both J.M. Barrie’s novel and the 2003 film) are dear to my heart for the way they handle escapism, emotional transitions, and loss. All of those themes are present in this reimagining/sequel, with the additional layer of a queer perspective.

    Set ten years after Peter Pan leaves Neverland, he returns as a 20-year-old desperate to reclaim his sense of self as the prince of an island, leader of the Lost Boys and equal adversary to Captain Hook. We slowly learn why he has come back, and you know what? I want to talk about this story clearly, so SPOILERS for a reveal that happens around page 50.

    We learn that Wendy is a trans boy who fled to Neverland to be who he always knew himself to be. Missing his parents, he returns to the Darling family, only to be forced back into his assigned sex at birth. When he returns to Neverland as a young man, he forgets where he came from and revels in the body and role he has always wanted. He also crashes back into a rivalry with Captain Hook that is Very Sexy and had me whiplashed with how quickly I shipped it. Hook is a gay man, because Neverland is the place where those rejected by society can be themselves, totally and freely. It’s so obvious I’m mad this is the first time I’ve thought of Neverland as a queer utopia.

    Peter’s fervor for battle and war, in this context, is portrayed as toxic masculinity that is a cheap and dangerous way for him to feel like a man. We also dive DEEP into the escapism metaphor, as Peter and Hook must decide whether to be the best versions of themselves they can be in Neverland, or return home and risk society’s judgment while being fully and completely themselves.

    Peter Darling captures all of the magic, drama, adventure, and emotionality found in Peter Pan. My soul ached while reading this, and just an hour after closing the book I was contemplating just diving back in for a reread. I cannot recommend this more!

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    EVERYONE. If you love Peter Pan and if you are queer, you MUST read Peter Darling.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • People Change by Vivek Shraya

    People Change by Vivek Shraya

    Genre | Nonfiction
    Page #s | 112
    Publishing Date | January 2022

    Vivek Shraya knows this to be true: people change. We change our haircuts and our outfits and our minds. We change names, titles, labels. We attempt to blend in or to stand out. We outgrow relationships, we abandon dreams for new ones, we start fresh. We seize control of our stories. We make resolutions.

    In fact, nobody knows this better than Vivek, who’s made a career of embracing many roles: artist, performer, musician, writer, model, teacher. In People Change, she reflects on the origins of this impulse, tracing it to childhood influences from Hinduism to Madonna. What emerges is a meditation on change itself: why we fear it, why we’re drawn to it, what motivates us to change, and what traps us in place.

    At a time when we’re especially contemplating who we want to be, this slim and stylish handbook is an essential companion–a guide to celebrating our many selves and the inspiration to discover who we’ll become next.

    Goodreads

    You know when you read a book that summarizes your disparate thoughts and feelings into a new life philosophy? People Change was that for me, and I think it’s incredibly useful in this age where we are realizing that identity, personality, and sexual orientation are more fluid than previously recognized.

    “I don’t believe in a single, stable, true self,” Shraya says, and in the distance, you can hear me cheering. This little novella is an emphatic assertion that it is okay to change – creatively, queerly, personally. As someone who has gone through profound shifts in identity in the last five years, I resonated with this so deeply. I see this very often in queer communities specifically; someone comes out, then retroactively finds evidence for being queer all along. This might be true, but often it feels like shoehorning new discoveries where they don’t belong. What if we just allowed ourselves to be capable of growth and change?

    Shraya allows for the confusion that comes with change, but makes a compelling case for embracing it all the same. In fact, she reframes “confusion” and “curiosity” and encourages readers to pursue a life open to change rather than living so “authentically” that we are stuck with outdated labels. Instead of trying to be a single cohesive self, Shraya suggests that we “be yourselves” – across time, across communities, and across experiences. We are complex creatures, and that’s not only okay. It is good.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Give People Change to the thoughtful reader who likes for their books to challenge their thinking and promote deep compassion for self.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood

    The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood

    Genre | Fantasy
    Page #s | 385
    Publishing Date | February 2022

    The sequel to A. K. Larkwood’s stunning debut fantasy, The Unspoken Name, The Thousand Eyes continues The Serpent Gates series–perfect for fans of Jenn Lyons, Joe Abercrombie, and Ursula K. Le Guin.

