#Stonewall Honor Award winner

[desdasiwrites]

–Anna-Marie McLemore, When the Moon Was Ours

#book quote of the day #anna marie mclemore #when the moon was ours #Valentine's day reading recs #magical realism #ya books #bipoc representation #lgbtqia+ literature #transgender protagonist #pakistani protagonist #latinx protagonist #mexican-american author #James Tiptree Jr Award winner #Stonewall Honor Award winner #young adult fantasy #romance books #own voices #gorgeously written #book recommendations

[richincolor]

Trans YA Books for Your 2023 TBR Pile

The last time there was a big B&N sale, I knew I had to stock up on some YA books -- and as I was sifting through my frankly absurdly long to-be-read list, I realized that there were more than a few YA books centering trans and BIPOC characters. I was so excited by this, and hope there are even more books centering BIPOC trans characters in 2024. For now, here are 5 trans YA books -- available now! -- that you should bump up to the very top of your TBR:

Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore and Elliott McLemore Keep your enemy closer. Cade McKenna is a transgender prince who’s doubling for his brother. Valencia Palafox is a young dama attending the future queen of Eliana. Gael Palma is the infamous boy assassin Cade has vowed to protect. Patrick McKenna is the reluctant heir to a kingdom, and the prince Gael has vowed to destroy.

Cade doesn’t know that Gael and Valencia are the same person. Valencia doesn’t know that every time she thinks she’s fighting Patrick, she’s fighting Cade. And when Cade and Valencia blame each other for a devastating enchantment that takes both their families, neither of them realizes that they have far more dangerous enemies.

Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender From National Book Award–winner Kacen Callender, a contemporary YA that follows Lark's journey to speak the truth and discover how their own self-love can be a revolution

Lark Winters wants to be a writer, and for now that means posting on their social media accounts––anything to build their platform. When former best friend Kasim accidentally posts a thread on Lark's Twitter declaring his love for a secret, unrequited crush, Lark's tweets are suddenly the talk of the school—and beyond. To protect Kasim, Lark decides to take the fall, pretending they accidentally posted the thread in reference to another classmate. It seems like a great idea: Lark gets closer to their crush, Kasim keeps his privacy, and Lark's social media stats explode. But living a lie takes a toll—as does the judgment of thousands of Internet strangers. Lark tries their best to be perfect at all costs, but nothing seems good enough for the anonymous hordes––or for Kasim, who is growing closer to Lark, just like it used to be between them . . . In the end, Lark must embrace their right to their messy emotions and learn how to be in love.

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore Stonewall Honor recipient and two-time National Book Award Longlist selectee Anna-Marie McLemore weaves an intoxicating tale of glamor and heartbreak in Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix, part of the Remixed Classics series.

New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Minnesota, has no interest in the city’s glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future—and his life as a man—and benefit his family.

Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom—and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latina heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white. Nick’s neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all for the benefit of impressing a girl from Jay’s past—Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender.

As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick's feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay's openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa El Diablo is in the details in this Latinx pirate fantasy starring a transmasculine nonbinary teen with a mission of revenge, redemption, and revolution.

On Mar León-de la Rosa's 16th birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship.

When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up your soul to save your father by the Harvest Moon or never see him again. The task is impossible--Mar refuses to make a bargain and there's no way their magic is any match for el Diablo. Then, Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate -- and the captain's son; and Dami, a genderfluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption -- or it could mean certain death.

Transmogrify!: 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic edited by g. haron davis Transness is as varied and colorful as magic can be. In Transmogrify!, you’ll embark on fourteen different adventures alongside unforgettable characters who embody many different genders and expressions and experiences—because magic is for everyone, and that is cause for celebration.

Featuring stories from: AR Capetta and Cory McCarthy g. haron davis Mason Deaver Jonathan Lenore Kastin Emery Lee Saundra Mitchell Cam Montgomery Ash Nouveau Sonora Reyes Renee Reynolds Dove Salvatierra Ayida Shonibar Francesca Tacchi Nik Traxler

#trans ya #ya lit #we need diverse books #self-made boys #the wicked bargain #transmogrify #venom and vow #lark and kasim start a revolution

[rockislandadultreads]

Book Recommendations: National Tell A Fairy Tale Day

Clockwork Fairy Tales edited by Stephen L. Antczak & James C. Bassett

Combining the timeless fairy tales that we all read as children with the out-of-time technological wizardry that is steampunk, this collection of stories blends the old and the new in ways sure to engage every fantasy reader.…

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Red Shoes", New York Times bestselling author K. W. Jeter’s "La Valse" forges a fable about love, the decadence of technology, and a gala dance that becomes the obsession of a young engineer - and the doom of those who partake in it.…

In "You Will Attend Until Beauty Awakens", national bestselling author and John W. Campbell Award winner Jay Lake tells the story of Sleeping Beauty - and how the princess was conceived in deception, raised in danger, and rescued by a prince who may be less than valiant.

