You can chime in with your advice in the comments and submit your own questions any time.
Quiz: What Queer Book in Translation Should You Read?
Expand your queer reading horizons and try a book in translation! Not sure where to start? Take this quiz! I’ve gathered eight LGBTQ books in translation from around the world in various genres and forms. Manga? Check! Science fiction? Check! Family saga? Check! Magical realism? Check! And more! For other ideas for queer books in translation, check out this list of Must-Read Queer Books from Around the World on Book Riot and this list of Queer Nordic and Scandinavian Books by yours truly at Autostraddle.
54 Queer and Feminist Books Coming Out Winter 2023
Happy New Year and welcome to 2023, which promises to be yet another spectacular year for feminist and queer books. This winter is only the beginning! Highlights include: Cree author Jessica Johns’s highly anticipated feminist Indigneous horror novel; a prequel to Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree; the North American release of UK author Alison Rumfitt’s trans haunted house novel Tell Me I’m Worthless; a queer butch hijabi Muslim memoir by Lamya H; a new mystery series about a queer punk nun; a Chinese American graphic novel retelling of Carmilla; more than one YA about trans teen guys; a debut rom com by and about a bisexual Armenian American woman; and more!
January
Back in a Spell by Lana Harper (January 3)
The third book in Harper’s Witches of Thistle Grove series, this paranormal romance is a love story between a powerful queer witch named Nineve and a nonbinary magical newbie named Morty. Although these two have a spectacularly terrible first date, they end up drawn together anyway when Nineve’s magic soars out of control and Morty unexpectedly develops powers of their own. Is it a coincidence or is something witchy telling Nineve and Morty they’re meant to be?
Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed (January 10)
Originally published in Arabic in Mohamed’s native Egypt, this graphic novel is available for the first time in English. The title translates to “your wish is my command,” which exemplifies the alternative Cairo where wishes are actually granted like in fairy tales. The story follows three characters and their wishes, including a nonbinary college student, Nour, who wonders if they should use their wish to “fix” their depression.
Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett (January 10)
In Garrett’s latest contemporary YA novel, the protagonist Mahalia decides that while it’s too late for her to have a sweet sixteen party, she might as well have a coming out party. Soon the idea of celebrating herself and her queerness has consumed her, and she’s spending every minute she’s not flirting with her crush saving money and preparing for the big bash. But when real life worries like her family’s unpaid bills get in the way, she wonders if the party is going to happen after all.
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns (January 10)
This feminist Indigenous horror novel follows the main character Mackenzie on a journey of self-discovery. In her nightmares, she keeps reliving memories linked to her sister Sabrina’s early death; but when the horrors start to creep into her waking hours — like a murder of crows following her around the city — she travels north back to her home to try to find answers. Bad Cree also has secondary queer characters!
Hero Complex by Jesse J. Thomas (January 10)
Hero Complex is a hybrid science fiction superhero story and a romance, starring Bronte, a “mad scientist” who acquires superpowers. When she realizes someone is after her and her superpowered tech inventions, she joins a team of crime fighters and ends up accidentally kidnapping a nurse named Athena. Will Bronte and Athena fall in love and can they defeat Bronte’s nemesis?
The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai (January 10)
This debut fantasy novel set in a world inspired by modern Egyptian history is the first book in a planned duology. It focuses on two women from different spheres: Nehal is an aristocrat with waterweaving powers but no formal magical education and Giorgina is a bookseller and an earthweaver whose powers are dangerously strong.
Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire (January 10)
The eighth instalment in McGuire’s Wayward Children fantasy series, Lost in the Moment and Found can also be read as a standalone. The book follows a young girl who comes from the Shop Where Lost Things Go. After losing her father — metaphorically — she finds herself literally lost and wandering through an infinite amount of worlds but somehow not quite able to leave her Shop for good.
Catch by Kris Bryant (January 10)
Attention sports gays! This lesbian football romance is about a second chance at love for high school sweethearts Sutton and Parker. Sutton, once her high school’s first female quarterback, is starting her dream job as the offensive coordinator for a new NFL team. When the team hires their first quarterback, though, she’s worried: the wife of said quarterback is the woman who got away, her first love in high school who she hasn’t forgotten for 15 years.
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane (January 17)
Set in a slightly different version of the 21st century US, this intriguing novel features a “Department of Balances” that gives law breakers and wrong doers multiple shadows that follow them everywhere. But the novel focuses on the quiet, everyday life in this universe, telling the story of Kris as she prepares for the unexpected life of a single mother while grieving the death of her wife. Themes of queer resistance, the difficulties of parenthood, and grief are all prominent.
Warrior Princesses Strike Back by Sarah Eagle Heart and Emma Eagle Heart-White (January 17)
This memoir / womanifesto is written by Lakota twin activists who share their strategies for Indigenous resistance, healing, and self-care. They tell the story of their childhood growing up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, attending a mostly white high school, and building careers for themselves and navigating bias. Throughout they focus on themes of collectivism, reciprocity, decolonization, truth, and acknowledgement.
Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt (January 17)
Rumfitt’s much acclaimed haunted house horror novel originally published in the UK is now available in North America! Not for the faint of heart, this book has plenty of blood and guts, but it also smartly tackles British fascism and TERFism. Beginning three years after friends/exes spend a night in an abandoned house, the story picks up when one of the women is taken prisoner by the house. Can the others rescue her and will they survive the house’s fresh horrors?
Happiness Is a Shade of Blue by Venetia Di Pierro (January 17)
For anyone who wants to keep the Christmas spirit going into the new year, this anticipated sequel to The Lines of Happiness is set in Wyoming during the winter and holiday season. The novel picks up with our ladies in love, Gloria and Lo, as they settle into their new life together on a ranch. But when Lo makes a difficult request, Gloria wonders if their relationship is already doomed.
The Keeper’s Six by Kate Elliott (January 17)
Action-packed science fantasy starring a bad-ass grandma / mom to the rescue? Sign me up! Our protagonist Esther has been relaxing in Hawaii, but when she wakes up in the middle of the night to her (queer, adult) son’s cries for help, she doesn’t hesitate to leap into action. She sets off for the dangerous space between worlds, on a mission to get her son back from the dragon lord who kidnapped him.
After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz (January 24)
A debut novel by a British scholar, After Sappho is being released in North America in 2023. Set in 1892, 1902, and 1923, the book follows historical sapphic women including Virginia Woolf, Rina Faccio, and Romaine Brooks as their lives as queer women and feminists intersect. Schwartz writes poetically in vignettes and investigates themes of identity, the creative life, and education.
This Unlikely Soil by Andrea Routley (January 24)
Routley’s second book is a collection of short stories set in the Pacific Northwest starring queer women navigating love and loss and looking for connection and meaning. Details of the west coast and the beauty of the natural world are prominent: black bears, Dungeness crabs, mussels, and evergreen trees. The stories are loosely connected, although the women featured vary. Some have been living queer lives for decades, while others are only just coming out in later life.
6 Times We Almost Kissed (and One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe (January 24)
The latest book by this queer YA superstar is a contemporary romance between two teen girls, Penny and Tate, who have always clashed, despite their moms being best friends. When Penny’s mom decides to become a living donor to Tate’s mom who is waiting for a liver transplant and they merge their households to help both women recover, Penny and Tate are in for some quality time together. They might have to confront the fact that although they profess to dislike each other, they have a pattern of almost kissing that has been happening for years.
Judas Goat by Gabrielle Bates (January 24)
You might have read Dani Janae’s early review of this book of poetry, where she tells us it made her start writing again. She continues, praising the collection as “the haunt embodied,” and writing that “the images [Bates] conjures arrest you in their wildness and their brutality.” Avid poetry fans might know Bates as a host of The Poet Salon podcast, where poets talk over special cocktails. This is Bates’s debut book!
Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni (January 31)
Voskuni’s debut queer rom-com is about a bisexual Armenian American woman, Nar, who realizes her current non-Armenian boyfriend is not the one when he proposes in a loud bar full of drunk San Francisco tech bros. With the help of her mom who has been Facebook stalking potential Armenian husbands, Nar agrees to attend a month-long series of Armenian cultural events. But it’s Erebuni, a witchy woman also getting back in touch with her Armenian roots, who catches Nar’s eye.
The Black Queen by Jumata Emil (January 31)
The Black Queen is a YA thriller and murder mystery about the death of Nova, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High. Everyone knows Tinsley, a white girl whose sister, mom, and grandmother were all queens before her, thought the title of homecoming queen was supposed to be hers. Duchess, Nova’s best friend, is highly suspicious, but she can’t convince her police captain dad to arrest the obvious suspect. So it looks like she’ll have to do the investigating herself.
Then Everything Happens at Once by M-E Girard (January 31)
Girard’s second YA contemporary book is a sex-positive story about a fat bisexual teen girl, Baylee, who winds up in the middle of a love triangle. She’s had a crush on her friend and neighbour Freddie for years, but is convinced she isn’t his type; at the same time, she meets Alex, a barista at her favourite coffee shop, and makes a great connection with her. But just as Freddie finally tells Baylee he’s interested in her, Covid hits and Baylee’s dilemma of which person to date seems like a small problem in comparison.
The Fixer by Lee Winter (January)
The Fixer is the first book in a new series — The Villains — by this popular lesbian romance author. The villain here is ice queen Michelle, who works for a secret corporation that caters to wealthy, powerful clients. Michelle’s love interest? Sweet, naive activist Eden, who Michelle hires to help the company bring down a corrupt mayor. Will Eden win her new aloof but beautiful boss’s heart?
February
Clara at the Door with a Revolver by Carolyn Whitzman (February 5)
Whitzman’s work of investigative nonfiction is an amazing historical true crime story about queer Black resistance and resilience. The book tells the story of Clara Ford, a young Black single mother who was working as a seamstress in Toronto in 1894 when she was accused of murdering her wealthy white former neighbor. Despite racism, sexism, and homophobia (it became known that she frequently dressed in men’s clothing), Ford defended herself in court and won.
Consecrated Ground by Virginia Black (February 7)
This multiracial paranormal lesbian romance tells the story of Joan, a witch in a longstanding family of witches who has just returned to her small Oregon hometown after defying tradition to go fight vampires hand to hand. When she arrives home, she has to deal with fending off brutal attacks from a vampire lord as well as her ex, Leigh, who once left Joan for her rival. Jewellery Gomez, author of the classic queer Black vampire novel The Gilda Stories, says “this story blasts through the night like a missile guided not by fuel or electronics but by spells and incantations.”
A Good Day to Pie by Mischa Popp (February 7)
The second installment in this magical, bisexual cozy mystery “Pies Before Guys” series, A Good Day to Pie picks up with the protagonist Daisy as she is entering a reality baking TV show. But, as usual, she also has a magically deadly pie to deliver to a terrible man who deserves it. But the man in question turns out to be one of the show’s judges and he is discovered dead before Daisy’s murder pie is even delivered! Then she has to solve the murder herself before her identity as the feminist pie murderer is revealed.
Choosing Family by Francesca Royster (February 7)
This memoir about “Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance” is about Royster’s experiences building a family through adoption while Royster and her partner are in their forties and fifties. Weaving in wisdom from thinkers like Audre Lorde and José Esteban Muñoz, Royster looks at parenting, adoption, marriage, and family from a queer, Black, feminist perspective. She also recounts her memories of the matriarchs in her own family, arguing that her and many other Black families have historically had queer approaches to family that defy restrictive, white heteronormative traditions.
Out of Character by Jenna Miller (February 7)
This nerdy YA contemporary is about a fat teenage lesbian Cass, who is openly obsessed with the Tide Wars books, although she draws the line at letting everyone know that she’s part of an online Tide Wars roleplay community. But when her grades start to sink and her IRL girlfriend notices she might be crushing on her fellow RPGer, she has to make some tough decisions.
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (February 7)
In this “daring, provocative, and radically hopeful memoir,” Lamya H tells her coming of age story as a queer hijabi Muslim immigrant who grew up in South Asia and the Middle East before coming to the US. She makes sense of her desires, coming out, and identities through juxtaposing her experiences with famous stories from the Quran. She arrives at a place of community and belonging as a queer devout Muslim living in New York City as a new adult.
Such Pretty Flowers by K.L. Cerra (February 7)
Anyone up for a queer “edgy Southern gothic thriller”? When Holly learns of her brother’s apparent death by suicide, she’s suspicious, as he sent her cryptic and odd messages the same night, one of which said “Get it out of me.” Determined to find out the truth, Holly begins to investigate Maura, her brother’s fiancée and a dark-eyed florist with a passion for carnivorous plants, Savannah high society, and black roses. But against her better judgement, Holly starts to fall under Maura’s spell and her darkly sinister world.
Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly (February 7)
This work of literary fiction is set in early 2000s New York as a genderqueer artist and bookbinder struggles with her gender identity/presentation, career, and relationship. At work at the Met, Dawn has to present as a woman although she doesn’t always feel like one, while at home with her queer boyfriend he seems to only be attracted to her when she presents at her most masculine. She’s finding it difficult to come by any inspiration, artistic or otherwise, when she discovers an old queer love letter written on the cover of a 1950s lesbian pulp novel and becomes obsessed with finding the letter writer.
The Severed Thread by Leslie Vedder (February 7)
This YA fairy tale is the sequel to last year’s The Bone Spindle, a gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty. Book-smart Fi and axe-wielding Shane are partners in crime working to restore the kingdom of Andar, but although the prince has been awakened, their battle has just begun. There’s the Spindle Witch to contend with, as well as the Witch hunters and a hunt for an important code hidden in a book and for the mysterious city of the last Witches. The story features a ride-or-die female friendship, two swoony romances — one m/f and the other f/f — and nonstop action!
Unsafe Words: Queering Consent in the #MeToo Era edited by Shantel Gabrieal Buggs and Trevor Hoppe (February 10)
An anthology that aims to centre the voices of queer people in the #MeToo movement, this book collects works from academics, artists, sex workers, and activists addressing issues of consent, harm, and power. Their perspectives challenge the heteronormative, white, and upper class biases of the mainstream #MeToo discourse. Many essays discuss the tools queer communities have made for themselves to ensure ethical and mutually pleasurable sex and discuss options for dealing with sexual violence and harm that divest from the police.
Desires Unleashed by Renee Roman (February 14)
This kinky erotic queer romance is available just in time for Valentine’s Day! Kell, operations manager by day and bartender by night, is intrigued by one of her regulars at the bar, business owner Taylor. Taylor has been visiting the bar every weekend to feast her eyes on the sexy bartender, but she’s wondering if Kell might be interested in the dominance / submission relationship she’s craving. Is Kell up for surrendering to Taylor’s control? Can Taylor trust that her longtime fantasy is actually coming true?
Carmilla: The First Vampire by Amy Chu and Soo Lee (February 14)
A moody, atmospheric graphic novel that reimagines the 1872 lesbian vampire classic Carmilla, Chu and Lee’s collaboration combines Chinese folklore with a feminist murder mystery set at Lunar New Year in 1990s NYC. Our Chinese American lesbian protagonist is a social worker turned detective who uncovers a pattern of LGBTQ homeless youth disappearing. The trail leads her to a shady nightclub in Chinatown named Carmilla’s.
How to Write Erotica by Rachel Kramer Bussel (February 14)
This how-to guide by the prolific bisexual erotica writer and editor is aimed at all genders who want to write erotica, whether it’s for their partner or they’re aiming for publication. Bussel includes practical writing tips and prompts, interviews with other erotica writers for different perspectives, and samples of her own writing. She covers topics like incorporating BDSM themes, using pseudonyms, crafting rounded characters, dealing with writer’s block, and more!
Always the Almost by Edward Underhill (February 14)
A YA rom-com with a trans guy protagonist, Always the Almost is about a teenage pianist named Miles who has two goals for the new year: win back his football star ex-boyfriend and win the Midwest’s biggest classical piano competition and beat his rival. Things get complicated when a new guy arrives in town and Miles wonders if getting back together with his ex is the right idea after all. And his new piano teacher keeps telling him he’s playing “like he doesn’t know who he is.”
A Darker Wilderness edited by Erin Sharkey (February 14)
“Black nature writing from soil to stars,” this anthology features personal essays that interact with special archival objects of note to Black history while centering nature. The work looks at how Black people’s relationships with the natural world have thrived despite the oppressive forces of colonialism, slavery, and state violence. Contributions include Ama Codjoe’s mediation on a photo from a Civil Rights demonstration in Alabama that discusses the intersections of rain, Black hair, and protest and Erin Sharkey’s piece on following the seasons of a Buffalo garden through the lens of reading Benjamin Banneker’s 1795 almanac.
And Other Mistakes by Erika Turner (February 14)
In this debut coming-of-age YA story, the protagonist Aaliyah is dealing with the aftermath of being outed by an elder at her church and trying to survive her last year of high school with her friendships and cross country running track record intact. But things aren’t easy, what with her own insecurities, new track teammates, tension with old friends, and new girl, Tessa, who catches Aaliyah’s eye despite herself. Can Aaliyah own up to her own mistakes, or will she keep trying to outrun them?
Sweetlust by Asja Bakić, Translated by Jennifer Zoble (February 14)
Bosnian author Bakić’s second book to be translated into English is a collection of feminist science fiction stories which take up themes of climate change, gender fluidity, artificial intelligence, and sexuality. In one story set in a future Balkans flooded due to global warming, a programmer tries to build a time machine . In another, women in a dystopian future without men are sent to an erotic amusement park for “rehabilitation.”
Tides of Love by Kimberly Cooper Griffin (February 14)
In Griffin’s contemporary romance, Mikayla has recently gotten divorced from her husband and come out as bisexual. But she’s struggling to live life on her own terms and is stagnating staying temporarily in a home at Oceana Mobile Home Park. Gem is the property manager of Oceana, and also feeling stuck taking care of her dad’s business while he is ill, even though she swore it was the life she wanted to leave behind. Can these two women make it work despite neither being in the best place?
Planning Perfect by Haley Neil (February 14)
Sapphic ace YA rom-com alert! Felicity is a teenager who loves planning events, so when her mom gets engaged, it’s the perfect opportunity to hone her skills. She snags a venue through her long distance friend Nancy, whose family owns an apple orchard. But as the two girls spend more and more time together over the summer, Felicity wonders if there’s something romantic between them. But she’s not even sure what that would look like for her as an ace girl who’s never been in a relationship before.
Monstersona by Chloe Spencer (February 14)
This queer YA science fiction adventure is described as Thelma and Louise meets Godzilla! When Riley wakes up one morning in her small Maine town to widespread fire caused by an unseen monster, she and her dog Tigger flee in her truck, picking up the only other survivor they can find, Aspen, Riley’s beautiful but strange crush. As the girls and the dog head across the country to Oregon where Riley’s dad lives, they realize they are being followed by scientists, a shady-looking SUV with blacked out windows, and a monstrous secret.
Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom by Nina Varela (February 14)
A middle grade fantasy adventure about friendship and queer identity, Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom is about the collision of Juniper’s regular life with a sword-wielding princess from a magical realm. Juniper keeps having dreams of a mysterious girl, a temple, and a scary attack. One day while feeling down, Juniper draws the girl from her dreams and thinks, I wish you were here. The next morning she wakes up to the girl holding a sword at her throat!
The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood (February 15)
Sequel to The Unspoken Name, this fantasy novel picks up with Csorwe and her girlfriend Shuthmili two years after Csorwe’s betrayal of her mentor, the wizard Sethennai, who turned out to not be such a great guy. The two women are working with Csorwe’s old rival / co-conspirator, Tal, on a routine job exploring the ruins of an ancient snake empire when a previously unknown enemy emerges.
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (February 21)
The first book in a new mystery series, Scorched Grace features a tattooed, chain-smoking, queer punk rocker turned nun turned amateur detective named Sister Holiday. When the New Orleans school Sister Holiday works at is the target of multiple arsons, she isn’t content to sit around for the inept police to solve the crime. Her investigation leads her to suspect her colleagues, students, and even her fellow sisters, while at the same time it urges her to reckon with her own past sins. This book is the first published by Gillian Flynn’s new imprint!
The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes (February 21)
Set in three different cities in the 1930s and 40s, The Librarian of Burned Books follows three women: Althea in 1933 Berlin, Hannah in 1936 Paris, and Vivian in 1944 New York City. Each of them is involved with the book world — as authors and librarians — and its connections to WWII-era anti-censorship and anti-facism movements. This story is based on a real historical literary organization that aimed to use books “as weapons in the war of ideas.” It also features a lesbian romance!
Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah (February 21)
This supernatural YA thriller is set in a creepy town called Bishop, known for its seemingly endless fields of sunflowers and recurring mysterious disappearances of women. So when three mothers go missing one stormy night, their four daughters are left with little consolation as the townsfolk merely accept the disappearance as business as usual. But each girl — including Whitney, who’s lost both her mother and her girlfriend — has a secret that isn’t going to stay hidden for long … and so does the town itself.
I Am Ace: Advice on Living Your Best Asexual Life by Cody Daigle-Orians (February 21)
I Am Ace is a work of nonfiction aimed at teens who are ace, demisexual, grey-ace, or questioning. Tackling topics like acephobia, how to come out as ace, relationships as an ace person, and variations of ace identity and the asexual spectrum, the book aims to be a helpful, approachable guide. Throughout, Daigle-Orians shares experiences from his own Iife.
For Her Consideration by Amy Spalding (February 21)
This romance novel is the adult debut of a beloved queer YA author (you might be familiar with Spalding’s The Summer of Jordi Perez)! Nina is an aspiring LA screenwriter who has mostly given up on her dreams — professional and personal — after a devastating breakup. Living out in the suburbs and working her talent agency job ghostwriting celebrity emails from home, the last thing she expects is to get to know Ari, a bossy out queer movie star who has her own ideas about how Nina should be managing her email account. Not only is Ari stirring up feelings Nina has long tried to bury, she also encourages Nina to pick up her script writing again. Is this Nina’s romance and career comeback?
Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns (February 28)
Guns’s debut is a darkly funny and fierce social satire that is a queer take on the 1970 film Taxi Driver. Damani is a ride share driver just scrapping by, living in a basement with her mom in the aftermath of her dad’s death on the job at a fast food restaurant. When she gives a ride to a woman named Jolene, the two women’s chemistry is immediately intense, despite Damani’s misgivings about dating a rich white lady. But just as Damani and Jolene’s relationship takes off, Jolene does something unforgivable, setting off an unexpected and strange chain of events.
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran (February 28)
This moody gothic horror mystery YA is set in Vietnam, where the protagonist Jade has arrived for a five week visit with her estranged father, hoping to convince him to fund her college education back in the US. But her performance of the perfect, straight Vietnamese American daughter is the least of her worries when it appears the French colonial era house her father is restoring is literally out to get her. When neither Ba or her younger sister believe her about the hauntedness of the house, Jade has to figure out by herself why it wants to destroy her family, before it succeeds.
If I Can Give You That by Michael Gray Bulla (February 28)
Gael is a 17-year-old trans guy who has a lot going on in this YA contemporary debut. He’s busy supporting his mother struggling with depression, tentatively reconnecting with his estranged dad, and navigating everyday struggles as a trans teen in a conservative high school in Tennessee. But when his friend convinces him to go to an LGBTQIA+ support group for teens, he meets a new crush Declan, and a new group of queer friends.
A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon (February 28)
Attention, fans of 2020’s epic sapphic fantasy The Priory of the Orange Tree! Shannon’s latest is a prequel to her beloved previous book, but it can also be read as a standalone for anyone who hasn’t read Priory yet. The story follows four women: Tunuva, sister of the Priory; Sabran the Ambitious and her daughter Glorian; and Dumai, a dragon keeper. When the Dreadmount erupts, each woman will have to do her part to protect humankind from the era of violence and terror that follows.
The Unfortunates by J.K. Chukwu (February 28)
Sahara is a queer Nigerian sophomore at an elite American college in Chukwu’s fiercely funny and edgy debut novel. Although she herself is close to throwing in the towel — she’s been dealing with depression for as long as she can remember — she becomes obsessed with the “unfortunates,” Black undergrad students who keep mysteriously disappearing. Tasking herself with an ironic academic “thesis” that will document the unforunates’ experiences before she becomes one of them, Sahara discovers within herself a newfound will to fight, alongside her fellow women of color.
Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head (February 28)
This queer mystery author’s latest novel is especially personal, as the story is drawn from her own family’s history. Set alternately in 1929 and 2019 in Birmingham, Alabama, the narrative follows carpenter Robert in the 20s as he establishes his family in a town experiencing an economic boom but also rising white supremacist activity. In 2019, Robert’s great-granddaughter, a journalist for the Detroit Free Press, travels to Birmingham to investigate his still as-yet unsolved murder. But as she gets closer to the truth, she worries that her own life is in danger.
The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa (February 28)
Latinx nonbinary YA pirate fantasy, anyone? On Mar’s 16th birthday, their family is visited by El Diablo, who is there to make good on the bargain he struck with Mar’s father to take his soul, along with the rest of the pirate crew. Miraculously surviving and rescued by the other pirate ship in the Caribbean, Mar has to gather their strength — and magical ability — to emerge victorious against El Diablo. Good thing they have two new allies: Bas, the captain’s handsome son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio.
Which winter 2023 queer and feminist books are you most excited about? Tell us about them in the comments! And see you in March for the spring queer books round-up!
In a Year Full of Great Sapphic Holiday Romances, “Kiss Her Once for Me” Stood Out
2022 was a great year for sapphic holiday romances, with the usual ones published by indie lesbian presses bolstered by a number of books put out by mainstream publishers. Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun is one of the latter, and we are so lucky to have it. It is incredibly festive, effortlessly queer in a very Portland, OR kind of way, and totally adorable. Plus, it is trope-tastic in a very satisfyingly gay way and takes on themes of fear and intimacy with nuance and compassion for its characters.
Alison Cochrun writes in her acknowledgements that this book originated as a “fluffy holiday rom com about a lesbian Bill Pullman” aka a gay While You Were Sleeping. While that description isn’t inaccurate — I think fans of the movie will enjoy this book, although I wouldn’t be put off if you aren’t — you can definitely feel in the finished product how Kiss Her Once for Me evolved to be so much more. Truly no shade to relentlessly fluffy rom coms, they are a beautiful and necessary thing in this world. This book just isn’t that.
