Category: Our Queerest Shelves

I just finished reading this one and flew through it! After Shelby’s wife dies, she is mired in grief, unable to do anything other than cuddle her dog in bed. When she drags herself to a grief support group, she meets Cammie, a charismatic woman recovering from cancer and mourning her sister, who helps Shelby through her grief. Meanwhile, Gibson has just divorced his wife and finds himself swept up in a whirlwind romance with a young woman named Cammie. Soon, though, Gibson and Shelby realize that some of Cammie’s stories don’t quite add up…

This is a time travel adventure mashed up with a 1980s noir detective. It alternates between three point of view characters, including a queer Asian American man — but there’s something wrong with these stories. A corporation has invented time travel and using it for selfish means, throwing everyone’s timelines out of whack, and three of them will have to help each other to solve the mystery of what’s going on.

Nicky Faces Catastrophe… and Survives?! by Matti McLean (M/M Fantasy Romance)

Sleep Alone by J.A.W. McCarthy (Sapphic Horror)

Pixies of the Sixties: You Really Got Me Now by Gihef, Jul Maroh, Christian Lachenal, Giulio Macaione, and Alberto Zanon (Sapphic Fantasy Graphic Novel)

Ant is a queer teenager caught between some very confusing relationships, including a friend who kisses him in private and is violently homophobic in public. This is a novella accompanied by illustrations as well as black bars over the swearing, but not the slurs — which seems appropriate in our current book-banning culture.

Chase and Lia have been inseparable best friends for years, despite their very different personalities: one is disciplined and ambitious, the other is an impulsive wanderer. Soon, that friendship turns into a romance. When Lia disappears, Chase will stop at nothing to find her. But the secret she stumbles on in the search will change everything.

Ravensong by Cayla Fay (Sapphic YA Fantasy)

The Memory Eater by Rebecca Mahoney (Bisexual YA Horror)

The Sea in You by Jessi Sheron (Sapphic YA Mermaid Graphic Novel)

The Sister Split by Auriane Desombre (Sapphic Middle Grade Contemporary)

From the author of Summer Sons, this novella is a sci-fi exploration of humanity and what it means to be in community with non-human animals. She uses a neurological link to interface with one of the last wild wolves, seeing — and smelling, and tasting — the world as they do. She quickly becomes so obsessed with this feeling that it threatens to destroy everything: her health, her relationship with her wife, and even the wolf whose mind she is invading.

A shapeshifting alien crash lands on Earth, and they soon find that humans make for delicious prey. They learn to use dating apps to lure people in. When one person escapes, though, the chase turns into an existential crisis about what Earth has changed them into, and how to feed this insatiable hunger. First published in Korean, this looks like a skin-crawling, weird, and thought-provoking horror read. It’s also illustrated!

Eight Strings by Margaret DeRosia (Sapphic Crossdressing Historical Fiction)

Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt (Sapphic Historical Fiction)

A Manual for How to Love Us: Stories by Erin Slaughter (Queer Short Stories)

Lucky in Lace by Melissa Brayden (F/F Romance)

Made for Her by Carsen Taite (F/F Romantic Suspence)

Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu, Vol. 1 by Meng Xi Shi and illustrated by Me.Mimo (BL Wuxia Novel)

The Dragon’s Betrothed, Vol. 1 by Meguru Hinohara (M/M Fantasy Manga)

Synthetic Jungle: Poems by Michael Chang (Nonbinary Poetry)

God Themselves by Jae Nichelle (Queer Poetry)

Dismantling Everyday Discrimination: Microaggressions Toward LGBTQ People by Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal (LGBTQ Nonfiction)

From the author of Cinderella is Dead and This Poison Heart comes a retelling of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Gabriel is a Black medical student falling for his friend Henry Jekyll, but Jekyll comes back from summer break consumed by fear of their relationship being found out — and soon, he exhibits other changes, too… You can hear my full thoughts on this one on the All the Books podcast!

From the author of Kim & Kim and Eternity Girl, this is a middle grade “horror, mystery, or whatever” graphic novel, according to the cover. It’s the first in a series about Val and Lanie, two eighth grade friends in a small, boring town who accidentally summon a demon. Lanie is queer and Val is autistic.

