Ship It--"Maybe I'm not straight or bi or anything. Maybe I'm just me."

Title: Ship It

Author: Britta Lundin


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character is queer. A supporting character is queer and a homoromantic pansexual.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Claire is a sixteen-year-old obsessed with Demon Heart. Her fanfiction shipping the show's two male leads is super popular online. But when Claire questions  lead actor, Forest, about his character being gay, he laughs her off, revealing his homophobia. When the Q&A goes viral, Claire is invited to tour with the show cast to Comic-Cons to help repair the show's now homophobic image. She then meets another fangirl, Tess, and Claire questions her own sexuality.


What I think: First of all, Claire is me in high school. Honestly, Claire is me now--I get obsessed with books, movies, and TV shows. I love cosplay and conventions, and if the Internet had been around when I was a middle-schooler, I would have written countless fanfics, and to quote myself from an earlier review:

I am a geek. Full stop. I can quote from a bunch of fandoms and also have a mind full of useless trivia, about such topics as Sweet Valley High, The Baby-sitters Club, Star Wars original trilogy, The Twilight Zone, Outlander, Muppets, and about a billion middle grades and YA novels and plays.

What was Stonewall? and The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets."On that hot summer night, to the cops' surprise, the people at Stonewall fought back."And they fought back hard."

Titles: What was Stonewall? and The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets

Authors: Nico Medina and Gayle E. Pitman


LGBTQ+ Representation: Both books describe the Stonewall riots and the Pride movement, so all the letters are represented.


What they're about (in 75 words or fewer): What was Stonewall? begins with a glossary of LGBTQ+ terms, gives a brief history of the gay rights movement prior to the Stonewall riots, describes the uprising at Stonewall, and explains major obstacles and successes of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. The Stonewall Riots provides a more detailed version of the events, told through 50 primary documents, photographs, artifacts, and eyewitness testimonies. Gay rights activists are introduced in both books.


What I think: I wanted to read these books because I wanted to see how the riots were explained to children (ages 6-14, approximately) but also because I knew only a few facts about the Stonewall riots, namely:

• They occurred in June of 1969
• Marsha P. Johnson "threw the first brick" 
• No one died (!)
• Drag queens protested the cops in the form of a Radio City Rockettes-style kick line
• The protests lead to the first Pride March in NYC

The Red Scrolls of Magic--"A warrior chosen by angels and a well-dressed demon's child, in love and intent on adventure through Europe. What could go wrong?"

Title: The Red Scrolls of Magic

Authors: Wesley Chu and Cassandra Clare


LGBTQ+ Representation: One main character is gay and the other bisexual. Secondary characters are lesbians and another secondary character is asexual and aromantic.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Now that Valentine is defeated, Magnus is excited to take his boyfriend, Alec, on a trip around the world. However, their plans are interrupted when Magnus discovers that a demon-worshipping cult (which he supposedly founded?) is intent on wreaking havoc throughout the world. With the help of another warlock, Shinyun Jung, Magnus and Alec work together to stop the cult.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I have been waiting for years for this book and was so excited to read it! It did not disappoint.

During the part of Mortal Instruments in which this story is set, I was not a fan of Alec and knew that soon, he and Magnus would [spoiler deleted]. I knew that in order for the story to be true to the series, Alec has to be a bit annoying and immature. However, away from the pressures of the New York Institute, Alec is a bit relaxed and therefore NOT as uptight as he was at this point in the books, and it works beautifully.