Kiss Her Once for Me takes place over two timelines: the present, aka this Christmas, and last Christmas. (Yes, queue up the Wham! song, which of course plays at the most inopportune times for our bi and demisexual heroine, Ellie, to rub salt in the wounds of her heartbreak). Last Christmas, Ellie thought she was on the road to success: she’d successfully landed a job at an animation studio in Portland, where she’d recently moved, and she’d had a romance novel worthy meet-cute at Powell’s bookstore when she and the butch of her dreams both reached for the last copy of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home at the same time. Ellie and said butch, Jack, spend an amazing snow day together exploring Portland, falling in love over the course of a day as you do, and end up spending the night in Jack’s Airstream trailer where they get to exploring each other, wink wink.
But something goes horribly wrong the next morning. As the dual narratives unfold, they alternately give readers sweet details of Ellie and Jack’s snow day and catch us up on Ellie’s present. This Christmas, Ellie is not doing so great. She got laid off from her job in animation, throwing her majorly off track in her carefully designed ten-year life plan. Things with Jack, which seemed so initially promising, didn’t work out. She’s working at a hipster coffee shop with an asshole boss. She is horribly broke, and her manipulative mom is guilting her into sending her money Ellie can’t spare. Her rent is being increased. Her only bright spots are the web comics she creates anonymously and her friendship with Ari, a fellow cafe employee.
Cochrun effortlessly balances the two timelines, stretching out the narrative tension of how and why Jack and Ellie imploded so soon after their magical day just long enough to keep the pacing propulsive but not too long. She’s got plenty of other tricks up her sleeve to keep readers enthralled and turning the pages. For one thing: romance tropes! So we know from the beginning this is a second chance love story, of two women who are torn apart by circumstances but brought back together serendipitously. Cochrun is just getting started, though. There are also many more staples of the romance genre on display in this book: the fake relationship! Having to get married to secure your inheritance! Getting snowed in together! Only one bed!! It’s a smorgasbord of romance tropes, made deliciously gay.
Back to Ellie and her dire situation. You can see how under such circumstances a girl might decide that agreeing to fake marry a property investment bro — the landlord of the coffee shop Ellie works at — is a decent idea. Enter Andrew Kim-Prescott, who proposes a drunken plan that will solve Ellie’s financial woes, help with her loneliness, and allow him to get the 2 million dollar inheritance his grandfather stipulated he had to be married to receive. Andrew offers Ellie ten percent of the inheritance to be his fake fiancée then wife for about a year before they part ways. Win-win, right? They’ll launch the pretend relationship by spending the Christmas holidays in Andrew’s family’s cabin. What could go wrong?
The (gay) twist here is that Ellie isn’t going to fall in actual love with the person she’s fake dating, as the trope usually goes. We know she’s still hung up on Jack from last Christmas. And in a delightfully expected way, you know that this awesome sister Andrew keeps talking about is, of course, Jack. Now Ellie is trapped in a huge rich person’s idea of a cabin in the snowy woods with her fake boyfriend and the woman who broke her heart! In the lead up to the reveal — because of course the truth eventually comes out — there are a ton of festive and wintery activities that make this book very Christmasy in the best cozy way. There is carol singing, ugly Christmas sweaters, tree decorating, cookie baking, a family Christmas photo shoot, a ski trip, and much more!
And it’s not just the content of Kiss Her Once for Me that is festive. Cochrun’s writing, on top of being very funny, is often thematically and seasonally on point. Take, for example, this description of Ellie’s anxiety: “My insides are a runny glass of eggnog.” When Andrew arrives in the coffee shop for the visit that sets the plot in motion, Ellie tells us: “A visit from Andrew Kim-Prescott is usually a highlight in my sad-hermit life, but this is just the flammable tinsel on the dried-out Charlie Brown Christmas tree of my day.” Christmasy metaphors abound!
In the middle of the book before the shit hits the fan, Cochrun also introduces two of my favorite secondary characters, Lovey and Meemaw. These ladies are two pot-smoking, drinking-sangria-first-thing-in-the-morning grandmas who are the previous wives of Jack and Andrew’s despicable now deceased grandfather. They are a nonstop delight. There’s also Dylan, Jack’s old friend who got disowned from their family when they came out as nonbinary and who’s been adopted by the Kim-Prescotts. Dylan is extremely prickly — in general but also for a very good reason I will not spoil for you — but underneath they’re a big pile of mush; they’re the kind of person who has a neck tattoo but is also a kindergarten teacher. Ellie might not be in love with Andrew, but she does fall for his family in the time they get to spend together, which makes the reality that she isn’t really joining their family all the more hard to swallow.
One thing I really appreciated about Kiss Her Once for Me was how deeply integrated queerness is into this story. I’ve read sapphic romances that feel like they could have worked equally well as a cishet romance if you’d simply swapped out the characters’ names and pronouns. There’s nothing wrong with books like that, per se. But Kiss Her Once for Me wouldn’t work as anything other than a queer romance. And that’s not because the plot hinges on homophobia either. The meet cute is so gay! The secondary romantic subplot is so gay! The friends are so gay! The dialogue is so gay! Take this sparkling Ellie and Jack scene full of gay banter, for example:
‘How have you never chopped wood before?’ I ask her as she grips the axe with an uncharacteristic lack of confidence.
‘When would I have chopped wood before?’ she practically shouts… ‘I had a very privileged upbringing!’
‘But you wear so much flannel.’
‘Everyone wears flannel! It’s Portland!’
‘And the Carhartt jacket.’
‘What is your issue with my jacket?’
‘And I’ve heard you talk about building a chicken coop.’
‘With a table saw.’ She brandishes the axe in my direction. ‘And why am I the one who has to chop the wood?’
‘Because you are the butch lesbian.’
She glares. ‘That’s all I am to you, isn’t it? A butch lesbian stereotype.’
‘No, you’re very complex and multifaceted, but your arm muscles are objectively bigger than mine, so you’re just going to have to do the stereotypical thing here.’
Another of the book’s strengths is the delicate balance between fun and humor and the heavy familial issues both Ellie and Jack are dealing with. Ellie has anxiety and a deep, deep fear of failure, rooted in her parents’ lifelong negligence. Her fear of failure is a habit borne out of being the kid of two parents who got accidentally pregnant when they were hardly out of childhood themselves and who kept the baby because of their Catholic background. It’s a recipe for resentful parents who blame their kid for her own existence. Maybe, Ellie thinks, if she never ever fails and is the perfect daughter, her parents will love her. Jack, for her part, is the decidedly less favored sibling in her family, but not because she’s gay. She’s not interested in or good at the kind of traditional academic learning her dad’s (wealthy) side of the family values, especially as he expects his kids to continue the family investment business. It’s meant years of Jack trying to fit herself into a box that was never right, and sacrificing some of her family’s support and respect in order to live her life doing what makes her happy, namely, being a baker.
One thing to love about romances is there’s no spoiling the end, at least not in a general sense. We know these two queer women end up making it work and get their happily-ever-after, because otherwise it wouldn’t qualify for the genre. The joy in reading an awesome romance like this one is the journey along the way and the specific ways that the book explores familiar themes and tropes. In that way, Kiss Her Once for Me is a truly stellar example of not just a holiday romance or a queer romance, but of any kind of romance because it’s so good at playing with genre expectations and at building fully realized leads who have character arcs separate but complementary to the love story. Plus, have I mentioned it is really fun and really gay?
Eight New Queer Indigenous Books
In this month’s Ask Your Friendly Neighborhood Lesbrarian I am featuring eight new queer Indigenous books! When I say new, I mean all of these books have been published in the last year. They include poetry, contemporary YA, science fiction, short stories, essay collections, graphic novels, and more! I am so excited about the amazing queer work being done by queer Indigenous writers that has been made more widely available recently. More please, publishing industry!
Buffalo Is the New Buffalo by Chelsea Vowel
In this collection of Métis futurism, science fiction stories tackle themes of ancestral traditions, colonization and its impacts on Indigenous peoples, Indigenous resistance, and more. Looking back in order to imagine a future, the work references a common contemporary saying among Indigenous people: “education is the new buffalo.” In other words, education is the backbone of survival as buffalo historically was for Plains nations. But what, Vowel asks, if Indigenous people ensured that ancestral ways — like dependance on the buffalo — continue into the future instead of relegating them to the past? Vowel investigates this question in the book’s eight stories. In one, a Two-Spirit rougarou shapeshifts in the 19th century and becomes involved in an organization that successfully changes the future and stops Canadian colonial expansion. In others, foxes transform into humans and entangle themselves in human romance and a Métis man is gored by a radioactive bison and gains superpowers.
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
The second novel by queer/ace Lipan Apache YA author Darcie Little Badger, A Snake Falls to Earth is about an Apache girl, Nina, who lives in the mundane world but believes in the old stories. She’s in the middle of a project translating a story she recorded her great-grandmother telling. Now that her great-grandmother has passed away, she wants to investigate her claim that there is magic on her land. Nina’s world and the world of spirits and monsters are suddenly brought together by a disaster on earth. Oli, a cottonmouth shapeshifting snake from the land of spirits: meet Nina. Oli, like all of his kind, has been cast from his home. But he’s making it work living at the edge of a bottomless lake. Their stories are told in vignettes set in both worlds, in a languid, luxurious pace. Themes you can dig into in this powerful novel include: friendship, family, human-animal relationships, and identity building. Nina is asexual, by the way!
A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt
The first novel by poet and academic Billy-Ray Belcourt (Driftpile Cree Nation), A Minor Chorus is about a queer Indigenous PhD student caught between his childhood growing up on the reservation and the new world of urban academia in which he’s enmeshed. He has paused his dissertation and turned to novel writing. Unnamed throughout the book, he recounts various encounters and memories. He thinks of his cousin Jack, who is trapped in a cycle of drug use and police violence. It’s only through the work of chance that the protagonist has avoided being caught in this cycle himself. He looks at Jack’s life and sees it running parallel to his own. In the meantime, he meets with a man named Michael from his hometown, who is closeted. Michael’s loneliness as a queer Indigenous man emphasizes the marginalized position he occupies. And even for scholars lucky enough to make it to grad school like the narrator and a colleague, River, there are enormous pressures they face specifically because they’re marginalized within the academy as a microcosm of the wider world.
Rabbit Chase by Elizabeth LaPensée and KC Oster
This middle grade graphic novel is a queer Anishinaabe retelling of Alice in Wonderland! The main character is Aimée, a nonbinary Anishinaabe middle schooler. One day, on a field trip, they accidentally wander off into the woods and find themselves falling into an alternate dimension where characters and figures from traditional Anishinaabe stories — as well as things like robots! — live. How is Aimée going to get back home? They team up with a trickster tasked with hunting down dark water spirits, with help from Paayehnsag, spirits known for protecting the land. As Aimée journeys through this new world, they meet new foes but also new friends. If they make it back to the mundane world, maybe they will have something to contribute to the cause of protecting land from development, which was the original reason behind the field trip. Featuring expressive, realist artwork by Ojibwe-Anishinaabe artist KC Oster and authentically tween words by Anishinaabe, Métis, and Irish writer Elizabeth LaPensée.
Ask the Brindled by No’u Revilla
The debut poetry collection of No’u Revilla, an ʻŌiwi queer poet and educator, tackles the history of the Kingdom of Hawai’i; the stories of queer and Indigenous Hawaiians throughout time; contemporary queer life, love, and grief; and a queer Indigenous future. The collection oscillates between poetic forms, including sonnets and “Erasure triptychs,” a form where Revilla omits words from a found text but also comments on what has been removed. Throughout the poems a shapeshifting figure, mo’o, is woven. Mo’o is a water protector, lizard, woman, and deity; also, though, mo’o is a story, tradition, or legend, and it can, as per the collection’s title, be “Brindled, of the skin, markings on those who feed and protect.” Revilla writes for and about queer Indigenous women today, whose stories and baskets she asserts are “still sacred.” But she also calls out to the queer Indigenous daughters of the future: “the ea of enough is our daughters / our daughters need to believe they are enough.” She looks back to her grandmother, whose advice to hold knives in her hair she follows, “the way my grandmother—not god— / the way my grandmother intended.” Writing from her moment in the present day, she also looks backward and forward to weave an emotionally resonant book that creates new Indigenous artistry while condemning colonialism.
Màgòdiz by Gabe Calderón
In the Algonquin dialect of Anishinaabe, màgòdiz means a “person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of their country.” The novel, of course, features many characters who fit this description, resisting the dire circumstances in a post-apocalyptic world where evil Enforcers, ruled by a spiritual entity intent on subjugating humanity, are the only people left with any power. No one can read or write, lacking both tools and knowledge. This story is a queer, disabled, and Indigenous twist on the classic fantasy quest narrative, with a ragtag group of heroes — a storyteller, a healer, a firekeeper, an engineer, and a warrior — leading the resistance. If they can stay alive and combine their ancestral strengths, they may be able to send the evil away for good. Calderon’s dystopian world is an astute take on today’s climate crisis, as well as a warning about the loss of knowledge traditions and the importance of transferring information from one generation to the next.
Making Love with the Land by Joshua Whitehead
Joshua Whitehead, a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw writer and member of the Peguis First Nation, recently published his first book of nonfiction. A collection of hybrid essays / memoir / confessions / notes, the book tackles concepts of the body, language, and the land. Using a new form of storytelling he calls “biostory,” he crafts sovereign narratives beyond genre rooted in the Indigenous body, its joys, pain, beauty, and trauma. Topics include mental health, heartbreak, sexual assault, the pandemic, relations with kin, responsibility to the land, rediscovering old ways of being, and more. While exploring these themes, he often hones in on small pieces of language, exploding them for meaning. For example, in the essay “Joshua Tree,” he writes that the word “ex” is “a signifier that [he] didn’t want to attribute to a relationship, a disgusting word with its colonial sentiment of ownership, its finality.” If you’re a fan of his novel Jonny Appleseed, like I am, one of the pieces also contains a behind the scenes peek at creating that character!
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson
This debut YA contemporary novel by Jen Ferguson (Métis and Canadian settler) is a powerful story that lives up to the contrasting tastes of sweet and bitter in its title. The protagonist Lou(isa) is facing a complicated post-grade 12 summer in her small prairie town. She’s set to work in her family’s ice cream shack business, but her co-worker is her newly ex-boyfriend. That relationship was toxic and coercive, leaving Lou feeling hurt and confused. On top of that, she receives a letter from her biological dad, who has been released from prison and wants to meet her. Lou can’t think of anything she wants less. A good surprise, though, is the arrival of King, Lou’s old best friend who left their town three years ago without explanation. Through exploring herself and a burgeoning romance with King, Lou learns about ace and demisexual identities, boundaries, and intimacy. This is the kind of YA book that feels like it’s about real teenagers who don’t have things figured out, don’t have answers, and are just exploring who they might want to be.
Do you have any favorite queer Indigenous books? Please share them in the comments!
92 of the Best Queer Books of 2022
Every year it gets harder and harder to make this list and, honestly, that is a problem I am so grateful to have. There were a huge amount of amazing queer books published this year. I am thrilled to see queer lit blossoming within my lifetime. I can’t believe that as a young adult I was actually able to read most of and keep track of all the sapphic books coming out. That would be impossible now! And, truly, that’s a good thing because in 2022 there is something for every queer reader.
Almost every category in this 2022 best of list was very competitive. There are a lot of very good books that I had to leave off! Instead of limiting each category to five books, this year I’ve included six for most of them because it was too painful to narrow it down any further. Okay, now what you’ve all been waiting for: the best queer books of 2022, all 92 of them!
Comics / Graphic Novels or Memoirs
Thieves by Lucie Bryon
Lucie Bryon’s gorgeous, expressively drawn romance between two French teenagers is impossibly sweet, fun, and cheerful. Ella and Madeleine both have a tendency to kleptomania and the consequential plot — crashing parties in order to return things they’ve stolen from people’s houses — is pure delight. Character development and emotion are expertly conveyed in Bryon’s energetic lines and strategic use of a single fitting color per scene. As Ella and Madeleine fall for each other, you’ll fall for them.
Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer
As Heather Hogan writes in her review for Autostraddle, Flung Out of Space is “an exceptional graphic novel, and a grown-up one too.” Grappling honestly with the complicated legacy of Patricia Highsmith, her acclaimed novel The Price of Salt, and its film adaptation Carol, the book features precise, atmospheric, and noir-esque art; an excellent clipping pace; and snappy, smart dialogue. The subject matter and the visual style are a perfect match here.
Messy Roots by Laura Gao
Subtitled “A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American,” this delightfully funny book has been noted for its relevance to Covid-19, but it’s so much more than that. Gao’s art is emotive and fun, her spare use of color popping to great effect at the text’s big moments. Her style shifts effortlessly throughout. Tackling the evolution of her queer, immigrant, and Asian identities throughout her life, Gao’s narrative is a reminder of how meaningful and energizing coming of age and coming out stories can be.
Men I Trust by Tommi Parrish
The stunning, dreamy, surreal pages of full color art alone work wonders to tell the story of complicated queer friendship and millenial loneliness that is Men I Trust. The main characters, Sasha and Eliza, are deeply colored, hand painted women with oddly small heads and huge bodies, just people trying to make their way through the hellscape of late stage capitalism. In her Autostraddle review, Drew Burnett Gregory writes about the book’s unique art: “The distance their style creates reveals itself to be an invitation.” This graphic novel is a searing look at how worthwhile it is to create real intimacy despite its difficulties — the difficulties the novel itself digs into deeply.
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith
An incredibly moving and powerful testament to Black women, their friendships, and their hair, Wash Day Diaries is a wonderful example of how beautiful, vibrant art is made through focusing on small daily details and specific lived experiences. Each chapter’s art style and color palette are expertly adjusted to fit the featured character, with Davene, for example, a character experiencing depression, drawn in blue shades. The dialogue of these Bronx ladies is skillfully rendered; the result is seemingly effortless authenticity. All together, the book is a triumph of joy while also smartly tackling issues like mental health, familial homophobia, and deciding if/when to settle down with someone you’re dating.
Space Trash, Vol 1 by Jenn Woodall
With a lively, intricate art style that is simultaneously futuristic and vintage 80s punk, Space Trash, Vol 1 makes the science fiction dystopian world — technically, moon — these three sapphic teens inhabit seem oh so real. Woodall’s clever, biting words are an equal match to the art’s vivaciousness. The fully realized characters are as endlessly charming as their story is compelling. This comic succeeds in the same way that the best Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes do: effortlessly combining mundane high school experience with the speculative, with an extraordinary cumulative punch.
Fantasy
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi
With deep roots in Ghanian and Arabian mythology, this dense, engaging fantasy is pure magic. The Final Strife is epic fantasy at its best: layered, complex world-building; gripping plotting that will have you staying up past your bedtime; expert pacing; and let’s not forget unique sapphic characters going on a journey from enemies to lovers! Sylah, Anoor, and Hassa are engaging, achingly real characters whose alliance to take down a cruel empire is a joy to experience. El-Arifi’s exploration of themes including addiction, rebellion, love, class, and hierarchy is thoughtful and moving.
Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman
This delightfully weird paranormal / urban fantasy is a truly new and creative take on vampirism, and not just because the vampire in question is trans. Dead Collections is part eccentric romance, part subtle mystery, and part melancholic character study of Sol, a neurotic undead archivist. Fellman’s portrayal of vampirism as a chronic illness is thought-provoking and unique, as is his writing on grief, fandom, gender, and music, as they come up in relation to Sol’s story. This novel is a big winner for both avid readers of character-driven fiction and fans of vampire stories of all stripes.
Spear by Nicola Griffith
Griffith’s queer feminist retelling of Percival the Knight has a timeless, old-fashioned ambience to its storytelling while at the same time feeling very grounded in details of 6th century Welsh life. Peretur is a special fantasy protagonist, not only as a gender nonconforming lesbian, but as a superhero / half god whose powers come from being incredibly in tune with nature and the environment. Spear shows us that there are still new King Arthur stories to be told. Read Heather’s full review on Autostraddle, where shw declares that Griffith “flips the whole legend on its head, while keeping a keen eye on all the mythology that came before it.”
Fruiting Bodies by Kathryn Harlan
These shimmering queer short stories evoke the elements we associate with the original versions of old fairy tales: a creeping sense of dread; tempting danger; bold magical realism; timelessness; surprising yet inevitable outcomes. In lush prose, Harlan captivates the reader with narratives of queer women on the edge of something new, like when a lesbian couple feasts on mushrooms growing from one of their bodies, only to be interrupted by a man. In another story, two young cousins await the arrival of a new addition to their family, convinced he has deadly supernatural powers. The collection’s overall effect is as invigorating as it is disturbing.
The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg
Lemberg’s first full novel in their acclaimed Birdverse series is outstanding. With deep roots in queer- and transness, neurodivesity, and mythical cosmology, this loose retelling of the Atlantis legend is intimate and authentic. Two characters, a poet and a starkeeper, fall in love over the course of the narrative as they work hard to save their doomed island home. The book’s lyrical prose, complex characterization, compelling action, and emotional resonance come together to create a flawless fantasy story. For nonbinary representation in adult fantasy, The Unbalancing should be your first stop.
The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
The sequel to the much beloved The Jasmine Throne, The Oleander Sword holds its own as an equally stunning tale of sapphic action and revolution. When the story begins, Malini has been declared the rightful empress, but that doesn’t mean deposing her brother will be any less difficult or bloody; Priya is determined to rid her people of a slow-spreading sickness but she doesn’t yet understand the magic inside herself that will help her accomplish the task. Inspired by India’s history and culture, Suri’s feminist world-building continues to be ambitious and expansive. Her lovable yet ruthless priestess and princess protagonists are unforgettable characters. This is the kind of phenomenal queer South Asian epic fantasy we deserve!
Horror
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
In her review for Autostraddle, when Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya writes that this ocean horror novel’s language “is like a fork’s tines moving through perfectly cooked fish: grotesque and lovely all at once,” she might have been describing the book’s overall effect. While languishing in Armfield’s stunning writing and sharp-eyed observations, the reader experiences an expertly crafted creeping sense of unease. What exactly happened to the wife under the sea while on a mysteriously long submarine expedition and will her marriage survive the aftereffects? It’s to the novel’s credit that the end feels both completely shocking and an inevitability.
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
In Felker-Martin’s bold splatterpunk post-apocalyptic horror novel, TERFs are the villains and a new virus has turned any human with a certain level of testosterone into a raging homicidal rapist zombie. But as Drew writes in her intro to the Autostraddle interview with the author, “the novel is so much more than a provocation.” Felker-Martin explores trans women’s relationships to each other and themselves, the confusion of safety and comfort, dystopian sex, and more. Manhunt is as brutal, disgusting, and thought-provoking as it’s meant to be. Check out Felker-Martin’s article for Autostraddle about writing from a TERF character POV in this novel.
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
This queer retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The House of Usher” is just the entry we needed in the flourishing subgenres of both gothic horror and fungi horror (yes, you heard me correctly). As deliciously creepy as it is inventive with world-building, What Moves the Dead is about a nonbinary soldier — pronouns specific to that stature in society — who encounters increasing terrors while visiting an ill friend at a secluded manor. The terrifying imagery is matched, somehow, by equally satisfying humor. With a rollicking pace and an engrossing mystery, this novella succeeds on every level.
Queer Little Nightmares edited by David Ly and Daniel Zomparelli
Monsters within and without — but not necessarily something to be afraid of — are the theme of this diverse, entertaining anthology of fiction and poetry that explores the links between horror and queerness. Standouts include Hiromi Goto’s wonderfully dark and bloody story about a perimenopausal woman devouring her own sentient creature-shaped menstrual blood clots; Amber Dawn’s delightful story with vintage horror movie camp vibes about young rural lesbian werewolves; and Levi Cain’s hilarious yet disturbing story about a narrator’s 30-foot tall murderous monster girlfriend who eats cops and rude neighbours.
Helen House by Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
This lesbian ghost story centered on the terrifying ritual of going home to meet your girlfriend’s parents for the first time beautifully dances around the question of whether the haunting is “real” or not. In Stef Rubino’s review for Autostraddle, they write that “Upadhyaya builds profound atmospheric tension in a small amount of space and flips certain tropes in stunning directions.” While doing so, the book explores themes of grief, trauma, therapy, and sex with nuance and imagination. Creepy illustrations by Kira Gondeck-Silvia are the icing on top of this horror novelette by Autostraddle’s very own managing editor! Read more about the book in Nico Hall’s interview with KKU herself!
Historical Fiction
The Lost Century by Larissa Lai
Lai brings her expertise in rich world-building from her speculative fiction to this historical novel set in the mid 20th century in Hong Kong. Beginning in a frame narrative in 1997 when Violet asks for a family history on Hong Kong’s last day as a British colony, the engrossing narrative delves into Hong Kong’s complex and dystopic mix of people, nationalities, races, and motivations. While a clear indictment of colonialism and empire, the novel also resists telling reductive moral lessons. Lai chooses to focus on the resistance and resilience of women and on the riveting family drama that propels the action.
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
This breathtaking historical fantasy could have found a home in this list’s fantasy category, but it is so rooted in early 20th century Jewish emigrant experiences that its historical aspect is equally important. While a (genderless) angel and a (disabled) demon are the focal points of the novel, the leave taking of their shetl is fueled by an entirely human missing young emigrant. The characters they meet along their journey to the US are gorgeously drawn, bringing historical queerness to the forefront. The story feels timeless like a piece of Jewish folklore and as well-plotted and intricately researched as a novel by a writer with three times more experience than this debut author.
Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk
Equal parts magical fantasy, noir mystery, and sapphic period piece, this novel brings to life 1940s Chicago in its delightfully seedy glory while not ignoring the setting’s oppressiveness for its queer inhabitants. Helen, the magical exiled PI fighting for her literal soul as well as the chance to spend the rest of her life with her partner, is a terrifically crafted character driven by love. Polk particularly excels at creating an intensely foreboding and dark mood, an atmosphere thick with tension, grit, and blood. It’s the kind of book you’ll thank for breaking your heart.
Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman
Eschewing a straightforward linear structure, this beautifully written coming of age story presents vignettes throughout the protagonist Razia’s life. Focusing on women and girls’ friendship and queer love in Queens’ Pakistani American community in the 1980s, the novel is quietly ferocious. It insists on Razia’s Muslim faith as much as her queerness and revels in the grey, in between places. Characters and the setting are equally richly drawn and Rehman’s prose is alternately delicate and fierce.
