Rachel reviews If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Danika Ellis

Young Adult author Sara Farizan adds a fresh and necessary story with her debut novel If You Could Be Mine. In Iran, female teenager Sahar has known from a young age that she wants to marry her best friend, Nasrin. But although her feelings are reciprocated, the two cannot marry because they are both girls. In their country, homosexuality is considered a crime, and death can be one of the many punishments. For a while, Sahar and Nasrin carry on their secret romance. And then Nasrin’s parents reveal that they have plans for their daughter to be married to a successful doctor. The girls are devastated, and Sahar tries frantically to find a way to stop the wedding. She learns that, although homosexuality is abhorred in Iran, being transgender is viewed as a correctable mistake, and the government allows sex reassignment surgery. Sahar isn’t transgender, but she wants to have a chance with Nasrin, so she seriously considers the surgery. She meets and befriends many transsexuals, some happy in their new bodies and some not. But she must ask herself if her decision is really the right path for her, and what kind of choices she should make.

If You Could Be Mine is a moving book, with complex characters and scenes; some wrenching, some beautiful. Sara Farizan provided an interesting glimpse of what it may be like to be gay or transsexual in Iran. There was an ever-present sense of fear and urgency that many homosexual Iranians must go through every day. There were a few things about the culture I hadn’t known before reading this book, so that made it an even more interesting read.

Like Farizan’s second novel Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel, this story has fascinating and memorable characters. Sahar is an interesting and conflicted protagonist. There were moments where I felt she was jumping into decisions too fast and naively, but given that she really had no prior experiences with homosexual and transsexual people, it was understandable. One of my favorite characters in If You Could Be Mine was Parveen, a male-to-female transsexual. She spoke seriously to Sahar about what changing her gender would entail, and if Sahar was doing it for the right reasons. She remained a supportive friend throughout the novel, and was open and honest about her experiences so she could help Sahar make the right decision. Parveen really deserves a novel of her own, she’s so well-developed and intriguing.

Sahar’s journey to be true to herself is emotional and thought-provoking. She must decide whether Nasrin would love her if she became a man, and if not, how to move on with her life. There were other subplots weaved with the main one: Sahar’s father coping with the loss of his wife, her gay cousin Ali making some humorous appearances, and the motives of Nasrin’s parents for their daughter’s upcoming wedding.

If You Could Be Mine is not a light read; it deals with heavy subject matters. There are no easy answers to the character’s predicaments. But the idea and plot are interesting additions to YA literature. This novel, especially with its amazing characters, will easily be remembered by readers.

Link Round Up: October 19 – 25

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Danika Ellis

Did you know there are more than a hundred lesbian vampire books? We basically invented the genre. But that’s not where the queer women horror books end. In fact, there are dozens of queer women horror books, zombie books, werewolf books, and even ghost stories. Here are just a few of my favourites, for when you want to curl up with a creepy sapphic story.

I posted Lesbian & Queer Women Halloween Reads at Book Riot!

Autostraddle posted Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: “The Gilda Stories” and Queer Black Vampire Myth and “Carol” Is Even Better Than You’ve Heard, Is Maybe The Best Lesbian Movie Ever Made.

Lambda Literary posted Editor and Writer Helen Eisenbach on Working in LGBT Publishing in the Early 1980s.

Queer Romance Month posted, among many others

“7 Lady loving must-read novels that will make your gay heart smile” was posted at The Feminism Project.

QDA: A Queer Disability Anthology edited by Raymond Luczak was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Minotaur by J.A. Rock was reviewed at QUEERcentric Books.

Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash was reviewed at The Pirate Tree.

Affinity by Sarah Waters was reviewed at bookarahma.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on Facebook, Goodreads, Youtube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Jennifer Holly, Martha Hansen, and Carol Denise. Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a lesbian/queer women book every month!

Megan Casey Reviews 1222 by Anne Holt

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Danika Ellis

The first interesting thing I want to mention is that Anne Holt’s series is listed as The Hanne Wilhelmsen Novels. Not The Hanne Wilhelmsen Mysteries or The Hanne Wilhelmsen Adventures. The publisher—a traditional mainstream press—wants us to view these books as literary. In other words, something above the more lightly taken mystery genre, and certainly above the lesbian mystery subgenre. This is a bit troubling.

