Redwood and Ponytail is a middle grade novel in verse about two girls whose friendship causes them to question many of the norms in their lives. Tam is a tall, confident volleyball player with a strong support network of quirky characters; Kate is a cheerleader—scratch that, she’s the cheerleader, but she’s beginning to wonder if this is quiteRead More
Calling All Basketball Gays: A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane + Other Sporty Sapphic Books
Happy March Madness season! It’s just a few weeks until the NCAA tournament begins, so in the spirit of basketball, I decided to review a book about it. A Sharp Endless Need (out May 13th) by Marisa Crane is a love letter to basketball and everything that comes along with it—including falling for a teammate. IRead 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
Queer Small Town Livin’: Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin
Mara loves basketball—which is a problem, because she’s currently not allowed to play. After getting in a fight during a game, her coach kicks her off the school team and bars her from rejoining until she can prove that she can be a team player. In an attempt to prove her ability to not let her angerRead More
Finding a New Favorite YA Contemporary Author: Ophelia After All and You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie
Recently, I got to read Racquel Marie’s debut and sophomore releases: Ophelia After All and You Don’t Have a Shot. While the two books had different focuses, they were both compulsively readable coming-of-age stories, and I think any reader of sapphic contemporary YA will find at least one of them to be up their alley. Though it isn’tRead 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
A Rapidfire History of Queer Women’s Spaces: A Place of Our Own by June Thomas
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! This year, I’m doing the 2024 Read Harder Challenge—well, I should hope I am, because I’m the one running the challenge and writing the newsletter this time! (You can subscribe if you want recommendations plus weekly updates on my reading, though some of itRead More
A Rivals to Lovers Soccer Romance: You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Racquel Marie’s You Don’t Have a Shot is a YA romance that centers around Valentina Castillo-Green, a high school soccer star whose life revolves around the sport. After an abrupt end to her junior year soccer season, Vale ends up at soccer camp, co-captaining a teamRead More
A Curveball Romance: Playing for Keeps by Jennifer Dugan
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! A baseball pitcher and umpire definitely aren’t supposed to fall for each other, right? Especially not when star pitcher June and officiate-to-be Ivy are trying to go pro. Sometimes, life throws you a curveball, though. When Ivy is assigned as an umpire for June’sRead More
The Magic of Community: Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Brooms is a YA graphic novel created by Jasmine Walls (writer) and Teo DuVall (illustrator) and published in 2023 by Levine Querido. It is set in an alternate 1930s Mississippi where magic flows all around, but is heavily restricted. Only certain people are allowed toRead More