When Franny Stands Up by Eden Robins
A moving tribute to women comedians of the past, this historical novel with a magical realism edge is set in 1950s Chicago. Franny, our big-mouthed wiseass sapphic Jewish main character, is searching for her Showstopper, the new phenomenon of a joke by a female comedian that momentarily takes the laughing audience — women only — to a place of euphoria. Robins’ narrative delicately explores the relationship between trauma and comedy, eliciting plenty of laughs while also providing a thoughtful look at found family, sexual assault, PTSD, and mid-century queer life. Robins’ writing is snappy, her characters — particularly secondary ones — are memorable, and this novel’s conceit is an utterly unique alternative history expertly played out.
Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens
This tale about a teenage ghost who falls in love with Victorian novelist George Sand is charming and lively in a way you might not expect for a novel about a girl who’s been dead for 400 years. Set in a meticulously drawn 19th century provincial Italian town, Briefly, A Delicious Life explores ghost Blanca’s unrequited longing for a woman whose unconventionality pushes her in the same dangerous direction that led Blanca to her own death. The book provides moving investigations of the troubling nature of desire, the complexities of making art, and the double edged sword of living your life in opposition to repressive norms.
Literary / Contemporary Fiction
When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar
This debut novel that shea calls “a salve” for grief in their review for Autostraddle, is “graceful in language, meticulous in form, and rich in narrative.” The book follows three orphaned Muslim American siblings as they grapple with their relationships to themselves, each other, and the world. Asghar’s lyrical prose and formal experiments elevate this beyond even an above average queer coming of age story. These are characters and a story that will both haunt and soothe you long after you turn the last page.
Rainbow Rainbow by Lydia Conklin
Conklin’s first collection of short fiction shows an astounding amount of diversity and range in its queer characters and narrative voices. As Yashwina writes in her review for Autostraddle, there is no shortage of things to praise in Rainbow Rainbow: “its melancholic realism, its desperate and heartfelt protagonists, its narrative willingness to follow through with consequences rather than to flinch from the implications of a story’s action.” From a woman her loves her girlfriend but not so much her girlfriend’s dog to a trans guy trying to confess his love to a fellow queer book club member, these are stories with both unique characters and premises that fulfill their potential in unexpected ways.
We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart
It’s difficult to do something new and smart with a common queer trope like an age gap lesbian romance, but Hart’s debut novel does just that. Drew writes in her Autostraddle review that “Hart’s novel is such a triumph because it goes beyond this one defining relationship.” The narrative also focuses on the protagonist Mallory before the life-changing affair — other relationships with her best friend and her best friend’s mom as well as the suffocating suburban culture Mallory carries with her. The result is a grounded, contextualized, moving character study about coming out of hiding, looking for belonging, and letting yourself want.
Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour
Acclaimed YA author Nina LaCour’s adult debut is a triumph, a culmination of her experience delicately manipulating generic expectations and talent for crafting nuanced, intricate characters. Yerba Buena also boasts gorgeous, understated, evocative prose; a rich sense of place (Los Angeles); and a focus on pleasure, beauty, and growth while not forgetting pain, loss, and grief. As Yashwina’s glowing review aptly summarizes, “upon the bedrock of the love story arises a beautiful narrative of two people healing their respective traumas and rebuilding their respective families alongside one another.”
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
KKU’s review of All This Could Be Different declares it to be a “masterclass in character development,” with “the characters’ hopes, dreams, and desires … so fully rendered on the page that it’s difficult not to absorb them.” The characters, setting, and story are viscerally real and brilliantly crafted, with frequently stunning sentences. Refreshingly, the novel focuses as much on friendship, work, community, and the practical details of building an adult life as it does on Sneha’s first major romantic relationship. This slice of queer, brown, immigrant, millennial life is sharply insightful and exquisitely beautiful.
LOTE by Shola von Reinhold
Spirited and experimental, LOTE is part alternative history about modernist Black artists and part meditation on contemporary hero worshipping and literary obsession. In one of her Reading Rainbow columns, Yashwina praises this book as “playful-yet-rigorous” and “such a smart novel about the lost and found heroes of our artistic heritage, and it’s also (cannot stress this enough) fun as hell.” Dedicated to the gloriousness of Black British nonbinary excess and aesthetic expression, LOTE is a book in a class of its own. As the protagonist Mathilda falls deeper into her rapture for forgotten Black modernist poet Hermia Druitt, readers fall into a similar hypnotic space created by Von Reinhold’s immersive and dazzling literary magic.
Memoir / Biography
Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Except My Rapist by Cecilia Gentili
An “exciting and, at times, breathtaking addition to the canon of works about ‘messy trans lives,'” Stef declares Faltas by legendary trans activist Cecilia Gentili to be one of the best memoirs they’ve ever read. With its brilliant use of the epistolary form and Gentili’s charisma oozing off the page, Faltas is somehow consistently funny and endlessly gracious even as it unravels how she was targeted by an abuser as a queer, trans kid and holds people accountable. Gentili writes with breathtaking directness, remarkable vulnerability, and a charming sense of humor. She reveals not only how she was failed by the adults in her life as a kid, but also how she found joy, friendship, love, gratitude, and freedom nevertheless.
Heretic by Jeanna Kadlec
A memoir in essays for the “witches who grew from good Christian women,” Heretic won Heather’s heart as a “deep, sprawling, incisive indictment of the Christian cancer that eats away at our souls.” Kadlec recounts not only her own story of being a devout Evangelical and coming out as a lesbian but weaves in cultural commentary, political analysis, and history, astutely contextualizing her personal narrative. Kadlec instills a exhilarating sense of hope with her discussions of building new community and her insistence on love and fellowship beyond the confines of the church.
For more on Heretic, read Stef’s interview with the author, where Stef writes that the book is “striking on formal and structural levels,” and that “it prompted [them] to re-examine parts of [their] own life.”
Ma and Me by Putsata Reang
In Himani’s enthusiastic review for Autostraddle, she writes how this memoir “resonates powerfully because of how definitively [Reang] fills in that silence [of the loss of family history] for her own family.” Using her expertise as a journalist, Reang recreates her family’s story before and after escaping Cambodia as the civil war came to a head in the 1970s. Reang’s family — especially her mother, on whom the book focuses — were left reckoning with a legacy of trauma, war, grief, genocide, and poverty. Reang’s prose is sparse but powerful as she writes with compassion and nuance about her complicated relationship with her mother and how she struggled with the impossible task of being the perfect Cambodian daughter.
In Sensorium by Tanaïs
A gorgeously poetic book that revels in the most primal sense, smell, In Sensorium is a truly unique memoir that evokes Tanaïs’s experiences as a queer Muslim South Asian femme perfumer and tells South Asian history from a Bangladeshi American perspective. Formally innovative — the narratives are structured like a perfume, moving from base to heart to head notes — Tanaïs’s book is an eclectic collection of thoughts, prayers, histories, and perfume studies. In her Autostraddle review Em Win calls In Sensorium “robust, assured and sacrosanct” and a book composed of “pieces of life strung together through senses and stimuli.”
Knocking Myself Up by Michelle Tea
In Tea’s trademark candid, reassuring, and very funny voice, she shares her years long project of getting pregnant and having a kid. From inseminating at home with her drag queen friend’s sperm to doing IVF to implant her partner’s fertilized egg in her uterus and deciding when to have a c-section based on what her kid’s astrological sign will be, the memoir is unabashedly queer and compellingly honest. Stef’s review for Autostraddle tells us — to Tea’s credit — this is a pregnancy memoir for everyone, not just people who want to be parents. Also read Vanessa’s interview with Michelle Tea about writing this book in the present tense and more!
Middle Grade
Where the Lost Ones Go by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Bowman’s contemporary fantasy about a 12-year-old biracial Japanese American girl is a stunning investigation of loss, grief, and ghosts. Eliot, the protagonist, has recently lost her grandmother and is desperate for any sign of life beyond the grave, so she can connect with Babung again. Chasing after the prospect of paranormal activity at a haunted house, she teams up with Hazel and develops an adorable crush. The combination of nuanced characters, heartfelt relationships, and careful attention to the full emotional lives of queer tweens make this one a big winner.
Drew Leclair Gets a Clue by Katryn Bury
Reinventing Harriet the Spy for the digital age, this mystery follows 12-year-old Drew as she chases down a cyberbully while trying to hide the fact that her mom has run off with her school’s guidance counselor. Mysteries for tweens and teens are relatively rare, so the fact that this one is so well crafted with a quirky and sweet main character so easy to root for is a real treat. The book’s smart investigation of the complexities of queerness and sexual/romantic orientation and its dedication to not tying everything up in a neat bow (Drew is only 12!) are a gift.
Moonflower by Kacen Callender
In this spiritually moving and beautifully written novel, Callender tackles a young person’s struggles with depression with compassion and care. Moon travels to the spirit realm every night, hoping to never return to the so-called real world. But when the spirit realm is threatened, Moon has to step up to protect it, sparking a healing journey. In addition to their complex representation of a Black nonbinary middle grader and mental illness, Callender crafts a unique fantasy world and creatively uses chapter headings named after healing herbs, flowers, and fruits.
Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne
Fiercely feminist and queer, this contemporary middle grade novel is about a 12-year-old who hatches a plan to catch a popular boy who is harassing one of her classmates online. The fact that the classmate is Hazel’s nemesis and maybe crush, Ella, adds a wonderful element of conflict. This is both a very funny and empowering read that emphasizes shared sisterhood, solidarity, courage, and generosity. Hazel is a wonderful character in all her tween lesbian glory and her overthinking and anxiety — a great peer for young queer kids to relate to.
In the Key of Us by Mariama J Lockington
A love letter to music camp, Black girls, and first love, this contemporary middle grade is about Zora and Andi, two 13-year-olds who meet at Harmony Music Camp and create an unbreakable bond. Tackling topics such as grief, loss, parental pressure, self-harm, and artistic ambition, em>In the Key of Us is equal parts joy and heartache. Lockington’s prose is evocative, emotional, and immensely readable. The book blends hope and pleasure with its careful treatment of heavy topics effortlessly.
Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
Delightfully evoking the voice of a queer neurodivergent 13-year-old, Ellen Outside the Lines follows the emotional journey of Ellen as she navigates changing friendships, a school trip to Europe, and learning to be flexible in her plans. This book is a real page-turner with incredibly engaging characters, lovingly drawn in all their diversity and quirkiness. Ellen’s new nonbinary classmate, Isa, who challenges Ellen’s tendency to think in black and white, is a highlight. An affirming and healing read for queer autistic readers of all ages!
Mystery / Thriller
Delafield by Katherine V Forrest
Forrest’s legendary and groundbreaking lesbian detective character Kate Delafield, who first graced the page in the 1980s, returns in this haunting novel. It’s a fitting retrospective for the last book in the series to look back to one of Kate’s earliest cases, a murder outside a lesbian bar. It turns out the woman convicted of the murder has been proven innocent due to now available forensic evidence, and Kate, now retired, blames herself for this mistake and sits waiting for the wrongfully convicted woman to make good on the threat to kill her. Kate is an incredibly complex character, deeply flawed and empathetically drawn. Forrest’s prose and plotting are as precise and bold as ever.
Survivor’s Guilt by Robyn Gigl
This fantastic legal thriller is a time capsule of 2008, both in the details of the court case that deals with technology and in its portrayal of being a newly out trans woman at that time. Erin McCabe, the central character who is a trans attorney with a tendency to take on complicated cases, is a delight. Gigl’s portrayal of Erin dealing with internalized transphobia is particularly thoughtful. The courtroom drama — and drama of occasionally chasing down the bad guys on the street — are riveting, making this a nail-biting narrative equally compelling because of its action and its careful treatment of a case involving trans and cis women being sexually abused. Read until the end for the sapphic happy ending!
Vera Kelly: Lost and Found by Rosalie Knecht
In the third instalment of this captivating historical noir series set in the 1970s, private detective Vera encounters her most personal (and queerest) case yet: the disappearance of her own girlfriend, Max, while visiting Max’s wealthy homophobic family in Los Angeles. In her review for Autostraddle, KKU writes that “even more propulsive than the mystery itself is the romance baked into” the book. Knecht expertly blends elements of both genres while creating an intimate and authentic look at historical queer domesticity. It’s the combination of the quiet character work, fast-paced action, and insight into queer relationships of the past that make this book exceptional.
Dead Letters from Paradise by Ann McMan
Set in a small North Carolina town in 1960, Dead Letters from Paradise is award-winning, iconic author McMan at her best. Esther Jane (EJ) is a post office employee and spinster turned plucky amateur detective when she is given a packet of letters addressed to a nonexistent person. Tracking down the origin of the letters, the sender, and the addressee bring EJ down a meandering, unexpected path that leads her on a quest of queer self-discovery. This mystery excels in all areas: tightly plotted; endearing and authentic characters; a rich and original setting.
Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor
Vividly set in a dusty Australian small town whose nickname is the book’s title, Dirt Creek follows a case about the sudden disappearance of a 12-year-old girl. With a seductive slow-burn pace, the novel expertly employs multiple perspectives throughout, including a queer detective sergeant working on the case and a Greek chorus of “we” representing the remaining children in the town. A fascinating character study of a town and its inhabitants as much as a mystery, this is an impressive debut.
Nonfiction
Body Work by Melissa Febos
In this womanifesto about the “radical power of personal narrative,” Febos’ beautifully crafted writing, rigorous feminist intellectual work, and commitment to delving into themes others avoid are on full display. Discussing topics like writing sex scenes, memoir as a feminized form, her own mistakes and growth as a writer, and the connections between trauma and memoir, the book is both a guide on literary craft and a memoir itself. It’s not only a must-read for would-be memoirists, but for memoir readers as well. Read Yashwina’s interview with Melissa Febos, where they talk about medieval women’s autobiographical writing, first drafts, and of course this very book!
Brown Neon by Raquel Gutiérrez
In this “tribute to the power of art and community in the American Southwest,” Gutiérrez writes with “wit, curiosity, and compassion,” Stef tells us in their Autostraddle review. Divided into thematic sections on community building, colonization in the Southwest and Mexico, and queer Latinx art and culture, the book covers a beautiful and impressive range of topics with thoughtful consideration and compelling prose. Highlights include Gutiérrez’s compassionate insistence on not falling into the border war mentality between butch lesbians and trans men in “On Making Butch Family: An Intertextual Dialogue” and the joyful celebration of Gutiérrez’s place in a lineage of queer Latinx artists in “Vessel Among Vessels: Laura Aguilar’s Body in Landscape.”
Before We Were Trans by Kit Heyam
A groundbreaking and illuminating book of trans nonfiction, Before We Were Trans not only presents a new history of gender nonconformity but shows how trans people are implicitly and explicitly written out of mainstream history due to reductive understandings of gender and sexuality. In their review Stef praises the book as a “welcome and significant — and joyful, even — contribution to our cultural conversations on the malleability of gender and on gender nonconformity.” With absorbing in-depth chapters on diverse places and time periods such as 11th century Persia, Edo period Japan, early modern England, and the Kingdom of Ndongo (what is now Nigeria), the book’s scope is truly global. Heyam also, critically, includes reflections on their own place as a white scholar and their attempts to subvert a white gaze.
How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler
Imbler’s unique, stunning essay collection combines their experiences as a queer mixed race person working in the overwhelmingly white male field of science and conservation with writing about that very field, the mysterious beings that come from the ocean. Each essay provides a fascinating profile of a sea creature living in an isolated or hostile environment, such as deep sea crabs that have no need for the sun and mother octopuses who die of starvation watching their eggs to keep them safe. Imbler finds radical models for community, care, sexuality, survival, and adaptation, applying them to their own life and relationships. It’s a dazzling, luminescent, brilliant look at life under and above the sea. Read KKU’s review.
The Future is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
In her Autostraddle review, Katie Reilly writes that this latest work of nonfiction from iconic queer writer and organizer Piepzna-Samarasinha “should be required reading for anyone who works in organizing, education, human resources, or anyone who wants to be an ally to disabled people.”; “[t]he future depends on it,” she declares. Hopeful and affirming, The Future is Disabled shares stories of pain, hardship, and oppression, but it also emphasizes that disabled, queer, and/or BIPOC communities are stepping up to support and care for one another. Piepzna-Samarasinha’s writing is incisive, powerful, wise, and beautiful; this book’s impact will be felt for years to come.
It Came from the Closet edited by Joe Vallese
This diverse anthology of essays that explore the intersections of horror film and queerness is, quite simply, a knockout. Abeni Jones, in her review for Autostraddle notes that “every essay weaves into its analysis a personal reflection on what the film meant to the individual writer, which makes it extremely readable.” The collection ranges from queer readings of classics like The Blob (“Indescribable” by Carrow Narby) and The Birds (“Loving Annie Hayworth” by Laura Maw) to Carmen Maria Machado’s brilliant exploration of bisexuality and queerbaiting and in the more overtly queer Jennifer’s Body. The anthology’s strengths lie in its dedication to the contributors’ unabashed passion for horror and allowing readers to luxuriate in the subsequent queer and trans revelations.
Poetry
The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes on by Franny Choi
Full of poems poised for the current moment with its reputation as a dystopia and the end-of-world, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes on centers the fact that the apocalypse has already come and gone for many marginalized communities. Choi asks what we can and should expect now, with her trademark musicality and wit. Juxtaposition of traditional poetic structure and colloquial language — “O year, / O shitstorm” — add a playfulness to the poems while they deal with heavy topics and anxiety about the future and present. There’s a wonderful speculative edge to Choi’s writing that adds wonder and hope to these poems, keeping them from wallowing in despair or nihilism.
Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi
Queer literary superstar Emezi’s foray into poetry is another powerful display of talent and skill. Focusing on themes of belonging and the self, the poems take inspiration from the divine and the mundane, as Emezi writes “from a spiritfirst perspective.” In their review for Autostraddle, Chinelo Anyadiegwu emphasizes how the collection makes room for multiple, sometimes contradictory selves and tells us that “[t]his is a book to be read and re-read, like all true stories.” They also confirm how deeply and beautifully rooted in Igbo culture the poems and their perspectives are, and how Emezi being an ogbanje permeates the work to stunning effect.
The Call-Out by Cat Fitzpatrick
Gleefully traditional in form yet undeniably of this moment in content, Fitzpatrick’s
tragicomedy of manners written in verse is a true feat. Featuring a cast of queer, mostly trans women living in Brooklyn, The Call-Out is about many of the mainstays of contemporary sapphic culture in NYC: punk houses, queer lit readings, online call-outs, dating app hookups, financial instability, and feminist philosophy. Above all else, this novel-in-verse is so. much. fun. Fitzpatrick’s ease with the sonnet form, of which the book is comprised, is on full display throughout, as she plays with rhyme and word choice to delightful effect.
Ask the Brindled by No’u Revilla
Revilla’s debut poetry collection is both lyrically and formally dynamic as she tackles themes such as sovereignty, queer desire, Hawaiian history, decolonization, queer grief, and sacred stories. Wildly successful formal experiments include erasure poetry, visual typography, and a play on the succession of the Hawaiian alphabet; but Revilla also uses more straightforward verse and prose to powerful effect. The book’s approach is intergenerational, both forward and backward looking as the poems reclaim past narratives foisted on queer Indigenous and Hawaiian peoples and dream up a future of abundance.
Beast at Every Threshold by Natalie Wee
This incredible collection of poetry focuses on themes of queer love and desire; pop culture; immigration; racism and being othered; pets and plants; diaspora; myth and folklore; and parenthood and childbirth. Wee’s poems are intertextual in nature, with evocative references from Sappho and Ocean Vuong to Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers. They are delightfully and fiercely innovative in their form, style, and word play: one poem is written as a crossword with clues! Wee’s word choice is often delightfully uncanny, making mundane words strange and wonderful in their unexpected use.
As She Appears by Shelley Wong
A gorgeous celebration of queer Asian identity and the cultures of queer women of color, As She Appears is centred on self-love, self-determination, and pride. Wong’s joyful play with word choice that sometimes switches one part of speech for another — a noun where you might expect an adjective, for example — gives many of the poems a pleasantly puzzling feel. Wong’s unabashed reclamation of feminized or cliché poetic tropes like flowers and fashion are fun and empowering. These poems are stories that you’ll recognize, of dancing wild at Pride parties or satisfying late night hunger at Chinatown restaurants, told askance in a unique poetic voice.
Romance
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Blake arrived on the queer adult romance scene with a bang: specifically, with this much beloved, smart, steamy story about two women who were in close proximity as teens rediscovering as adults that they didn’t really know each other at all. Expertly employing the big-city-girl-returns-to-her-small-hometown trope, the novel follows lesbian photographer Delilah, as she reluctantly goes home to Bright Falls to photograph her stepsister’s wedding and finds a mutual attraction happening with one of the bride’s stuck-up friends, bisexual bookstore owner Claire. Not only does this novel boast a ton of chemistry between the main characters, it also thoughtfully explores complicated family dynamics and invests a lot in nuanced secondary characters.
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun
This bi/lesbian holiday rom com full of authentic details about queer women and Portland truly loves up to its premise, being deliciously romantic and laugh-out-loud funny. The narrative tension around why Ellie and Jack prematurely ended their relationship after one perfect snow day together is expertly drawn out and executed, as is the present Christmas timeline, when Ellie is fake engaged to Jack’s brother Andrew. The novel’s present is unabashedly Christmasy and full of seasonal hijinks, but it’s also a careful and moving look at the results of neglectful and/or manipulative parents on both heroines. The fact that there is a bonus queer romance subplot — Andrew is in fact hung up on his ex Dylan, who is Jack’s nonbinary best friend — is the star on top of this already brightly lit Christmas tree of a novel.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Yes, this is the second Akwaeke Emezi book on this list, and no, I will not apologize! In this debut bi-for-bi romance (is there no new genre Emezi can’t succeed in?), Feyi, the main character, begins the story at the cusp of coming back to life five years after the death of her husband. The resulting narrative is a beautifully sensual romance full of pleasure; food, music, art, and nature feature heavily, even as the book remains anchored by grief and loss. Emezi cleverly plays with genre expectations, fills the book with well-rounded queer BIPOC characters, and crafts a moving story that is just as much about Feyi’s personal growth as it is the love story. Chinelo’s review on Autostraddle praises “Emezi’s skillful characterization in combination with the beautiful prose,” which “make this book an immersive experience”; these “characters and worlds that feel real, even as they’re drenched in fantasy and wanting.”
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia A. Higgins
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding is a deliciously fluffy, feel-good romance that has major Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts vibes. Skillfully employing the fake relationship trope, Higgins adds fun reality TV elements by situating her couple on a show where they are pretending to be in love and have to plan their dream wedding in six weeks. The alternating first person perspectives for both characters allows the unique personalities of both heroines to come to life and makes the characterization of the families intimate. For character-driven, low-stakes queer romance, this should be your first stop.
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
Gleefully sexy and unbelievably fun, Mistakes Were Made is the queer MILF romance novel you knew you needed and Meryl Wilsner finally delivered. The love story of 38-year-old Erin and 22-year-old college senior Cassie — who’s friends with Erin’s 18-year-old daughter — is as sweet as it is dirty. Wilsner expertly manages the tension of the big reveal to Erin’s daughter and crafts a compelling “idiots to lovers” narrative about two bisexual women who take way too long to realize they’re meant for each other. Read Christina Tucker’s Autostraddle interview with Meryl Wilsner about writing age gap romances, MILF characters, and subverting tropes.
Stud Like Her by Fiona Zedde
This engrossing stud-for-stud contemporary romance is a complex, delicate exploration of a queer, gender nonconforming character who is struggling with the nature of her desire and its intersections with her gender expression. Chance, the protagonist, has recently left a long term toxic relationship she stayed in for too long because she was afraid of living as her authentic self. Zedde crafts an age-gap romance that is sexy and moving; combined with her expertly drawn flawed, endearing characters — including supporting ones — Stud Like Her is an absolute must-read.
Science Fiction
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
The queer book equivalent of a cozy sweater and a warm cup of tea, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is proof that a utopia can be a fascinating, productive, and truly inclusive setting. This spiritually nourishing, often funny novella is a sequel, continuing to follow two increasingly close companions, a nonbinary monk and a sentient robot. Chambers’ writing is so thoughtful, kind, and curious; the book is full of conversations, open-ended questions, abundance, comfort, and joy. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is a testament to the power of science fiction to investigate big life questions: how does<\em> one find their purpose in life?
X by Davey Davis
In Drew’s interview with Davey Davis about X, she praises this noir near future dystopian novel as “sticky, thought-provoking, and, simply, entertaining, as we’ve come to expect from Davey.” The novel’s protagonist is Lee, a Brooklyn queer who ends up with a missing person mystery on their hands when a recent sexy hookup named X can’t be found anywhere and they fear she’s among those being forced to “voluntarily” leave the country. Davis’s world-building heightens the anxieties of the present moment in an intensely believable way, with a resulting emotional effect that is chilling. Their clever blend of genre elements and expert pacing are the cherry on top of this immensely readable, smart piece of fiction.
The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe, et al
Given Monae’s talent and skill in so many other art forms, it’s not surprising this Afrofuturistic collection of short stories is so excellent. Collaborating with a different author for each piece — Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, Eve L. Ewing, Yohanca Delgado, and Sheree Renée Thomas — Monáe digs deeper into her world of Dirty Computer, where the stories are set. Character-driven with creative world-building subtly weaved into the background, the stories focus on how queer Black people experience the facist technocratic New Dawn regime and work towards liberation. Monáe’s writing is as electric as her music, her distinct narrative voice flowing throughout despite the various co-authors.
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Full of the “the magic of pulling a coherent self through various times and bodies” as Yashwina writes in her review for Autostraddle, this is the third “kaleidoscope” of a book in the Locked Tomb series set in Muir’s “dazzling space-goth world.” A departure thematically and structurally from the first two books, Nona the Ninth is a more quiet addition to the series that fleshes out the mundane details of the universe. What might at first have seemed like an unnecessary detour becomes a vital widening of scope and a fuller view of Muir’s extraordinary and bizarre world-building. This read is as rewarding as it is challenging — which is very, very.
Buffalo is the New Buffalo by Chelsea Vowel
Vowel’s collection of speculative short fiction is a stunning work of Métis futurism, prompted by this vision: “instead of accepting that the buffalo, and our ancestral ways, will never come back, what if we simply ensure that they do?” The stories create a different future (and, occasionally, a past) that center Indigenous knowledge, imagination, and queer and feminist perspectives. In one story a woman falls for a person who is also a fox; in another, two characters are Two-Spirit rougarou who use their shapeshifting ability to solve a murder and halt Canadian colonial expansion; in another, a queer feminist group collectively parents a child. The stories are made even more exceptional by Vowel’s thought-provoking essay-like afterwards, which situate the stories in cultural context and elucidate her writing and research processes.