The tale of "The Tinderbox" takes a turn into the surreal when a damaged young soldier comes into possession of an intricate, treacherous treasure and is drawn into a mission of mercy in national bestselling author Kat Richardson’s "The Hollow Hounds".

In "The Kings of Mount Golden", Hugo and World Fantasy Award nominee Paul Di Filippo tells the story of a young man’s search for his heritage and a mechanical marvel that lies at the heart of a sinister pact in this fascinating take on "The King of the Golden Mountain".

Other Ever Afters by Melanie Gillman

Once upon a time... happily ever after turned out differently than expected. In this new, feminist, queer fairy-tale collection, you’ll find the princesses, mermaids, knights, barmaids, children, and wise old women who have been forced to sit on the sidelines in classic stories taking center stage. A gorgeous all-new collection in graphic novel format from a Stonewall Honor-winning author and artist.

What if the giant who abducted you was actually thoughtful and kind? What if you didn’t want to marry your handsome, popular, but cold-inside suitor? What if your one true love has all the responsibilities that come with running a kingdom?

Award-winning author Melanie Gillman’s phenomenal colored-pencil art creates another "ever after" for the characters who are most worthy of it.

The Original Folk & Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm edited by Jack Zipes

When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their "Children's and Household Tales" in 1812, followed by a second volume in 1815, they had no idea that such stories as "Rapunzel," "Hansel and Gretel," and "Cinderella" would become the most celebrated in the world. Yet few people today are familiar with the majority of tales from the two early volumes, since in the next four decades the Grimms would publish six other editions, each extensively revised in content and style. For the very first time, " The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" makes available in English all 156 stories from the 1812 and 1815 editions. These narrative gems, newly translated and brought together in one beautiful book, are accompanied by sumptuous new illustrations from award-winning artist Andrea Dezso.

From "The Frog King" to "The Golden Key," wondrous worlds unfold - heroes and heroines are rewarded, weaker animals triumph over the strong, and simple bumpkins prove themselves not so simple after all. Esteemed fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes offers accessible translations that retain the spare description and engaging storytelling style of the originals. Indeed, this is what makes the tales from the 1812 and 1815 editions unique - they reflect diverse voices, rooted in oral traditions, that are absent from the Grimms' later, more embellished collections of tales. Zipes's introduction gives important historical context, and the book includes the Grimms' prefaces and notes.

Celtic Fairy Tales edited by Joseph Jacobs

Joseph Jacobs collected these fairy stories in the closing days of the nineteenth century. They are engaging brief episodes of fancy and fantasy from the oral tradition, which were designed to engage and fascinate the young mind. In this fast-paced, electronic world where life whizzes and fizzes by, it is a comfort and joy to pause awhile to savour such delights from a simpler and less pressured age. Reading one of these stories is the literary equivalent of stepping into the quiet and majesty of a medieval church or a circle of standing stones. In the twenty-first century there is a renewed appetite for magic, fairies, and fantastic worlds. With Celtic Fairy Tales, we are not only entertained but can also feel the gentle spiritual hand of history resting on our shoulders.

#fiction #fairy tale #fairytale #anthologies #fantasy #Retellings #Library Books #Book Recommendations #book recs #Reading Recs #reading recommendations #tbr #TBR pile #to read #Want To Read #Booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog

[glrw-glit]

#smart shopping

[gbpflag]

LGBTQ+ Books!

The ALA recently announced their 2023 Stonewall Award children’s and YA winners, honoring books relating to the LGBT experience! See the award winners and the honorees here: https://www.brilliant-books.net/2023-stonewall-book-awards

Learn more about the award and the books honored from the ALA’s press release: https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/01/love-violet-and-when-angels-left-old-country-win-2023-stonewall-children-s Also, check out the ALA’s full 2023 Rainbow Books list, with over 190 books for kids of all ages featuring a diverse array of LGBTQ identities! https://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/archives/1444

#lgbtq books #lgbtq

[hwalterd]

Download Gender Queer: A Memoir Deluxe Edition EBOOK -- Maia Kobabe

Read PDF Gender Queer: A Memoir Deluxe Edition Ebook Online PDF Download and Download PDF Gender Queer: A Memoir Deluxe Edition Ebook Online PDF Download.

