In “Lonely Crowds,” we follow the complex relationship between protagonists Ruth and Maria. The two meet as children at their all-girls Catholic school in New England and become fast friends. Ruth is the only child of recent immigrants, and Maria is an orphan under the care of her mentally ill aunt, and the two are someRead More
The Horror of Empire, Tempered with Hope: Countess by Suzan Palumbo Review
Begin your year with revolution! Or at least that’s what I thought when I picked up Suzan Palumbo’s Countess. The novella invokes the anti-colonialist spirit so desperately needed in 2026, and it opens with an inscription that acknowledges the crater of its impact: There is horror here, but there is also always hope. We meet our protagonist,Read More
A New Take On the 20-Something F*ckup Novel: All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! I have heard only great things about this book since it came out in 2022, but I somehow didn’t actually pick it up until my queer book club chose it for this month’s pick. I vaguely remembered downloading an ARC on my ereader, soRead 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
The Complexity of Being a Queer Refugee: From Here by Luma Mufleh
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Trigger warnings for this book: suicide attempts and ideation, homophobia, violence Like a lot of Westerners, when I hear about countries with laws against homosexuality, I respond with instinctual aversion: “What a terrible place! I hope any queer people there can leave!” I imagine impediments like the law and its enforcers, economicRead More
Carmella reviews We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
Samra Habib is many things: photographer, journalist, activist, writer, queer woman, Muslim, refugee, and now – with the publication of her memoir – the author of a book. The saying may be ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’, but I think she has done a pretty masterful job here! I was already familiar withRead More