The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang
Yang’s breathtaking space-fantasy is an immersive saga starring a cast of diverse queers embroiled in religious space battles and political chaos. Misery (she/they) — all characters are introduced this way because of computer chip implants, a fun queernormative detail — is a delightfully badass, sarcastic character trying to avoid what they believe is inevitable madness due to their rare stone-working abilities. Yang skillfully plays with the “chosen one” trope while crafting an intensely propulsive read with unexpected plot twists and incisive prose. This is queer space opera at its best.
YA Contemporary / Historical / Romance
A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow
Told in gorgeous, non-linear lyrical verse, A Million Quiet Revolutions is the story of an incredible relationship between two trans teenage boys. The novel traces the evolution of Aaron and Oliver as they first fall in love, both come out as trans, grow together, and later deal with being apart. It’s an achingly romantic book that also emphasizes queer and trans history, empowering the two contemporary trans teens by situating them in a long lineage of gender nonconformity. Incredibly emotionally engaging, this YA also boasts meaningful, nuanced Jewish and Puerto Rican representation.
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
A contemplative look at family secrets, queer teen romance, Black biracial identity, and small town Black life in the American South, We Deserve Monuments is an very moving contemporary YA novel. The protagonist, 17-year-old Avery, begins the novel moving from DC to Georgia so her family can take care of her terminally ill grandmother. She is soon pulled into a mystery that gets bigger as she unravels it and discovers how deeply the racism in this town is embedded in her family. Hammonds’ writing is poetic and emotionally resonant; her characters achingly real; the pace a delicious slow-burn. Beautiful and heartbreaking feel like insufficient words to describe the effect of this superb book.
A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo
In shea wesley martin’s review for Autostraddle, they declare that this historical novel is “beautifully composed, often feeling like a peek into your best friend’s hot (queer) girl summer”; it also “reminds us of the light in our truth.” Deeply rooted in the late 2000s and early 2010s (can you believe this is historical?) — particularly the 2013 rulings on same sex marriage — this story is a coming of age / coming out about Aria, a biracial Chinese and white teenager spending the summer with her artist grandmother. Spinning this quintessential set-up, Lo investigates queerness at different stages and ages and the beauty of slow self-discovery. The languid pace, precise setting, and focus on the imperfect messiness of being a young queer person figuring out yourself out are a perfect combination.
Man O’ War by Cory McCarthy
Equally funny and emotionally vulnerable, this contemporary YA is a coming of age story about a Lebanese-Irish American trans and nonbinary swimmer. McCarthy’s extended metaphor about River — yes, that name is significant — being a natural born swimmer in landlocked Ohio is poignant and effective. The book’s strengths come from its insistence on honoring River’s incomplete journey and the never ending process of becoming yourself. The romance subplot is incredibly adorable and a welcome compliment to River’s difficult path of self exploration and discovery.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
This swoony YA romance that made Heather’s “little lesbian heart sing provides the essential message that queer “love is indomitable,”; and McQuiston makes Heather really believe it “when [she’s] lost in their worlds.Chloe is a lovable yet challenging protagonist, an overachieving, ambitious teen whose world is turned upside down by an amazing kiss with her nemesis who then immediately afterwards goes missing. Focusing on dynamic relationships not only between the romantic leads, McQuistion writes with their usual wit and careful attention to nuance, which emerges in discussions of homophobia and Christianity in a small Bible Belt town. The fact that McQuiston “stick[s] the landing — Heather’s words — is a fitting culmination of the book’s other admirable attributes.
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
Joyful, funny, and romantic, this contemporary YA story follows Yamilet, the new kid at a mostly white, mostly rich catholic school, hoping for a fresh (closeted) start but being sorely tempted by her new school’s only openly queer girl. The heart of this novel is the relationships between two queer siblings, Yami and César: how each of them experience queerness differently, how they both hurt and help each other, and how they struggle and sometimes fail to truly get one another. Balancing a romance plot line with the dynamics of Yami’s Mexican American family and her story of coming into herself, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School is a perfect brew of its disparate ingredients. This book was recently named a National Book Award finalist, but you know us queers were singing its praises from the beginning!
YA Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron
The final book in a fantasy duology, This Wicked Fate follows its compelling protagonist Briseis as she attempts to use her unique plant-growing powers to save her mother’s life. Bayron’s prose is rich and appropriately floral as she charts Bri’s thrilling journey to locate the missing piece of the Absyrtus Heart, a dangerous force her enemies are seeking as well. As heroic as Bri is, the novel’s commitment to giving her a support system and a solid place in an ancient lineage is wonderful to see. With whimsical world-building in addition to its well crafted characters and plot, there’s no level on which This Wicked Fate isn’t a roaring success.
Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin
This delightful Filipino-inspired sapphic epic fantasy is a page-turning novel filled with relentless action and a dash of romance. Seri is a teen girl who works to keep the vicious beasts who attack her People at bay until she meets Tsana, a strange girl whose ability to communicate with the beasts defies everything Seri was ever taught about them being her eternal enemies. With intricate world-building naturally dispersed throughout the story, Dauntless takes place in a universe you’ll be loath to leave. In short, this debut is a gem and a YA fantasy that stands out amongst its many peers.
Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore
McLemore’s signature lush prose is on full display in this YA fantasy, as is their dedication to complex queer, trans, and neurodivergent representation. The story centers on two nonbinary Mexican American teens, Bastián and Lore, who have significant connections to a lake and the otherworldly place beneath it. Full of the colorful and lively imagery of alebrijes, the magical world McLemore has created above and below the lake is unique and memorable. The novel’s investigation of Lore and Bastián’s complicated relationship is healing and heartwarming, just like the narrative as a whole.
The Scratch Daughters by H.A. Clarke
The second book in The Scapegracers series, The Scratch Daughters picks up with its witch protagonist, Sideways, reeling from her crush Madeline stealing her ability to cast magic spells, not wanting to make out with her as she’d hoped. From this depressing yet narratively fruitful position, the action starts: Sideways sets off to hunt down Madeline, also contending with a family of witch hunters at the same time. This is a paranormal YA with charming humor, propulsive action, and characters you’ll want to root for (even Madeline, the magic thief). To top it all off, Clarke’s writing is lovingly descriptive and the book is a nuanced depiction of a butch lesbian, something even queer YA needs more of!
Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
This Afro-Latine sapphic YA horror will give you nightmares and you’ll say thank you. Set in a lovingly depicted, authentic Bronx, the story centers 16-year-old Raquel, who ends up playing a dark underground game with her crush Charlize in order to save Charlize’s cousin and maybe solve all the mysterious disappearances that have been plaguing their neighborhood. Burn Down, Rise Up is the kind of book that grips the reader immediately and doesn’t release its claws until the final page. It’s a smart social thriller that has a strong anti-racist message alongside its captivating weirdness and bloody gore.
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
White’s impressive debut is a horror dystopian novel about monsters: literal, figurative, without, and within. The protagonist is Benji, a trans teen guy infected with a bioweapon by the cult he was raised in; now that’s he’s escaped, he finds some safety with a ragtag group of LGBTQ teens, but he’s still a ticking time bomb. Dark in tone and with body horror, gore, and violence aplenty, Hell Followed With Us nevertheless displays a profound humanity with its focus on queer kids who continue to survive post-apocalypse and form a found family. This book is a challenge well worth investing in, especially as a searing critique of religious fundamentalism and terrorism.
What were your favorite queer books of 2022? Did they make the list? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
A Quest for the Perfect Gingerbread Bake To Serve This Holigay Season
Holigays 2022 // Header by Viv Le
The winter holidays are the best time for baking sweet treats, aren’t they? I’ve been getting in the holiday spirit since mid-November with this gingerbread treat experiment. I chose four new to me recipes — a gingerbread cake, gingerbread rolled cookies, gingerbread drop cookies, and gingerbread bars — and am here to report back. Which treat was the most gingery? Which one was the easiest? Which one looks the most festive? Read on to find out and learn what mistakes I made so you can avoid them!
Sparkling Gingerbread Cake
If you read about my experiments looking for the best pumpkin spice treat in Halloween season, you might remember me raving about Yossy Arefi’s amazing cookbook Snacking Cakes. It’s truly one of my favorites. *Wink wink* friends and family reading: Snacking Cakes is on my Christmas wish list. Once again I am trying a new cake from this book, checked out from the library for the umpteenth time. Sparkling gingerbread is another winner of a modest, unfussy, yet delicious one layer cake.
What’s the flavor like?
This cake is spicy, with three hits of ginger: powdered ginger, fresh grated ginger, and crystallized ginger. Ginger lovers, this one’s for you! Unlike other holiday gingerbread recipes that taste as much or more like molasses than ginger, ginger is the star here (although molasses is also an ingredient). I really liked the little bits of chopped up crystallized ginger throughout the cake. A suggested addition in the print cookbook (not included in the online version I linked to) is a cup of fresh or frozen cranberries scattered on top before baking. I highly recommend! The tangy berries are a great contrast to the sweet but not too sweet batter and spicy ginger.
How easy is it to make?
Super easy, like all of Yossy Arefi’s cakes. It’s a mix-all-the-ingredients-in-one-bowl-and-pop-it-into-a-pan kind of cake. The only slightly fussy part is that, instead of a glaze, the recipe calls for turbinado sugar sprinkled on top of either the plain cake or after adding cranberries. I couldn’t be bothered to track this kind of sugar down, so I just used some organic granulated sugar I had which is slightly darker in color and has larger granules than conventional white sugar. Tbh this was not really a great substitute!
What type of holiday party is it suited for?
With cranberries and sparkly sugar on top this cake looks very festive but not super fancy. It would be great as a dessert for a small, intimate holiday dinner. If you’re having a dinner with a big group and need a less sweet dessert to contrast your super sweet pumpkin pie or the like, sparkling gingerbread would be excellent. If you’re attending a holiday potluck at work or with friends this would be a great choice too, as it’d be easy to transport and people can eat it with their fingers and a napkin (no forks or plates necessary).
Tips and tricks (ie, mistakes I made that you can avoid!):
If you really want this cake to live up to its name and sparkle, I suppose you should actually hunt down some turbinado sugar, unlike me. My organic white sugar added a nice little sweet taste on top but there was no glitter effect! Since I can’t imagine myself bothering with turbinado sugar, I think I’ll add a glaze to this cake next time, especially if I don’t have frozen cranberries on hand. (The cookbook suggests a citrus or a chocolate glaze).
If you or your guests aren’t huge fans of ginger, you could leave out the fresh ginger, which I suspect is the culprit for the real ginger bite that this cake has. However, my partner, who is not super keen on ginger, says he would omit the crystallized ginger. So maybe cut both if you really want to dial it back. Conversely, I loved the crystallized ginger and next time would probably add even more than the recipe calls for!
Gingerbread Cookies with Orange Zest, Fresh Ginger, and Black Pepper
I was VERY intrigued by the promise of these gingerbread cookies to have a really spicy punch of ginger and by the interesting additions of orange zest and black pepper. I love a basic cut-out gingerbread cookie as much as anyone, but it’s fun to shake things up a little right? These cookies look pretty traditional but they have a more grownup and unique flavor than most of their fellow gingerbread people.
What’s the flavor like?
Delicious!! These cookies are a step up from your standard gingerbread for sure. They feel a bit more sophisticated in flavor and a lot less molasses forward than some gingerbread I’ve had. The orange is especially noticeable and there is definitely a nice little ginger bite, although not as much as I would have thought given the amount of fresh ginger and ground ginger. (The sparkling ginger cake above is more gingery, for comparison). Maybe I don’t have a sophisticated palette, but I couldn’t taste the black pepper much. There is also cinnamon, cloves, and molasses in these, which are subtle and a nice traditional touch with the unusual flavors. It doesn’t feel like too much.
How easy is it to make?
As anyone who’s made gingerbread cookies knows, they are pretty time intensive and there’s no way around that. Get ready with your stand or hand mixer, 2-3 hours to chill the dough, precision to use your cookies cutters and keep re-rolling the dough, and then the decorating process. I made these cookies over three days: one day to make and chill the dough; one day to roll it out and cut and bake the cookies; one day to decorate. None of the steps are hard, really, they just take time!
What type of holiday party is it suited for?
These cookies are so yummy and look so nice decorated, I can’t think of a holiday party they wouldn’t be welcome at. Do delicate white icing decorations and they would totally fit at a fancy dinner party. Have kids decorate them with googly eyes and food coloring as a Christmas Eve activity (my 15 month old loved these, so they are kid-approved, not too spicy). These would make great gifts too!
Tips and tricks (ie, mistakes I made that you can avoid!):
If you want really spicy gingery gingerbread cookies, this recipe might be a let down. I’d add more fresh ginger than the recipe calls for if that’s what you’d like.
I had leftover candied ginger from the sparkling gingerbread cake recipe above, and I chopped some of it and put it on top of the icing while it was drying on the cookies, like little lights on my gingerbread Christmas trees. I recommend!
Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
A treat recipe comparison wouldn’t be right without trying a new cookie from one of my go-to baking websites, Sally’s Baking Addiction. I wanted an easy yet festive drop cookie recipe, plus I love oatmeal cookies, so I knew I had to give this one a try. Too often oatmeal cookies are made by a terrible human who adds raisins, so this recipe is a welcome variation. (If you like raisins in your oatmeal cookies you can keep your controversial opinions to yourself). I loved these cookies!
What’s the flavor like?
These cookies are almost as heavy on the cinnamon as ground ginger, with a small dose of molasses. But honestly the part that I liked the best about these cookies was actually the oatmeal flavor! I think this is especially strong because the recipe calls for pushing the oats in a food processor. If you like oatmeal cookies a lot like I do, but you want to add a festive touch that is subtle but yummy, gingerbread oatmeal cookies are for you!
How easy is it to make?
As far as drop cookies go, these are a little more effort than some. The recipe calls for pulsing the oats in a food processor, using a stand or hand mixer, and you have to chill the dough. If you don’t have a food processor or blender, that would definitely up the time – I guess you’d have to roughly chop 2 cups of oats and I’m not sure it would have the same effect. You also have to ice the cookies, so that’s one more step than usual.
What type of holiday party is it suited for?
With icing and a dusting of cinnamon on too, these cookies are homey but pretty looking. They’re the kind of cookies I’d have around for the holidays for guests to snack on between meals or to bring for a snowy hike. The recipe says to ice thinly and wait to make sure you can stack them, but after following the recipe to a t my icing was thick and hardy enough it ended up being fine to stack them right away. So they’d be good as gifts in a pretty cookie tin or similar as well!
Tips and tricks (ie, mistakes I made that you can avoid!):
These cookies are honestly great even without the icing, so if you’re short on time or don’t have icing sugar in your cupboard, go for it anyway! Tbh, the icing is a bit weird, since it’s really thick. I kind of just smooshed it onto the cookies with my fingers. (The instructions suggest drizzling it, which was a strange note because it’s like a paste!). Anyway, it’s not that the icing isn’t tasty, it just doesn’t feel totally necessary.
Gingerbread Molasses Chocolate Chip Bars
I was unfamiliar with the baking website this recipe comes from when I found it, but I was intrigued by the idea of fudgy, dense gingerbread cookie bars as an alternative to rolled or drop gingerbread cookies. I am in the camp of loving underbaked gooey cookies, which these bars are explicitly supposed to emulate. They also have chocolate chips, a bit of an unusual addition to gingerbread treats. I wanted to test out how those flavors went together.
What’s the flavor like?
The overwhelming note in these is molasses, which was a nice change from the drop cookie and cake recipes I made first, both of which really emphasize the ginger. There’s a full half cup of molasses in this recipe, about twice as much as in some of the others I’ve tried. But there are also ample amounts of ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves in these bars, so they are very, shall we say, bold. My family who tried them all said the big flavor is good, and I agree! Consistency wise the bars are a bit similar to fudge. The edges even got a bit crunchy like candy after baking. I thought the chocolate chips might be a bit much with all the spices and molasses but I guess in this case more is more! A+ on the chocolate chips.
How easy is it to make?
Dead easy, these are! I love a recipe that calls for melted butter so I can just mix it by hand with the sugar and then slowly add all the other ingredients into the same bowl. Also, this recipe doesn’t call for any leaveners, so if you’re out of baking powder and baking soda, you can still make these! As I wrote below though, the cooking time for this recipe is a bit, well, up to you, so it does require some assessment in the last 10 minutes or so of the baking time so that you can get the bars to your desired consistency. Be prepared to take the cookie bars out of the oven to test them and put them back in for a few minutes, maybe more than once.
What type of holiday party is it suited for?
While these are delicious, they’re not particularly attractive so they’re not the best dessert at a fancy party. Maybe if you made a separate icing or glaze you could dress them up and make them pretty. But as a holiday gift for your best friends or to serve to your niblings at a family get-together, these gingerbread cookie bars would be awesome. They’re festive but a little different. I bet you’d be the only one gifting or sharing treats like these!
Tips and tricks (ie, mistakes I made that you can avoid!):
If you or the friends you’re sharing with aren’t as keen on a lot of spices, it would be easy to dial the amounts back, probably even by half depending on your preferences. If you look at this recipe and think, whoa, that’s a lot of cinnamon/ginger for a batter that fits in an 8 x 8 inch pan, I’d trust your instincts and adjust. If you’re like me and you often add a little more spices than a recipe calls for, I’d hold off on doing that for these ones!
The cooking time for these cookie bars is weird. The website lists 32 minutes for very gooey fudgy bars, but my batter was still wiggling in the middle at that time, so I baked them for another eight minutes, checking them at two minute intervals. I was worried they might not be as soft as I was hoping, but they were! Watch these closely when the baking time is coming to an end.
I am for some reason hesitant to buy ground cloves even though I keep making treats that call for that ingredient. I used allspice instead of cloves for these cookie bars and it turned out really nice, FYI.
This is a good make-ahead recipe since they are easiest to cut after they’ve totally cooled. Don’t make them right before you want to serve them. I let them sit overnight and then tried them in the morning with my tea!
Do you have any favorite gingerbread recipes? Have you made any of these treats? Please share in the comments!
Quiz: What Queer Holiday Romance Should You Read?
Holigays 2022 // Header by Viv Le
We have been blessed this year with so many queer holiday romances that I just had to make a quiz to help you decide which one to read. All of the featured books were published in the last two years! And three of them feature Jewish main characters!! Whether you want a really Christmasy rom com full of references to Wham’s “Last Christmas” like Kiss Her Once for Me or to mostly ignore Christmas with two Jewish teens eating Chinese food while snowed in together on Christmas Eve in How to Excavate a Heart, this quiz has a queer holiday romance novel for you.
Eight Romance Novels Featuring Trans Women, by Trans Authors
Last weekend, I was having a blast talking books with our A+ members in the reading and lit section of the A+ Discord when I was called to do my lesbrarian duty! Well, actually, someone asked for recommendations for romances with trans characters, preferably trans women, and I swooped in to say I would love to tackle the question for an installment of Ask Your Friendly Neighborhood Lesbrarian. And here we are! The following eight romance novels all have trans women main characters, but they are all over the map in terms of subgenre. We’ve got fantasy romance, contemporary romance, YA science fiction comic romance, historical romance, and more! All the books are by trans authors. Tbh, I was disappointed when I was researching this question that there weren’t more romances starring and written by trans women published in the last year. This list is also very white. Publishing, I am begging you: More diverse trans women romances in 2023!
Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier and Val Wise
This YA contemporary comic is about former best friends (a cis lesbian and a trans girl) falling in love on the cheerleading team! Cue cuteness galore. There are also a lot of deep, poignant moments and careful attention to nuance; somehow despite while not ignoring the sometimes harsh realities of queer and trans teens, this romance remains sweet and tender. Beebee, the trans girl, is the kind of kid who wants to make everyone happy, especially her overprotective parents. Their support for her transition is somewhat conditional on her keeping her grades up and smoothing over any hiccups in her constantly chipper social butterfly persona. Annie, the cis lesbian, is Beebee’s opposite: antisocial, grumpy, and very reluctantly joining the cheerleading team when her school counselor warns her she won’t get into a good college with such a lopsided transcript of only academics and no extracurriculars. Full of fun, emotive illustrations, Beebee and Annie’s queer romance is as charming as it is authentic.
Beauty’s Beast by S.T. Lynn
The third book in S.T. Lynn’s Black Trans Fairy Tale series, Beauty’s Beast is, as you probably guessed, a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Lynn’s version of Belle loves wearing the dresses she inherited from her mother and lives with her father who helps braid her hair. One of her favorite pastimes is to curl up in the courtyard of an abandoned castle in the woods and read one of her beloved books. But it turns out the castle isn’t as abandoned as she thought. There is a Guardian of the castle whom Belle learns to communicate with via sign language since the Guardian can’t speak. Soon she finds herself learning the story of the Guardian and a whole host of the castle’s inhabitants. Her burgeoning relationship with the Guardian and his friends is soon threatened, though, by the villain of this tale: Gaston. Determined to possess Belle, Gaston storms the castle with weapons and an army of small-minded villagers. Can Belle save the Guardian and retain the only community she’s ever felt a part of?
Fake It by Lily Seabrooke
This contemporary queer romance features one of the genre’s most beloved tropes: the fake relationship. Holly is a celebrity chef whose TV show is stalling. The boost her agent thinks it needs? Throwing her lot in with new luxury restaurant owner Avery, who is stuck in a feud with her celebrity chef, Mike. If Holly can save Avery’s restaurant, Paramour, maybe it’ll save her show too. The fact that Mike is Holly’s ex-boyfriend and has had his eye on Holly’s job as the host of her series is an added bonus. Who wouldn’t want to add a little revenge to a good career move? In order to really ramp up the reality drama, Holly’s agent suggests one final thing: Avery and Holly pretend to be an item. What TV viewer wouldn’t want to tune in for this chaos? The women’s situation becomes a little more complicated when real feelings start interfering with their fake dating. Come for the sapphic romance with trans and bi representation, stay for the yummy descriptions of fancy food.
For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes
I chose this feel-good BDSM trans romance as one of the best books of 2021 for good reason! April is an excellently drawn character, full of complexities: intelligence, insecurity, a strong nurturing instinct, and a touch of geekiness. She begins the book as a regular at a kink club named Frankie’s. She’s given up on finding a relationship, having been burnt one too many times as some guy’s side trip on the highway to hetero cis monogamy. When she meets Dennis at Frankie’s, she reluctantly gives him her number. When it becomes clear Dennis is really into her – and not just to meet on the sly on weekends at Frankie’s – April has some work to do to see if she can make herself vulnerable. Dennis, for his part, is brand new to the kink scene and recently divorced, and has some work to do himself. April and Dennis are such a cute pair, with equal parts mommi and dad vibes. If you’re looking for a BDSM story that is as fluffy as it gets, this is the trans romance for you.
The Calyx Charm by May Peterson
True love at the end of the world? That’s what this fantasy romance delivers, believe it or not. This series (The Calyx Charm is book three) is set in a richly realized alternate world with dense backstories of history, politics, mythology, and magical creatures. Dragons! Mages! Moon spirits! Prophecies about inevitable doom! Violetta has been hiding in the underworld, trying to prevent her power hungry father from syphoning her magic to use for his own ends. Tibario was recently dead; now reborn immortal, he has powers he doesn’t know what to do with. But you know who does? His mother, a crime lord boss whose longstanding foe and competitor is … Violetta’s family. It’s under these very Romeo and Juliet circumstances – the novel is in fact an explicit retelling – that Violetta and Tibario fall in love. They were best friends, in a past life: but Tibario only knew Violetta as Mercurio. Now that she believes Tibario is dead, she thinks she’ll never get to share her real self with him. But with a second chance at life, will Tibario risk getting in touch with his enemy and former friend?
Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor
A trans teen princess in love on a foreign planet? Sign me up! Galaxy is a YA science fiction comic about an alien princess forced to live as a boy on Earth. Her alter ego, Taylor, is living what seems to be a dream life: happy family, adorable corgi, basketball star, good looks, and great grades. But she’s miserable, because Taylor is actually a war refugee from the planet Cyandii and has been hiding in a human boy disguise for six years. She’s feeling increasingly suffocated, both as the wrong species and the wrong gender. When Taylor meets Kat, a girl from Metropolis, she’s blown away by the other girl’s cool confidence and beauty. Meeting Kat makes Taylor no longer want to hide who she is, no matter what the consequences. Will Taylor take the risk to show her true self to the girl she’s falling in love with? And will doing so attract her mortal enemies from lightyears away? Featuring bright, colorful, and expressive artwork by a nonbinary artist as well as intergalactic teen words by a trans writer.
The Companion by E.E. Ottoman
Set in Upstate York in 1949, The Companion is a polyamorous romance featuring two trans women and a trans guy. Madeline has been trying to make it in NYC’s literary scene for years. She’s exhausted. So when a friend suggests her as the companion to a reclusive bestselling author, Victor, who lives upstate, Madeline doesn’t hesitate to accept. Madeline is drawn to both the handsome, intelligent Victor as well as his neighbor Audrey, equally stunning and intriguing. Audrey and Victor, Madeline discovers, are ex-lovers. So if Madeline might be falling for both of them, is there a future for the three of them together? In this one you can look forward to lots of sexy times, as well as cozy post-war period details. Perhaps the fourth star in this romance is the sense of safety and relief these characters create together. It’s a haven away from the often hostile outer world where Madeline, Audrey, and Victor choose happiness and each other.
Through the Inferno by Jessi Noelle
Through the Inferno is a romantic thriller, for all you readers who like a good dose of crime, adrenaline, and mystery with your romance. The hero and heroine of this story meet after Jason, a firefighter, is badly burned and injured after a burning building collapsed on him and his colleague when they were rescuing a kid. Recovering at home, Jason is assigned a nurse, Zoe. The two develop a close friendship, so close that Zoe is the only one who notices that Jason is struggling with depression. But their relationship is cut short when Zoe is sexually assaulted on a date, her trans status revealed in the aftermath when the perpetrator is caught. Jason’s transphobic mom makes sure Zoe loses her job caring for him. The two stay in touch, so Jason is horrified to learn that Zoe’s house has been torched and that she’s left town fearing for her safety. Knowing that there is an ongoing threat to Zoe, whom he now realizes could be the love of his life, Jason sets off to figure out who is out to hurt Zoe and why, before it’s too late.
