I have been eagerly awaiting this book since the moment Jake announced it on Instagram as a YA (arguably, New Adult) novel about a cross-country train journey (shoutout to the Amtrak Empire Builder, which I’ve never ridden anywhere near the distance the route actually spans, but have caught a leg of), an ex-Mormon (samesies), and aRead More
A Romp through New York City: Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
In July, my fiancée and I had an opportunity to go to [words] Bookstore in Maplewood, New Jersey. I hadn’t been to [words] in several years, but we were in the area on a Saturday and stopped by on a whim. It was just as beautiful as I remembered. After wandering through the store for a while, I sharedRead More
Three Hope-Filled Sapphic Graphic Novels
I appreciate when coming-of-age stories show people continuing to learn and grow through college and beyond, and this month, I read three graphic novels in that vein: two college stories and one memoir. All of these stand-alone books feature adults but are appropriate for young adult readers, and all of them are lighthearted. Bunt! StrikingRead More
A Home Run Against Student Loans in Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid by Ngozi Ukazu & Mad Rupert
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! If you are like me, you are either anxiously awaiting news of your student loans being forgiven (if only) or desperately trying to not think about it at all (sorry). If only we could utilize our soft skills to vanquish them—if I could takeRead More
Secrets, Sororities, and Sobriety: Thirsty by Jas Hammonds
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! What would you be willing to do if it meant finding your flock? Jas Hammonds explores this age-old question in their young adult novel Thirsty. Incoming college freshmen Blake Brenner has been with her girlfriend, Ella, since freshman year; they are voted “The CoupleRead More
A Belated Bi Awakening: Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Imogen Scott has endless experience as a straight queer ally. Her friends are pan and bi, her sister is out, and she never misses a Pride Alliance meeting. While visiting her best friend Lili at college, who has her own little queer community, ImogenRead More
Manga-Curious: 5 Yuri Manga for First-Time Readers
For the longest time, I found manga intimidating, especially with the stereotype of manga being either sex fantasies for men or action-packed sagas. However, once I got past that initial fear (thanks to a coworker who helped me find some calmer titles to start off with), I found that manga, just like most formats, isRead More
Messy Roots: a Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Messy Roots is Laura Gao’s memoir of her childhood and coming of age, first in Wuhan, China, then an early move to Texas, and finally through her choices of college in Pennsylvania and a job in the Bay area. As a Chinese American immigrant,Read More
An Obsessive, Erotic, Vampire Gothic: An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! I feel as though all my adult life I have been wishing for a Carmilla retelling that really illuminates the heart of the original novella—the obsession, intensity, eroticism, and power struggle between Carmilla and Laura that makes the text one of the most lasting examples ofRead More
A Literal Dead Poets’ Society: All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! The days have started getting shorter as darkness takes up more and more space every day. The evening air isn’t quite cold enough to keep you inside, but every gust of wind chills to the bone, and the woods behind my apartment are filledRead More