Holt is a good writer, though; way better than the average, and 1222 is an exciting and suspenseful novel that fits squarely into the class of Scandinavian writers like Jo Nesbo, Stieg Larsson, and Hennng Mankell. I generally read the first book in a series first, but for some reason, 1222 was the only one that was affordable. This may have helped this review, because I suspect that the protagonist, Hanne Wilhelmsen, has changed greatly since her inception over twenty years previous. This Hanne has left her active years as a police detective behind and is now a wheelchair user due to a crippling injury she received on the job. This Hanne is someone who wants to be left alone with her disability and not have people staring at her or offering sympathy.

She is on a train trip to see a specialist in a northern city in Norway when her train derails during a fierce storm and all the passengers are forced to wait for help in a nearby hotel. Then the storm turns into an actual hurricane, threatening thee hotel itself. Then someone is killed. Although Hanne has no desire to participate in finding the killer, she seems to be the only one who can.

The mystery is actually set up as a veritable whodunit—with the reader getting clues at the same time Hanne gets them. And I suspect tat when she gets the final clue, the reader will guess the murderer at the same time Hanne does. This spoils nothing. The setting—a hundred-year-old resort hotel, the varied and well-drawn characters, and the dangerous story, would be worth reading about even if there were no mystery at all. The truth is, I felt like I had been put through a ringer—a very cold one—before I had even finished half of this entertaining novel.

Although Hanne identifies as a lesbian—and there is a wannabe lesbian teenage suspect—there is no sex in this book, nor is there any attempt to feature a gay lifestyle in any of the characters or even in Hanne’s inner thoughts. I suspect I will have to read some of the initial offerings in this series to learn more about this side of Hanne’s life.

Quibbles aside, I would give this book high marks (if I gave marks at all) and I am anxious to go through the rest of the books in this awesome series, several of which have yet to be translated into English. Holt is a superior writer and deserves to be on anyone’s Top-25 list of Lesbian Mystery writers. It is to be hoped that her publisher will in the future be aware that this genre is an important one and not try to fool potential readers into thinking that it is something else.

For other reviews by Megan Casey, see her website at http://sites.google.com/site/theartofthelesbianmysterynovel/ or join her Goodreads Lesbian Mystery group at http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/116660-lesbian-mysteries

Link Round Up: October 12 – 18

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Danika Ellis

Autostraddle posted Lez Liberty Lit #82: It’s Never Too Soon To Reread.

Queer Romance Month posted (among many others)

Rachel Gold was interviewed at Gay YA about her new book, My Year Zero.

Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Blind Redemption by Denise Dearth and Amy Gillen was reviewed at QUEERcentric Books.

Long Red Hair by Meags Fitzgerald was reviewed at Autostraddle.

I Must Be Living Twice by Eileen Myles was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Far From You by Tess Sharpe was reviewed at Writability.

What We Left Behind by Robin Talley was reviewed at Afterwritten.

Marthese reviews Aces by Kathryn Burns

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Danika Ellis

‘I did not adult well’

Aces is a short book on the relationship between Astrid and Hollis, two very creative women living in Seattle. They both work in retail but have a shared passion for writing. The story is told from Astrid’s perspective.

This story feels real, is not that cliché and is very diverse with its characters. Most times, the diversity is built up and not introduced at once and it does not feel like the characters are diverse simply to be so, they just are.

Astrid works at a shoe shop, has had a variety of hobbies and has a lack of self-confidence. She does not, at first, get on with her girlfriend’s flatmate Lloyd. This is however, explained in what I thought was a good reason. Astrid loves Hollis a lot, though she feels that Hollis is always right and keeps her emotions in check too much.

Hollis works in cosmetics but her other passion is blogging and writing. She writes fanfiction as well and has some geeking moments in the book. She also loves her flatmate’s cat Schrodinger. As she likes writing and expresses herself in that method, she writes letters about Astrid which Astrid finds in unexpected places. One of these letters brings about the confession that Hollis is asexual. After that, their relationship has better communication but does not change much.

This book has a lot of cool stuff in it and whether they are mentioned in detail or only in passing, I think that it is a good depiction of queer reality. Currently pop culture and recent history are mentioned but there is a 90s vibe at times. As the characters attend Poetry Slam Mondays, we are introduced to some poetry slam! Video making and blogging are mentioned and are done by at least four characters. Minimalism is also brought about by necessity. Stuff like transitioning, non-binary, dysphoria, period pains, drag, on coming out as a continuous process and bi-erasure are topics of discussion or thought in the story.