Have you read any of these trans women romances? Do you have any other romances featuring trans characters to recommend? Please chime in in the comments! And if you have a question for the resident lesbrarian, comment below or send me an email at casey[at]autostraddle.com.
Holigay Gift Guide: Queer Cookbooks for Every Home Chef on Your Shopping List
Holigays 2022 // Header by Viv Le
I love nothing better than a new cookbook to dive into for a holiday present, and I bet you’ve got people on your shopping list who feel that way too. If you’re going to buy cookbooks for your friends and family, why not buy them queer cookbooks and put money in the pockets of queer chefs (not to mention Autostraddle, when you buy through the Bookshop links below)! While the following cookbooks are all over the map in terms of format, type of food, and style, they are all authored by queer humans. Whether you want a gift for your queer vegan BFF or your conservative older relative, I’ve got a queer cookbook for you.
Sweet + Salty: The Art of Vegan Chocolates, Truffles, Caramels, and More from Lagusta’s Luscious by Lagusta Yearwood by Lagusta Yearwood ($28)
Perhaps you have heard of Lagusta’s Luscious in New York, which apparently was the first vegan chocolate shop in the world?? Instead of keeping the secret to her very popular vegan sweets all to herself, Lagusta Yearwood has generously penned this guide to creating delicious chocolates, caramels, and other sweet and salty goodness. Yearwood walks readers through classics like basic caramel up to and including decadent variations like thyme-preserved lemon sea-salt caramels. There are 100 recipes overall! Lots of details on the how-tos of the recipes are interspersed with writing about Yearwood’s life and the ethics and politics behind the way she makes treats. This cookbook is for the adventurous home cook in your life, not someone vegan necessarily — although that’s a great fit, obviously — but definitely someone who likes to try new things in the kitchen. It’s also for someone who would appreciate a dose of anarchism with their chocolate truffle recipes!
Simply Julia: 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food by Julia Turshen ($30)
Julia Turshen’s latest cookbook offering is a delightful blend of practical, unfussy, flavorful recipes of mostly general Americana along with some Jewish specialties and Asian dishes inspired by her and her wife’s family’s recipes. She also includes thoughtful essays on topics like the concept of “healthy,” how food is a key part of community, and why food is important nourishment for your soul as well as body. The recipes are divided into thematic sections such as chicken recipes, vegan one-pot meals, “noshes,” make-ahead main dishes, and more. Some of my personal favorite recipes are the potato chip and ricotta fishcakes with peas, sheet pan lamb meatballs with sweet and sour eggplant, and the any frozen fruit and cornmeal cobbler. There is also a cake inspired by The L Word’s famous pear polenta tart!! This cookbook is a perfect gift for someone you just came out to or for an older and/or conservative relative who is a bit unsure about the whole gay thing. Get them acclimatized to lesbianism by giving them this cookbook full of wholesome photos of Julia Turshen and her wife volunteering and hanging out with their dog.
Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen by Zoe Adjonyoh ($28)
First famous as a pop-up restaurant in the U.K., Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen is now available in cookbook form in North America! Adjonyoh’s recipes are traditional Ghanian with modern twists: coconut and cassava cake; Nkruma (okra) tempura; jollof fried chicken; vegan hotpot of groundnuts with sweet potatoes and yam; red snapper croquettes with Gari crumb and shito mayo; crunchy and crisp apple and scotch bonnet slaw; red red stew (“so good they named it twice,” says Adjonyoh) and more. Check out their insta page for more descriptions and photos of the dishes. Along with the food, Adjonyoh shares stories about Ghana — its people, markets, cuisine, and culture — and herself, particularly how food traditions have shaped her identity. Not only is this book full of mouthwatering recipes, it also features beautiful, colorful photos that make it equally interesting as a coffee table book to browse for the images alone. Buy this for the person on your list who would appreciate a cookbook that doubles as a piece of art!
Coconuts and Collards by Von Diaz ($28)
The concept of Coconuts and Collards is inspired by Von Diaz’s family’s move from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico to Atlanta, Georgia. A big part of the adjustment was learning to appreciate corn grits and sweet tea after cutting her teeth on fried plantains and Malta Goya. Part memoir that recounts growing up Latina in the South, the book focuses on the women in Von Diaz’s family, including herself. As a kid, she started cooking for her younger siblings and her single mom, who worked two jobs. She learnt from her grandmother about traditional Puerto Rican cooking techniques and flavors. From this hybrid culinary background, the recipes in Coconuts and Collards emerge: drinks like Sofrito Bloody Marys and Anticaudos (Old-fashioneds made with rum); sides like funche / grits with coconut milk and quingombo / stewed okra; mains like pastelón / shepherd’s pie with plantains and pinchos de pollo / chicken skewers with guava bbq sauce. And don’t forget desserts like besitos de coco / coconut kisses! Do you have a Southerner or a Puerto Rican on your list? Buy this for them so they can experiment with a little fusion cuisine! In fact, gift Coconuts and Collards to anyone interested in mixing cultural food traditions, or a reader who loves a good genre hybrid of memoir and cookbook.
Cook As You Are by Ruby Tandoh ($33)
Just out in North America this month, U.K.-based chef Ruby Tandoh’s latest cookbook is billed explicitly as an inclusive, accessible collection of recipes, with many cultural influences. The intended audience? Messy, busy, hungry, real people! Meeting home cooks where they are, she includes plenty of substitution ideas (including dietary restrictions like gluten-free and vegetarian), tips for making meals ahead, techniques for cooks with sensory and/or mobility issues, indexes for quick or low prep/chop recipes, clear detailed instructions, adaptability for different budgets, and more! Tandoh’s sense of shared humanity, compassion, lack of judgment and emphasis on equity are at the forefront here. The recipes are sorted by mood in chapters like “Feed Me Now,” “More Food, Less Work,” and “Wild Appetites.” Examples of the eclectic recipes include: a smoky eggplant stew; salted malted magic ice cream; one tin smashed potatoes with lemony sardines and pesto; and molten chocolate, olive oil, and rosemary cookie pie. There is no expertly lighted food photography, just fun, charming illustrations throughout the book, highlighting the idea of different cooks in realistic kitchens. People cook in kitchens with fridges covered in kids’ drawings, kitchens that are also dining rooms, with pets hanging around, coats hanging on the back of chairs, all of it! Except perhaps for someone who only likes cooking elaborate meals for 20 guests in their meticulously clean kitchen, this cookbook is truly for everyone.
Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails by Shannon Mustipher ($28)
Have you got a burgeoning mixologist on your holiday shopping list? Look no further than Tiki, the first cocktail book published by a major press and written by a working Black bartender in over 100 years. Rum and cane spirits expert Shannon Mustipher shares not only her original, gorgeous recipes, but also drink mixing tips and techniques, tasting notes and recommendations for different types of spirits, and suggestions for style and accompanying music. In other words: here is everything you need for your home tiki bar experience! There are over 90 recipes, including ones contributed by other tiki cocktail experts like Nathan Hazard, Brother Cleve, Laura Bishop, and Ean Bancroft. Some examples of Mustipher’s unique delicious recipes include the Tigershark: coconut oil-washed bourbon, lemongrass syrup, falernum, Angostura bitters, and lime juice; and Mutiny on the Bounty; Jamaican rum, Darjeeling-infused gin, spiced syrup, tangerine juice, and lime juice. The book includes instructions on how to make ingredients like coconut oil-washed bourbon, Darjeeling-infused gin, and spiced syrup.
For your at-home bartender friends who are tired of getting their mixology lessons from straight white dudes, Tiki is just the thing. Bask in the book’s lush photos of a masc Black woman behind the bar — while sipping one of her delightful cocktails, of course. Pairs well with Drink Masters on Netflix!
Uncommonly Good by Tesha Buss and Matthew Wexler, Recipes by Matthew Wexler ($18)
Subtitled “stories of food, life, and the birth of Good Commons,” this memoir cookbook hybrid follows the narrative of its authors to creating their Vermont retreat center. The two business partners started their friendship in New York City, where they were both struggling artists. Eventually, Buss left the city and bought an old Vermont farmhouse, which she and Wexler then turned into the destination it is today. Wexler, the chef in residence, shares over 75 practical farm-to-table recipes that have made the Good Commons famous as much for its culinary delights as for its offerings as a wellness center. The recipes draw on Wexler’s Midwestern upbringing, as well as his training from the French Culinary Institute. Highlights in the recipe section include beef bourguignon shepherd’s pie, shrimp and plum ceviche, eggplant rollatini, midnight fudge, and more. Uncommonly Good would be a great present for someone who’s thinking of starting their own business. Buss and Wexler share the trials and tribulations of making Good Commons work, as well as their successes and joys.
First Generation by Frankie Gaw ($30)
Known as the food blogger Little Fat Boy, Frankie Gaw’s debut cookbook shares recipes rooted in his childhood in the Midwest as a gay Taiwanese American kid. Walking readers through his recipes step by step with photographs as well as illustrations, Gaw introduces savory fusion dishes like Lap Cheong Corn Dogs, Stir-Fried Rice Cakes with Bolognese, Cincinnati Chili with Hand Pulled Noodles, and Bao Egg and Soy Glazed Bacon Sandwich. The recipes are deeply personal, drawn from his experiences growing up in suburban America while learning Taiwanese cuisine and cooking techniques passed down through his family. (Although he admits some of the recipes “will probably make [his] ancestors pass out.”) As you can see, Gaw includes traditional Taiwanese elements like hand pulled noodles alongside American “junk food” staples like corn dogs. There’s a nostalgic vibe to both. The dessert section is perhaps the most nostalgic, at least for those of us who grew up on sugary cereals. Almost every dessert uses classic boxed cereal. For example: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Butter Mochi! Gift this cookbook not only for someone who has an appreciation for both dumplings and Reese’s peanut butter puffs, but anyone who likes a good laugh. Gaw is very funny.
Want even more queer cookbook suggestions? Check out this list Reneice wrote for Autostraddle a few years back!
Ciara Smyth’s Queer YA Books Remind Me of Being a Teenager
I’m starting with my thesis right off the bat here: Ciara Smyth is one of the best authors in queer YA right now. Granted, she’s only two books into her career — The Falling In Love Montage (2020) and Not My Problem (2021) — but both are as hilarious as they are moving, with a very authentic and empathetic feel to her queer teenage characters. There are few YA authors whose characterization truly reminds me of being a teenager myself and who show that they really know and respect today’s teens, but Smyth is the real deal!
I recently finished Not My Problem, berating myself for being late to the party, as it was published in May last year. It is quite simply contemporary (queer) YA at its finest. I closed the book (metaphorically, since I was listening to the audio version) declaring that I would follow
Ciara Smyth wherever she and her writing went from now on. Not My Problem is laugh-out-loud funny, make-you-cry sad, and everything in between.
The novel is about 16-year-old Aideen, an Irish lesbian in her transition year who is struggling to keep the pieces of her life together. Her friendship with her longtime best friend Holly has slowly been deteriorating, with Holly becoming increasingly distant and indifferent. Her single mam has been left (again) by her piece of shit dad — who’s married and has kids with someone else — and is coping by starting to drink again. Aideen is falling behind and getting increasingly bad grades in all her classes. She feels responsible for taking care of her mam, and it’s cutting into her responsibilities at school.
This sounds like a lot; it is a lot. But Not My Problem is far from heavy. Partly because Aideen is such a wonderfully funny character, whose sarcastic jibes can compete with the best. But it’s also that Smyth refuses to wallow in the bad stuff and allows Aideen to be a well rounded teenager who’s not defined by being poor, or “at risk,” or the kid who’s had social services involved in her life. The book features ample high school shenanigans, queer crushes, new friendships, and an entrepreneurial endeavor with a very teenage feel.
It’s this entrepreneurial endeavor that is the catalyst for the plot. Aideen is minding her own business, having gotten out of gym with yet another parental note, which of course she writes herself. In the bathroom, she runs into Maebh, the principal’s daughter who is the definition of overachiever. Maebh is having a breakdown because of her overwhelming schedule and the pressure (external and internal) to excel at everything. She can’t possibly do it all, but the idea of quitting anything is laughable. When Aideen makes a joke that she’ll just have to break her ankle so she can quit all the sports teams and skip gym class, Maebh jumps on the idea, until she’s begging Aideen to just give her a little push down the stairs. When Aideen finally scrunches her eyes closed and relents, it’s a success: but only a sprain, luckily. It’s a bizarre yet bonding beginning for a burgeoning romance between Aideen and Maebh, as well as a very cute friendship trio between Aideen, Maebh, and Kavi, a guy who’d been sent to find the two girls and couldn’t help overhearing what happened.
Overachieving Maebh is mostly reviled at her school, though, for being too smart for her own good and for having too much earnest enthusiasm about stuff like environmental activism and school politics. Aideen first sees her as an enemy, and that’s not just because Maebh is the academic and athletic rival of Holly, Aideen’s best friend. Maebh has a reputation for being, well, annoying. She knows better and is cleverer than almost everyone and she doesn’t hide it. Of course, there’s a vulnerability in her that Aideen first glimpses in the bathroom and that is slowly revealed as the girls get to know each other. Although they first laugh it off, they later discuss how serious it is that Maebh was willing to harm herself instead of talking to her parents and cutting down on her insane schedule.
But back to Aideen the teenage entrepreneur. Kavi, although he faithfully keeps the promise of not repeating any details of what happened with Maebh and Aideen, does pass on the idea that Aideen is a cool kid who is up for doing unorthodox favors. Cue the teenage shenanigans I mentioned earlier. Soon her classmates are vying for Aideen’s favors, for which the only payment she asks is an unspecified favor in return in the future. Being the do-gooder at heart that Aideen is, she mostly uses these payment favors to do favors for the next teen who desperately needs her help, whether it’s buying the morning-after pill for someone whose dad is the chemist (pharmacist for us North Americans), breaking into the school to delete sexts off a confiscated cell phone, or helping a kid with super strict parents sneak out of the house and go to a party.
Aideen initially wants to orchestrate the favors all by herself, wanting to minimize the risk of others getting in trouble. But one of the lessons she learns over the course of the book is that it’s a sign of strength to ask for help when you need it. It’s a deeply moving journey that Aideen does not make without multiple stumbles. But even when she’s making big mistakes and pushing people away because she’s internalized the idea that she can only depend on herself, Aideen is effortlessly lovable. I wish I’d had a cool lesbian friend like her as a teenager!
Aideen’s also learning how to make new friends and evaluate what makes a good friend. There is a friend breakup scene in this book that was so real and sad I had tears streaming down my face as I was reading. But I’m always thrilled to see friendship breakups given the gravity they deserve. At the same time, Aideen’s burgeoning friendship with Kavi and Maebh, brought together by the favor business, is a true delight. A particularly memorable scene at a party has the three friends sitting in a bathtub wearing only towels while their rain drenched clothes and underwear dry in the host’s dryer. A heart-to-heart of the kind that can only occur when you’ve been through the kind of wild adventure that they just have and are essentially naked and vulnerable ensues.
Smyth’s first book, The Falling In Love Montage, similarly gives the spotlight to an Irish lesbian teen who is having difficulty being vulnerable. It follows the protagonist Saoirse for the summer after she graduates from high school. She meets a girl staying in her seaside town named Ruby. Ruby is a rom-com aficionado, and she convinces Saoirse to embark on a tour through the tropes of rom-coms — hence the title — like going to a fair and having a phone conversation where neither of them want to hang up.
Saoirse is determined to keep the relationship light and fun, despite her growing feelings for Ruby. There are a lot of reasons: her best friend turned girlfriend who she thought she’d be with forever broke up with her recently. Saoirse is terrified of having her heart broken again. The fallout soured her friendship with their mutual friend too.
But most of all, it’s the fact that her mom has early onset dementia and lives in a full time care home. Saoirse visits her every day but her mom no longer remembers who she is. Her mom’s condition is genetic, and it’s making Saoirse feel like it’s not worth investing in anything: a relationship, or the conditional acceptance she’s received to Oxford. She’s also furious at her dad, who wants to get remarried.
As you can tell, The Falling In Love Montage isn’t the lighthearted rom-com the cover might lead you to believe, although rom-com fans will enjoy all the references sprinkled throughout. If you’re looking for an HEA, this is not your book. Instead, though, Smyth opts for an equally sad, funny, and thoughtful story that feels very true to an older queer teen’s experiences and mistakes.
If you haven’t had a chance to pick up either of Ciara Smyth’s YA books, I highly encourage you to! If you are not Irish, like me, I recommend the audiobook format so you can luxuriate in the Irish accents and relax knowing that people and place names are being pronounced as they should be. Have you already read The Falling In Love Montage (2020) and/or Not My Problem (2021)? Join me in the comments to talk about them!
Quiz: Which Sapphic Asexual Book Should You Read This Ace Week?
Happy Ace Week everyone! Have you been looking to read more ace books? I’ve got a quiz for that. Answer a few simple questions — like what you would sell your soul for and who your favorite superhero is — and I will recommend a sapphic asexual book for you to read! Options include YA, essay collections, graphic memoirs, fantasy, romance, and science fiction! If you just can’t get enough of ace lady-loving ladies, check out this list of books with bi- or homoromantic ace women characters I made a few years ago.
The Hunt for the Perfect Baked Pumpkin Treat
When the cooler weather arrives, like many of us, I love to get baking. Combine that with Halloween season and pumpkin spice mania, and you’ve got this little project here that I’ve been calling Pumpkin Spice Baked Goods Extravaganza. I chose four pumpkin/pumpkin spice recipes, new to me, and spent a considerable amount of my October baking (and eating) them. Now I’m here to tell you all about it! Read on to find out which recipes really shined in their pumpkin spice flavor, how easy they were to make, and what kind of Halloween/autumn get-together you should serve them at.
Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake with Maple Olive Oil Glaze
There’s a reason I started with this pumpkin olive oil cake recipe. Since checking her cookbook Snacking Cakes out of the library earlier this year, I have become somewhat of a Yossi Arefi devotee. None of her recipes have let me down yet. They’re delicious but easy. They’re all designed to be mixed in one bowl, with no hard to find ingredients, and notes on variations and substitutions. (This pumpkin olive oil cake recipe has suggestions to add chocolate chips as well as to use part rye flour. It also includes instructions for four different pans.)
What’s the flavor like?
This cake is not too sweet, which I love. It’s wholesome tasting enough that without the glaze I’d eat it for breakfast and wouldn’t feel like I injected myself with sugar first thing in the morning. It is heavy on the pumpkin spices, and you can especially taste the cardamom, which is a nice change from the usual cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The cake is very moist, with the double hit of juicy pumpkin and olive oil, but there isn’t a strong olive oil taste. The glaze is quite sweet in contrast — it’s basically icing sugar with maple syrup and olive oil — so that really elevates this one from an everyday loaf to a special occasion cake, depending on your mood. The olive oil in the glaze is quite distinct. If you’re not a big fan of olive oil, or if you’re still recovering from a pregnancy-induced aversion to olives and olive oil like me, I’d recommend skipping the olive oil in the glaze.
How easy is it to make?
Easy peasy! One bowl to mix all the ingredients, no electric mixer necessary, and one pan in the oven for about an hour. All you need to do with the glaze is pour it over the cooled cake! One thing is that the cake dough is very thick, not really pourable. Admittedly I didn’t try very hard because I didn’t care, but unlike a more liquidy cake batter, it was hard to get an even surface before I put it in the oven. So if you care about the smoothness of the top of the cake, you might spend some time with a spatula trying to even it out.
What type of Halloween party is it suited for?
As a pretty but casual looking cake, this one would be right at home at your afternoon Halloween outdoor picnic or at your witchy afternoon tea. Sans glaze, this cake would be a nice treat in your Halloween bagged lunch, or for breakfast, or with your mid-morning cup of tea or coffee.
Tips and tricks (ie, mistakes I made that you can avoid!):
Do not add more maple syrup to the glaze than the recipe says or your glaze will be too runny like mine! Or maybe omit some or all of the olive oil and replace with maple syrup. I tasted the recipe as it was, and it wasn’t quite maple syrupy enough for me, but maybe that’s just my Canadianess. The toasted pumpkin seeds on top — which you can add with or without the glaze — really add a nice crunchy texture contrast and toasty flavor. Don’t skip them if you’re tempted to!
Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Glaze Icing
Although this recipe is by Sally of Sally’s Baking Addiction fame, it doesn’t appear to be on her blog. (I’ve linked another site that shares the recipe). I found it in her print cookbook, Sally’s Cookie Addiction. It is basically a pumpkin spice twist on a standard sugar cookie recipe. If you have Halloween themed cookie cutters, this is their time to shine!
What’s the flavor like?
Obviously, these cookies don’t taste like pumpkin because they don’t have pumpkin in them. The recipe calls for “pumpkin pie spice mix” as well as extra cinnamon. (The commercially made pumpkin pie spice mix I used contains cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves which I think is standard). Tbh I’d prefer to separate the spices so they could be tweaked according to your preferences. But the pumpkin spicey taste in these is pretty good! Plus if they’re decorated like pumpkins, it adds a certain pumpkiny je ne sais quoi about them.
How easy is it to make?
If you’ve made sugar cookies before, you know the drill: You need an electric or standup mixer, a rolling pin (or old wine bottle lol), and parchment paper/silicone baking mats; the dough needs to be rolled out and chilled in the fridge for at least an hour; then you cut out your shapes, re-rolling the dough multiple times until you’ve used it up; at last, you can put them in the oven. Icing the cookies is a bit finicky, especially if you don’t own piping, and then you have to wait hours for it to set. The suggested “traditional royal icing” for these cookies — which I did not go for — calls for meringue powder, an ingredient I could not find in my local grocery store. In other words, these are not for the faint of heart or low on time.
What type of Halloween party is it suited for?
If you use Halloween cookie cutters and go all out on the icing, these are extremely seasonal and perfect for a Halloween night party. If you, like me, don’t have an intense love of decorating a lot of sugar cookies on your own, I suggest inviting your friends over for a Halloween cookie decorating party! You could even get everyone to bring a different decorating ingredient, sprinkles, food coloring, googly eyes, etc. It would be a fun activity for kids too.
Tips and tricks (ie, mistakes I made that you can avoid!):
The instructions for baking the cookies say to keep them in until they start to slightly brown on the edge. Personally, I found waiting for that made mine a little crunchier than is my preference. I had better luck sticking to the suggested bake time of 11 minutes. The glaze I used was a bit sloppy to work with, and it didn’t fully dry until like 24 hours after. If you can find meringue powder, I’d suggest using the recommended traditional royal icing recipe with these. I think it’d be worth it!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
I was looking for a pumpkin drop cookie recipe, and this one looked like just the thing! As with most of the pumpkin cookie recipes I found, this one requires “blotting” the pumpkin puree to remove some liquid. This prevents the cookie from being too cake-like, keeping them dense and chewy. The pumpkin puree also acts as a binding agent, so these cookies are actually egg free! If you’re looking to veganize this recipe, all you’d have to do is replace the regular butter with vegan butter or a neutral oil. The recipe calls for melted butter specifically so I assume grapeseed oil or something similar would also work. (I didn’t try this though, FYI!)
What’s the flavor like?
If you love chewy and borderline undercooked cookies like I do, this is the recipe for you. I think it would be impossible to make these cookies crunchy! And the dense texture is accompanied by an intense pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavor. They taste like the best pumpkin pie but in cookie form! The recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice, but also gives individual measurements for different spices as an alternative. They are especially heavy on the cinnamon flavor. In terms of pumpkin/pumpkin spice flavor, these cookies were my favorite!
How easy is it to make?
These cookies are slightly more work than your standard chocolate chip cookies, but only just. The pumping blotting takes a bit of extra time, and the dough also needs to be chilled for at least 30 minutes before you bake them. Otherwise these are quite easy. And you can even make them if you’re out of eggs!
What type of Halloween party is it suited for?
These cookies very much have an “after school snack with a glass of milk” kind of vibe, so serve these at whatever the party equivalent of that is? They are also very potluck friendly (especially if you made them vegan) and could well survive being carted around in a Tupperware container while you made your way to a costume party.
Tips and tricks (ie, mistakes I made that you can avoid!):
The recipe doesn’t specify how much to blot the pumpkin puree, so I erred on the side of a lot. You’d be surprised how much moisture is in pumpkin puree! For the called for six tablespoons of pumpkin, I soaked like four or five full-size paper towels. I just dabbed at the pumpkin with the towel. My cookies came out not cakey at all, so I’d call my blotting a success!
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing
This is the recipe that started this whole project. Thanks to my partner Jorge for finding it! Basically, the gist here is PSL in cookie form!! Not only do these cookies have pumpkin and all the pumpkin spices in them, they also have coffee flavor and icing that is an approximation of the whipped cream atop your PSL. (Although I suppose you could literally just put whipped cream on these, which I’m sure would be delicious). These are definitely cake-like, but they do feel like cookies and not just glorified muffin tops.
What’s the flavor like?
These cookies have a nice pumpkin and coffee flavor, but I wish they were a little heavier on the warm spices. If I make them again, I’d adjust accordingly. It’s also a bit hard to tell because the cream cheese icing kind of takes over. I joked above about using whipped cream as a topping but whipped cream with pumpkin spices in it would highlight that flavor more, so I think I might actually try that!
How easy is it to make?
In contrast to the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies above, this recipe takes a different approach to reducing the liquid in the pumpkin puree: stovetop cooking. This is an extra 15 minute step, plus it creates more dishes! It does allow the flavors of the coffee (and to a lesser extent the vanilla and spices) to infuse the pumpkin, since you cook them together, so I think it’s worth it. You also have to chill the dough for an hour. The frosting is another extra step, but without it the cookies would be a bit underwhelming imho. In terms of time and ease, these PSL cookies are in between the pumpkin spice sugar cookies (hardest) and the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (easiest).
What type of Halloween party is it suited for?
You could really go full PSL mania and serve these cookies with homemade or Starbucks acquired PSLs (or regular coffee, obviously) at a Halloween or autumn themed brunch! Depending on you or your guests’ caffeine tolerance (or if you opt to use decaf instant coffee vs. instant espresso powder), these might not be the best choice for nighttime treats. Then again, they are really pretty, especially with a little dusting of cinnamon on top and would make a nice after dinner dessert.
Tips and tricks (ie, mistakes I made that you can avoid!):
I found the icing recipe too much for the amount of cookies, even with what I thought was a generous dollop. Now I have extra cream cheese frosting I don’t know what to do with! I’d recommend reducing the icing by ¼ or even a ⅓.