Gender Queer: A Memoir Deluxe Edition

By : Maia Kobabe

  DOWNLOAD Read Online

 DESCRIPTION : 2020 ALA Alex Award Winner 2020 Stonewall — Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor BookIn 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere. This special deluxe hardcover edition of Gender Queer

[booksofwonder]

Congratulations to all the award winners and honors yesterday! • Not everyone is pictured here (we’ve already sold out of many titles), but we’re delighted to have so many available. Check out our 2019 Winners and Honors page online (link in bio) to pick up your copies! • • • • #alamw19 #alayma #caldecott #newbery #prinze #stonewall #awards #winners #honors @sophieblackall @megmedinabooks @acevedowrites #books #indiebookstore #shoplocal #bookstack #bookstagram #instabook #igreads #igbooks #currentlyreading #bookworm #booklover #booklove #kidlit #childrensbooks #bibliophile (at Books Of Wonder) https://www.instagram.com/booksofwonder/p/BtObfdxh2mo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1mp2vj58yvt23

#alamw19 #alayma #caldecott #newbery #prinze #stonewall #awards #winners #honors #books #indiebookstore #shoplocal #bookstack #bookstagram #instabook #igreads #igbooks #currentlyreading #bookworm #booklover #booklove #kidlit #childrensbooks #bibliophile

[fuckyeahasexual]

My mom actually reminded me of this week which is quite wholesome. Since GLADD is celebrating trans awareness as well as TDOR this year, I wanted to do one of my fav things and talk about books. This post is about my fav trans books so if you are in the mood for a new read I hope this helps. :) 

All Time Favorite: 

Dreadnought (and it’s sequel) has not only the own voices quality when it comes to trans representation being included, but the plot is too intertwined with the experiences of being trans and being a part of -- or pushed -- out of a superhero community. 

Runner Up:

If I Was Your Girl is the winner of a Stonewall Book Award and several others. This contemporary book has a lot of heart, and while I don’t remember it’s plot as in detail as the last I remember feeling like it was a gift in a way. Insight to a very ‘less complicated’ (as I believe the author says in the back) trans experience I do not share. This book probably has the only acknowledgments that I remember that are incredibly important to include because they take that ‘less complicated’ narrative and reminds us that non-fictional people are so much more complicated and diverse.  

Mixed Format Honorable Mentions: 

Did you know in Watch Dogs Legion you can just find trans aces walking around doing their own things until you ask them to fight against a police state? Watch Dogs Legion’s representation is at one level very throw away text based and at another level an innovative clever choose your own adventure hero experience. I just get this little spark of joy when I see a random character and the bio is like ‘Had Gender Affirming Operation’, “Looked for Trans Friendly Therapy” or “Purchased a They/Them Pin”. It’s not Ubisoft’s first trans character but the random endless amount of trans playable/non-playable characters in WD:L reminds me how just anyone can be trans and that’s beautiful to me. 

There’s also Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver and my books that both always seem to include ace and transgender characters if not trans ace character within them all. There’s Unburied Fables which is a-spec focused charity anthology with several fairytale retelling that are about trans characters. And I wish more of Anne Chivon’s poetry was in print so I could show you really kick ass nonbinary poems too.

That fact that big and small trans awareness efforts are being done across the media landscape (including emoji now) makes me so hopeful that people will hopefully someday soon stop pretending that there’s not enough of us to matter.

Did you know the creator of the transgender flag Monica Helms also wrote novels? I haven’t read any of them, I just think that’s so cool and fantastic. I think I haven’t read them because nothing will top the listed reasoning for making the trans flag’s stripes mirrored so that no matter how you fly it the flag is still right symbolizing that there is no one way to be trans. Sorry for the longer post than planned but say can I say -- Trans is beautiful. 

#books #book of the day #trans #transgender

[redgoldsparks]

Join cartoonists Maia Kobabe (@redgoldsparks) , Ajuan Mance (@8-rock) , and Bishakh Som as they discuss how their work explores and celebrates marginalized identities and self-discovery. Kobabe’s autobiography, Gender Queer, is a 2020 ALA Alex Award winner and Stonewall-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Honor Book. Mance, a professor of African American literature at Mills College, creates comics and zines including Gender Studies; The Little Book of Big, Black Bears; A Blues for Black Santa; and the 1001 Black Men series. Som’s new Aspara Engine is a collection of short stories exploring the idiosyncrasies of gender. The panel will be moderated by the Cartoon Art Museum’s program coordinator, Nina Taylor Kester. Event meets online Monday, July 27 at 4:00 pm (Pacific Standard Time/PST) This event is FREE, but advance registration required—register here or by calling [phone].

