Ana on the Edge--"I don't want them to think girl, but I don't want them to think boy either"

Title: Ana on the Edge

Author: A.J. Sass


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character is nonbinary, secondary characters are gay and transmasculine.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Twelve-year-old Ana-Marie is a junior figure skating champion. Yet she does not feel comfortable when her new skating outfit has a skirt: she doesn’t feel girly. Ana meets Hayden, a transgender boy who assumes Ana is also a boy. Ana finds comfort in a boyish identity but isn’t sure it fits how she feels either. Will living her truth ruin her skating career?


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): What sticks with me a lot about this book is how super mature and responsible Ana is, especially for a twelve-year-old. She and her mother, who has sacrificed to help Ana become a successful skater, have a great relationship. 
    

Another Post in which I don't @ the authors: Books that just didn't do it for me

I read a lot of books, which means I have a huge pile of LGBTQ+-themed YA books that I've read but haven't blogged about. Some I was not impressed with; some I just could not finish; some just did not "spark joy" enough to make me want to discuss/review/write about them. 

As an attempt to whittle down my pile, here is my post about "Books that just didn't do it for me" (including links to more detailed reviews). Do not let any of my opinions stop you from reading these books! But feel free to commiserate if you also had some issues with them. 😁

Also, I take guest review submissions! Email me, send me a Facebook message, or Tweet me if you are interested. You'll find my contact information on the homepage to your right.

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I'm starting with a trilogy I really wanted to like:

Titles: The Folk of the Air Series (The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, and The Queen of Nothing)

Boyfriends with Girlfriends--"I need time to explore first if that’s really who I am." Guest Post!

Title: Boyfriends with Girlfriends

Author: Alex Sanchez  

**This GUEST POST was written by Alix Adrian**

About Alix, in their own words: As a busy, aging, dyslexic reader, I enjoy YA fiction because I can make solid progress through a book even on early-to-bed evenings. I grew up in New Jersey and have spent the past 30 years in North Carolina. This helps to draw attention to the significant cultural differences found in especially in queer fiction across both time and locations. I have two young adult children, who, sadly, are not voracious readers. I also have three cats who like nothing better than to snuggle with me and a book.


LGBTQ+ Representation: One gay teen, one butch lesbian teen, one questioning female teen, two questioning male teens


Content Warning: Two male characters have mutual hand sex. One main character has had much more sexual experience and this is a concern for the less experienced partner.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Four high school students in neigboring schools explore love, sexuality, and friendships, with a lens to their families’ cultural and social views.

 
What I think (in 250 words or fewer):  This book may be showing its age a wee bit.

Middle School's a Drag--"It makes perfect sense in my heart. I just wish it did in my head."

Title: Middle School's a Drag, You'd Better Werk!

Author: Greg Howard


LGBTQ+ Representation: At least three characters, including the narrator, are gay. A supporting character has two moms.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Seventh grader Mikey Pruitt is determined to start a business that will make him successful. Mikey decides to become a talent agent when Julian hires Mikey to promote his (Julian's) drag queen persona: Coco Caliente. Soon, Mikey represents a group of students preparing for the middle school talent show and is becoming more confident about being openly gay at school; maybe he'll even be able to talk to cute Colton without blushing!


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): This book is SO ADORABLE and is just what I needed at the start of a stressful week. I even made my kids play a few more minutes at the park (pre-quarantine) so I could find out the outcome of the talent show. And then I read the ending before we even drove home, while we were stopped in the Arby's drive-thru waiting for our food.

I embarrass my children.

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me--"I'm just willing what I'm feeling to be true. I'm willing myself to believe this is real."

Title: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me

Author: Mariko Tamaki; Illustrations by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main and supporting characters are lesbians and background characters are queer


Content Waring: Abortion


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Freddy is madly in love with her girlfriend, Laura, but Laura (who is popular, funny, cute, thoughtless, and MEAN) keeps breaking up with her. Freddy's friends can't understand why she keeps going back to Laura Dean, and their on-again, off-again relationship nearly causes Freddy to lose her best friend.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): Laura Dean is one of those books that I can see non-YA readers (or those who prefer their books to be moralistic in content) scoffing at. Teenage Freddy is besotted with Laura, who is just the WORST. I strongly identify with Rainbow Rowell's blurb on the back of the book:

Leah on the Offbeat--"It's like it doesn't even matter if I like my body, because there's always someone there to remind me that I shouldn't"

Title: Leah on the Offbeat

Author: Becky Albertalli


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character and supporting characters are bisexual; secondary characters are gay.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Leah Burke is getting ready to finish her senior year, and in some ways, she's totally OVER high school, but in other ways, she doesn't want anything to change. Prom is coming up, friends are hooking up and breaking up, and college is starting to seem very close. Also, Leah has not told her friends that she is bisexual and is crushing hard on her friend Abby, who is (probably?) completely straight.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I need to apologize to all of the fanfiction writers out there that I scoffed at when they began to ship Leah and Abby. I was totally NOT on board with that ship; Abby was with Nick and that's where I thought she would stay. However, this book did a good job of changing my mind and wanting Abby and Leah to be a couple.