    Two years ago, Csorwe and Shuthmili defied the wizard Belthandros Sethennai and stole his gauntlets. The gauntlets have made Shuthmili extraordinarily powerful, but they’re beginning to take a sinister toll on her. She and Csorwe travel to a distant world to discover how to use the gauntlets safely, but when an old enemy arrives on the scene, Shuthmili finds herself torn between clinging to her humanity and embracing eldritch power.

    Meanwhile, Tal Charossa returns to Tlaanthothe to find that Sethennai has gone missing. As well as being a wizard of unimaginable power, Sethennai is Tal’s old boss and former lover, and Tal wants nothing to do with him. When a magical catastrophe befalls the city, Tal tries to run rather than face his past, but soon learns that something even worse may lurk in the future. Throughout the worlds of the Echo Maze, fragments of an undead goddess begin to awaken, and not all confrontations can be put off forever…

    Goodreads

    The Unspoken Name is one of my favorite fantasy novels (my review is here), and I was so excited that its sequel, The Thousand Eyes, was just as good! A.K. Larkwood guides readers back into the world with ease, reminding us of important people and places very organically. This time around, the secondary characters are front and center; we get several POVs, most notably from Tal and Shuthmili. While part of me missed the focus on Csorwe, I also enjoyed getting into the heads of her friends and partners, and it was very satisfying to see her through their eyes.

    While the first book is about resisting enforced sacrifice, this sequel is about embracing sacrifice on your own terms. It seems like nearly everyone is (or wants to be) a vessel for a deity, and there are innumerable bargains made along the lines of, “Take my body so long as XXX lives!” It’s a nice balance to the previous book, and it’s lovely to watch characters wrestle with the question of what is worth sacrificing themselves for.

    Speaking of deities! There are so many, and it is so much fun to see the various iterations, the various interactions they have with their vessels, and how their universal thirst for power is actually quite diverse in scope. It was like watching a D&D party full of warlocks navigate their patron bargains in more or less disastrous ways.

    The heart of these books is the characters, though, and especially the sheer number of queer characters. Tal gets fleshed out more, and I adore him. Shuthmili and Csorwe have such a great romance that is somehow sweet and simple whilst enmeshed in gigantically dramatic plots. Sethannai is a wonderful antagonist who I never want to truly die, and Oranna is a complex delight. We also get a new character this time around: the nonbinary teen Tsereg, who is a breath of fresh air. I would read an endless series about these six.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    If you’re on the hunt for a unique fantasy series with a majority queer cast and a plot that twists and turns over decades…The Unspoken Name and The Thousand Eyes for you!

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

    Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

    Genre | Memoir
    Page #s | 240
    Publishing Date | June 2021

    In three critically acclaimed novels, Akwaeke Emezi has introduced readers to a landscape marked by familial tensions, Igbo belief systems, and a boundless search for what it means to be free. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, the bestselling author of The Death of Vivek Oji reveals the harrowing yet resolute truths of their own life. Through candid, intimate correspondence with friends, lovers, and family, Emezi traces the unfolding of a self and the unforgettable journey of a creative spirit stepping into power in the human world. Their story weaves through transformative decisions about their gender and body, their precipitous path to success as a writer, and the turmoil of relationships on an emotional, romantic, and spiritual plane, culminating in a book that is as tender as it is brutal.

    Electrifying and inspiring, animated by the same voracious intelligence that distinguishes their fiction, Dear Senthuran is a revelatory account of storytelling, self, and survival.

    Goodreads

    I found Dear Senthuran to be a challenging, beautiful reading experience. Emezi is an astonishingly good writer; their prose is by turns beautiful, haunting, visceral, and unapologetic. Emezi’s book Pet quickly became one of my favorites, so I was eager to read this memoir that largely focuses on their literary career. It was a fascinating peek behind the publishing curtain, but it doesn’t stop there. We also get raw reflections on Emezi’s gender, relationships, and mental health. It is a powerhouse of a book; one I found genuinely difficult to read sometimes, but one that I can’t stop thinking about.