#queer comics #comics panel #ajuan mance #bishakh som #maia kobabe

[the-dust-jacket]

Congratulations to the 2020 Stonewall Award winners and honor books! 

#Stonewall Book Awards #When Aidan Became a Brother #The Black Flamingo #Like a Love Story #The Best At It #Pet #awards

[theresabookforthat]

PRIDE MONTH

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, this year is its 50th anniversary. First, President Bill Clinton declared June “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month” on June 2, 2000. In 2009, President Barack Obama declared June Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.

LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.

To honor the occasion, we’ve selected some of the best nonfiction on the topic, including new releases, historical perspectives and young readers titles: 

 STONEWALL: THE DEFINITIVE STORY OF THE LGBTQ RIGHTS UPRISING THAT CHANGED AMERICA by Martin Duberman

50th Anniversary Edition

On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, was raided by police. But instead of responding with the routine compliance the NYPD expected, patrons and a growing crowd decided to fight back. The five days of rioting that ensued changed forever the face of gay and lesbian life.  Fifty years after the riots, Stonewall remains a rare work that evokes with a human touch an event in history that still profoundly affects life today.

 WE ARE EVERYWHERE: PROTEST, POWER, AND PRIDE IN THE HISTORY OF QUEER LIBERATION by Matthew Riemer, Leighton Brown

A rich and sweeping photographic history of the Queer Liberation Movement, from the creators and curators of the massively popular Instagram account @lgbt_history, released in time for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Through the lenses of protest, power, and pride, We Are Everywhere combines exhaustively researched narrative with meticulously curated photographs, the book traces queer activism from its roots.

 THE STONEWALL READER edited by The New York Public Library; Foreword by Edmund White

Drawing from the New York Public Library’s archives, The Stonewall Readeris a collection of first accounts, diaries, periodic literature, and articles from LGBTQ magazines and newspapers that documented both the years leading up to and the years following the riots.

 MAMA’S BOY: A STORY FROM OUR AMERICAS by Dustin Lance Black

Dustin Lance Black wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for “Milk”, but as an LGBTQ activist he has unlikely origins—a conservative Mormon household outside San Antonio, Texas. His mother, Anne, was raised in rural Louisiana. By the time Lance came out to his mother at age twenty-one, he was a blue-state young man studying the arts instead of going on his Mormon mission. She derided his sexuality as a sinful choice and was terrified for his future. This story shines light on what it took to remain a family despite such division. In the end, the rifts that have split a nation couldn’t end this relationship that defined and inspired their remarkable lives.

 ELEANOR AND HICK: THE LOVE AFFAIR THAT SHAPED A FIRST LADY by Susan Quinn

Published to wide acclaim in hardcover, a warm, intimate account of the love between Eleanor Roosevelt and reporter Lorena Hickok. Deeply researched and told with warmth and charm, Eleanor and Hick is at once a tender, moving portrait of love and a surprising new look at some of the most consequential years in American history.

 BOY ERASED: A MEMOIR OF IDENTITY, FAITH, AND FAMILY by Garrard Conley

A beautiful, raw and compassionate memoir about identity, love, and understanding from a survivor of ’ex-gay’ therapy, now a movie starring Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Lucas Hedges, directed by Joel Edgerton, and produced by Anonymous Content and Focus Features.

 LOVE IS LOVE by Phil Jimenez

Winner of the 2017 Eisner Award for Best Anthology

The comic book industry comes together to honor those killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting, which took place on June 12, 2016, in Orlando. From IDW Publishing, with assistance from DC Entertainment, this oversize comic contains moving and heartfelt material from some of the greatest talents in comics—mourning the victims, supporting the survivors, celebrating the LGBTQ community, and examining love in today’s world.

 FOR YOUNGER READERS

 STONEWALL: A BUILDING. AN UPRISING. A REVOLUTION by Rob Sanders, Jamey Christoph

Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising with the very first picture book to tell of its historic and inspiring role in the gay civil rights movement.