There are many characters, whether they appear often or simply once, with various gender identities. The families mentioned are also of different forms. Their group of friends is very varied but like Clementine said, Astrid brings them together.

What I also liked in the story, was that there was the depiction on genuine love, not too perfect and that information processing was done in a healthy way. Although at first Astrid bothered me a bit, she grew on me while I liked Hollis from the beginning because I could relate to her. I think the best thing was however, when there was a discussion on shipping in fanfiction and how that is still part of asexuality.

I do not have a particular thing that I particularly did not like although Astrid was slightly bothersome in the beginning as I had the perception that she was too self-centred. This was not so much the case and it just takes a while to get used to the character. There was also an instance that the term ‘transgendered’ was used instead of ‘transgender’ however, I think that was due to language use.

I think that there are so few books that speak about asexuality in their plot, much less when they are combined with various other diverse characters and speaking so planning on reality, with deep thoughts as everyday occurrences. Perfect for over-thinkers like me! It truly is a love story that gives you hope. Where the characters do not follow a formula but make the love their own.

I recommend this book for people that want to read a book with an asexual character, for people that want to read more books with trans inclusiveness (including non-binary), for geeky people that like to see fanfiction, slam poetry and internet culture incorporated into the life of the characters and for people that want to read a short but realistic love story.

Link Round Up: October 4 – 11

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Danika Ellis

AfterEllen posted The history behind “Carmilla,” the story of a 19th century lesbian vampire.

Gay YA posted How To Make Your Library a Safe Space for Queer Teens.

Lambda Literary posted

Queer Romance Month posted

Women and Words posted Coming Attractions, November 2015 and Hot off the Press, October 2015.

“Victoria’s (Hopefully Incomplete) Guide to LGBT Comic Anthologies” was posted at friendlylike.

“‘Long Red Hair’: A Graphic Memoir About Witches and Coming Out as Bisexual” was posted at Broadly.

On Fear by Ellis Avery was reviewed at C-Spot Reviews.

Uncovered: How I left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home by Leah Lax was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

A Theory of Small Earthquakes by Meredith Maran was reviewed at Autostraddle.

Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi and Fantasy Comics Anthology edited by sfe r monster was reviewed at Autostraddle.

Danika reviews Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Danika Ellis

Under the Udala Trees is set in Nigeria during and in the aftermath of the civil war. Ijeoma is sent to live in a safer area of the country with people she’s never meant. She acts as a servant to earn her keep. When she befriends a girl from another ethnic group–in fact, from the community on the other side of the war–this relationship is only barely tolerated. When it’s discovered that her and Amina’s relationship has changed into a romance, Ijeoma’s life is irrevocably changed.

This is not a light read. Under the Udala Trees deals both with living through war and dealing with brutal homophobia. In fact, these two types of violence get intertwined. We first meet Ijeoma in her childhood, when she lived with her mother and father. We see how war devastates her family and eventually takes her father from them. This is just the precursor to her later struggles with a culture and family that refuses to allow her to be an authentic version of herself. Her mother stresses the importance of marriage and makes her study the Bible daily, stressing any passages that can be interpreted as forbidding same sex relationships.

What I found especially difficult was how much Ijeoma internalized this messages even when didn’t consciously believe them. She questions how the Bible is being interpreted and doesn’t see how her actions or feelings could be sinful, but she still feels guilt and doubt. That is the damage a hateful statement repeated over and over can do. She ends up feeling the best parts of love and intimacy juxtaposed with shame and self-consciousness.

This does feel like a bleak read through most of the book. Ijeoma does not have a lot of options available to her, not just as a lesbian, but as a woman–and an unmarried one at that. Every choice that she makes seems to come with awful consequences. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget the scene where she and other gay friends hide in a bunker left over from the war in order to avoid a crowd intent on punishing or even killing any queer people that they find. It shows how much Ijeoma is still living within her own war.

I’ll admit that my first impression when I read this book was that it felt like a coming out story from earlier decades, mostly because the extreme backlash as well as the way the plot is mostly centered around her sexuality. But I had to reexamine that reaction when I got to the brief author’s note, which explains that in 2014 Nigeria criminalized same-sex relationships, and that Nigeria is the second most religious country in the world. With that context, the story line makes a lot more sense, and it reminded me that although I am lucky enough to live in a community that is fairly accepting of queer people, my situation is not universal. For many people, that backlash is the reality of their coming out, and these stories are therefore needed just as much now as they were in earlier decades. This is why we need more stories of the queer experience from a global viewpoint, and Under the Udala Trees is a necessary step forward down that path.