    There are two themes that have stuck with me the most: Emezi’s conversation about their spirithood (as opposed to personhood) and their honest journey of ambition, loneliness, and confidence as a Black writer. I admit that I am still wrestling with Emezi’s identification as an ogbanje, “an Igbo spirit that’s born into a human body, a kind of malevolent trickster, whose goal is to torment the human mother by dying unexpectedly only to return in the next child and do it all over again. They come and go.” This identification reflects Emezi’s suicidality as well as their lack of identification with any human gender. My American brain constantly wants to interpret this as a metaphor, yet Emezi directly challenges that response by asking readers why Western thoughts should be valued more highly than Nigerian worldviews. Touché!

    I also appreciated Emezi’s honesty about their authorial ambitions. Their confidence borders on arrogance, but in the best way possible. They are sure of their talent and refuse to ask for less than what they think they deserve. While this leads to financial success and recognition, it also isolates Emezi. I so admire them for sharing all sides of the situation; ambition is complicated, and it’s worth portraying the positive and negative consequences of its pursuit.

    This is such a rich book, and I really want more people to read it and share their thoughts! It would be an excellent book club choice!

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Dear Senthuran is for the literary reader who appreciates Good Writing™ as well as for anyone who appreciates a raw memoir that holds nothing back.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

    The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

    Genre | YA Contemporary Fiction
    Page #s | 304
    Publishing Date | June 2021

    Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother and a Messi-in-training. He’s also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio. 

    At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy’s soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans – he’s passing. 

    So when a discriminatory law forces Spencer’s coach to bench him after he discovers the ‘F’ on Spencer’s birth certificate, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even if it means coming out to everyone – including the guy he’s falling for.

    Goodreads

    The Passing Playbook is a super cute story about a teen boy wrestling with the decision to pass or to live openly as trans in a high school regardless of consequences. He’s going to play soccer and fall in love along the way, so if that sounds fun to you, you’re probably going to love this sweet, quick read!

    This book wants to be an enemies-to-lovers romance, but the animosity between Spencer and Justice at the beginning feels forced and uncharacteristically rude. Once that is dropped and they’re allowed to play out a friends-to-lovers romance, it’s so much better. This is a relationship between a closeted trans boy and a closeted Christian boy – it doesn’t need the added drama. For the majority of the book, their relationship is sweet, tentative, and full of emotion…just what I love to see!

    I always find it necessary to point out when queer characters are already out to their supportive family, and this is one of those books. But there’s an added dimension here that I really liked where Spencer’s parents have fully supported his transition but are still very fearful of allowing him to live an out-and-proud life. This felt very realistic, and it was a nuanced familial dynamic that I appreciated seeing.

    Teen boys are hit or miss for me in YA books, so I was delighted to read a book about a soccer team full of boys who are very sweet and supportive of queer people. The fact that the GSA club at the school is less supportive of trans students was poignant and telling.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    The Passing Playbook is a cute YA romance with a healthy dose of soccer – read accordingly!

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

    Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

    Genre | Science fiction and fantasy
    Page #s | 372
    Publishing Date | September 2021

    Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in this defiantly joyful adventure set in California’s San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.

    Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

    When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka’s ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She’s found her final candidate.

    But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn’t have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan’s kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul’s worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

    As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

    Goodreads

    Light from Uncommon Stars should have been my jam, but unfortunately, I just never connected with the book. I mean, with a summary like “Ageless bisexual alien from space who now runs a donut shop falls in love with a middle-aged Japanese lesbian who sells souls to a demon in exchange for her own back, and if that weren’t enough, there’s also a runaway trans girl who becomes a violin prodigy,” I was all in! I am so mad that this perfect idea didn’t land better for me.

    The good stuff is on the tin – it’s a wild mashup of genres that work together because why not? The diversity is all-encompassing, and no one blinks when the alien lady reveals that her true form is purple with two elbows.

    Where it falters is a little harder to parse out. Personally, I was not a fan of the way it was written. There are a lot of short scenes from a lot of perspectives. I prefer a story that digs deeper into one, maybe two, points of view. More than that, I found the internal logic of the book lacking in some ways. I’m down for a wild ride with unexpected standards of behaviour, but they need to be consistent. For instance, Lan bloops her son Marcus out of (temporary) existence for murdering two people (this is seriously downplayed, by the way), and no one cares. But Lan’s subsequent desire to duplicate her AI daughter to take him to space leads to a freak out from multiple people that ends with her atoning for this egregious decision. I love that the book pushes back on the personhood of AI, but then…shouldn’t Marcus also be valued similarly?

