June Review: It's PRIDE!

June is all about LGBTQIA pride, and to celebrate that, I literally read the rainbow this month!

Featuring stories about and from the LGBTQIA community only, I read books with a wide array of gay, bisexual, asexual, and transgender characters, many of which were also people of color.

So let's start the party and celebrate some diversity in literature!

The Rules and Regulations For Mediating Myths and Magic by FT Lukens

This was a super fun and unique story idea, complete with a fabulous wonky mentor character and wild myths. Mermaids and unicorns made an appearance, which is basically the best way to write a fantasy book.

Bridger's just trying to make enough money for college and graduate high school without making a fool of himself in front of his crush, football player Leo. But when he takes a job for a quirky collector, things only get stranger. Now, wrangling unicorns and feeding pixies is a regular part of Bridger's life, made all the more complicated by how Leo is becoming more and more involved in every aspect of it.

There's a sweet semi-slow build with a lovely, romantic love interest and quirky main characters. Which is basically all I ask for in a book.

Bisexuality!!! With a supportive best friend! And mentor!

Decent pacing and fun setting made it a pretty quick read. There was a lot going on, but it felt balanced and important to Bridger's journey to self-acceptance.

The novel also included realistic apologies and actually discussing issues, which so much YA media just glazes over, so it was super well done here.

Rules and Regulations was mostly just a fun, charming read with a very original story and a cute MLM relationship. Some of the writing was clumsy sometimes, but overall I very much enjoyed this book.

Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak

This book wasn't what I expected at all, and I think that was a gift.

It's a story about love and family and the lengths we'll go to protect the ones we love, but it's also about a search for self and a desperate desire to understand your place in the world.

Aiden Lockwood is descended from a cursed bloodline and a line of seers, but he doesn't know it. He doesn't know much of anything, actually, until a boy from his childhood suddenly returns to town, hell bent on helping Aiden remember who he is. But once he does, his mother's story starts to unravel, and there are dangers hidden in the shadows between her words, things that could change the way the town--and Aiden--sees the world.

As somebody with a super shitty memory, the concept of blindfolded pasts and hidden worlds appealed to me. Magical realism is probably the label I would give this story, and it was beautifully composed and the world was wonderfully crafted, creating a story that is impactful and wondrous. I kept expecting to turn out my lights and be faced with the white stag or fall into the world's shadow.

It's an MLM story, as is my pride mission this June, but the love story felt like a background plotline. It was the catalyst for Aiden's story beginning, an awakening from a life he didn't know he was sleeping through. Jarrod makes a great devoted love interest, supportive and whole in his own right, given a story and a purpose but so, so in love with Aiden. It was never going to be a question of loyalty or miscommunication once they got together, because they were going to be together. And I adored that, because it meant I could focus solely on all the wild and magical things happening in the rest of the book as Aiden attempted to understand his family and the story he'd been told.

The twisty road this story took made every moment unexpected, even when I was convinced I knew what was coming. I don't think I can quite put into words yet just what the tone of this book is, simply because it captures so many different feelings in reading it, from both an analytical/scholarly perspective and a social/entertainment standpoint. Like, I could write a paper on the symbolism if I needed to, but I also just read it for fun and really enjoyed it.

It's a hard book to explain without giving too much away, but it's definitely worth the read.

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky

I think middle grade/younger children books that tackle big issues in a meaningful and non-preachy way are the hardest to write. They're also the most important.

Gracefully Grayson is about a sixth grader named Grayson who was born in the body of a boy. But she knows who she is, even if the rest of the world has trouble seeing it. After Grayson's parents die in a car accident, Grayson moves in with her aunt and uncle. The story picks up a few years after that, when Grayson has settled into a lonely new normal, buries between the light and the dark of daily life.

It's not until she's cast in the school play, not as a boy characters, but as the lead Persephone, that she begins to realize that everyone else needs to catch up with her.

The parallels between the play and Grayson's life are beautifully done, with the half light, half dark feeling of being trapped in a place you don't belong.