The Cardboard Kingdom--"I'm a SORCERESS . . . in EXILE"

Title: The Cardboard Kingdom

Authors: Chad Sell, with Jay Fuller, David Demeo, Katie Schenkel, Manuel Betancourt, Molly Muldoon, Vid Alliger, Cloud Jacobs, Michael Cole, Barbara Perez Marquez, and Kris Moore (posthumously).


LGBTQ+ Representation: Several gender nonconforming characters and at least two characters who might be gay.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): All the children in the neighborhood spend the summer playing fantasy characters, including an evil sorceress and her minion, a huntress, a handsome prince and dashing rogue, a beast, a gargoyle, a robot, an animal queen, and more. The children make their own imaginative costumes and set pieces out of cardboard and furniture; they don't always get along perfectly, but solve their conflicts appropriately, often by "battling" each other in their cardboard kingdom.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): Every time I read a graphic novel, I think "I should read more graphic novels." It just takes a bit of work at the beginning to force my ADHD brain to "read" the pictures as well as the text, but once I get into the story, I usually really enjoy it. The Cardboard Kingdom was no exception--I loved it, both the pictures and the story.

How to Be Remy Cameron--"Discovery is in the journey, not the destination"

Title: How to Be Remy Cameron

Author: Julian Winters


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character is gay.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Remy Cameron is pretty well-known at school: he is out and proud, surrounded by friends, and is confident that he wants to attend Emory after he graduates. However, when he is asked to write an essay defining himself, Remy does not know where to start. Gay? Black? Adopted? Single? When he meets a surprising new person and starts a new romance, Remy is more confused than ever. How should he define himself?


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I read a lot of young adult literature--years of working with teenagers and happy memories of reading as a teenager fuel my love of books for teenagers. Every once in a while, I read a book in which the character's voice is extremely realistic: it hits that happy, confusing, hormonal, mature-yet-immature medium of teenage-hood.

How to Be Remy Cameron is that book.

"You didn't think this was the end of the story, did you?"--Books that need sequels

Top 10 Most-Wished-For Sequels

I just bought a long-awaited sequel today, I have another one on order, and I literally squealed with excitement when this one was announced! (And if this one ever becomes a reality, I will be so, SO overjoyed). Ooh, and I almost forgot about this upcoming one!

Clearly, I enjoy a good sequel, so let's ignore the 20 or so books in my to-be-read pile and the 10 in my I've-read-but-still-need-to-review pile and talk about the books that need sequels. Sometimes, I am just so in love with the characters, universe, and/or plot that I need MORE.

I need to know what happens next for these beloved people whose lives I've shared through the pages of their stories. I would camp outside of a bookstore to buy these sequels, like us older people had to do for concert tickets in the pre-Internet dark ages.

In fact, most of these books had me have immediately visiting Archive of Our Own to see if there are any fanfictions about these books, and if there are, I will link to the pages.

Uma said it best.



In alphabetical order, here are my top 10 most-wished-for sequels:

One Man Guy and Hold My Hand--"It's like all my life I was eating frozen yogurt. And kissing boys is ice cream."

Titles: One Man Guy and Hold My Hand

Author: Michael Barakiva


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main characters are gay


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer):
One Man Guy--Alek's excitement over summer break turns to dread when his parents enroll him in summer school. But there, he meets Ethan, a cool skater boy. Alek can't believe someone like Ethan would want to be his friend, let alone be more than friends. Besides, Alek isn't gay . . . is he? And what would his conservative Armenian-American parents think of Ethan? Are they too different to make it together?

Hold My Hand--Alek and Ethan's six-month anniversary is coming up, and Alek is wondering if he and Ethan should take their relationship to the next level--but then Alek finds out that Ethan has done something so terrible that Alek is not sure whether he should stay with Ethan anymore. Should he move on to the cute boy at Greek school (while working to change his church) or give Ethan another chance?


What I think: Between watching Greta Thunberg's speeches and reading some awesome girl-power books, I am ready to smash the patriarchy! But before the smashing occurs, I wanted to recommend this adorable book duo about Alek and Ethan.