    I also couldn’t fully track with the book’s handling of trans trauma. On the one hand, I admire Aoki’s unflinching depiction of a trans girl’s abusive family, abusive friends, and the ways in which she resorts to sex work to get by. It was not my favorite, because this is a vaguely feel-good book in most other areas, and then BAM, rape. But the book ends with a throwaway line that Katrina is living with a rich guy who we saw greet her by sexually assaulting her? That’s not a satisfying ending from my perspective.

    In the end, I wasn’t a fan of this book, but everyone else seems to adore it, so perhaps I am missing something!

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Honestly, I don’t know! Popular Books of 2021 lists are saying to give it to everyone, but I truly didn’t like it. Try it if you’re intrigued, I guess!

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

    Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

    Genre | Contemporary Fiction
    Page #s | 337
    Publishing Date | January 2021

    A whipsmart debut about three women—transgender and cisgender—whose lives collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires around gender, motherhood, and sex.

    Reese almost had it all: a loving relationship with Amy, an apartment in New York City, a job she didn’t hate. She had scraped together what previous generations of trans women could only dream of: a life of mundane, bourgeois comforts. The only thing missing was a child. But then her girlfriend, Amy, detransitioned and became Ames, and everything fell apart. Now Reese is caught in a self-destructive pattern: avoiding her loneliness by sleeping with married men.

    Ames isn’t happy either. He thought detransitioning to live as a man would make life easier, but that decision cost him his relationship with Reese—and losing her meant losing his only family. Even though their romance is over, he longs to find a way back to her. When Ames’s boss and lover, Katrina, reveals that she’s pregnant with his baby—and that she’s not sure whether she wants to keep it—Ames wonders if this is the chance he’s been waiting for. Could the three of them form some kind of unconventional family—and raise the baby together?

    This provocative debut is about what happens at the emotional, messy, vulnerable corners of womanhood that platitudes and good intentions can’t reach. Torrey Peters brilliantly and fearlessly navigates the most dangerous taboos around gender, sex, and relationships, gifting us a thrillingly original, witty, and deeply moving novel.

    Goodreads

    I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of idealistic queer stories lately, and while I do truly love a book that celebrates queerness and avoids discussing the pitfalls of such an identity, I found Detransition, Baby to be a breath of fresh air. This is a book that wades confidently into the messiness of queer and trans identities, that holds up the trauma, unhealthy coping strategies, and internalized prejudices and says, “This is part of the experience, too.”

    The plot revolves around the idea that three women – one trans woman, one cis woman, and one detransitioned woman presenting as a man – try to see if they can work together to form a parenting unit. I have to admit that the way in which this got started felt wildly impossible to me, and while some characters did react with shock, everyone got on board with the idea very quickly. The unique struggles of this decision are a part of the story right up to the end, though, so I suppose their initial acceptance is balanced by the tricky dynamics of claiming equal motherhood for three people.

    But the plot is honestly not the most important thing here. Diving back and forth between the present situation and past flashbacks for both Reese and Ames/Amy are where the heart of this story lies. I particularly loved Ames’s story as we watch her wrestle with dissociation as a young boy, explore and accept her female identity, find power and emotional distance in reclaiming her male identity, before finally claiming a middle space with the knowledge that his identity is not immoveable, and might never be.

    Reese is a mess, and one of those characters that I found myself wanted to reach through the pages and say, “OH MY GOSH JUST TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!” But her self-destructive sex life and emotional connections are rooted in so much honesty. It’s heartbreaking and illuminating all at once.

    Katrina doesn’t have much of a voice in this book, but I did appreciate the moments when she, a biracial Asian woman, interjects racial awareness into the trans stories of trauma and oppression. It very intentionally avoids a competitive vibe, but instead serves to remind the characters (and readers) that no one has the final say on all things oppressive.

    I read Detransition, Baby in two days, eagerly turning page after page. It is so compelling and readable, and I can’t wait to read more by Peters.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    You should read Detransition, Baby if you want your queer found family narrative matched by messy, unhealthy dynamics and some of the most realistic character work you’ve ever read.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

    To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

    Genre | Science Fiction Novella
    Page #s | 153
    Publishing Date | September 2019

    In her new novella, Sunday Times best-selling author Becky Chambers imagines a future in which, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the solar system instead transform themselves.

    Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does.

    Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.

    Carrying all the trademarks of her other beloved works, including brilliant writing, fantastic world-building and exceptional, diverse characters, Becky’s first audiobook outside of the Wayfarers series is sure to capture the imagination of listeners all over the world.

    Goodreads

    To Be Taught, If Fortunate is a love letter to science. In this sci-fi novella, Chambers steps away from alien societies and focuses on human astronauts traveling the galaxy to study, learn, and appreciate.

    As is common in her books, this story is more about ideas and characters than plot. In fact, the dramatic events happening on Earth that lead to discontinued communications are quickly ignored by the astronauts as outside of their control and therefore not worth dwelling on. Instead, we travel with the small group of four to worlds diverse in life, from the subtle to the beautiful to the horrifying.

    In contrast to a conquering mentality, our intrepid space scientists have the explicit goal of not influencing the worlds in which they live for years at a time. They are meticulous about this, and the few instances in which they fail to separate their space from the alien planet’s inhabitants are harrowing, both for the characters and for the readers. I loved seeing the joy that can be found in exploration simply for the sake of observation and appreciation rather than claiming or subjugating.

    What Makes This Book Queer?

    This is a subtly queer book, as three of the four astronauts are quietly polyamorous, one is trans, and one is asexual. The queerness is secondary to everything else that is going on and offers a representation of a future where queer relationships are so normalized as to be background information.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Like most of Becky Chambers’ books, I think literally everyone would enjoy this! But if I have to be specific, this is for your friend who listens to science podcasts and loves learning for the sake of learning.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya

    I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya

    Genre | Nonfiction Memoir Novella
    Page #s | 96
    Publishing Date | August 2018

    A trans artist explores how masculinity was imposed on her as a boy and continues to haunt her as a girl–and how we might re-imagine gender for the twenty-first century.

    Vivek Shraya has reason to be afraid. Throughout her life she’s endured acts of cruelty and aggression for being too feminine as a boy and not feminine enough as a girl. In order to survive childhood, she had to learn to convincingly perform masculinity. As an adult, she makes daily compromises to steel herself against everything from verbal attacks to heartbreak.

    With raw honesty, Shraya delivers an important record of the cumulative damage caused by misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia, releasing trauma from a body that has always refused to assimilate. I’m Afraid of Men is a journey from camouflage to a riot of color and a blueprint for how we might cherish all that makes us different and conquer all that makes us afraid.

    Goodreads

    I loved Shraya’s The Subtweet and decided to check out everything she’s ever done! I’m so glad I did, because it led me to this tiny but mighty memoir dissecting toxic masculinity in simple but powerful anecdotes.

    The book is divided into “you” and “me” sections. The “you” second person point of view section forces the reader to take on the abusive, careless roles of men who have bullied, harrassed, and failed Shraya. It is such a smart move on her part to place readers outside of the victim’s perspective, since the ultimate point of the book is that we all exhibit toxic traits, whether male, female, cis or trans.

    Shraya’s perspective as a trans woman is especially meaningful, since she describes how toxic masculinity affected her differently when she presented as a man vs. as a woman. Spoilers! It was bad in either case! It is truly impressive how she manages to show the universally terrible impacts of toxic masculinity in under 100 pages.

    Although this isn’t necessarily the point of the book, I was really drawn to small hopes for gender expansion toward the end of the book. After transitioning, Shraya finds herself enjoying the freedom to indulge in femininity, but also mentions missing the ability to rock a beard or work toward bulging biceps. I share her hope that someday people will be able to present themselves to the world with any combination of masculine, feminine, or androgynous qualities, for as long as they want.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    This is the book to give to your friend who just learned the term “toxic masculinity” if you really want to help them achieve Galaxy Brain.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya

    The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya

    Genre | Contemporary Fiction
    Page #s | 220
    Publishing Date | April 2020

    Everyone talks about falling in love, but falling in friendship can be just as captivating. When Neela Devaki’s song is covered by internet-famous artist Rukmini, the two musicians meet and a transformative friendship begins. But as Rukmini’s star rises and Neela’s stagnates, jealousy and self-doubt creep in. With a single tweet, their friendship implodes, one career is destroyed, and the two women find themselves at the center of an internet firestorm.

