Tink and Wendy sets the story of Peter Pan with a small twist that changes everything: instead of bringing the Darling siblings into their world, Peter and Tink stay in our world. As Peter brings his chaotic brand of fun to their dour lives, Tink grows more and more concerned over the impact this will haveRead More
A Brutal Colonial Horror Story: To the Bone by Alena Bruzas
To the Bone is the story of Ellis, an indentured girl in the Jamestown settlement of the Virginia colony. Ellis aspires toward little more than goodness; born poor in the late 1500s, she can neither read nor count, but understands the world as preachers sketch its edges. She works hard as a servant to the semi-prominentRead More
Religious Trauma and Queer Awakening: Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Content warnings: homophobia, child abuse, religious abuse, physical abuse Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus follows Valerie Danners as she begins to understand and live her own truth. Unfortunately for Valerie, the truth of her sexuality is beyond unacceptable to her conservative Christian community,Read More
Queer Joy at the IBD Support Group: The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! And you think you have a lot of crap to deal with! The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow is the story of twelve-year-old Al Schneider, whose life is moving at far too fast a pace—and so are her intestines.Read More
Forever is Now by Mariama J Lockington
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Content warnings: biphobia, racism, police violence Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington tells the story of Sadie, a Black teenage girl with anxiety that develops into agoraphobia after a truly terrible day. Her girlfriend breaks up with her and they witness an incidence ofRead More
A Book and Herb Review: Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Basil and Oregano is a sweet, safe, very cute and inclusive graphic novel about two girls who fall in love while competing to become top student at their magical cooking school. While chock-full of softness and cuteness, the story also includes serious themes thatRead More
Identity Crisis via Teleportation: Star Splitter by Matthew J Kirby
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Content warnings: violence, death A note: I listened to the audiobook of Star Splitter. It’s a good one, but may have led to misspellings in this review.Let’s say you lost all memories of the past three days. You’re still you, right? You’re just youRead More
Two Takes On Intersectional #MeToo YA Lit: What Works and What Doesn’t
Trigger warnings (apply to both books): sexual assault, grooming, minor instances of racism (mostly microaggressions) Trigger warnings (Missing Clarissa): kidnapping, gun violence Trigger warnings (For Girls Who Walk Through Fire): ableism, supernatural violence This past month, I read two books that struck me as remarkably similar. Both were multiple perspective YA books that dealt withRead More
A Pressure Cooker of a Childhood: Hiding Out by Tina Alexis Allen
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Usually, I review novels for this blog, ideally young adult or middle grade speculative, and that’s representative of my reading choices. This adult memoir is outside the norm for me. I can’t very well review it as an expert. So take my dabbler’s opinionRead More
Join the Henchfolk Union: Strictly No Heroics by B.L. Radley
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Strictly No Heroics is a YA urban fantasy novel that treats “super” as an adverb as much as a noun. It introduces a world of supers—superheroes, supervillains—who are super dangerous to normies (non-powered humans) and super helpful to the forces of gentrification. Main character Riley has simple desires: earn enough money for therapy,Read More