Black Wings Beating--"Birds of prey killed to eat, but only humans could choose to kill"

Title: Black Wings Beating (Skybound Saga Series #1)

Author: Alex London


LGBTQ+ Representation: One of the main characters is gay, as is at least one supporting character.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Kylee can speak the ancient Hollow Tongue but wants nothing to do with falconry, the sport that's brought death, debt, and misery to her family. Brysen, to save the boy he loves, seeks the Ghost Eagle, a famed predator that has never been captured. To complete the quest, Kylee and Brysen climb the mountains, which are full of power-hungry tribes of people who do not hesitate to murder those who get in their way.


What I think:

EMCEE (off-camera): Welcome Theydies and Gentlethems to today's episode of Jen Reads the Rainbow--The Game Show version!

[Upbeat theme music plays; audience applauds uproariously]

EMCEE: Featuring Alex London's Black Wings Beating!


[Audience applauds as JEN makes entrance]

JEN: Thank you, thank you everyone! I'm thrilled to be here tonight. I just finished the book Black Wings Beating and y'all . . . I really enjoyed it!

[Applause and cheering]


JEN: However--there is ONE part of the book that I dislike.

Dumplin' and Puddin'--"All of the best things in my life have started with a Dolly Parton song"

Titles: Dumplin' and Puddin'

Author: Julie Murphy


LGBTQ+ Representation: Minor characters are drag queens in m/m relationship. Supporting character is a lesbian; another supporting character comes out as asexual.

What each book is about (in 75 words or fewer):

Dumplin'--Willowdean has always felt confident in her plus-size body but experiences some insecurity when the cute private school jock, Bo, becomes attracted to her. Will can't understand why Bo likes her. In order to regain her confidence, Will (and a group of other girls) decides to enter the Miss Clover City beauty pageant, which is run by her former-beauty-queen mother. Will is determined to prove that beauty comes in all sizes.

Puddin'--In order to please her parents, Millie goes to fat camp every summer. But this summer, she is determined to stick up for herself and attend journalism camp instead. Meanwhile, Callie is the mean-girl dance team member, next in line for captain, with the hot boyfriend. When Millie and Callie end up having to work together at Millie's uncle's gym, they form a surprising friendship.


What I think: I decided to review these books together for a couple of reasons. First of all, they are companion novels, written by the fabulous Julie Murphy. Each book can stand alone, but many of the same characters appear in both stories. Second, many of the same topics and themes are addressed in both stories making them easy to write about together. Finally, Dumplin' the movie premiered on Netflix months ago. I still haven't seen it since I have no one who is willing to loan me their Netflix password 😉, but I have obviously read the book. Everyone on my Facebook and Twitter who raved about the movie got this reply from me:

Dumplin' is a great YA book; I highly recommend it. The companion book, Puddin,' is EVEN BETTER than Dumplin.' Seriously, read them both. 

Drama--"It's one thing to dream it . . . and another thing to actually build it"

Title: Drama

Author: Reina Telgemeier


LGBTQ+ Representation: One character identifies as gay, another is questioning


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Callie is super excited to work on the set design for the middle school musical. Go stage crew! The drama backstage: is Greg, Callie's crush, going to break up with Bonnie? Callie becomes closer to Justin when he confides in her that he's gay. Callie also develops a new crush on Justin's twin, brother Jesse. Plus, will she ever make the cannon prop work? It MUST or the play might be a FAILURE!


What I think: I experienced so much warm and fuzzy nostalgia while reading Drama. I was a drama geek for years; I even served as president of Thespian Troupe 901 for two years in high school. My undergraduate college degree is in theatre education. 🎭

My friends and I still talk about the drama and relationships and the EPIC CAST PARTIES that occurred during our high school plays, and we've been out of high school for . . .well, quite some years. 😉

I Got Issues: Noteworthy--“It's too simple to hate the people who have doorways where you have walls”

I don't know how to introduce this except that . . . I don't hate these books; parts of them I like very much. So I don't think they belong in a Did Not Finish or Did Not Bring Me Joy post.

However, there are just overall issues that I have with the storylines that . . . well, I'll just talk about each book and you can make up your own minds.

I was going to write about three books in one post, similar to how I wrote the Marie Kondo-inspired one, but I ended up writing so much about this first book, I am now going to make this post the first of a three-part (at least for now) series called I Got Issues.

Title: Noteworthy

Author: Riley Redgate

LGBTQ+ Representation: Bisexual main character, supporting character gay (with off-page m/m relationship), girl/girl kiss.

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Chinese-American Jordan Sun is attending an elite boarding school (on a scholarship) for the performing arts but is tired of never getting cast in any musicals (her low alto voice makes her a tough fit). The Sharpshooters, an all-boys a cappella group, is holding auditions for a tenor, Jordan dresses up as a boy and lands the part. But can she continue to hide her identity in such an elite and competitive group?