The characters are all young but so fleshed out, carrying good and bad pieces of themselves just like the adults. Paige is a particular favorite of mine, but I think Jack and Sebastian grew into their own as best they could, for little somewhat villains. It was a little reminiscent of Wonder, but had it's own story to tell.

The overall message is of acceptance, but it stresses the importance of self acceptance over what others think.

Gracefully Grayson was, simply, graceful. It tackles an important topic in a way that's both interesting and fun to read. If you have a young person you know, or are looking for something a little bigger than yourself to read, I would recommend this book.

Not Your Villain by CB Lee

I read the first book in this series a couple months ago, and then when I went to YALLWest last month, I got the third book for free as an ARC, so I figured I should probably buy this one and just complete the series.

I was super invested in the continued story line, mostly because the pacing in this series is a bit weird and I'm a little disconnected from the action, but I do love the characters. And Lee's worldbuilding continues to fascinate me, so even if the plot and writing aren't my favorite things, I'll keep reading for the characters.

The previous book was told from the perspective of lovely lesbian, Jess, and this sequel is from the point of view of Bells, Jess' transgender best friend. Bells can shapeshift and it's really, really neat to see how he uses his powers both in everyday life with his transition and in super hero action. Seeing Jess and Abby from an outside perspective was neat, since their relationship developed over the course of the first book.

The start of the book with a review of what happened in the first was iffy for me. I loved getting to see Bells' time at the meta-human training facility and his thoughts on impersonating the villains in the first book, but the little speedrun catch up afterwards felt redundant. I almost would have preferred it start in the thick of the action after the first book and do a little flashback or something. But learning more about Bells' powers throughout the book was probably the best part.

And then! There was the surprise inclusion of further diversity! Bell's best friend and hopefully future bae has a discussion about potentially being aromantic or asexual, and that was a fun little surprise! She's the POV character for the third book, so I guess we'll see what happens!

There's a lot of potential with this story, I'm just not sure why I'm having such a hard time clicking with the writing style. I really do think my brain can't deal with the pacing for a lot of it, which is not really the book's fault.

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender

I wasn't super into this book. Part of me thinks it's because I was coming off the high of Red, White and Royal Blue (no I didn't read the books in color order, some of them had to get to my house first so I started with what I already had) but another part just thinks I didn't like it.

Nate Bird is indecisive and a bit of a dick. He also does a lot of thinking (and mentioning) of his dick, which, I'm given to understand some teenage boys are just like that but. Come on fam. He had a fear of commitment from losing his dad at a young age and being rejected by both of his best friends at different ages. So I understood why he was afraid to fall in love and commit to people. But he was also a complete asshole to people who genuinely cared about him. And I didn't really see a lot of his feelings outside of a desire for (and then rejection of??) sex. It was all muddled and confusing

I do have to give mad props to the author though, for writing about queer people of color as, like, all of the characters (Gideon and Ashley aside) and for representing the deaf community with Oliver James, who was by far the best and most wholesome character of the novel. I wanted him to be happy, and that was kind of the only reason I wanted Nate to get his shit together was so he could stop being a dick to Ollie.

The other characters were pretty well fleshes out and given backstories and drama of their own, outside of Nate's weird drama bubble. I would've actually preferred to see more of everyone else in the book besides Nate, even if Flo was a little self-righteous.

There was a lot to process in this book, most of which was just Nate being mean to his mom and best friends, but it ended alright. A little too cinematic everything is okay now, especially after what Nate did, but I guess that's the power of love and screenplay writing. I guess we all gotta live a little Love Actually.

On the plus side, this book gave me a good movie rec list, so maybe I'll give some of those references a try.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee

Not quite what I expected, but the same could be said for the prequel, Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue.

Similar to Gentleman's Guide, Lady's Guide is an action-packed and interesting look at a historical story. Lee clearly does a lot of research and keeps things as accurate as possible, even when she's creating sea dragons and pirates.