 A QUEER HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE by Michael Bronski, Richie Chevat

Queer history didn’t start with Stonewall. This book explores how LGBTQ people have always been a part of our national identity, contributing to the country and culture for over 400 years. Through engrossing narratives, letters, drawings, poems, and more, the book encourages young readers, of all identities, to feel pride at the accomplishments of the LGBTQ people who came before them and to use history as a guide to the future. Adult edition: A QUEER HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES by Michael Bronski

 PRIDE: THE STORY OF HARVEY MILK AND THE RAINBOW FLAG by Rob Sanders, Steven Salerno

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Rainbow Pride Flag with the very first picture book to tell its remarkable and inspiring history!

In this deeply moving and empowering true story, young readers will trace the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings in 1978 with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today’s world. Award-winning author Rob Sanders’s stirring text, and acclaimed illustrator Steven Salerno’s evocative images, combine to tell this remarkable – and undertold – story. A story of love, hope, equality, and pride.

 WHAT WAS STONEWALL? By Nico Medina, Who HQ, Jake Murray

How did a spontaneous protest outside of a New York City bar fifty years ago spark a social movement across America? Find out about the history of LGBTQ rights in this Who HQ title.

For more on these and related titles visit the collection, Pride, 2019

#stonewall 50th #stonewall riots #lgbtqia #lgbtq #pride month #gay pride #penguin random house

[richincolor]

The Rich in Color bloggers got together and compiled a list of some of our favorite YA books that came out in the last year-ish for Black History Month. How many of these have you read? What are some of your recent favorite books by Black authors?

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett Knopf Books for Young Readers || Audrey’s review

In a community that isn’t always understanding, an HIV-positive teen must navigate fear, disclosure, and radical self-acceptance when she falls in love—and lust—for the first time. Powerful and uplifting, Full Disclosure will speak to fans of Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon.

Simone Garcia-Hampton is starting over at a new school, and this time things will be different. She’s making real friends, making a name for herself as student director of Rent, and making a play for Miles, the guy who makes her melt every time he walks into a room. The last thing she wants is for word to get out that she’s HIV-positive, because last time . . . well, last time things got ugly.

Keeping her viral load under control is easy, but keeping her diagnosis under wraps is not so simple. As Simone and Miles start going out for real—shy kisses escalating into much more—she feels an uneasiness that goes beyond butterflies. She knows she has to tell him that she’s positive, especially if sex is a possibility, but she’s terrified of how he’ll react! And then she finds an anonymous note in her locker: I know you have HIV. You have until Thanksgiving to stop hanging out with Miles. Or everyone else will know too.

Simone’s first instinct is to protect her secret at all costs, but as she gains a deeper understanding of the prejudice and fear in her community, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is to face the haters head-on…

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis Tor Teen || K. Imani’s Review

Westworld meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this stunning fantasy adventure from debut author Charlotte Nicole Davis.

Aster, the protector Violet, the favorite Tansy, the medic Mallow, the fighter Clementine, the catalyst

THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS

The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls–they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped in a life they would never have chosen.

When Clementine accidentally murders a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge in a country that wants them to have none of those things. Pursued by Arketta’s most vicious and powerful forces, both human and inhuman, their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one Good Luck Girl to another, a story that only the youngest or most desperate would ever believe.

It’s going to take more than luck for them all to survive.

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest Roaring Brook Press || Jessica’s Review

When Chloe Pierce’s mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory of her dreams, she devises a secret plan to drive two hundred miles to the nearest audition. But Chloe hits her first speed bump when her annoying neighbor Eli insists upon hitching a ride, threatening to tell Chloe’s mom if she leaves him and his smelly dog, Geezer, behind. So now Chloe’s chasing her ballet dreams down the east coast―two unwanted (but kinda cute) passengers in her car, butterflies in her stomach, and a really dope playlist on repeat.

Filled with roadside hijinks, heart-stirring romance, and a few broken rules, I Wanna Be Where You Are is a YA debut perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sandhya Menon.

Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds Katherine Tegan Books || K. Imani’s Review

Jack Ellison King. King of Almost.

He almost made valedictorian.

He almost made varsity.

He almost got the girl . . .

When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Fruit Loops and their favorite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack. Jack’s curse of almost is finally over.

But this love story is . . . complicated. It is an almost happily ever after. Because Kate dies. And their story should end there. Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Beautiful, radiant Kate. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind. Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do—and let go—to save the people he loves.

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi Make Me a World

Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look?

There are no more monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. With doting parents and a best friend named Redemption, Jam has grown up with this lesson all her life. But when she meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colours and claws, who emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question-How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

In their riveting and timely young adult debut, acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi asks difficult questions about what choices a young person can make when the adults around them are in denial.