Our Own Private Universe--"It's our duty to love everyone, the way God loves everyone. There's no reason why any one group is less deserving of love than any other"

Title: Our Own Private Universe

Author: Robin Talley


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character identifies as bisexual, another main character as bisexual/pansexual/questioning, and minor character identifies as gay. F/F relationship.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Aki is on a Church mission trip in Mexico, when she meets Christa, a girl from a nearby high school, and they fall hard for each other. Aki is thrilled that she can finally do what she is sure other teenagers her age are doing--but what if Christa finds out she doesn't have any experience? Meanwhile, Aki participates in a church debate that enables her to clarify her beliefs and find a new passion.


What I think: In the Acknowledgments, Talley explains that this book is the one she had always wanted to write and wished she'd had as a young-adult reader. I agree 100%--in fact, Our Own Private Universe reminds me of Judy Blume's Forever but with a girl/girl relationship.

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles)--"You're a girl and you date girls. You have all the girl knowledge someone could possess"

Title: The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles)

Author: Amy Spalding


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Abby is super excited when she lands an internship at one of her favorite boutiques; finally, she can get her start working in fashion beyond writing a plus-sized-fashion themed blog. Abby does not plan on falling for her fellow intern, photographer Jordi; or becoming friends with Jax. But will Abby's insecurities cost her her relationship with Jordi and jeopardize a possible paid-position with the boutique?


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): When I was a junior high teacher, I would have my students write "a class constitution" together. The list of classroom rules and norms would always include something about behavior, and when I would ask a new class about behavior, one student would say "The Golden Rule!" and everyone would nod, knowing that the Golden Rule is the end-all of behavior rules, and then I would say "but the Golden Rule is actually extremely naive and selfish."

Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)--"Let's talk about sex, baby!" OR "I wish you so much love--because love has nothing to do with sex"

Title: Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)

Author: L.C. Rosen


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Jack is an openly gay high school student who is not ashamed of his active sex life. He agrees to write an "anonymous" (technically--most students know he's the writer) teen sex advice column for his friend. Jack enjoys giving advice until someone begins leaving notes in his locker that start out admiring but become threatening. Can Jack figure out who his stalker is before his friends and family are in danger?


What I think: Hey guess what?? This book talks about sex!! And boy, was it ever mentioned in every review and article I read about the book.  Even all of the blurbs on the cover are about how sex-positive the book is. I was actually getting tired of reading every reviewer mention sex, but my curiosity (and excellent employee discount at work) got the best of me, so I bought this book the day it came out.

Just Between Us--"I am not my disease. I am a human being."

Title: Just Between Us
  

Author: J.H. Trumble


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Curtis is home from his freshman year of college, working as a band tech for his old high school band, when he meets band member Luke, and the two are instantly attracted to each other. But just when Curtis decides to act on his feelings for Luke, Curtis takes an HIV test: and it's positive. Depressed and ashamed, Curtis tries to push Luke away, but Luke is determined to be a part of Curtis's life.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer):  Luke appears as a young, pitiable sophomore in Don't Let Me Go but a mature, confident senior in Where You Are--such a drastic difference; I couldn't wait to read what happened in the year between.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy--"I'd rather write my own legends. Or be the story someone else looks to someday."

Title: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

Author: Mackenzi Lee


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Felicity escapes to London for two reasons: to avoid marrying Callum the baker and enroll in medical school; however, men are the ones in charge and they will not admit women to their schools.  Felicity then finds out her childhood friend, Johanna, is marrying a famous doctor, so Felicity plans to crash the wedding and meet the doctor. This leads to Felicity and Joanna involved in an adventure of medicine, pirates, petticoats, and sea dragons.


What I think:  Pirates and Petticoats is the companion book to Vice and Virtue.  I didn't love Felicity's voice as much as I loved Monty's, but I definitely enjoyed her story.

Dress Codes for Small Towns--"There is more than one way to add color to the world. More than one way to crown a queen"

Title: Dress Codes for Small Towns

Author:  Courtney Stevens


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): After Billie and her group of friends nearly burn down their church, Billie is determined to prove that she is not a bad girl and that her father deserves to remain the church's minister. At the same time, Big T, the town's sponsor of the annual Harvest festival, dies.  Billie and her friends work to rise above prejudice and work to save the festival, while exploring their own identities and love interests along the way.


What I think: Dress Codes was one of those books that I thought was going to be about something else entirely.  I thought the plot, even as I was reading, was going to go something like this:

1. Tomboy-ish girl (Billie, who might be gay) experiences prejudice from small town rednecks
2. Boy-who-wears-makeup (Davey, who might be gay) also experiences prejudice
3. They both tell off the hypocritical church people
4. Their friends and family members, who are "set in their small-town ways" reject them, and
5. They move away to a big city to live glamorous lives (also come out of their respective closets)

I've read this story before, I thought smugly.