Asexuality is discussed within the text, not in name because of the time period, but discussed within the context of Felicity's search for a future outside the confines of marriage. There are paragraphs of beautifully scripted recognition and exploration, which included an oft seen discussion about "how do you know if you've never tried it" and a fabulous response

There were also some great feminist lines and different expressions of femininity--I actually dogeared a page for this quote:

"How women are expected to behave, wants vs expectations and the defying of those expectations to find a future that works"

Lady's Guide was also a great look at friendships, forged, lost and refound, and the idea that you can't put people on a pedestal, because they will disappoint you, especially if they're men.

Overall, it was a fun somewhat high-seas adventure with some fabulous representation.

Not Your Backup by CB Lee

I'm almost done with this book, but I'm connecting with it a little better than I did with the first two. That might be because the story has gotten a little more integrated with the action plot.

Lee presents a good representation of ace characters with discussions about internalized aphobia and anxiety regarding finding yourself and your sexuality, especially in regards to being in a relationship.

The plot progression was still at a bit of a weird pace, but it's gotten better. I'll have more thoughts when I've finished it, but for now it's a neat continuation of the story.

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

A victory of a book, red, white and royal blue takes a look at the importance of family and love in a world that tries too hard to define what those words mean

Hilarious dialogue coming from truly fantastic characters. Real pain, too, back stories that build and create characters that have come into themselves, that have grown to understand they deserve the love they receive. Witty and brilliant

Diversity in race and sexuality, the kind of millenial representation I yearn for in books and politics

The kind of slow burn enemies to friends to lovers that drives my entire romantic being. There are some steamy bits, I'll be real, but it was all a beautiful glimpse into falling in love and staying in love through the hardships bigotry and fear will throw at you

Long but well paced, tackling everything through fabulous writing and some creative inclusions (those emails are absolute Poetry, my friends). The suspense over politics, betrayal, and love was a fantastic balance, and I was invested in every single member of the first family by the end.

I read all 418 pages of this book in one day and I have zero regrets because my heart is still singing

The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember

I try not to read too many online reviews of books before I buy them because they tend to stain my view of the book, and I'm afraid to say a somewhat negative review of this one got to me. That being said, I probably would've thought that way anyways even if I hadn't read the review, so. Make sense of that.

The writing was a bit clumsy, the plot pacing strange--all these events happened very quickly or felt very sudden from within their place in the text. It could've been a very fantastic story had it been allowed to build and progress at a better pace. But the scenes felt stilted and the story line itself a little forced.

It was a really neat new take on sea witch and stealing voices, especially with the inclusion of norse mythology and Loki as both a villain and a provider.

And I loved the concept. Bisexual mermaids, norse mythology, icy viking culture. Fantastic. It was just kind of poorly executed.

I don't have a lot to say about this one beyond that. It was still a decent story with an interesting plot, so read it if you want

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

This story was British, so that was kinda fun. And the whole high school situation was delightfully awkward and embarassing.

I loved Leo's introduction and how it really got the reader used to correct pronouns and gender, highlighting the importance of respecting someone's preferred pronouns.

This was a story about two very different teens struggling with transition, but on very different journeys. It really helps drive home idea that everyone is different, even in/especially in certain communities. It tackled a lot of really important topics, with everything from bullying to becoming yourself.

I didn't adore the story/have it pull me in, but was I was still rooting for the characters and wanted to follow it to the end. Their two voices that sometimes sounded similar enough that I had to pay attention/check who was the pov for that chapter, other times I had no trouble.

The characters were a mix of developed and static, but ultimately they built a community for David and Leo, which was the most important part.

One thing I really, really appreciated about this book was that for as many problems as Leo had with his mom, his gender was never an issue between them. They argued and fought but it was never about Leo's transition, and that was really refreshing to read.

The ending built a lot of hope for the story, and for any readers who are like Kate and Leo.

Overall, the majority of the books this month were really enjoyable! But! Now I'm very tired! And don't be surprised if I only read like three books next month.

Keep writing, friends!

Sam

Literary Recommendation: Ask The Passengers by AS King

Movie Recommendation: Always Be My Maybe (2019) dir. Nahnatchka Khan

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