    Celebrated multidisciplinary artist Vivek Shraya’s second novel is a stirring examination of making art in the modern era, a love letter to brown women, an authentic glimpse into the music industry, and a nuanced exploration of the promise and peril of being seen.

    Goodreads

    The Subtweet is a book about friendship, ambition, and regret. The fact that it packs all of this into 220 pages, and that this length feels perfect, is nothing short of amazing. The story of Neela and Rukmini, two aspiring musicians, zips along at a steady pace, skipping through time without feeling rushed, unwilling to linger unecessarily.

    The story is primarily told through Neela’s point of view. She is a creative, full of passion and the desire to push cultural limitations as well as her own. Accordingly, she is judgmental, standoffish, and scared of genuine connection. When she meets Rukmini, a woman who stumbles into musical fame by performing a cover of Neela’s song, she is in awe of the joy that Rukmini brings to creation. The two women grow close, but their different approaches to music stir up insecurity and jealousy that ultimately pulls them apart.

    There is so much to unpack in this little book; it handles women, social media, and race with ease while juggling the complicated relationship between success, talent, and imposter’s syndrome. As Neela, Rukmini, and others pursue success in a career with significant obstacles embedded in the system for women (and women of colour specifically), they sometimes use each other or throw each other under the bus, prompting legitimate questions about whether actions were made because of jealousy or opportunity. It never feels catty; instead, it leaves readers wondering where the moral line is, or ought to be.

    Additionally, the book made me think about current debates about marginalized communities holding themselves to higher (and sometimes impossible) standards. Rukmini’s success takes off when a white woman invites her on her tour; she is later taken to task for singing songs about marginalization to white audiences, but it’s hard to blame her for seizing an opportunity. And speaking of white people, Shraya does such a good job writing white characters who are good at saying the right thing until they undermine their “progressiveness” with their privilege in the same breath.

    The Subtweet is a deep book, and one that lends itself well to a book club pick – which is why I’m so excited to discuss it with my book club tonight! Top of my list of questions: What happened to Rukmini and will she ever become friends with Neela again??

    What Makes This Book Queer?

    Vivek Shraya is a trans artist and author, and in a super cool move, she’s made Rukmini trans, but in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it way. In fact, I DID miss it! My friend had to point out that Rukmini offhandedly worries that Hayley hires her for being “a hip brown trans girl,” and that this is the only time it’s mentioned. I love a story that dives into the reality of being trans, but I also love a story where it is incidental, because that is not the piece of identity that is being explored.

    Side note: Although, YES, it is cool to see a book explore the friendship between two women, Neela and Rukmini’s relationship could so easily have tipped over into romance, and I really wanted it to! I ship them, but I’m still pleased with the story we got.

    Who Would I Recommend This Book To?

    The Subtweet is a thoughtful, incisive book that expertly questions the intersections of ambition, success, gender, and race. Everyone should read it!

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality by Sarah McBride

    Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality by Sarah McBride

    Genre | Memoir
    Page #s | 272
    Publishing Date | March 2018

    A timely and captivating memoir about gender identity set against the backdrop of the transgender equality movement, by a leading activist and the National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.

    Sarah McBride is on a mission to fight for transgender rights around the world. But before she was a prominent activist, and before she became the first transgender person to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, she was a teenager struggling with her identity.

    With emotional depth and unparalleled honesty, Sarah shares her personal struggle with gender identity, coming out to her supportive but distraught parents, and finding her way as a woman. She inspires readers with her barrier-breaking political journey that took her, in just four years, from a frightened, closeted college student to one of the nation’s most prominent transgender activists walking the halls of the White House, passing laws, and addressing the country in the midst of a heated presidential election. She also details the heartbreaking romance with her first love and future husband Andy, a trans man and activist, who passed away from cancer in 2014 just days after they were married.

    Sarah’s story of identity, love, and tragic loss serves as a powerful entry point for readers who want to gain a deeper understanding of gender identity and what it means to be openly transgender. From issues like bathroom access to healthcare, identification and schools, Sarah weaves the important political milestones, cultural and political debates, and historical context into a personal journey that will open hearts and change minds.