The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert Little Brown Books for Young Readers || K. Imani’s Review

Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Nicola Yoon comes a novel about first love and family secrets from Stonewall Book Award winner Brandy Colbert.

Dove “Birdie” Randolph works hard to be the perfect daughter and follow the path her parents have laid out for her: She quit playing her beloved soccer, she keeps her nose buried in textbooks, and she’s on track to finish high school at the top of her class. But then Birdie falls hard for Booker, a sweet boy with a troubled past…whom she knows her parents will never approve of.

When her estranged aunt Carlene returns to Chicago and moves into the family’s apartment above their hair salon, Birdie notices the tension building at home. Carlene is sweet, friendly, and open-minded–she’s also spent decades in and out of treatment facilities for addiction. As Birdie becomes closer to both Booker and Carlene, she yearns to spread her wings. But when long-buried secrets rise to the surface, everything she’s known to be true is turned upside down.

Say Her Name by Zetta Elliott Disney || Crystal’s Review

Say her name and solemnly vow Never to forget, or allow Our sisters’ lives to be erased; Their presence cannot be replaced. This senseless slaughter must stop now.

Award-winning author Zetta Elliott engages poets from the past two centuries to create a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls. Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists championing the Black Lives Matter cause. This compelling collection reveals the beauty, danger, and magic found at the intersection of race and gender.

Slay by Brittney Morris Simon Pulse || Group Discussion

By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.”

But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.”

Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?

#black history month #WeNeedDiverseBooks #young adult books #book lists

[cheshirelibrary]

Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2017

[via American Library Association]

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 354 challenges to library, school and university materials in 2017. Of the 416 books challenged or banned in 2017, the Top 10 Most Challenged Books are:

Thirteen Reasons Why written by Jay Asher

Originally published in 2007, this New York Times bestseller has resurfaced as a controversial book after Netflix aired a TV series by the same name. This YA novel was challenged and banned in multiple school districts because it discusses suicide.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie

Consistently challenged since its publication in 2007 for acknowledging issues such as poverty, alcoholism, and sexuality, this National Book Award winner was challenged in school curriculums because of profanity and situations that were deemed sexually explicit.

Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier

This Stonewall Honor Award-winning, 2012 graphic novel from an acclaimed cartoonist was challenged and banned in school libraries because it includes LGBT characters and was considered “confusing.”

The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini

This critically acclaimed, multigenerational novel was challenged and banned because it includes sexual violence and was thought to “lead to terrorism” and “promote Islam.”

George written by Alex Gino

Written for elementary-age children, this Lambda Literary Award winner was challenged and banned because it includes a transgender child.

Sex is a Funny Word written by Cory Silverberg and illustrated by Fiona Smyth

This 2015 informational children’s book written by a certified sex educator was challenged because it addresses sex education and is believed to lead children to “want to have sex or ask questions about sex.”

To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee

This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, considered an American classic, was challenged and banned because of violence and its use of the N-word.

The Hate U Give written by Angie Thomas

Despite winning multiple awards and being the most searched-for book on Goodreads during its debut year, this YA novel was challenged and banned in school libraries and curriculums because it was considered “pervasively vulgar” and because of drug use, profanity, and offensive language.

And Tango Makes Three written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole

Returning after a brief hiatus from the Top Ten Most Challenged list, this ALA Notable Children’s Book, published in 2005, was challenged and labeled because it features a same-sex relationship.

I Am Jazz written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

This autobiographical picture book co-written by the 13-year-old protagonist was challenged because it addresses gender identity.

#cheshire library #challenged books #banned books #banned books week #banned books list

[newyorktheater]

Casual theater lovers might think that there’s nothing else happening beside the Tony Awards in June. They would be wrong!

June calendar of theater openings: Stonewall 50 on Stages! Fairview Returns!

Still they are the only theater award that remains in this exhausting theater awards season. It’s certainly been a busy five weeks since the 2019 Tony nominations were announced, and a happy one, judging by photographs like the one below. Three of the five nominees for the Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play are smiling together at the Tony Honors cocktail party, one of a seemingly endless series of events that will be coming to an end with the ceremony this Sunday.

What’s intriguing is how much the Tonys seem split this year in half, between what you can call downtown and uptown — conventional versus experimental. More on this in the days ahead. (Sorry!)