The recipe calls for either instant espresso powder or instant coffee, but says the espresso will create a stronger coffee flavor. I used decaf instant coffee, and I thought the coffee flavor was pretty strong already. I’d be wary of using the called for amount of espresso powder!
If you make these ahead of time for a party, they take up a lot of space to store in the fridge, because you can’t stack them because of the icing. It would probably be more efficient to bake them ahead but frost them just before serving.
Have you made any of these recipes or similar pumpkin spice baked goods? Do you have a favorite pumpkin spice cake/cookie/scone/etc recipe? Please share in the comments!
You Need Help: What If I’m Lying to Myself About Being Queer?
Q:
Hi there. I’m sure you’ve received questions like this before, and you probably get a ton of asks, but I’d appreciate advice as I’m really struggling. For the past six years, I’ve been questioning my sexuality (I’m in my late 20s now). I grew up in a very conservative, sheltered environment, and I never knew I could even have a female partner; I only saw hetero couples, and assumed that to not be lonely I needed a male partner. But I was never much into dating or sex. Then, when I was 21, a therapist asked if I was gay, and I knew I wasn’t (sexually), but it made me research, and research, and wonder and wonder and wonder. I do believe I’m asexual, or at least don’t care to have sex, but it’s the attraction to women (romantic/sensual) that I’m concerned with.
I may have had strong feelings for two women before I realized I could be not-straight (it’s hard to tell if they were strong platonic feelings or romantic, but there was always an element of wanting to be somewhat exclusive) — possibly other nebulous feelings too, like staring at a girl I thought was really, really pretty and wanting to be near her — but it’s only after my therapist asked if I was gay that I started imagining being in a relationship with a woman. And I don’t know why, but I so, so want that. I have rarely imagined being with a man, certainly not touching a man except hugging/feeling protected, although I like men. But imagining being with a woman, touching a woman, is so wonderful. I’ve become obsessed with historical female pairs, Boston marriages, etc. I also developed a major crush on a woman I met about a year after realizing I could spend my life with a woman, and the desire to touch her is so strong. I’ve never felt anything like that with anyone before. (But she initiated the hug, and I am also touch starved, so maybe this just has to do with that?)
However, aesthetically/physically, I find higher numbers of men attractive than women, which complicates this. Like, on TV, I’ll find many more men cute than women. But I desire to have a relationship with a woman much more, at least right now. I wouldn’t mind being with a man, I don’t think; I’ve certainly had crushes on certain men, mostly intellectually, and I don’t hate the idea of being in a relationship with a man. But it pales in comparison to being with a woman. The main difference I’ve found is that I feel much more sensual with a woman I’m drawn to. With a man, I typically just want to look at him and have him touch me/protect me; with a woman, I want to touch her as well as have her touch me. I feel much more active and willing to take the initiative with a woman.
My question is, how do I know that I’m not just trying to convince myself I’m not-straight to be rebellious, or cool, or something? I’ve always had a tiny rebellious streak when it comes to societal norms, and I’m afraid I’m just trying to convince myself I’m something “different” because I’m sick of heterosexual romance everywhere I look. Not that I hate it all the time, but there’s something about same-sex relationships that excites me. Also, so many of my feelings for women have been in my head; what if this is just fantasy, and in the real world it’s not real? (Except it has been real, a few times. Just a few.)
How do I know I haven’t brainwashed myself into being bi, gay, or otherwise not-straight? Like I said, I do like men; I appreciate them intellectually and personally, and I like how male bodies look. But I don’t necessarily want to touch them. I could see myself with a man… but if I hadn’t tried with a woman first, I would definitely feel like I was missing something. And honestly, the idea of living with a woman forever, sharing a home, a bed, cuddling… is dreamy. A part of me thinks I might miss that, permanently, if I married a man.
Thoughts? Thanks so much!
Follow Up Message 1:
Hi there, I just wanted to clarify my question I submitted a few days ago about whether I’m gay/bi or not. My main concern is, if I never thought about being in a relationship with a woman until my therapist mentioned it, is it possible that she just “planted” the idea in my head (so to speak), and I became obsessed with it, but I’m really actually straight? If I am biromantic (or-sexual, or lesbian), wouldn’t I have figured it out myself without having someone give me the idea?
Also, the friend I have a crush on is married, so she’s unavailable.
Thank you!
Follow Up Message 2:
Hi — I want to clarify my post again, sorry. My therapist asked me if I was gay because of the way I was talking about an old friend I had been hanging out with, saying how cool she was, when I was hesitant to pursue a boy I had a crush on because I didn’t want to spend every weekend with him/didn’t want to lose my personal time (and I thought he didn’t like me romantically — looking back, he might have). When she asked if I would consider living with said friend, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. (We’ve grown apart now.) There were other things after that that made me wonder, too — seeing a former classmate and her girlfriend’s pictures, and without explanation just wanting that so badly for myself — to hold someone (a woman), to look at someone, to live with someone, like they were.
Follow Up Message 3:
I’m so sorry, I just wanted to clarify a few more things: When I realized I could have a relationship with a woman and didn’t have to date men, I felt relief. Maybe it’s because I’m more comfortable with women and with having them as friends. Maybe I just want a best friend? I know dating a woman is no easier than dating a man, but the idea of dating a woman just sounds more enjoyable for some reason. I don’t feel bad at the thought of never being in a relationship with a man. I really just want a companion, and have always thought I didn’t care about sex or gender — but for some reason a woman sounds more appealing now. These past few years I’ve gotten really into wlw fiction (especially Xena), some fanfiction, and (I’m a novelist and short story writer) I can’t seem to stop writing stories about wlw relationships. It’s all I’m interested in writing now. But maybe I’m just a bicurious straight girl? The last thing I want to do is hurt someone by misleading them. Am I crazy?
A:
Hello dear friend! Let me just say this first: you are not alone.
I think it bears repeating: you are not alone.
You are not alone in having these kinds of conflicting and complicated feelings about queer desire and identity; you are not alone in wondering where your queerness comes from; you are not alone in asking if your queerness is “real,” or to put it another way, if you are queer enough. These feelings, I think, are actually quite common. Darcy wrote in a recent advice column about how the idea of not feeling queer enough is incredibly universal. So many of us have been where you are and so many of us still are!
I want to focus on your main question first: “How do I know I haven’t brainwashed myself into being bi, gay, or otherwise not-straight?” and as you clarified in your second letter “is it possible that [the therapist] just ‘planted’ the idea in my head (so to speak), and I became obsessed with it, but I’m really actually straight?”
If you’ve just spent a lot of time browsing Autostraddle, it can be easy to forget: we live, even in the 21st century, even in progressive cities, in a society deeply entrenched in heteronormativity and homophobia. It is impossible to avoid swimming in this disgusting soup. In the US right now we are seeing a huge backlash to the rights gained and cultural shifts for LGBTQ people (particularly trans folks). The idea that people are “brainwashed” into queer identities or that someone with authority “plants” the idea of being queer in people who would otherwise be straight, is right out of this backlash discourse. It is absolutely NOT your fault for thinking like this about queerness, but I wanted to point out that this way of thinking about queer identity is rooted in homophobia and heteronormativity, because I am suggesting we look at it from a queer perspective instead.
A few of us were discussing your question in the Autostraddle slack, and Nico pointed out that “often we need to encounter the idea that we could be gay in order to begin to accept that we are.” I couldn’t put it better myself so I wanted to quote them! (Allocis)heterosexuality is engrained in us from literally before we are born (fucking gender reveal parties!). It is VERY understandable that we need to be shown or told about options other than the dominant norms of sexuality in order to recognize that we ourselves are queer. How else are we to imagine otherwise when we’ve been told over and over heterosexuality is the only way?
When you really think about it, it’s astounding that despite the enormous pressure to conform to allocisheterosexuality, queer people continue to live their queer lives and flourish. (We rule, obviously). The idea that anyone who identifies as queer is “really straight” in the context of a heteronormative society is statistically nil. Logically, this is where the “born this way” rhetoric makes sense: why would anyone choose to be gay in a world that insists being gay is shameful and that heterosexuality is infinitely superior?
I want to push back on that logic a bit though, even if it is helpful to you. So what if you experience your queer identity and/or queer desire as a choice? Being queer is awesome, so great choice. And what does it mean to “be really actually straight”? Is there some essential being inside you that is eternally queer or straight? Some people experience their sexuality that way; others don’t. Neither way is better, despite the ubiquity of the “born this way” concept. Plenty of people truly know for long periods of their life that they’re straight, only to embrace queer identities in their later years. Some people question their sexuality, try out a queer identity or relationship, and end up identifying as heterosexual. The truth is that for some people sexual orientation remains static throughout their lives and for others it doesn’t.
If you don’t believe me, listen to queer lit icon Carmen Maria Machado, who wrote in her recent essay on Autostraddle:
“How little we know of ourselves at any moment; how distinctly human that is. There is such little grace given to the perfect messiness of desire. Even queers feel pressure to homogenize the experience into catchy slogans. The ‘born this way’ narrative, while politically expedient, has done untold damage to narratives of the queer experience, implying any number of horrible ideas: that you cannot move toward desire without some genetic component urging you to do so, that experimentation is inherently problematic, that you have to know your truest and deepest self to act on something. There were times in my adolescence where people asked me if I was gay and I said no, not out a sense of self-preservation but because I truly believed it to be so. You can be a stranger to yourself; you almost certainly will be, at some point or another. It is inevitable, as inevitable as the moment of rupture that sends you hurtling toward the self you were always going to be.”
Let those wise words wash over you for a minute. Letter writer, I hope you take comfort in Machado sharing with us that she too didn’t understand her own queerness at a certain time in her life! You wrote in your letter “I don’t know why, but I so, so want [a relationship with a woman].” Might I propose that the why is very simple: you are indeed queer! Whether or not you came to the realization all by yourself or by a fortunate suggestion by someone (or multiple someones!) in your life truly does not matter! Being queer is a wonderful gift you are lucky to have received. For what it’s worth, from a queer stranger on the internet: all of your descriptions of wanting to be with a woman, to touch her, to live together, and more — everything you wrote leaves me with zero doubts that you are “one of us” as the gals in A League of Their Own put it. Of course, only you can decide how you want to identify in the end.
To get into the specifics of your questions about desire for different genders: again, I repeat, you are not alone! It is quite common for bi+ people to have different experiences of desire when it comes to gender. Some bi+ people are equally romantically and sexually attracted to all genders. Some bi+ people are interested in sex with men, but relationships only with women and nonbinary people. Some bi+ people are aesthetically attracted to gender expressions they have no romantic or sexual interest in!
There are so many different types of attraction. You mention that “aesthetically/physically” you tend to find men more attractive than women. That’s cool! It doesn’t make you any less queer. Your descriptions of aching to be in a relationship with a woman sound very much like romantic attraction/desire to me. It might be that you’re aesthetically more into men and romantically more into women. This might shift over the course of your life, or it might not.
You mentioned that you think you’re probably ace. Ace communities have been pulling apart and naming different types of desire for decades. So often in allosexual contexts, different types of desire are conflated. Most allosexual people, even queers, assume that romantic and sexual attraction go hand in hand. But the lived experiences of aces shows that aesthetic, romantic, and sexual attraction do not have to align at all. These frameworks are really useful tools to understand own desire and identity for aces and non-aces alike!
If you haven’t already, I recommend doing some reading by and about ace identities and experiences. You can learn all about different types of attraction and how different aces experience their desire and identity. Ace by Angela Chen is an awesome place to start. Some other great book options:
How to Be Ace by Rebecca Burgess
Refusing Compulsory Sexuality by Sherronda J. Brown
A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality by Molly Muldoon and Will Hernandez
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Of course, don’t forget to check out Autostraddle’s asexuality content too!
Good luck friend and welcome to the queer community! We’re glad you’re here.
Editor’s Note:
As you know if you’re familiar with the You Need Help column, we typically run one (1) question every Tuesday with one (1) answer. However, sometimes a question appears in the Advice Box that causes the staff to discuss it emphatically for days and days, and in those cases we sometimes do something special, like our Valentine’s Day roundtable this year. Well, this LW wrote in the original question and then followed up with a total of five (5) clarifications, some of which we printed above, and we all felt so tender toward them that I decided I simply must publish a few more answers from our team. Casey did a fantastic job with her advice above, but sometimes more is more. I hope you’ll indulge me, as everyone really showed up exactly as themselves.
Christina: Oh babe this is actually so gay of you!
Yash: This precious bb. No straight girl needs four multiple-paragraph “clarifications,” pumpkin you’re GAY!
Nico: “I can’t seem to stop writing stories about wlw relationships.” is all I need to hear — it’s great to be gay, congratulations!!!
Dani: I’ve been out for almost 18 years and I still sometimes have the am I really gay?? thought. Then I see a woman and instantly become the Tex Avery wolf! All this to say welcome to the club!
Darcy: I absolutely remember this feeling. Am I crazy? Am I just making this up to complicate my life? The answer is, no, you’re not. You’re not making it up. It’s real, and it’s fine, and it’s gonna be amazing.
Himani: Oh dear friend, I really want you to know that I can relate so, so deeply to what you’re feeling. I am sometimes wary of overstating how strongly I empathize with some of the questions we get, but everything you’ve written has just really reminded me so, so strongly of my own long and on-going journey to come to terms with my queerness. But here I am, on this side of that journey. And maybe you’ll be on this side of it some day too, or maybe you won’t. Maybe, in fact truthfully, there aren’t separate sides here, but it’s just a winding path back and forth and back and forth as we uncover different parts of ourselves by living out different experiences. I, too, have been terrified of exploring possibilities with other women for fear of just being “curious” and hurting them. The irony of this harmful stereotype a lot of lesbians have about bisexual women is that it also hurts… a lot of lesbians, who don’t have a simple, straightforward, coming out story of always knowing they were gay but closeted. But sometimes, to repurpose an analogy I’ve used in my writing previously, we have deeply shut our hearts in a closet from ourselves, because that’s what we have been told to do or forced to do for one reason or another. Opening those doors can be very, very daunting, scary, and certainly confusing. The very first therapist I ever saw, in college, once observed that I never, ever talked about love unless I was talking about music. That was a door that was shut so, so tightly. The second therapist I saw, when I was shopping around for a therapist post-college, asked me if I was ever interested in women, and I never went back and, instead, went with the therapist who told me to just take risks and maybe try to pursue a guy I thought I was obsessed with. I, too, wondered if the idea of being queer had just been “planted” in my mind. Ultimately, you will make your own decisions and determinations. But as I always tell people, focus less on the labels and the “what will people say if I claim xyz” or “what will people think if I do xyz” and just follow wherever your heart, desires, and instincts lead you. Be honest with people along the way — your own confusion is no excuse for recklessly hurting others, either — but most of all, just be honest with yourself in whatever words feel good to you at any given moment in time. I’m sending you all my love and wishing you all the best.
Adrian: The incredible thing about being queer is that if you wanna be you just get to be! There is no governing body, no genetics scan, not even a social litmus test that can prove you are or aren’t. It’s just up to you! And while that can be totally intimidating, the good news is it is very evident from your words that you really really don’t want to be straight and so, congrats! You’re not! You’re one of us, and we already love you.
Laneia: Darling, sweet beautiful creature, please know that this entire situation — from the moment it first occurred to you that it could be a good idea to write into Autostraddle’s advice column, to this very morning when I read your fourth clarifying followup message — is gayer than anything that’s ever happened to me, including the time I sat crying in my best friend’s driveway because I couldn’t understand why I was so heartbroken over the fact that she’d been getting mani-pedis with her new coworkers, the time I told my then-husband that I was so jealous because he knew what it was like to go down on a woman and I never would, the time that same straight best friend told me a funny story about how she’d taught her college roommate how to masturbate for the first time and I downed my margarita slushie and immediately left her house so I could go home and masturbate, the time I left my husband and moved across the country to live with my girlfriend whom I met on the internet, the time I had a one-night stand with someone I met a Pride event and she made us vegan scrambled tofu for breakfast the next day, the time when Heather Hogan and I were still drinking whiskey at 2am and she called me a dyke and I cried and told her she was the only person who’d ever truly seen me for who I was, the time I got gay married and also gay divorced, the time my therapist wondered aloud if it might be possible that my girlfriend and I processed too much, and the entire 13 years I’ve spent working at this gay website. Bless you, I love you.
You can chime in with your advice in the comments and submit your own questions any time.
10 Queer Haunted House Books
Horror Is So Gay // Header by Viv Le
What’s better in spooky season than a great haunted house story? Queer haunted house stories, of course. This list of 10 queer haunted house books includes YA titles, brand spankin’ new queer and trans horror novels, a few underappreciated tales from the 90s and 2000s, plus the haunted house book known as the best ever written. Let’s get gay and scared!
The Upstairs House by Julia Fine
The Upstairs House tackles the horrors of new motherhood a la “The Yellow Wallpaper,” focusing on the protagonist Megan’s postpartum descent into madness. Not only is she physically, mentally, and emotionally ravaged from childbirth and looking after her baby alone while her husband travels for work, her unfinished PhD thesis on mid-century children’s literature haunts her. Which makes the sudden appearance of Margaret Wise Brown — author of the classic Goodnight, Moon and one of many queer children’s authors who flourished in the 40s, 50s, and 60s — a truly fitting ghost. Soon Margaret’s lover, actress and socialite Michael Strange, also appears in the room upstairs which doesn’t exist. Megan finds herself in the middle of a horrifying paranormal power struggle, not sure of what is real or not.
Gnarled Hollow by Charlotte Greene
In this blend of horror and romance, Emily is an unemployed English professor and scholar who is offered a dream proposal: to live, work, and study in Gnarled Hollow, an estate that used to belong to one of the authors she studies. Her favorite writer’s home, of course, is rumored to be haunted. Emily doesn’t believe in that nonsense, until she moves into the house and finds herself losing large chunks of time, rooms going missing, and doors slamming on their own. When researchers from other disciplines join Emily — including a gorgeous art historian named Juniper — they too are frightened by a mysterious, malevolent presence in the house. Scared but undeterred, Emily and Juniper attempt to discover if there truly is a ghost haunting Gnarled Hollow and why.
The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey
This historical novel set in 1930s England sits at the crossroads of gothic and horror. I have to credit twitter user @gothicsreview for selling me on this book by saying it has “a lot of homoerotically drinking crème de menthe.” What else do you need to know?? Okay, here’s more: in 1939, 30-year-old Hetty is tasked with the moving and caretaking of the mammals normally held in a natural history museum for the duration of the war. After transporting them to Lockwood Manor, Hetty has to contend with grumpy Lord Lockwood who has only reluctantly offered his estate. His alluring but strange daughter, Lucy, however, is a welcome distraction. But when the animals start to go missing and Hetty suspects something lurking around the house in the dark, Hetty wonders if the local rumours about Lockwood being cursed and haunted are true.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
This classic 1959 novel is often cited as the best haunted house story of all time, but it is also hella gay, in case you didn’t know. Jackson’s lean but muscular writing employs perfect restraint; the text itself never falls one way or the other on the side of the horrors of Hill House being “real” or merely in the minds of its inhabitants. The premise — four strangers gather at a house known to be haunted in order to search for paranormal activity — is self-consciously contrived. Theodora, one of the investigators, has agreed to stay at a house in middle of nowhere with strangers because of a terrible fight with her roommate *cough lover *cough. She immediately forms an intense emotional bond with Eleanor, the other woman in the house. Don’t even get me started about the spinster who previously owned Hill House is every woman who’s ever lived in this place gay?
The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan
In narrative layer upon layer, Kiernan crafts a deeply haunting and mysterious tale about Sarah, a caustic 40-year-old writer who has left Atlanta in the wake of her girlfriend’s death by suicide. She moves to an old house in rural Rhode Island, where an ancient decrepit oak tree grows in a desolate corner of the property. Inside the house’s spooky basement, Sarah finds an unfinished manuscript written by the previous tenant detailing the history of the tree and its connections to local myth, numerous accidents, and even murder. As the tree starts to take over Sarah’s imagination, she begins writing a new history of it. But she is not prepared for what her research unearths.
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
A queer retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Kingfisher’s novel will be a big hit with fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic, with its gothic horror vibes and terrifying fungi. The tale begins in 1890 when a soldier named Alex is called to their old childhood friend Madeline when she is dying. Madeline resides at her family’s ancestral house in rural Ruritania. What Alex finds there is not only their ill, sleepwalking friend, but her disturbed brother, nightmarish fungal growths galore, seemingly possessed wildlife, and a dark lake that seems alive. Alex is used to fighting in the army, but this is a whole other type of battlefield. Can Alex, along with the help of a doctor and a mycologist, discover what the secrets of the House of Usher are before it consumes all of its inhabitants?
These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
In this YA horror story (with a side of queer romance), Helen has been left with a burdensome inheritance: her family’s large ancestral home, extensive grounds, and substantial fortune. The only catch? She has to live at Harrowstone Hall for a full year, never leaving, in order to inherit. If she is to fulfill her deceased uncle’s request and survive the year at Harrow, she must dig back into her childhood and unravel her family’s secrets. Helen has no idea why she and her mother moved away from Harrow when she was a child and why they don’t speak to any of their extended family. But she does remember Harrow; it has been haunting since she left. Now that she has arrived, her life has become a waking nightmare. The house is built as if to deliberately make you get lost, some strange creature is digging holes in the ground’s forest floor, and she has been inexplicably sick for weeks.
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
In Oyeyemi’s melancholy and deeply uneasy novel, the house in question is haunted in the same ways its inhabitants are, and is just as alive. A character unto itself, the Silver family house sits off the cliffs of Dover and likes to keep the women of the family for itself; it’s that kind of monster. Twins named Miranda and Eliot live in the house with their father. All three mourn the death of Lily, the matriarch of the family and the twins’ mother. Miranda — the novel’s queer character — is especially attuned to the Silver women from beyond the grave who are a part of the house now. Soon her connection with the otherworldly starts to override her place in the mundane world, where her brother and father watch helpless as she slips away. Oyeyemi’s writing is fairy-tale-like in its timelessness and the novel’s shifting point of views — including one that belongs to the house itself — are a roaring success.
Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
This horrifying haunted house story with plenty of blood and guts takes to task British fascism and TERFs, as well as exploring contemporary trans lives in the UK. The story begins three years after friends and/or exes Alice, Hannah, and Ila spent a terrifying night in an abandoned house. Alice has been sleepwalking through life ever since, haunted by memories. But when Ila asks her to return to the house, she knows what she must do. As Alice and Ila prepare to face what they’ve already experienced there and fresh horrors upon returning, Hannah — whom neither of them has seen since the fateful night — has been taken prisoner by the house. Faced with the burdens of both supernatural and real life horrors such as trauma, violence, and social injustice, Alice and Ila struggle to rescue Hannah and to keep themselves intact, physically and psychologically.
Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
A group of old friends who used to go ghost hunting together in their youth in Malaysia gather as adults for a wedding celebration in a Heian-era haunted mansion in Japan. They’re not thrown for a loop when they discover the place is haunted; in fact, it was the selling point for the bride-to-be. The story of the ancient house goes like this: centuries ago, a woman whose fiancé died on his way to their wedding had herself buried alive in the house to await the arrival of his ghost. Every year since then, another young woman has been buried in the house’s walls to keep her company. How nightmarish can this wedding get when the attendants are there looking for ghosts? Like a living hell, it turns out. Featuring bisexual representation!
Which queer haunted house book are you excited to read this spooky season? Do you have any others to recommend?
Horror Is So Gay is a series on queer and trans horror edited by Autostraddle Managing Editor Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya running throughout October.
AM/PM: Skincare For The New Mama & All Day Minimalist
Welcome to AM/PM, where Autostraddle team members break down and share their skincare routines, makeup looks and more!
I’m Casey, Autostraddle’s resident lesbrarian. I’m also a new mom! My baby Jimena is a year old and I love her even more than I love books — which if you know me is saying a lot.
I’ve never been a big makeup or skincare person. I would situate myself as a lazy / chapstick femme. I have very sensitive and acne-prone skin, though, so despite my lack of passion for skincare, it’s been sort of necessary to take an interest.
I started needing a more minimalist skincare routine when I was pregnant and exhausted every morning and night, little did I know how much more exhausted I would be as a new mom! So I’ve been doing this abbreviated version of my previously more detailed makeup and skincare routine for about a year and a half now.
Basically, I experimented a bit to see what I could cut from that detailed skincare routine, and decided on which makeup still made me feel good/human enough to warrant taking the time to apply it! I’ve cut out using toner, eyeliner, face masks, different day and night creams, face moisturizer with SPF, and probably some other skincare stuff I’ve already forgotten I ever used. This is truly minimal with the mere bare necessities. I hope the minimalism is inspiring if you need to reduce your skincare/makeup routine too!
The Products
1. Cerave Salicyclic Acid Face WAsh ($15.99) 2. Aveeno Positively Mineral Sensitive Skin Sunscreen ($9.99) 3.Cerave Moisturizing Cream ($16.99) 4. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara ($36) 5. Hurraw Lip Balm ($5) 6. Il Makiage Fuck I’m Flawless Concealer ($31) 7. Bio-Oil Skincare Oil ($19.99) 8. Garnier Mattifying Micellar Water ($10.49)
The Routine
I wash my face with my cleanser in my “morning” shower, which sometimes doesn’t happen until the afternoon and/or is sometimes a shared bath with Jimena. I sort of stumbled onto the routine of only using it once a day because when I was pregnant because I just didn’t have it in me to wash my face at the sink at the end of the day. It definitely helps with my acne as I notice a difference when I slack off from using it – but once a day seems enough. I usually let my face air dry because I read somewhere that reused towels harbor bacteria which can cause breakouts!
My very sensitive, acne-prone skin loves the Cerave Moisturizing Cream! I massage in a generous amount after my morning facial cleanser and at night after using micellar water. The Garnier Micellar Water is sometimes my evening substitute for face wash. I have been continually exhausted since my pregnancy started and surprise surprise being a new mom is not less exhausting! Anyway, I first heard about the moisturizing cream from Autostraddle’s former Managing Editor, Rachel. I recommend the one with the pump, it’s easier to get out, and also you won’t potentially contaminate the rest of the cream by sticking your fingers in the jar.
