In Honor of Pride Month

In honor of Pride Month, I thought I would take the time to discuss some of my favorite LGBT stories.  I also will link to some LGBT resources offered by library organizations.  This list is by no means comprehensive.  If you don’t see a LGBT work that you’ve really enjoyed, please share in the comments!

 Books:

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children (Kirstin Cronn-Mills)–This YA novel follows trans teen Gabe as he struggles to find acceptance for his decision to become male.  Gabe starts hosting a radio called “Beautiful Music for Ugly Children” and finds both his voice and acceptance.  This is a great story with relatable characters; the book is a lot less Pollayanish than I’m making it sound.  I think it does a great job of showing Gabe’s search for acceptance without relying on dramatic tactics to explore those issues; Gabe’s music geekery will be sure to appeal to some readers.

The Rifter series (Ginn Hale)-I’ve talked about the Rifter series on this blog before (see this post), and I need to mention it again.  This fantasy LGBT series has great world-building and a compelling story; the romance between the two main characters–John and Kyle– is sweet and well-portrayed.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Benjamin Alire Saenz)–Aristotle (Ari for short) is an angry young teen with a brother in jail; Dante is super inquisitive and cheerful.  After Dante starts teaching Ari how to swim, the two develop a strong friendship that becomes something more.  I really enjoyed these two characters–particularly Ari–and found the story engaging.   The friendship unfolds very nicely, the language is beautiful, and the issues don’t completely overwhelm the story nor is the storytelling overly dramatic.  This book’s a great read.

Wandering Son (Takako Shimura): This manga series follows a grade school boy who wants to be a girl and a grade school girl who wants to be a boy.  I haven’t come across any other stories with younger trans characters, so I wanted to be sure and include it.

Nightrunner series (Lynn Flewelling):  This fantasy series follows Seregil and Alan who spy for the kingdom.   I haven’t read the whole series, but I enjoyed the setting and stories.  Seregil and Alan are really fun characters, and, if you like stories set in an engaging world with a little romance thrown in, you’ll enjoy this.

Webcomics:

I’ve always been impressed by the diversity of the scene both in terms of works and creators.  There are a lot of comics out there that feature LGBT characters, but I decided to focus on the ones I read with LGBT main themes.   I think this category is especially lacking, so if you’ve got favorites, share them!

Rain (Jocelyn Samara)—This comic focuses on a MtoF transexual who is trying to get through her senior year at a conservative Christian school.  The story is equal parts engaging and entertaining as it explores themes of identity and acceptance; the cast features a diverse group of orientations and gender identities.  Also, if you’re into anime/manga and/or video games, there are a lot of fun references!

As the Crow Flies (Melanie Gillman): This comic features Charlie, a queer African-American girl, who is on a hiking trip with a predominately white Christian group. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous (all of it is done in colored pencil!), and, while the story updates slowly, it is an engaging read as it explores the topics of faith and identity.

Resources from the Library World

American College and Research Libraries. Protections for LGBT Americans in the Workplace.  This article offers resources includes historical timelines, reports on LGBT workers, and resources for LGBT workers.

American Library Association’s GLBT Roundtable.  GLBT Book Month.  This is a collection of award lists for LGBT books.  The site includes the Stonewall Award and the Roundtable’s Rainbow Books (for teens and children) and Over the Rainbow(LGBT books for adults) lists.

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April and May Reads

I’m back!  These last couple of months were very busy for me, so I’m going to review the books I most enjoyed reading in April and May.  I hope you find something you want to check out!

Fiction:

Marie Rutkoski’s  The Winner’s Crime (the second book in the Winner Trilogy) continues the story of star-crossed individuals Kestrel and Arin.  In the sequel to The Winner’s Curse, Kestrel plays a deadly game with the ruler of her nation while Arin tries to make sense of her decisions and save his own country.  The world-building is superb, and the plot is top-notch and appropriately tragic.  I cannot wait to read the last book!

Another work of enjoyable fiction was Ginn Hale’s LGBT fantasy series, The Rifter trilogy.  John is content to research the biology of his hometown and hang out with his friends, Lori and Bill.   However, when he opens a letter addressed to his roommate Kyle, he finds a key and uses it.  He and his friends find themselves in a parallel fantasy world, where they quickly find themselves in danger.   They quickly find themselves struggling for their lives and a way back home.  Meanwhile Kyle follows John, but ends up several years in the future.    I really enjoyed this series; Hale’s writing wonderfully portrays the world and characters, and the plot is exciting and well-paced.

Are you a fan of Arthurian legend?  Then look no further than Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant.   An elderly couple sets out on a quest to reunite their long-lost son and to reclaim their memories from the omnipresent mist.  Their journey will be fraught with peril, for there is a dragon sleeping in the mountains.  This story will be well-liked by Arthurian friends or by those who are looking for something a bit different.

Non-Fiction

Seymour Hersh’s Chain of Command begins by addressing the Abu Gharib prison scandal.  Using interviews from military and intelligence personnel as well as political figures, he describes the Iraq War and the actions of the administration (including the stove-piping of intelligence) during that time.  I found his discussion accessible and fascinating.  If you are curious about that time, I’d recommend checking out this one.

The job search is stressful, and interviews are just another aspect of them.  Carole Martin’s What to Say in Every Job Interview breaks down the types of questions commonly asked in interviews and good ways to respond.  The book is also full.   I found this book incredibly helpful; I liked the emphasis on strategy, and the exercises really helped me to prepare.  If you’re preparing for your next interview, be sure to check this one out!

Graphic Novels

Lumberjanes:Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson was the most squee-worthy graphic novel I read these past few months.  The story follows friends Jo, Ripley, April,  Mal, and Molly at their adventures at a girl’s summer camp.   However, things get interesting when the girls are plunged into a mystery with mysterious supernatural monsters and a secret cave with an anagram.   Despite the craziness, they’re determined to have  a good time at camp!  I loved the fun, colorful art and the action-packed adventure!  I can’t wait for volume 2 to come out!   (you should also totally check out Stevenson’s other graphic novel, Nimona!  I didn’t read it this month technically, so I will just mention it.  But you should read it too!)

I also really enjoyed Scott McCloud’s The Sculptor.  Sculptor  David Smith is struggling to get his big break.   At his lowest point, he is offered a deal: he will be able to sculpt anything using his hands, but he will die in 200 days.  David accepts the deal and continues on his struggle. I found this story intriguing and well-done.  It asks a couple of really great questions: what defines greatness?  When or how should you achieve it?  I’m not sure I still have an answer to those questions, but I found David’s struggle relatable and well-portrayed.  McCloud’s art is top notch.

That’s all for this month.  I’ll return soon!

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