May Quiz

The Week in New York Theater Awards

Paddy Considine as Quinn Carney (center, standing) and the company of The Ferryman

Christopher Sieber in “Love Thy Neighbor” number

The Drama Desk Awards: The Ferryman, The Prom, Fiddler, Waverly Gallery

Theatre World Award Winners On Their First Time, and Tough Times, and Cher

Third annual ⁦Tony Awards song⁩ compilation, available June 14, will feature one song from each of the 13 musicals in the Broadway 2018-2019:season, plus a bonus track sung by Marin Mazzie

The Week in New York Theater Reviews and Previews

Dave Malloy’s Octet: Internet Addicts Sing Their Support A Capella

More or Less I Am in Fort Greene Park

More Or Less I Am

A decade ago, theater director and educator Karin Coonrod conceived “More Or Less I Am,” a musical theater piece drawn from Walt Whitman’s 1855 poem “Song of Myself.” Her theater company, Compagnia de’ Colombari, has been presenting it around the city ever since, and especially during the week of the poet’s 200th birthday

Underground Railroad Game

Out of  a surreal childhood memory of being forced to re-enact the Civil War as a game in fifth grade, Scott Sheppard and co-creator Jennifer Kidwell have fashioned a captivating work of theater that is bravely acted, inventively designed, and relentlessly surprising — dizzying in its anarchic turns from playful to hateful, satiric to sadistic.

Play On Festival

The Play On! Festival is presenting staged readings through June 30 of all 39 of William Shakespeare’s plays “translated” into “contemporary modern English” by 36 American playwrights.

Dying City Colin Woodell and Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Dying City

Christopher Shinn’s “Dying City,” which was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Drama after it received an admired production at Lincoln Center in 2007, is being revived Off-Broadway at Second Stages at the same time that there is a Broadway production of Lanford Wilson’s older play “Burn This,”  which it resembles in several ways. Both focus on a kind of unconventional love triangle involving two brothers. In both plays, one of the brothers is gay, and one of the brothers is dead. (The gay brother is the dead one in “Burn This”; the gay one is the one still living in “Dying City.”) Both also explore the effects of a death on the people left behind. But “Dying City” has a more ambitious and more stealth agenda – to bring us into a world not just of grief but of trauma.

What they also have in common is that neither revival quite works for me, for what feel like opposite reasons.

Fosse Verdon Finale: Yes that was Lin-Manuel

The Week in New York Theater News

King Lear with Glenda Jackson is closing on June 9th — the same day as the Tony Awards — and nearly a month earlier than scheduled. I liked it more than most

NY sports logos

For the 52 weeks of the 2018-2019 Broadway season (which ended last weekend), total attendance reached 14,768,254 and Broadway shows yielded $1,829,312,140 in grosses, according to The Broadway League .The attendance was said to be more than those of all ten major league aports teams in New York and New Jersey combined

What the Constitution Means to Me, Broadway 2019

A new program called NYC Civics and Arts Fund, overseen by The NYC Mayors Fund, will subsidize 500 students a year to attend arts events in the city. The first partner is “What The Constitution Means to Me,” which will make tix available for the students from now to the end of its run.

The play will also embark on a national tour starting January 2020 in Los Angeles, and playing 40 weeks in 22 cities including Charlotte, Hartford, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

Encores City Center 2020 season:

Mack and Mabel (February 19 – 23) by Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart

Love Life (March 18 – 22) by Kurt Weill and Alan Jay Lerner

Thoroughly Modern Millie (May 6 – 10) Dick Scanlan and Jeanine Tesori, starring Ashley Park

Enter Laughing at York Theater is closing June 16, a week later than planned, which is a good thing because it’s funnier than you’d expect, with Chris Dwan as an awkward teenager in the 1930s trying to break into show business.

Manilow Broadway — Barry Manilow July 26 through August 17 at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Exciting 2019-20 Atlantic Theater season, including new works by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Stephen Adly Guirgis, Ethan Coen, even a musical by Sarah Silverman and Joshua Harmon.

Coming to TImes Square in 2020: The Museum of Broadway, a “pop up museum” (meaning it won’t last) with exhibits on 1. the evolution of the theater district, 2. behind-the-scenes making of a Bway show. 3. landmark musicals

Rebecca, the decade-long saga, has a next installment, by @PhilipBoroff:

After six years, 471 legal filings, and a trial, Ben Sprecher, the producer of the aborted Broadway musical Rebecca, has settled with his ex press agent Marc Thibodeauhttps://t.co/FCyyBKQkz5 pic.twitter.com/OXV1fAwHMj

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 31, 2019

Congratulations @WesTayTay (@SpongeBobBway, @mcctheater‘s #AlicebyHeart) and @Isaaccolepowell (@OnceIslandBway, @LovevilleHigh), who have announced their engagement. May they make beautiful music together. (Well, somebody had to say that.) pic.twitter.com/hMzAHC9GRn

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 28, 2019

Is this a subway sign especially designed for Broadway? pic.twitter.com/hkzgXxj9S5

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) June 2, 2019

Broadway Season by the Numbers. Tonys at the Home Stretch. Lear Dies. Constitution Expands. #Stageworthy News of the Week Casual theater lovers might think that there's nothing else happening beside the Tony Awards in June. They would be wrong!

