For the majority of the twentieth century, Manhattan’s Lower East Side was an enclave of affordable housing (e.g. tenements) that housed lively immigrant cultures as well as many queer folk feeling the crunch of capitalism’s unceasing demands. Today, I’m discussing three books written by or recollecting the memories of queer Jewish women who lived andRead More
The Necessity of Movement: Cannon by Lee Lai Review
Cannon by Lee Lai is one of the best graphic novels I’ve read this year—a masterclass in building tension through narrative and illustration. The story starts at what seems to be a point of maximum tension, with the eponymous character standing in the carnage of a destroyed restaurant or cafe. We do not know which it is, where we are, or why it’s comeRead More
Femme Fatales, Homicidal Housewives and Errant Employees: The New Lesbian Pulp edited by Sarah Fonseca and Octavia Saenz Review
I love pulp fiction. I love reading it, reading about it and I especially love books collecting it. After all, I came to sapphic literature through Radclyffe Hall (by way of Sara Ahmed’s The Promise of Happiness), and Mabel Maney. In fact, I originally began visiting the Lesbrary after coming across Danika’s writing on lesbian pulp fiction andRead More
Wishes and Curses: The Well by Jake Wyatt and Choo
Written by Jake Wyatt and illustrated by the mononymous Choo, The Well is a 2022 graphic novel that takes the emotional and narrative beats of a Grimm fairytale and frames them in an East Asian inspired low fantasy setting. With a main plot built on allegory and archetypes that is grounded by a delightful romantic B-plot, theRead More
Cosmology and Reinvention: Little Deaths all in a Row by Elizabeth Earley Review
Elizabeth Earley’s essay collection Little Deaths all in a Row (out September 16th) is a deeply vulnerable, deeply personal cosmology constructed from recollections of working hospice care, practicing Reiki, formative childhood experiences, and a myriad of sexual and romantic experiences spanning her life so far. She meshes these memories into a collage of concepts from cognitive science, biology, physics to try and address questions about intimacy,Read More
An Unexpected Love Story in Paris: Love Languages by James Albon Review
When two women from two different countries with two different languages meet in a third liminality neither of them are entirely comfortable with, they find themselves sharing food, stories, and a friendship that slowly grows into a Parisian romance for the ages. Exhausted, nearly burned-out office worker Sarah and lifelong itinerant, current-au-pair Ping are anRead More
A Literary Love Story of the Moment: Liquid by Mariam Rahmani Review
This novel has been a hard one to write a review for. Mostly because of the upheavals happening, and my subsequent desire to try and locate the text as best as I can in the current moment. Because, reader, it truly is a novel for the times, of the times. So here is the earliestRead More
The Dark Secrets of the Beauty Industry: You Belong To Me by Hayley Kirscher
Hayley Kirscher’s You Belong To Me (out April 15, 2025) is a compendium of hot topics seemingly tailored for the algorithm. It’s got cults, skincare, girls kissing, goths, spot-on references to gothic literature. It’s almost tailor-made for the TikTok savvy teen. It’s also an empathetic exploration of power, belonging, and identity. Refreshingly, that last one doesn’t haveRead More
Sapphic Gothic Fantasy…for Kids! The Pale Queen by Ethan M. Aldridge Review
The Pale Queen by Ethan M. Aldridge is a poetic middle grade graphic novel that draws inspiration from fae myths and folklore to tell a story about the support it takes to pursue your biggest dreams—and the sacrifices we are and aren’t willing to make along the way. In particular, it will appeal to young readers lookingRead More
Folk Horror and the Troubled Teen Industry: What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould Review
In European folk and fairytales, a journey through the woods represents the characters’ coming of age—their passage from the pastoral, relative security of familial and familiar hearths into a fraught, shadowy place where metaphors for social anxieties lurk around every corner. Only with wit and friendship can one come out the other side, though theyRead More