Kent gets into the toll on self and body that comes with living in a culture that values heteronormativity, whiteness, and thinness so much. As a first-generation American, she’s also had to deal with generational trauma and realizing that true family isn’t always connected by blood. But if I’m making it seem like this is all doom and gloom, it’s not! Kent keeps her readers cackling, even as she wades through tragedy.

This is the second book in Clark’s Magic of the Lost trilogy, and in it, Luca the princess and Touraine the soldier return to Balladaire after a rebellion. Though the rebels have won, Luca must still reclaim the throne from her uncle and the two women must struggle through heartbreak to ensure they don’t lose all they’ve fought for.

This book has been getting a lot of attention ever since that striking cover came out, and now you can finally read it! Jade has arrived in Vietnam to stay with her estranged father, Ba. He’s promised her college money if she stays the summer and helps restore the French colonial house they’re staying in. But Jade becomes convinced the house is haunted, and she teams up with a troublemaking local girl to prove it — before the house devours them all.

Simon is staying with Nanaleen for a week with his siblings, but he begins to hear scratching in the walls and see shadows moving in ways they shouldn’t. It’s time for a ghost hunt. Meanwhile, he’s becoming more sure about he/him pronouns and the name Simon, but he’s not ready to tell anyone yet.

This is a darky comedic satire inspired by Taxi Driver. Damani is a rideshare driver in a city that is constantly erupting in protests supposedly in solidarity with people like her, but she can’t afford to pay attention. Then she gives a ride to Jolene, and sparks fly. Jolene might be the perfect girlfriend; she always says the right things and seems to be doing the work…though Damani is still a bit hesitant to date a rich white woman. But then Jolene does something unforgivable, and everything goes off the rails.

Carmilla is the original lesbian vampire story, and this graphic novel places the iconic character in 1990s Chinatown in New York City. The main character is a social worker looking into a string of murders of queer women — a case the police seem to have no interest in solving. Her main suspect is Carmilla, who runs a nightclub in Chinatown. This retelling also weaves in Chinese folklore, and it’s one of my most anticipated releases of the year!

Whitney’s mother and girlfriend have both gone missing, but in the town of Bishop — known for its windstorms and endless fields of sunflowers — women going missing is hardly news. She and the other girls whose mothers disappeared are determined to find answers, but along the way, they unbury a bloody and dangerous secret that Bishop is built upon.

It’s such a delight to see a middle grade fantasy adventure come out with a queer main character, especially one that’s inspired by Jewish folklore. When Zach finds a ring that gives him magic powers, he thinks he might be able to use to defend against homophobic bullies. Instead, he soon finds himself pulled into a battle against monsters who are trying to end the world.

This is the highly anticipated first book to be published by Gillian Flynn Books, and it is a mystery starring a queer nun. I know you’ve already clicked away to order it, but just in case anyone’s still reading: When Saint Sebastian’s School is targeted with multiple arson attacks, Sister Holiday decides to investigate for herself, but the case soon turns her against colleagues and forces her to face her own dark past.

This nonfiction manga title follows Yuta and Kyota as they meet, fall in love, and eventually find a loophole in gay marriage being illegal in Japan: one adopts the other. Interestingly, this is the same strategy bestselling author Nobuko Yoshiya used to adopt her wife in the 1950s, enabling them to receive legal benefits they otherwise couldn’t. This looks like an adorable love story that also explores what it has been like to be gay in Japan over the last 20 years.

Aaliyah is a track star who hasn’t managed to successfully run from her problems. She was outed to her religious mother, and kissing her best friend turned out to be a mistake. Now, she’s trying to rebuild after everything fell apart — but the cute new girl on the team adds another complication.

Miles is a trans teen pianist who has two goals: win regionals and win back his ex-boyfriend, Shane. But Shane broke up with him weeks after Miles came out as trans, and now he’s ignoring him. Even his music isn’t an escape: his piano teacher keeps telling him he’s playing like he doesn’t know who he is. But then Eric shows up, and their fake dating scheme is quickly dropping the “fake” part. Maybe Eric is right, and the person Miles really needs to prove himself to is…himself.