[nonbinarypastels]

Top 10 Challenged Books of 2017

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 354 challenges to library, school and university materials in 2017. Of the 416 books challenged or banned in 2017, the Top 10 Most Challenged Books are

Thirteen Reasons Why written by Jay Asher

Originally published in 2007, this New York Times bestseller has resurfaced as a controversial book after Netflix aired a TV series by the same name. This YA novel was challenged and banned in multiple school districts because it discusses suicide.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie

Consistently challenged since its publication in 2007 for acknowledging issues such as poverty, alcoholism, and sexuality, this National Book Award winner was challenged in school curriculums because of profanity and situations that were deemed sexually explicit.

Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier

This Stonewall Honor Award-winning, 2012 graphic novel from an acclaimed cartoonist was challenged and banned in school libraries because it includes LGBT characters and was considered “confusing.”

The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini

This critically acclaimed, multigenerational novel was challenged and banned because it includes sexual violence and was thought to “lead to terrorism” and “promote Islam.”

George written by Alex Gino

Written for elementary-age children, this Lambda Literary Award winner was challenged and banned because it includes a transgender child.

Sex is a Funny Word written by Cory Silverberg and illustrated by Fiona Smyth

This 2015 informational children’s book written by a certified sex educator was challenged because it addresses sex education and is believed to lead children to “want to have sex or ask questions about sex.”

To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee

This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, considered an American classic, was challenged and banned because of violence and its use of the N-word.

The Hate U Give written by Angie Thomas

Despite winning multiple awards and being the most searched-for book on Goodreads during its debut year, this YA novel was challenged and banned in school libraries and curriculums because it was considered “pervasively vulgar” and because of drug use, profanity, and offensive language.

And Tango Makes Three written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole

Returning after a brief hiatus from the Top Ten Most Challenged list, this ALA Notable Children’s Book, published in 2005, was challenged and labeled because it features a same-sex relationship.

I Am Jazz written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

This autobiographical picture book co-written by the 13-year-old protagonist was challenged because it addresses gender identity.

Art and information provided courtesy of the American Library Association.

#censorship #long post

[gbpflag]

GBPFLAG is Reading: Too Bright to See

About this series: Jules (they/he) reads a lot of LGBTQ+ books in their spare time and is telling us about a few of their favorite ones for kids. This well-received book (it’s a Stonewall Book Award winner, a Newbery Honor Book, and a National Book Award Finalist!) is a beautiful depiction of grief and of finding yourself.

Age range: upper elementary/middle school

Synopsis: Living in an old, haunted house, eleven-year-old Bug is used to ghosts, but now Uncle Roderick has died and his ghost is acting much scarier than most do. Could he be trying to communicate something? Meanwhile, Middle School is looming at the end of the summer, and Bug’s friends are suddenly into things like clothes and makeup — topics that make Bug deeply and confusingly uncomfortable. Can Bug figure out what’s going on, either with their feelings or with Uncle Roderick’s ghost?

What I love about this book: This book has a beautiful and age-appropriate depiction of coping with grief. Many kids will have lost someone by the time they’re in late elementary or middle school can be really helpful. And I love that Bug’s friends, family, and community are so supportive of Bug as they figure themself out.

What kids will love about this book: Although it deals with some heavy concepts, this book is extremely engaging and readable! Bug’s anxieties about how to make and keep friends and how to fit in (especially at a new school) are very relatable. Also, (beware spoilers), this book does a great job of showing what unrecognized gender dysphoria feels like. While many trans kids knew they were a boy/girl since 3 or 4, not all do, and kids who are questioning their gender at an older age will enjoy seeing another kid doing so as well.

Where to get the book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Minuteman Libraries

read this post on our blog: https://gbpflag.org/gbpflag-is-reading/too-bright-to-see/

#pflag #lgbtq books #kids books #love your lgbtq kids #award winning book #very relatable