    Tomorrow Will Be Different highlights Sarah’s work as an activist and the key issues at the forefront of the fight for trans equality, providing a call-to-arms and empowering look at the road ahead. The fight for equality and freedom has only just begun.

    Goodreads

    I read this book in two days, utterly engrossed in Sarah’s personal story of coming out as a young trans woman, pursuing a career in politics and activism, and falling in love with a trans man who tragically and suddenly died of cancer. She has lived a more eventful life in her early 20s than most do in a lifetime, and I see from Instagram that after this book was published she became a Delawarean state senator!

    The first third of the book covers her childhood and coming out process. Despite some truly painful reactions from her parents, she makes it clear that their statements were largely based in fear for what the world would hold for a trans woman. She dedicated her life to ensuring laws would be in place to protect people like her so that parents would never have to worry about that again; the fact that her parents joined and supported her political fight is incredibly touching. Similarly touching was the way her identity was embraced by the Democratic political leaders she had served under, including now President Joe Biden.

    I’m not usually one to be on the edge of my seat while someone describes a law being passed, but Sarah’s descriptions of the Delawarean state legislature arguing over trans rights laws and how she angrily and empathetically shared her story to put a humanizing face to the issue was riveting. She has an inner strength that is absolutely laudable.

    In the midst of political stress and success, Sarah falls in love with Andy, a trans man who is an activist for the health care of trans people. They are adorable, romantic, and supportive, but their relationship is cut short when Andy develops fast-moving and fatal cancer. I ugly cried on public transit reading this book; Sarah’s descriptions of their conversations was heartbreaking and lovely. Once again, she allowed her story to be a humanizing element – by showing the depth of trans love, she allows cis people the chance to empathize and understand that love is love is love.

    I adored this book, and I now adore Sarah McBride. I can’t wait to see what she does next, both as an author and as a politician. If there’s any justice in the world (and there will be if people like Sarah continue to fight for it), she will go far!

    What Makes This Book Queer?

    This is a memoir about a trans woman who marries a trans man and fights for trans rights in Delaware and DC – it’s about as queer as a book can get!

    Who Would I Recommend This Book To?

    Fans of political memoirs who want the inside scoop on how progressive laws take shape AND fans of tragic romance will be equally pleased with this book.

    Rating: 5 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

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  • Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders

    Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders

    Genre | YA Science Fiction
    Page #s | 283
    Publishing Date | April 2021

    Tina never worries about being ‘ordinary’—she doesn’t have to, since she’s known practically forever that she’s not just Tina Mains, average teenager and beloved daughter. She’s also the keeper of an interplanetary rescue beacon, and one day soon, it’s going to activate, and then her dreams of saving all the worlds and adventuring among the stars will finally be possible. Tina’s legacy, after all, is intergalactic—she is the hidden clone of a famed alien hero, left on Earth disguised as a human to give the universe another chance to defeat a terrible evil.

    But when the beacon activates, it turns out that Tina’s destiny isn’t quite what she expected. Things are far more dangerous than she ever assumed. Luckily, Tina is surrounded by a crew she can trust, and her best friend Rachel, and she is still determined to save all the worlds. But first she’ll have to save herself.

    Buckle up your seatbelt for this thrilling sci-fi adventure set against an intergalactic war from international bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders.

    Goodreads

    Boasting some of the most creative sci-fi elements I’ve ever seen in a novel, I really wanted to like Victories Greater than Death. Unfortunately, the characters felt unrealistic and the plot felt like a series of events that the author wanted to happen rather than a cohesive series of consequences.

    Tina’s mother always told her that she was an alien with human DNA who was implanted with a rescue beacon in her chest. I kept waiting for this to be questioned by someone, but no, it is a fact that is accepted despite Earth having no previous contact with extraterrestrial beings. When the rescue beacon does, in fact, go off, Tina and her best friend Rachael are whisked into an interstellar adventure.

    There were many details that enthralled me and kept me reading. Some were pure creativity, like the Cydoghian egg burst, an alien meal that expands and contracts as you attempt to eat it. Others were politically creative, like the culture they come across that only allows people to participate in governmental leadership while pregnant (male or female) because they are then more likely to consider the future. I also love the queer expansion of a sci-fi trope, making the universal translator automatically include people’s pronouns when they introduce themselves.