Now we’re onto sunscreen and tbh I hate how it feels on my skin, but I am pale AF and burn on a summer day in about 15 minutes, so it is a must. In the past I’ve had a lot of issues with my eyes stinging after putting on chemical sunscreen; mineral sunscreen is much better in that regard! It does initially look white on my skin, but after some rubbing and a little time, it looks pretty decent on me — but remember I am pale AF! I have pregnancy stretch marks on my lower belly and a c-section scar, so I try really hard to remember to massage in bio-oil there at least once a day and I do really believe it’s helping to fade them!
Now it’s onto makeup, I start with the Better Than Sex Mascara. I do not have much to say about this product except for great mascara, stupid name. My mom usually buys me a new one for my stocking at Christmas so thankfully I do not have to bear the financial burden of its ridiculous price. Thanks Mom! I’m realizing it may be a pattern here that my expensive makeup is bought for me by my mom because she has also recently gifted me the Il Makiage Concealer.
Despite my best efforts, I usually have something to cover up: acne, hyperpigmentation, an ingrown chin hair (argh!). This concealer is stellar; it feels light but provides nice coverage. The Hurraw Lip Balm is last! I love lip balm and am hopelessly addicted to it. Hurraw has delicious unique flavors like earl grey and watermelon. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll use one of their tinted ones like dark cherry or raspberry. Altogether this “look” — if you can even call it that — makes me feel fresh and cute while mostly looking like I just have effortlessly flawed skin and long dark eyelashes and rolled out of bed like this.
This routine is quick enough (minus the shower with facial cleansing) that it can be completed in about the same amount of time it takes Jimena to unravel the entire roll of toilet paper in the bathroom — or something else destructive that keeps her occupied. This minimalist routine is really working for me right now! Washing and moisturizing my face and putting on even just a bit of makeup makes me feel a little more human and a little more like my pre-mama self, which is a feeling I treasure. Here’s to doing as much skincare and makeup routine as serves you and not a single minute more!
Eight Queer Books Set in Los Angeles About the Movie Industry
Happy fall and welcome back to Ask Your Friendly Neighborhood Lesbrarian! This time I’m answering a good old-fashioned email question, which reminded me I’ve neglected to share my email address with you all lately. If you have a question for your lesbrarian in residence, hit me up at casey [at] autostraddle.com! You can also comment on this post.
Now onto today’s topic:
Heya Casey,
I bookmarked your email for future book requests I hope that’s okay!! This summer I read The Work Wife [by Alison B. Hart] and really liked the LA setting. I’ve never actually visited LA and I don’t think I could live there actually based on reading books about it lol but I find it very interesting to read about, the glamor, the heat, I’m not sure what it is exactly. Do you have any other LA queer books you would recommend?
Cheers!
There are a LOT of queer books set in L.A., so instead of flailing about trying to decide which ones to include, I’ve narrowed the theme a bit. The Work Wife is a sharp behind the scenes look at the movie industry in LA, including #MeToo. So the following queer books are set in L.A. and focus on Hollywood / L.A.’s movie and TV industry. A solid half of these are romance, which is entirely unintentional — but you’re welcome if queer celesbian romance is your jam. This little corner of queer lit seems particularly white, so if anyone has more recommendations by authors of color, please share in the comments!
We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman
This searing novel is a two for one: it’s about both a certain kind of white woman auteur director / filmmaker in L.A. as well as the feminist theater scene in New York City. Told in two timelines, the novel begins with the bisexual protagonist Cass’s arrival in L.A., fleeing an as yet unnamed career scandal back in NYC. Cass was just about to make it big as a playwright when something went very wrong. Luckily, she quickly stumbles into a working friendship with her new next door neighbor, Caroline, a feminist filmmaker who is beginning a new docufiction film about a group of teenage girls who have their own after school version of fight club. Caroline is charismatic, ambitious, and determined, all qualities Cass admires. But the deeper she gets into the project, the more she starts questioning the ethics of Caroline’s behavior. At the same time, she has to reassess her own fuck-ups that led her to L.A. in the first place. This is a book full of women’s rage, creativity, desire, success, and violence.
Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
For a feminist discussion of #MeToo in Hollywood as well as a very thoughtful use of the boss / employee romance pairing and the subsequent power dynamic, there’s no better book than Something to Talk about! Emma, a bi Jewish woman in her late twenties, is the assistant to bigtime showrunner Jo, a Chinese American woman in her early forties. When the two are caught having an intimate laugh on the red carpet, rumors begin to fly that they’re an item. As they continue to put their heads down and work — Emma is gearing for a promotion and Jo is beginning a new film project — they realize how good they really are together, maybe not just as colleagues who are spending a lot of time together. But both women are keenly aware of the awkwardness of their situation: Did the paparazzi know they were meant for each other before they did? And how will they navigate Jo being Emma’s boss? This love story is a slow, slow burn, with lots of time to luxuriate in the building sexual tension as well as to learn about the ins and outs of TV and movie production from the perspective of queer women.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Siren Queen may be an historical fantasy, but it uses this genre mashup to its advantage to discuss pre-code 1930s Hollywood and the experiences of women of color actresses like its Chinese American protagonist, Luli. After falling in love with black and white movies as a kid in a nickel theater, Luli stumbles onto a movie set and ends up with a tiny role. Fueled by her thirst for stardom, Luli wades into the world of movie studios which literally run on magic of all sorts: demons, monsters, deals with the devil, and dark rituals. The metaphors and symbolism of the novel’s fantastical elements work effortlessly to address inequalities in Hollywood, including the racism, sexism, and homophobia Lulu encounters. But there’s joy and camaraderie too, like when Luli falls in love with a fellow actress and builds solidarity with other queer and/or actors of color. And Luli finds purpose in making her own choices, no matter how limited they are, like deciding to take a role as a monster instead of a maid.
I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander
Calling all horror movie fans: this queer romance features a love story between a horror actress and a makeup and visual effects artist. Lilah, the actress, dreams of moving up in the Hollywood hierarchy from B-movie creature features to A-list. Noa, the makeup artist, is working her tail off to make it into the union but it’s proving much more difficult than she imagined. They get off on the wrong foot when they first meet, but of course soon after are pining for each other. Both leads in this story are Jewish, and Lilah is dealing with coming out as bi in light of being closeted because of her career. Although Lilah is moderately famous (and Noa is starstruck upon first meeting her), Lilah is equally admiring of Noa, who is casually out at work. If you’re looking for gross insider details about making silly and/or gory horror movies, this book is for you: fake blood, green goo, cheesy mechanical dinosaurs, slimy water tanks, and more. (The film Noa and Lilah are working on is called Scareodactyl, dinosaur horror anyone??).
A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette
Okay, technically this cozy mystery is mostly set in Palm Springs, but it is all about Hollywood: both past and present. Jay and Cindy are former soap opera stars who rode the waves of popularity in the 90s with their combined acting and musical talents. They were also a real life married couple. But when the truth came to light — Jay and Cindy are both gay — their TV careers as well as their marriage died. Remaining good friends and wanting to keep a foot in show business, Jay and Cindy now own an old Hollywood memorabilia shop called Hooray for Hollywood. They’re hoping a 90-year-old former Hollywood diva who wants to sell her large collection of valuable props and costumes is the turnaround they need to help their dwindling business finances. But when their major competitor — a VP from a big well-off auction house after the same collection — is found suspiciously dead, Jay and Cindy are major suspects. Can they clear their names as well as revive Hooray for Hollywood?
Breaking Character by Lee Winter
This celesbian romance stars two very different women, working on the same TV show, a medical drama called Choosing Hope. Elizabeth (Bess to her friends) is a talented British actress in a career slump, playing the villain on a top rated TV series that she hates. Summer is a former child star who, while apprehensive about Choosing Hope’s popularity yet lack of quality, is thrilled to get to work with one of her favorite actresses in her first adult role. As soon as Summer starts, though, a clumsy mistake with the press leads everyone to believe Bess and Summer are an item. Bess, who’s stayed closeted in order to protect her career, is furious. The French filmmaker she’s dying to work with though, is keen to meet her new so-called girlfriend. Bess figures the least Summer can do to make up for her mistake is to pretend to be her partner so that she can secure a role in a film that is actually artistically interesting to her. I bet you can guess where this fake relationship leads!
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
A lot of fiction about Hollywood focuses on actors or directors, but this unique YA contemporary story stars Emi, an 18-year-old set designer in L.A. who is already on her way to a memorable career. Emi is a film buff and hopeless romantic, but her love life is anything but rom com worthy. She can’t seem to stop getting back together with her ex-girlfriend, even though she knows they aren’t right for each other. One day, her life is upended when she receives a mysterious letter claiming to be from an old Hollywood legend. Trying to track down the origins of the letter leads Emi to meet Ava. Ava’s life is unconventional and chaotic in a way that is completely foreign to Emi. As Emi falls for Ava, she finds her whole world changing. This book is a love letter to the craft of filmmaking and to movie magic romance.
And Playing the Role of Herself by K.E. Lane
This beloved lesbian romance classic is important enough that it made Reese’slist of queer books across America list in the competitive California section! It’s also the winner of the Golden Crown’s Ann Bannon Award. Taking place on the set of a star-studded police drama filmed on location in L.A., the story follows actress Caidence as she’s hired on the show. Caid is immediately drawn to her accomplished and sexy A-lister costar Robyn, but she settles for friendship, knowing that Robyn is in a relationship with some tennis dude. Caid herself isn’t out anyway. These ladies have chemistry off the charts though, which the producers pick up on, writing a relationship between them into the show. Will their on-screen romance translate to real life?? If it isn’t already abundantly clear, this book will be a hit for Law & Order fans.
A couples bonus recommendations not set in L.A. but definitely in the same vein as the books above: The Life and Death of Sophie Stark by Anna North (a profile told in multiple POVs about the life and career of a brilliant, enigmatic, and bisexual arthouse film director) and Flip the Script by Lyla Lee (a contemporary bisexual YA set in the world of Seoul’s K-Drama industry).
103 Queer and Feminist Books Coming Your Way Fall 2022
Happy fall — my favorite and objectively the best season — and welcome to the biggest publishing time of the year! I can guarantee there is something for everyone on this list of fall 2022 queer and feminist books, whether your jam is graphic novel fairy tales, memoirs about queer family, or anything in between. Other highlights include queer horror anthologies, a brand new Malinda Lo book, the latest from YA superstar Kacen Callender, winter holiday romances, TWO (!) queer Anne of Green Gables retellings, Chelsea Manning’s long-awaited memoir, the third book in Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series, and so much more. Let’s do it!
September
Real Bad Things by Kelly J. Ford (September 1)
This slow burn suspense thriller is about buried secrets, murdering abusive men, and returning reluctantly to your small hometown. Twenty-five years ago, Jane confessed to killing her stepdad and fled her home state of Arkansas — but the body had never been discovered… until now.
Space Trash Vol 1 by Jenn Woodall (September 6)
In this aesthetically punk graphic novel with snappy dialogue, three sapphic teenagers are attending boarding school on the moon in 2115. During a fight with a rival clique, they discover a secret about their school that could be life-changing.
Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt (September 6)
This contemporary YA features an all ace teenage heist team! Jack, the ringleader, is the kid of a Las Vegas casino mogul and a member of an online asexual friend group. When his mom is pinned for fraud she didn’t commit, he recruits his friends to infiltrate the rival casino he believes set her up.
Our Shadows Have Claws edited by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortiz (September 6)
Latin American YA horror! This collection of 15 monster stories has multiple pieces by and about LGBTQ+ characters, including “El Viejo de la Bolsa” by Alexandra Villasante and “Blood-Stained Hands Like Yours” by Gabriela Martins.
Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by Alice Wong (September 6)
Wong, known for her work as the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, has penned a genre-bending memoir about her life as an activist. The book includes essays, conversations, interviews, photos, art commissioned by disabled and Asian American artists, and more!
The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish (September 6)
The first of many 2022 winter holiday themed sapphic romances, this one is about a lesbian AND a gay guy finding true love when a mutual friend sets them up for a house swap. But at the end of the holidays when they each have to go back home, can they keep their newfound queer love?
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (September 6)
From the author of the celebrated Cemetery Boys comes the first book in a new Mexican-inspired YA fantasy about a series of high-stakes challenges called The Sunbearer Trials. The trans protagonist, Teo, sees himself as a middle of the road, kind of average semi-diós so he is shocked when he is chosen to compete.
Doughnuts and Doom by Balazs Lorinczi (September 6)
In this graphic novel, an anxious witch and a passionate rockstar start off as enemies, become friends, and maybe shift to lovers? When Elena and Margot first meet, sparks fly — literally — and doughnuts float in the air, but both of them are too caught up in their own worries to really see the other for who she is.
Refusing Compulsory Sexuality by Sherronda J. Brown (September 13)
Subtitled “A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture,” Brown’s work of nonfiction explores asexuality with a focus on white supremacy, anti-Blackness, capitalism, heteronormativity, and patriarchy as they connect with acephobia. Chapters explore topics such as ace visibility, desire, possibilities, and “fuckability.”
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton (September 13)
Beaton, whom you might know as the feminist cartoonist behind Hark! A Vagrant, has written her first full length graphic narrative, a memoir about her time working in Alberta’s oil sands. She explores the incessant misogyny she encountered there, while at the same time how she couldn’t help but feel a connection with these men as fellow East Coasters also driven from their homes due to lack of economic opportunities.
Junie by Chelene Knight (September 13)
Set in the 1930s in Vancouver’s former Hogan’s Alley Black neighborhood, this work of poetic historical fiction focuses on the titular character of Junie, an artist and queer Black woman, as she grows up. Relationships between mothers and daughters are front and center, as Knight celebrates the lives of the Black people who thrived in this neighborhood that was ultimately demolished.
I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers (September 13)
In this queer YA thriller, Summers brings her usual infectious feminist anger to a story about two teen girls who come together to bring a killer to justice. Their investigation puts protagonist Georgia — and Nora, the older sister of the killer’s latest victim — into a world of unbelievable wealth and privilege, where they discover there are terrible, guilty men everywhere they turn.
Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam (September 13)
In this global history of gender nonconformity, trans activist and historian Heyam focuses on narratives that don’t conform to today’s mainstream, binary understanding of stable gender categories. Rather, the book highlights overlooked trans experiences, from Edo Japan to Renaissance era Venice.
Panics by Barbara Molinard, Translated by Emma Ramadan (September 13)
Groundbreaking French feminist writer Barbara Molinard’s (1921-1986) work is available for the first time in English, with an introduction by Margeurite Duras. The stories in this collection are nightmarish and surreal, with sharp insights into mental illness, bodily autonomy, violence, death, and control.
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (September 13)
The third Locked Tomb book in Muir’s beloved dark fantasy series focuses on Nona, who has woken up in a body that’s not hers. Her city is under attack, and although Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life, she is expected to become the weapon that will save her people from the Nine Houses.
A Sentimental Education by Hannah McGregor (September 20)
You might know Hannah McGregor from one or both of her podcasts: Witch, Please and Secret Feminist Agenda. In this book of essays that blend the personal with the academic, she brings her accessible and smart voice to the topic of her own feminist education and feminism as a way of life rather than a mere methodology.
The Black Period by Hafizah Augustus Geter (September 20)
In this poet’s Afrofuturist memoir, Geter tells her origin story as a queer Black daughter with Muslim, Nigerian, and African American roots. Subtitled “On Personhood, Race, and Origin,” the book mixes her personal story — past and future — with cultural analysis, history, and politics, as well as artwork by her father.
Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland (September 20)
Ireland’s latest YA historical fantasy is set in 1937 America, where people are divided: those who practice the traditional mystical arts and those who think the future lies in technology and industry. Laura, a talented young mage, is hoping to establish herself in this hostile world at all costs.
The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg (September 20)
Set in Lemberg’s Birdverse, this lyrical fantasy novel is a queer, nonbinary Atlantis retelling about a starkeeper and a poet who fall in love while working together to save the island they live on. There is found family, ghosts, neurodivergence, a unique magic system, and a wonderful balance of thoughtful world-building with intense character work.
The Lost Century by Larissa Lai (September 20)
Lai’s latest novel explores generations of Hong Kong women, queer Asian history, the making of modern China, war, resistance, and cricket. In 1997, young Tobie asks her great aunt Violet about her family’s history. Violet delivers a scandalous World War Two story about a forbidden marriage, a brutal foreign occupation, and, oddly, a timeless match of cricket.
Other Ever Afters by Melanie Gillman (September 20)
Gilman’s collection of graphic fairy tales puts a delightful queer, feminist spin on the old familiar stories, centring princesses who don’t want to marry their princes, wise old women, barmaids, and other traditionally sidelined characters. There are also kind giants, feminist mermaids, and queer knights.
Love Me Tender by Constance Debré, Translated by Holly James (September 27)
In this autobiographical French novel, Debré describes the experiences of “her transformation from affluent career woman to broke single lesbian.” The book chronicles her losing custody of her son, short lasting affairs that leave her empty, and her routines of intense reading and writing.
Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender (September 27)
Lark is a nonbinary teen and aspiring writer in Callender’s latest YA contemporary novel. When their former BFF Kasim accidentally posts about a secret unrequited crush on Lark’s Twitter, the two old friends are brought back together in a storm of social media frenzy and messy high school love.
Leech by Hiron Ennes (September 27)
Blurbed by Tamsyn Muir as “impeccably clever and atmospheric. Think Wuthering Heights…with worms!”, Ennes’s debut queer gothic science fiction is surreal and horrifying. The book is set in an isolated northern castle where the Institute attempts to shelter humanity from the horrors of their ancestors’ mistakes. How? By replacing human practitioners of medicine with their own creations.
How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy (September 27)
Shay is a brown lesbian and overachieving teen witch who is reluctantly persuaded to join this year’s school musical in order to help boost an upcoming scholarship application. Too bad her enemy Ana will be playing the other lead. As Shay begins to receive unwanted attention from the theater teacher, she turns to Ana for support as an unlikely friendship — and romance? — blossoms.
find her. keep her. by Renaada Williams (September 27)
In this raw and intimate collection of poetry for fans of Rupi Kaur, Williams writes from her experiences as a queer Black woman. Topics include love, sexuality, acceptance, and abuse, which Williams often explores in short, tightly crafted poems of only a few lines.
Forest Hills Bootleg Society by Dave Baker and Nicole Goux (September 27)
In this funny and heartfelt graphic novel, four teen girls get themselves in a little too deep selling bootleg copies of an erotic anime DVD they found at the local gas station. Plus, things are getting complicated in their friendship as two of the girls are headed for a breakup while another has a crush on one of the soon-to-be exes.
October
Heartstrings: Melissa Etheridge and Her Guitars by Melissa Etheridge, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Frank Mariffinno, et al (October 3)
The title (almost) says it all here: The graphic narrative goes through many of Etheridge’s favorite instruments, using them as a jumping off point to tell stories of her life and journey as a musician. Each guitar is named after a famous woman!
The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud (October 4)
Sophie is a regular 12-year-old girl who lives with her two adoptive vampire moms in this Halloween season middle grade novel. But when one of Sophie’s moms goes rogue and stops being her normal vampire law-abiding self, it’s up to Sophie to solve the mystery and get her family back together.
Màgòdiz by Gabe Calderón (October 4)
In the Algonquin dialect of Anishinabemowin, Màgòdiz is “a person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of their country”; it’s a fitting title for this Two-Spirit dystopian novel. The story focuses on six characters whose lives intersect in a ruined world that is not without love, friendship, family, sacredness, or hope.
The Family Outing by Jessi Hempel (October 4)
Hempel’s unique memoir is not just about her own queerness and identity journey, although it is that. In her family, she’s just one of four queer and trans family members who have come out by Hempel’s adulthood, although it turns out that coming out is just the beginning for their family’s transformation.
Queer Little Nightmares edited by David Ly and Daniel Zomparelli (October 4)
Queer. Horror. Anthology!! This collection of “monstrous” poetry and fiction turns the queer lens on monsters and reimagines them, asking: “What does it mean to be (and to love) a monster?” Contributors include some of my personal favorites, Amber Dawn, Kai Cheng Thom, jaye simpson, Hiromi Goto, and more!
A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt (October 4)
The first novel from poet Billy-Ray Belcourt (Driftpile Cree Nation) is about a queer Indigenous doctoral student caught in between his new academic life and his memories of childhood on the reservation. The novel unfolds through past and present conversations and encounters with family, friends, and colleagues. I love Belcourt’s writing and am so eager for his work to be more widely recognized in the US, which I hope this novel will accomplish!
Cry Perfume by Sadie Dupuis (October 4)
Cry Perfume is a collection of lyrical, activist poems about grief, loss, addiction, and overdose. Borrowing the performative sensibility and improvisation of pop, punk, and electronic music / culture, the poems are rooted in Dupuis’s background in organizing and social justice.
The Future is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (October 4)
In their latest work of “prophecies, love notes, and mourning songs,” Piepzna-Samarasinha explores how the wisdom of disabled people and the disability justice movement are crucial for survival and liberation. The book is a love letter to QTBIPOC disabled communities, a guide to survival and organizing, and a celebration of brown disabled femme joy.
The Restless Dark by Erica Waters (October 4)
In this macabre seasonally appropriate YA, three teen girls attend a creepy true crime podcast contest to find the bones of a recently deceased serial killer. Each girl has her own reasons for being there: looking for answers, a new identity, or a place to bury her own secrets. But the darkness within them might be their biggest obstacle.
Anne of Greenville by Mariko Tamaki (October 4)
This is not a drill: QUEER ANNE OF GREEN GABLES RETELLING! Tamaki’s modern Anne is a disco-opera writer/singer/actor, queer, and Japanese American. At her new school in middle of nowhere Greenville, she meets her new BFF Berry as well as the girl of her dreams, Gilly. But she soon finds herself in an unexpected love triangle wondering which girl is her true soulmate!
A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo (October 4)
A companion novel to Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Lo’s latest YA novel is also set in the Bay area but with the 2013 US Supreme Court’s first rulings on same sex marriage as a backdrop. It’s a story of messy first love, bisexual discovery, and working class queer community.
Movements and Moments edited by Sonja Eismann, Maya Schöningh, and Ingo Schöningh (October 4)
This ambitious anthology of “Indigenous Feminisms in the Global South” contains work by contributors from Vietnam, Thailand, India, Philippines, Nepal, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Brazil. Topics include preserving traditional knowledge, climate change, trade unions, domestic and care work, political protest, and more.
Where the Lost Ones Go by Akemi Dawn Bowman (October 11)
Bowman’s middle grade fantasy novel is about a 12-year-old named Eliot who is grieving the loss of her grandmother. Attempting to contact her grandma beyond the grave leads her to a haunted house where, along with her new crush Hazel, Eliot finds herself helping many ghosts remember their pasts and find peace.
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner (October 11)
Already known lovingly as “the MILF book” on queer booktok, Wilsner’s latest romance is personally one of my most anticipated 2022 reads! When college senior Cassie has a hot one night stand with an older woman at an off-campus bar during Family Weekend, she thinks she’ll never see the woman again. Except the next day when her best friend introduces Cassie to her mom … it’s the woman Cassie slept with the night before.
Season of Love by Helena Greer (October 11)
In this butch/femme holiday romance, successful artist Miriam inherits her beloved great aunt’s (ironically) Jewish-run Christmas tree farm. The tree farm, it turns out, is at risk of going under and Miriam will have to work with the farm’s grumpy yet sexy manager in order to turn things around.
Power: The Rise of Black Women in America by Charity C. Elder (October 11)
Using evidence from census data, theory, history, ethnographic work, pop culture, her own lived experiences, and more, Elder examines Black women’s success, power, and agency in the US today. They have achieved this, Elder writes, in the face of “persecution that has failed to frustrate a perseverant persistence to prevail.”
Jade is a Twisted Green by Tanya Turton (October 11)
This new adult queer Black coming of age follows a 24-year-old first-generation Jamaican immigrant living in Toronto. Jade’s story begins at the lowest point of her life, trying to make sense of her twin’s mysterious death. It moves through to her self-actualization, where she eventually finds love, passion, chosen family, and pleasure after immense loss.
It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror edited by Joe Vallese (October 4)
In contrast to this fall’s other queer horror anthology that focuses on fiction and poetry, this book collects essays by queer and trans writers on horror film from old school monster movies to Hereditary, Halloween, and Get Out. The essays explore topics like the “final girl” trope, secret identities, body possession, feminist horror, and more. The book includes an essay by Carmen Maria Machado on Jennifer’s Body!
Will Do Magic for Small Change by Andrea Hairston (October 13)
Hairston’s historical 19th century fantasy is about family secrets, aliens, and magic. The protagonist Cinnamon is an aspiring actress but a mysterious book about a performance by a warrior woman and an alien given to her by her brother before his passing haunts her. There is some mysterious connection to her family’s past and her own future, but what is it?
Helen House by Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya (October 18)
Helen House is the first book by Autostraddle’s very own beloved managing editor!! It’s a queer ghost story that touches on grief and trauma. It’s also a novelette, which means you can gobble it up all in one spooky evening. KKU’s writing is accompanied by original illustrations by Kira Gondeck-Silvia. Limited edition hardcovers are also available for preorder.
When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar (October 18)
In this lyrical, heartrending novel with bisexual representation, Asghar tells the story of three Muslim American sisters who lose their parents early. Focusing on the journey of the youngest Kausar, the novel explores her gender, sibling relationships, and coming of age.
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb (October 18)
This queer Jewish historical fantasy features an agender angel and a disabled demon in love who travel from their tiny shetl with two women to America. But it turns out what lies ahead of them might be as difficult as what they’re leaving behind.
Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen (October 18)
In this queer historical suspense novel set in 1952, the titular Lavender House estate is the home of matriarch Irene Lamontaine, who has created a safe haven with all queer staff and residents. After Irene’s recent death, however, it appears the house may be harboring a murderer among its queer found family.
Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne (October 18)
Horne’s contemporary middle grade novel is queer, feminist, and funny. Hazel’s frenemy Ella is her number one rival in this year’s school speech competition but when Hazel finds out Ella is being bullied online by popular boy Tyler, the girls band together to stand up to him.
Whorephobia: Strippers on Art, Work, and Life edited by Lizzie Borden (October 18)
True to its subtitle, this anthology collects essays and interviews by 23 dancers on topics including motherhood, activism, teaching, art, friendship, and work. The writers discuss how stripping and sex work have informed other aspects of their lives and tell illuminating stories about their first night on the stage, when they decided to retire (or not), and everything in between.
Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken by Nita Tyndall (October 18)
Set in Berlin in 1938, Tyndall’s YA novel features sapphic teen Charlotte aka “Charlie” as she discovers an underground dance club that plays forbidden American and British jazz and swing music. Embracing her place in the Swingjugend movement leads Charlie to acts of anti-Nazi resistance while at the same time the girl who introduced her to the scene increasingly distances herself due to her dad’s place in the Nazi party.
Life in Every Breath: Ester Blenda by Fatima Bremmer, Translated by Gloria Nneoma Onwuneme (October 18)
Life in Every Breath is a biography of a groundbreaking Swedish investigative journalist and lesbian who was born in 1891. She defied gender norms of the time by wearing pants, smoking a pipe, and riding a motorbike, but it was her undercover work that was truly revolutionary. She lived and worked with Indigenous Sami peoples in Sweden, traveled with poor emigrants to America, studied volcanoes in Siberia, delivered aid during the Finnish civil war, and more!
Pretend It’s My Body by Luke Dani Blue (October 18)
In this debut collection of speculative stories a la Carmen Maria Machado, Blue focuses on misfit characters: a trans teen who can read minds, but only indecisive ones; a woman who plans to upload her mind and abandon her body; con artists; and more.
Dream Rooms by River Halen (October 18)
Dream Rooms is “part essay, part poem, part fever dream journal entry,” as it recounts Halen’s life in the years leading up to coming out as trans. Transition is an epilogue while the book focuses on changing your bookshelf, taking care of a pet rabbit, considering birth control, and more.
README.txt by Chelsea Manning (October 18)
In Manning’s much anticipated memoir, she tells the story of her activism calling for government accountability and transparency while fighting for her rights as a trans woman. She begins with her child- and teenagehood, tracing her journey from being a kid interested in computers to working as an intelligence analyst for the military.
Unsettling: Surviving Extinction Together by Elizabeth Weinberg (October 18)
Queer science writer Weinberg writes about climate change and climate crisis as they are connected to white supremacy, colonialism, heteronormativity, and sexism. She blends science, personal essay, pop culture analysis, and history to carve out a different way of thinking about the environment.
Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo (October 25)
The third book in Vo’s Singing Hills Cycle, this novella can be read as a standalone, but it’s linked to the others in the series by the character of cleric Chih. As Chih travels to the riverlands with a talking bird, a older couple, and two women, they find themselves confronting “old legends and new dangers.”
Heretic by Jeanna Kadlec (October 25)
Kadlec‘s memoir charts her journey of growing up Evangelical and eventually marrying a pastor’s son to coming out as queer and leaving the church. She focuses not just on her own story, but how Evangelicalism has a far-reaching effect on the US at large, from pop culture to power structures.
The Scratch Daughters by Hannah Abigail Clarke (October 25)
Number two in The Scapegracers witchy YA series finds lead witch Sideways disappointed that her crush Madeline was not trying to make out with her last Halloween, she was trying to steal Sideways’s specter, aka her ability to cast magic spells. Having succeeded, Madeline runs off to enact some revenge and Sideways finds herself chasing Madeline as well as her own enemies.
Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables by Kathleen Gros (October 25)
MORE GAY ANNE OF GREEN GABLES!! Gros’s book is a contemporary middle grade graphic novel adaptation where preteen Anne is placed with new foster parents Matthew and Marilla, even though they were looking for a much younger kid. Anne finds happiness and support with them, as well as a burgeoning crush on her new friend Diana.
The Call-Out by Cat Fitzpatrick (October 25)
You might recognize Fitzpatrick from her editorial work on the excellent anthology of trans SFF called Meanwhile Elsewhere, but her debut book is something quite different: “a tragicomedy of manners written in verse.” The novel is about all queer, mostly trans women living in Brooklyn, featuring all the mainstays of their cultural moment and place: punk houses, queer lit readings, online call-outs, dating app hookups, financial instability, feminist philosophy, and more.
Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist by Cecilia Gentili (October)
Coincidentally, this book is the first published by Little Puss Press, run by Cat Fitzpatrick as just mentioned and Casey Plett! With praise from Janet Mock, Torrey Peters, and more, Faltas is a collection of letters that is as heartwarming and funny as it is heartbreaking and sad. Argentinian American actress and storyteller Gentili “reinvents the trans memoir putting the confession squarely between the writer and her enemies, paramours and friends.”
November
The Color Pynk: Black Femme Art for Survival by Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley (November 1)
Focusing on queer cis and trans femininity, Tinsley argues that Black femmes’ creative work is political, passionate, and essential for survival. It challenges dominant power structures; disrupts conventions around race, gender, and sexuality; and is a place for joy and love. Tinsley looks at Janelle Monae’s music, Janet Mock’s TV writing, Indya Moore’s fashion, and more!
When Franny Stands Up by Eden Robins (November 1)
Robins’s new unique mid-century historical fantasy novel is about comedy, trauma, and family. Franny, a new standup comedian, is introduced to a new special magic called Showstopper, an effect that momentarily transforms women — and only women — if they laugh hard enough.
Learned by Carellin Brooks (November 1)
The poems in Brooks’s new collection take place in the 90s, between Oxford and London, on university grounds and in queer BDSM spaces. Tackling desire, abuse, pain, pleasure, and the body’s own memory, Brooks charts her education of sorts in the body and the mind.
A Restless Truth by Freya Marske (November 1)
The second book in The Last Binding queer historical fantasy series, A Restless Truth includes murder, magic, and romance aboard a ship! Maud is traveling from Britain to New York when she discovers a dead body, a rude talking parrot, and the most beautiful and intriguing woman she’s ever met. Which problem should she tackle first?
The Frenemy Zone by Yolanda Wallace (November 1)
In Wallace’s YA romance, Olly is a fish out of water, having recently moved with her dads from San Francisco to a small town in West Virginia. She has no idea she’s caught the eye of local star softball player Ariel, who’s jealous of Olly’s easy out and proud queerness, wishing it could be that easy for her.
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun (November 1)
In this queer Christmas rom com, Ellie still dreams about the woman she fell for last Christmas Eve in a bookstore but then never saw again. This Christmas, Jack — the landlord of the coffee shop where Ellie works after losing her dream job — proposes a crazy plan: a marriage of convenience so he can get his recent inheritance and help them both out financially. But when Ellie and Jack go to spend Christmas with his family to establish the fake relationship, guess who his sister is??
The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin (November 1)
The final book in Jemisin’s Great Cities duology, The World We Make picks up with New York City’s six souls / human avatars, having temporarily stopped the Woman in White from destroying the world. The final enemy still remains, though, and NYC may have to join forces with the souls of some of Earth’s other great cities to defeat evil once and for all.
How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow (November 1)
Yes, we’re getting not one, but TWO sapphic Jewish Christmasy rom coms this year! In this college-set romance, Shani and May are enemies — they met when Shani ran into May with her car — but when these two Jewish girls get snowed in together on Christmas Eve, there might be a little holiday magic in the air.
Rethinking Gender by Louie Läuger (November 1)
Läuger’s cheerful, accessible illustrated guide attempts to answer the big question of “what is gender?” With their trusty cat as sidekick, Läuger explains terms like transgender and cisgender, goes over histories of queer and trans activism, shows how gender is a spectrum, and much more without claiming to have figured it all out and to have all the answers.
Small Game by Blair Braverman (November 1)
Queer author Braverman’s debut novel is a thrilling suspense story about a survival reality TV show gone terribly wrong. Mara, the main character, runs her own survival school, so she’s prepared for everything except…dealing with the other contestants.
The Forever Factor by Melissa Brayden (November 1)
In this second chance lesbian romance, two women who were high school cheerleaders together meet again as adults. When Reid shows up as a patient in Bethany’s office, both women are about to learn the other’s story of what really happened to break them up as teenagers.
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk (November 8)
An historical novel set in 1930s Chicago, Polk’s latest sapphic period piece is also equal parts fantasy, mystery, and romance. With a classic noir tone, the book follows a magical detective on the hunt for a serial killer named Whity City Vampire.
Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens by Ryan Pfluger (November 8)
Photographer Pfluger’s collection of 100 full color photographs features queer interracial couples and their stories. Taken in 2020 and 2021, the photos are a testament to modern queer love, joy, vulnerability, and beauty. The book also includes an essay by Brandon Kyle Goodman and an introduction by Janicza Bravo.
A Short History of Queer Women by Kirsty Loehr (November 8)
This short, accessible guide written from a British perspective adds an ample dash of humor to the history of women who loved women throughout the ages. Highlights include Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who were 18th century lovers and pirates together!
The Long Covid Survival Guide edited by Fiona Lowenstein (November 8)
Guess who’s featured in this anthology?? Our very own Heather Hogan!! Lowenstein has crafted this book from the original online support group for people with long Covid they created, transforming years of collaborative work into this book. Topics include taking care of your mental health, dealing with fatigue, employment issues, medical racism, and more.
The Age of Goodbyes by Li Zi Shu, Translated by YZ Chin (November 8)
An experimental historical novel set in 1969 in Malaysia, The Age of Goodbyes is available for the first time in English, translated from the original Chinese. A feminist story about family, storytelling, memory, official history, and political unrest, the novel is told in multiple timelines, including one in which “you” as the reader of this book are the main character.
Cyclettes by Tree Abraham (November 10)
Aptly named, this book consisting of cycling vignettes follows queer author and designer Abraham through all the bicycles she has ever known, from her first childhood bike to loaners she rode while traveling in India. Featuring text and images, Cyclettes shares a life full of passionate two-wheeled journeys and philosophical musings on wanderlust, millennial adulthood, depression, and more.
The Polyamory Workbook by Sara Youngblood Gregory (November 15)
This “interactive guide to setting boundaries, communicating your needs, and building secure, healthy open relationships,” lesbian author Gregory addresses both those new to nonmonogamy and not. The toolbox the book provides will help you determine what you want from relationships and community, as well as how to get it.
Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell (November 15)
This title!! In Victorian England, a teenage girl named Adele becomes a feminist vigilante who punishes abusive men. The young con artist who teaches Adele her craft is also her love interest! I personally cannot wait for this feminist historical thriller with a queer romance at its heart.
The Secret of Matterdale Hall by Marianne Ratcliffe (November 15)
Ratcliffe’s latest queer historical novel is a gothic tale about a young woman, Susan, forced into teaching at a remote English boarding school — the titular Matterdale Hall — when her father’s death sinks her family into poverty. There she meets a beautiful and mysterious woman, Cassandra, with whom she must untangle the hall’s dark secrets.
Securing Ava by Anne Shade (November 15)
Shade’s latest novel is a romantic thriller about a private investigator and the runaway heiress she’s been hired to locate. But when Paige, the PI, realizes the heiress Ava has been the victim of a botched kidnapping, she has to pull out all the stops to … secure Ava … and find out who wants to hurt her family.
Mabel and Everything After by Hannah Safren (November 17)
Safren’s new adult romance tells the story of two women, Emma and Mabel, as their relationship goes through the ups and downs of college life. While their initial summer fling fizzles because of Emma’s struggle with internalized homophobia, they keep showing up in each other’s lives enough that they begin to wonder if they’re destined for each other.
Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake (November 22)
The second book in Blake’s small town Bright Falls queer romance series features an uptight interior designer who falls in love with the carpenter she’s working with on a renovation project being featured on a home improvement show. This is an enemies to lovers story: at first they hate working together but then they fall in love!
Schuss by E.J. Noyes (November 22)
Queer winter sports romance!! Stacey is a competitive alpine skier with an amazing best friend — Gemma, who’s been in love with Stacey forever — and a “hot-but-vapid” girlfriend. Will Gemma risk their longtime friendship to make the leap to romance? Does Stacey love her back??
At Midnight edited by Dahlia Adler (November 22)
Queer YA author Adler’s latest anthology collects 15 reimagined fairy tales. There are lots of familiar queer favorites among the contributors, including Malinda Lo, Anna-Marie McLemore, Darcie Little Badger, Meredith Russo, Rebecca Podos, and more!
Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales (November 29)
In this YA rom com, two 18-year-old young women agree to participate in a reality dating show with their now famous ex-boyfriend. One of them is looking for revenge, while the other is open to getting back together; neither of them are planning to fall for each other.
The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman (November 29)
If you loved Fellman’s trans vampire archivist novel from earlier this year like I did (Dead Collections), check out his second 2022 book, a fantasy set in academia. The protagonist is Annae, a gifted grad student of psychiatric magic who compulsively reads everyone’s minds. Fleeing to the UK in the wake of academic abuse, she begins to study under the legendary Dr. Górski, in whose mind she sees a possible road to redemption.
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds (November 29)
Hammond’s contemporary YA story is about family secrets, a queer romance, a small American Southern town setting, and a Black biracial queer lead character, 17-year-old Avery. When Avery is uprooted to Georgia from DC in the wake of her grandmother’s illness, she finds unexpected connection and unsolved mysteries.
I Thought You Loved Me by MariNaomi (November)
A multi-genre and format memoir told in graphics, collage, and prose, MariNaomi explores her teenage and young adulthood feminist friendship with Jodie. The friendship intersected with her coming out as bisexual and her identity as biracial, but despite Jodie’s importance to MariNaomi’s life, Jodie suddenly and mysteriously ends the relationship. Years later, MariNaomi investigates what happened.
December
Last Chance Chicago by Diana Digangi (December 6)
Digangi’s legal thriller with a dash of romance stars Sam, an attorney and recovering addict who’s still in love with her ex-wife, Amy. The two women have been keeping their distance, but when Amy is falsely accused of felony insider trading, Sam might be the only one who can help her.
The Ivory Tomb by Melissa Caruso (December 6)
The second and final book in the queer epic fantasy Rooks and Ruin series, The Ivory Tomb picks up in “the Dark Days.” Demons roam the lands, a war is brewing, and Warden of Gloamingard Ryx must defeat the rising evil at all costs, despite her conflicting loyalties.
This Cursed Crown by Alexandra Overy (December 6)
The second book in Overy’s “These Feathered Flames” queer YA fantasy novel, this one finds Izaveta trapped in a tower, trying to escape make her way home to claim the throne. Asya, her sister, attempts to prove that Izaveta is still alive.
Camp Lost and Found by Georgia Beers (December 13)
Two women, both dealing with recent tragedies in their lives, are brought together at an old rundown campground. Cassidy is there to scatter her friend’s ashes at the place where they met. Francesca is managing the campground with the hopes of running from her past and staying away from other people. Will Cassidy and Francesca find love even though it’s the last thing they’re looking for?
A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar (December 13)
Acclaimed queer YA author Jaigirdar’s latest novel is a sapphic heist story set aboard the Titanic! A thief, an acrobat, an artist, and an actress are all determined to steal the Rubaiyat, a jewel-encrusted book someone has brought with them on the ship. Will the heist succeed, and, more importantly, will they survive the shipwreck?
A Spark in the Air by Dena Blake (December 13)
In this wintery small town romance, a tech company executive named Crystal lands in Pine Grove, a quaint little place that hasn’t entered the 21st century when it comes to high speed internet and wifi. Crystal’s mission is to sell the local government on her company’s offerings, which puts her in direct opposition to Janie, who runs her family’s internet cafe business. Can these two enemies find a way to follow their hearts?
Picture-Perfect Christmas by Charlotte Greene (December 13)
Lesbian Christmas second chance romance! Photographer Nicole left her small Colorado mountain town and thought she’d never look back; twenty years later, she’s itching to return permanently and a new job over the holiday season might be the ticket. But she’d be working with Quinn, her old high school rival and one time kissing partner. Will these two ladies start kissing again??
Winter’s Moons by Lise MacTague (December 15)
Queer werewolves in wintery Chicago! Cassidy, the new alpha of the North Side pack, is dealing with way too many challenges at once: wolves from her pack are disappearing without a trace; her sister — a werewolf slayer — is missing; and a new lone wolf in town is acting suspicious. Snow, said lone wolf, is only in town to check on her brother’s old pack, but finds herself staying longer than she planned in Chicago when she has some strong feelings for a certain new alpha pack leader.
I Dare You to Love Me by Lori G. Matthews (December 20)
If you like lots of furry pets in your lesbian romance, this is the book for you! Dani is living her ideal life with her fiancé Will, a surgical residency, and her beloved cat Jinx. When Will brings home a rescue dog who does not get along with Jinx, Dani is unexpectedly attracted to Kara, their new dog trainer. But are the sparks between her and Kara worth leaving her so-called perfect life for?
After Happily Ever After Once Again edited by Astrid Ohletz (December)
Have you ever wondered what happened to the women in your favorite lesbian romances after the happily ever after? This anthology from Yvla aims to give readers a little snapshot of the happy couples from some of their most popular romances and mysteries, by authors such as Harper Bliss, Lola Keeley, Cheyenne Blue, Fiona Zedde, Roslyn Sinclair, and more!
Quiz: What Queer Book Should You Read To Extend Summer?
Do you need a summery queer book to pack in your beach bag or maybe curl up with in the blissful cool of the public library’s A/C? Have I got the quiz for you! Just answer some hard-hitting questions about your ice cream flavor preferences, your dream adult summer camp, and what music you’re listening to during the heat. Then this quiz will provide you with a gay read suited to your needs. If one recommendation isn’t enough, check out this list I made a few years ago of books about sapphic summer affairs!
Quiz: Which Fictional Heroine From a Classic Tween Book Are You?
If your tweenhood was anything like mine, you spent a considerable amount of time reading books about girls your age going through the same stuff you were (dreading/wishing for your period, making friends, annoying your older siblings), and maybe some stuff you weren’t (being adopted even though you weren’t a boy, spying on your neighbors and writing it all down in a notebook). You’ve probably been dying to know since then which classic fictional tween heroine you are. Wonder no more! Take this quiz and find out!
You Need Help: My Parents Want Me to Respect My Sister’s Homophobic Religious Beliefs
Q:
I came out to my family when I was 14 as bisexual, and at 22 as a lesbian (when I learned what comphet was and everything suddenly made sense). I’m 24 now, in a committed relationship with a woman (the first long-term relationship, and she’s met my parents but not yet my siblings). I recently learned that my little sister converted to Catholicism (her serious boyfriend is devout Catholic) and that she has adopted some of the Catholic teachings on homosexuality. This includes belief that “marriage is between a man and a woman” and that gay people are “people who experience same-sex attraction”.
I found this out by accident because my mother mentioned Mass, which is a term my Protestant family doesn’t use. She’s fully converted, which is a year-long process, and she didn’t tell me at any point in it (except for asking me to facetime with news a month ago and then backing out when she learned I was with my girlfriend and never trying to reschedule)
When I asked her if that meant she wouldn’t come to my wedding one day, she deflected the question. This happened yesterday morning, and since then I feel like I’ve just swung back and forth between feeling numb and crying uncontrollably.
On top of that, my parents believe that I should learn to respect her belief. There has been no acknowledgement of her homophobia and the hurt that’s caused me. The only person who stood up for me was my little brother, and aside from my dad telling me we all could have reacted better, neither of my parents nor my sister have said anything to me since.
I feel so incredibly alone, and all the resources on homophobia are for people who are newly out. I don’t know how to even begin to contend with the fact that she came to this belief knowing she has a queer sister (unless she’s simply been hiding it for a decade).
I’m supposed to bring my girlfriend to meet my entire family for the Fourth of July, and now I’m rethinking if I should even go. I feel like my world has been turned upside down and I just don’t know what to do. Please help. Do I reach out to them? Do I wait for them to reach out (even though every second feels like an hour waiting)? How do I get my parents to see that neutrality in this situation feels like they’re rejecting me too?
[Editors note: Due to a scheduling mistake on my part, we did not publish this question in advance of July 4th. I want to personally apologize to the LW, and I hope that whatever choice you made about the party felt okay to you. That said, I think Casey’s response will still be helpful for your life, and I hope that this conversation overall will be helpful for many of our readers, not just the original LW. Thank you for your patience with me as the editor of this column, and thank you to Casey for sharing such compassionate and resource-filled advice. — Vanessa]
A:
Dear friend,
I am so sorry you’ve been put in this terrible situation. Your parents are minimizing the hurt and impact of your sister’s decision and I want to start by acknowledging that what your sister has done and what your parents have done are hateful and disrespectful. You are not overreacting and you are very much entitled to feel angry, betrayed, and hurt.
I have four step-siblings that I grew up with who all became very religious – more run of the mill Christianty with varying levels of evangelism – as teens / young adults. Even before I came out, it was very weird and challenging for me. I could see the people I remembered them to be pre-Christianity being eroded by and replaced by these cookie cutter Christian ideas that they were adopting without question. (Like, my previously Harry Potter loving stepbrother suddenly started saying the books were sinful and refused to read them. I mean, JKR is a horrible TERF, but that’s not what he meant).
It’s a kind of grieving process I think, that you have to go through when someone makes such a fundamental change to how they’re living their life, especially when that takes them away from you emotionally and puts them in line with doctrine full of hate.
I think your sister knows, at some level, that what she’s done is not okay. Why else would she hide this year-long process from you? She didn’t answer the question of whether she’d come to your wedding one day. Why not? She knows saying she wouldn’t attend your wedding based on her new belief system would be incredibly mean. It sounds like your parents were aware of the conversion process and also sensed it didn’t feel right, because they also at least lied by omission by keeping it from you.
Your sister knows it’s hurtful and she’s doing it anyway. That really fucking sucks. I have no idea why or how she could come to this belief knowing she has a queer sister, except to say societal and religious homophobia are deeply, deeply engrained. I think it’s likely she’s trying to tell herself these beliefs aren’t homophobic – that’s what the church would be telling her and this conversion process has had her steeped in their indoctrination. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT.
What value there is in the idea of respecting someone’s beliefs does not include being respectful of someone’s disrespect and hate. I think for your parents especially, the issue is that they do not see your sister’s beliefs as hateful. They are applying the idea of “respecting everyone’s beliefs” as if all beliefs are created equal.
Your parents are likely also viewing themselves as caught between you and your sister. I imagine they think they are trying to “keep the peace” in your family by avoiding conflict and falsely equating your sister’s new homophobic beliefs with your queerness, as if they are in any way comparable.
I did some cursory research into resources that might be suitable to pass on to your parents and sister. PFLAG is an obvious choice for your parents. Is there a local group you can steer them to so some cishet people their age who they will listen to can explain why what they’re asking of you is not okay? I know you said they’re not beginners since you came out a long time ago, but if they are pulling this “respect everyone’s beliefs” shit they are!
PFLAG also lists some resources for LGBTQ Catholics and their families, specifically, Dignity USA and Fortunate Families. There is also New Ways Ministry, which seems to be the most up to date. These, obviously, are still Catholic and they weren’t as radical as I hoped they would be before browsing their websites. But they may be good places for your sister to start in her comfort zone. At the very least, they share stories of LGBTQ people raised Catholic who have been harmed by the church’s teachings.
Chrissy Stroop, a trans exvangelical writer and scholar, has an extensive list of resources that criticize conservative and evangelical Christianity on her website. Some of her recommendations that seem pertinent include Bilgrimage, a blog by a gay theologian with a Catholic background. and Lord Have Mercy, a podcast run by a queer progressive Christian, Crystal Cheatham.
Okay, now that you’ve got some resources on hand, let’s talk about your options practically, in regards to the fourth of July party.
Option 1: Do not attend the party, do not engage in discussion with your sister or parents about why you’re not coming.
This option might seem like the “easy way out” but I think it has its merits. This horrible situation is very fresh. It would be very valid to take some time to disengage and take care of yourself. IF you decide you want to try to educate your family, you don’t have to do it right now. You also might decide that this is not a good time or place to introduce your partner to your siblings. How does your partner feel about going to the party? I’m guessing not good!
If you are asked why you’re not coming, you could decide to a) ignore their calls/etc; b) simply say you’re not discussing it; or c) come up with a short response beforehand like “Your new beliefs and/or request for me to respect those beliefs are hurtful and homophobic. I’m not discussing it any more right now. Don’t ask me to again. ” Then, hang up, log off, don’t respond to follow up emails, etc. YOU decide if and when you get back in touch. If we’re being really optimistic here, this approach may</> prompt them to look for educational resources on their own.
Option 2: Do not attend the party, attempt to engage in discussion long distance with your sister and/or parents to explain why not.
IF you decide you want to and you’re ready to try to educate your family, I think this is the safest option right now. Your sister and parents are almost certainly not going to react well to being informed that they are being hateful. It’s best to give them time and space to digest whatever information you give them, whether that’s a personal explanation of how this has negatively affected you and/or outside resources.
I think written communication, probably email, would be the best venue. Tell them directly what actions you want them to take. Read the message / information and send you a response in a week? Discuss it amongst the three of them? Discuss it and ask questions they have with your younger brother or another ally first before talking to you? (Obviously you’d have to get him / them on board and give him the same info you sent them). Do you want an apology including a statement that shows they understand why what they’ve done is hateful and harmful? An apology that details explicitly how they’re going to avoid the same behavior in the future?
I’ll be honest here, I don’t know how realistic it is that you’ll get some of these positive responses any time soon, particularly from your sister. Your parents are not personally invested in this Catholic doctrine as your sister is, but it sounds like they are invested in avoiding conflict within your family and in this “respect everyone’s beliefs” nonsense. In my experience, it took years for my religious step-siblings to shake off the grip of the most harmful doctrine they’d internalized. I never got any apologies and my relationships with them to this day suffer because of it. I’ll never be close with them again. This is a very sad reality
Option 3: Attend the party, attempt to engage in discussion with your sister and/or parents in person about how their actions are harmful.
Only you know your family best, and maybe you think they’ll respond best to your telling them in person about your experiences the past few weeks and how this has hurt you. Maybe your partner is ready and willing to go and support you. Engage the support – in specific ways you discuss beforehand – of your younger brother and/or partner while you talk to your sister and parents. Make a plan for what to do if it goes badly (ie, being able to easily leave). Decide beforehand what kind of words or behavior you won’t tolerate.
If you choose this option, please be gentle with and take care of yourself and your partner. Remember, it is not your job or responsibility to educate your family on why they should not embrace homophobia or support homophobia as a value-neutral belief. You may choose to do so, of course. This is also an excellent time to lean on allies! This IS their job. This is their chance to step up. Go little brother! Or, perhaps, there’s an opportunity here to invite another ally to the party, like the parents of your queer friend who are well versed in PFLAG.
Option 4: Attend the party, do not discuss your sister and parents’ harmful behavior and try to pretend everything is fine.
I can pretty much guarantee this option will feel like shit. I do not recommend!
Take care of yourself first dear friend! You will get through this.
💜💜💜 Casey