It’s September, and that means a lot of kids and college students are back to school! (And some of you went back in August, apparently? We don’t do that here in Canada.)
So today, let’s help some teachers and librarians get queer books on the shelves for students who need them. Here are a few Donors Choose projects that would appreciate you tossing them some money as well as social media shares:
Bookish Goods
It’s Always a Beautiful Day To Say Gay by CosmicBabesClub
This is a particularly great shirt to wear in Florida, home of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. $23+
New Releases
The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish (Gay and Lesbian Holiday Romance)
If you, like me, watch The Holiday every December and cry when Jude Law cries, do I have a book for you. Greta is tired of being seemingly the only lesbian in her small town in Maine. Truman, in Louisiana, is reeling from finding out his boyfriend has a secret life — complete with a marriage and a kid. They both want to get away. So they decide to swap places for the holiday break! But when they fall for people far from home, what happens when the holidays come to an end?
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (Trans Guy YA Fantasy)
Aiden Thomas has a huge fanbase from Cemetery Boys, so this is a highly anticipated release. Every ten years, the sunbearer trials pit ten of the best semidiós competitors against each other. At the end, one will be elevated, and one will be sacrificed. Teo is shocked to find himself (and his best friend) chosen, because no one considered him one of the best. Now he has to keep himself and his best friend alive — and did I mention his ex-boyfriend is also in the competition?
Sacrificio by Ernesto Mestre-Reed (Queer Fiction)
Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg (Queer Boys YA 80s Historical Fiction)
A Clash of Steel by C.B. Lee (F/F YA Treasure Island Remix) (Paperback Rerelease)
Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore (Trans Guy YA Retelling)
Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland (Queer YA Horror/Fantasy)
Moonflower by Kacen Callender (Nonbinary Middle Grade Contemporary)
A Costume for Charly by C.K Malone and Alejandra Barajas (Bigender Picture Book)
Coven by Jennifer Dugan and illustrated by Kit Seaton (Sapphic YA Graphic Novel)
Space Trash Vol. 1 by Jenn Woodall (Sapphic Sci-Fi Graphic Novel)
The Summer You Were There Vol. 1 by Yuama (Yuri Manga)
For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Since Aiden Thomas has a new book, and I consider September/October prime witchy/horror/mystery reading time, I decided to make this week’s Riot Recs about Witchy YA! Of course, check out Cemetery Boys to read about a trans and queer brujo who accidentally brings the wrong spirit back while trying to solve a murder. We’ve all been there.
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
Alex comes from a family of brujas, but she has no desire to wield their power, which is linked to the dead. But when she tries to get rid of magical abilities, she instead sends her family to Los Lagos, a terrifying in-between world. Now she’s teamed up with a broody brujo and her bubbly best friend (hello, love triangle) to travel there herself and try to get them back.
The Witch King by H. E. Edgmon
Wyatt is on the run from the fae world since his powers caused a disaster. But his ex-fiance, Emyr, has tracked him down and now demands he keep up his side of the political union between witch and fae. Wyatt makes a desperate deal to escape, but perhaps marrying Emyr isn’t such a bad deal after all. (This has a trans guy main character.)
As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer book recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!
All the Links Fit to Click
Teens Are Fighting Back Against LGBTQ Book Bans
Maia Kobabe was interviewed at Time about the attempt to restrict sales of eir memoir.
103 Queer and Feminist Books Coming Your Way Fall 2022
Get in Your Back-to-School Feelings With These 10 Queer YA Books
Chivalry Is Undead: The Sapphic Swordswomen of The Locked Tomb
Meet the Real-World Rude Lesbian Swordfighter Behind Gideon the Ninth
That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.
Happy reading!
Danika