Some silences are so profound that they become part of the landscape, not just heard but inhabited. Amma knows that terrain—how silence gets passed down not just through forgetting but through a caring that has been cornered. In this debut novel from Saraid de Silva, the unspoken doesn’t just haunt the margins of the characters’Read More
A Book for the Emo Romance Girlies: Afterlove by Tanya Byrne
Maybe it’s the emo kid in me, but my favorite sapphic romances are the ones that break my heart and make me cry before putting me back together with a well-earned happily ever after. One such book that I recently enjoyed is Afterlove by Tanya Byrne. This story about the enduring power of love played with myRead More
The Ghosts and Secrets of Suburbia: The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste
If I had a nickel for every book I’ve read recently about a suddenly haunted suburb, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but I guess authors are stepping up to throw those sorts of neighborhood into the ghost void. The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste is a great little horror romp about a disappearing neighborhood,Read More
The Queer Graphic Novel That Had Me Sobbing at 3 A.M.: The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! You’re all fired for not tell me how good this is. I liked The Girl From the Sea, so I put a hold on Ostertag’s newest sapphic graphic novel, but I hadn’t heard anything about it, so I my expectations were pretty grounded. IRead 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 Forgotten Classic of Lesbian Literature: Olivia by Dorothy Strachey
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! I had found out about Olivia by Dorothy Strachey through the 1951 film of the same name by Jacqueline Audry. MUBI describes the film quite beautifully: “Dreamy laces, soft lighting, and longing glances induce an erotic headiness that renders this landmark lesbian love storyRead More
More Than a Statistic: Every Variable of Us by Charles A. Bush
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Alexis Duncan is a Black teenage girl from Philadelphia whose incredible basketball skills are her one ticket to receiving a scholarship and getting out of her poverty-stricken neighbourhood. However, after getting injured during a shooting at a high school party and being told sheRead More
Traumatized, Angsty Bisexuals: 6 Times We Almost Kissed (and One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Penny and Tate’s mothers have always been best friends—but the same cannot be said about the daughters’ relationship. Having clashed their entire lives, they must now put aside their bickering when Penny’s mom agrees to become a liver donor to Tate’s mother, as bothRead More
Understanding the Japanese Internment Camps: Displacement by Kiku Hughes
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! “And keep drawing, too. Draw what you see, what happens here. It’s important. They can scare us, but they can’t make us forget.” In this simply illustrated yet poignant graphic novel, Kiku Hughes reimagines herself as a teenager who is pulled back in timeRead More
Mental Illness, Diaspora, and Eldritch Horror: Where Black Stars Rise by Nadia Shammas and Marie Enger
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Dr. Amal Robardin, a sapphic Lebanese immigrant who just started working as a therapist, finds herself deeply concerned after the mysterious disappearance of her very first client, Yasmin, a young woman from Iran who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Amal feels a responsibility toRead More