    And then there was the legitimately creepy death goo coating the Big Bad’s hands. When he touches someone, they melt into a puddle. Even worse, everyone’s memory of that person is permanently tainted, leaving them with the belief that the deceased was a worthless, gross being. This is so cool and disturbing! Unfortunately, it also loses its bite, since Tina quickly realizes what has happened and constantly reminds herself that this feeling isn’t true.

    This is a YA book, but this lack of a bite is felt in a lot of ways, and I think the novel suffers for it. Tina and Rachael bring four other earthlings aboard the space ship before they book it into outer space. These four are explicitly meant to be the smartest students on the planet, but they’ve definitely never left the planet before. Nevertheless, it is our humans who save the day and stay alive while much more experienced creatures die in the emotional moments. Eventually it made me lose any fear of confrontations since I knew who would survive.

    I did enjoy reading this book, and as I said, the creativity is really fun. But I feel like it could have used another round of editing while asking, “Does it make sense for this person to say and/or do this right now?”

    What Makes This Book Queer?

    Undoubtedly, the queerness of this book is the strongest point in its favor. In addition to my earlier mention about sharing pronouns being standardized, there are multiple nonbinary and trans characters in addition to multiple gay, pan, and queer characters, plus a description of a culture where polyamory is the norm.

    Who Would I Recommend This Book To?

    This is a good book for someone who wants a light read and is more interested in world building than in plot.

    Rating: 3 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Trans-Galactic Bike Ride edited by Lydia Rogue

    Trans-Galactic Bike Ride edited by Lydia Rogue

    Genre | Anthology of Science Fiction Short Stories
    Page #s | 156
    Publishing Date | December 2020

    What would the future look like if we weren’t so hung up on putting people into boxes and instead empowered each other to reach for the stars? Take a ride with us as we explore a future where trans and nonbinary people are the heroes.

    In worlds where bicycle rides bring luck, a minotaur needs a bicycle, and werewolves stalk the post-apocalyptic landscape, nobody has time to question gender. Whatever your identity you’ll enjoy these stories that are both thought-provoking and fun adventures.

    Featuring brand-new stories from Hugo, Nebula, and Lambda Literary Award-winning author Charlie Jane Anders, Ava Kelly, Juliet Kemp, Rafi Kleiman, Tucker Lieberman, Nathan Alling Long, Ether Nepenthes, and Nebula-nominated M. Darusha Wehm. Also featuring debut stories from Diana Lane and Marcus Woodman.

    Goodreads

    I don’t typically like anthologies of short stories, but apparently I just needed to read short stories about space bikes with trans narratives! Each story was unique, from werewolves and mailmen to launching a bike into space like a rocket, but the anthology was edited perfectly into a cohesive whole with, well, bikes and trans characters!

    This is a book that distinctly feels written for a trans audience. That isn’t to say I felt excluded in any way! It was saturated in trans themes and issues, and it wasn’t going to pander to my ignorance. It was my job to do the work to keep up, and I really enjoyed doing so!

    I was constantly amazed at how most of the books I read AREN’T aimed at trans audiences. The casual mentions of dysphoria during pregnancy, of partners reminding each other to take their meds, or noticing a woman’s legs because the protagonist just increased their testosterone level made me realize how so many essential details of a trans person’s life are erased in most literature. Of course, every book doesn’t need to cover every person’s perspective, but I am now fully on board for a huge increase in books featuring trans and non-binary characters. Emphasis on plural, since one of the most revolutionary things about this anthology is that more characters are trans than not. Down with tokenism!

    It’s hard to choose a favorite story, but two that have stuck with me are Juliet Kemp’s “Riding for Luck,” which captured the magical feeling of timing your ride to hit all green lights in such an evocative way and the final story “Beyond” by Nathan Alling Long. It felt perfect, after ten other short stories made of excellence, for the book to end with a story of trans people biking away from earth and saying, “We’re not coming back, but you can join us if you want to!”

    Who Would I Recommend This Book To?

    Trans-Galactic Bike Ride is a great gift for your favorite sci-fi geek who needs a break from books that double as bricks.

    Rating: 5 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

    Find more books nominated for Lambda Literary Awards reviewed here.