Audrey reviews Warm November by Kathleen Knowles

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Danika Ellis

After a really fun experience with In Every Cloud by Tina Michele, also published by Bold Strokes Books, I downloaded Warm November. Hayley and Merle are both older lesbians, but Hayley’s newly out of the closet, while Merle’s just out of a long-term relationship. The last sentence of the synopsis is, “Can they overcome their misgivings and find true love?”

If they could not overcome their misgivings and find true love, then what kind of a romance would this be? Not the kind of romance wanted by the readers Bold Strokes is marketing to.

The setup is this: Hayley’s just divorced and looking for an apartment. Merle is newly single and looking for a roommate to share her awesome house in a very cool lesbian-oriented neighborhood. They’re a good roommate-match, and Hayley’s pretty sure Merle will be a good resource for Hayley’s foray into the dating world.

Merle’s been badly hurt. A little jaded, a little cautious, she’s been going to AA meetings for years, and that’s where she found her own primary support system, Sigrid and Clea. They’ve been a couple forever, and they’re adorable.

Hayley’s painfully clueless. Her naivete honestly tested my patience, it was so beyond belief. Hayley as a person: fine! Hayley as someone why used “The L Word” as a proto-manual for lesbianism, and who asks Merle the sorts of questions usually reserved for a befuddled anthropologist encountering a hitherto-unknown-to-Western-civilization tribe? No.

One of the difficulties I never considered in writing lesbian romances, particularly in sex scenes, is the handling of pronouns. Some books handle it deftly. This one was a bit clumsy. I was pushed outside of the scene a few times. Wait; who did what to whom? If this is something you can bypass (i.e., if grammar and sex don’t necessarily have to go together), it may not bother you.

On the whole, this was not my favorite book. If you love romances and the premise appeals to you, then try it. Tastes are deeply personal, after all. I’ll certainly go for a third Bold Strokes book.

Elinor reviews Olive Oil and White Bread by Georgia Beers

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Danika Ellis

Olive Oil and White Bread is an unusual romance in that it doesn’t focus on the process of falling in love. Instead, it charts more than two decades between a couple, both their highs and lows. Jillian and Angie check each other out at a New York state softball game in the late 1980s and feel a spark. But they don’t meet for another year, until the catch sight of each other in a lesbian bar. They go out, fall in love, and have hot sex. They’re both in their early twenties and launching their careers. Angie’s newly out, and Jillian’s been out a little longer. They don’t have tons of romantic baggage, and it’s all excitement and aspirations.

Then the book flashes forward, showing meaningful points over their years together. They buy a house, get a dog, and settle into a life together. Though she had other dreams, Jillian makes peace with her career as an elementary school art teacher, while Angie grows increasingly frustrated working in sales at Logo Promo. Logo Promo is a company that makes promotional materials with client company’s logos on them. Angie works long, often unpleasant hours, which puts a gradual strain on their relationship.

Without giving too much away, after more than a decade and a half, the couple faces a crisis in their relationship. Years of minor problems collide in a way that threatens Jillian and Angie’s future together. I loved that the roots of the eventual conflict are introduced slowly over the course of the book. It isn’t some cliche “big misunderstanding” or a dramatic tragedy that provides the tension the couple faces. Instead, it’s a much more realistic constellation of unresolved issues, failure to communicate, and individual struggles that shake Jillian and Angie’s relationship. This book was honest and well written.

The only downside is that it was also sometimes depressing. Not angsty or overwrought, but genuinely sad. It’s hard to read about two decent people who love each other causing one another unintentional pain. Jillian and Angie act like normal, imperfect humans, and their actions are usually understandable. Their relationship feels real, and it was pretty emotionally demanding when things get tough between the couple.

This isn’t a reason to avoid the book, though. If you’re even remotely interested in fiction about lesbian couples, Olive Oil and White Bread is a good read. There aren’t a lot of romances about two women in long relationships. Plus, Angie is described as “not small” and sexy, beautiful, and mostly happy about her body. She never goes on a diet and no one does anything fat phobic. It is incredibly refreshing. It’s not always light or happy, but it’s a really good book. 4 out of 5 stars.