#phil stamper

[slaughter-books]

Day 5: JOMPBPC: Pink Books 🩷

#justonemorepage #jompbpc #pink books #afterglow #phil stamper #this wicked fate #kalynn bayron #clap when you land #elizabeth acevedo #the black flamingo #dean atta #beautiful books #amazing authors #lgbt+ #raven baxter #i love books

[iitsfantastiical]

just some new books to add to my collection. 😌👉🏻👈🏻

#bookblr #books and reading #queer books #queer fiction #queer lit #queer literature #queer romance #booklr #glitterland #cafe con leche #as far as you’ll take me #all thats left in the world #alexis hall #emery lee #phil stamper #erik j brown #im so excited

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

#the gravity of us #phil stamper

[the-dust-jacket]

Amidst the rise of "don't say gay" and other attacks on US schools and libraries, it's important to have books that fly under the gaydar, but I also wanted to shout out books that are out and proud and in your face.

Do you have any favorite fabulously queer covers?

Pictured: Small Town Pride, Camp Quiltbag, Gay Club!, The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, This Is Our Rainbow, Jay's Gay Agenda, Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball, Boy Meets Boy

#lgbt books #david levithan #jason june #Phil Stamper #Sonora Reyes #A.J. Sass #Katherine Locke #Simon James Green

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Summer YA Reads, Part III

For more recs, find Part I here and Part II here! You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron (Horror) Golden Boys by Phil Stamper (Coming of Age) Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler (Romance) Northranger by Rey Terciero (text) and Bre Indigo (art) (Graphic Novel) No Boy Summer by Amy Spalding (Romance)

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#Amy Spalding #Beach Reads #Bre Indigo #Dahlia Adler #Going Bicoastal #Golden Boys #Kalynn Bayron #Northranger #Phil Stamper #Rey Terciero #Summer Reads #Summer Romances #YA #You&039;re Not Supposed to Die Tonight #Young Adult

[maria-the-ghoul]

Wrestling REVOLVER photodump part 1

You may have seen more from twitter but i couldn't fit all the photos into tumblrs limit and not make a shit-ton of posts lol.

#wrestling REVOLVER #steve maclin #mike bailey #jt dunn #allie katch #jessicka havok #alex shelley #shigehiro irie #rocky romero #lince dorado #phil stamper #maria talks about wrestling

[badbitchesreadbooks]

I guess you could call this my June tbr list 🤷🏻‍♀️

Slightly ambitious, considering I’ve only just got out of my reading slump but we won’t talk about that. .

This is also me setting the list of books I have to read in order for me to purchase anymore lmao (ignoring the fact that I have a kindle in the mail expected to arrive today hahahah)

It is also mostly lgbt books since it’s June lol

In order, the books are

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (a reread for me)

Late to The Party by Kelly Quindlen

As Far As You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper

Dracula by Bram Stroker (probably the most ambitious book on this list 🤦🏻‍♀️)

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

Venus Envy by Rita Mae Brown (which I bought bc basically it’s a successful, badass women who is dying and writes notes to her friends/family telling them “exactly what she thinks of them” and that she’s gay, tell me you wouldn’t have bought this book immediately

Anyway, wish me luck haha

#the song of achilles #madeline miller #late to the party #kelly quindlen #as far as you’ll take me #phil stamper #Dracula #bram stocker's dracula #bram stoker #no longer human #osamu dazai #Venus envy #rita mae brown #books #booklr #reading #book picture #book covers #book spines #picture of books #tbr #June tbr #lgbtqa #classics #pride month

[queer-and-dear-books]

Title: Small Town Pride

Author: Phil Stamper

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction | Drama | Friendship | Politics | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: Homophobia

Overall Rating: 10/10

Personal Opinion: This book is straightforward but very sweet. And honestly, that’s what I’ve come to expect of middle grade books. They’re fun and easy to get into with characters that often showcase the best of humanity. Teachers, parents, and the main cast themselves. I think I got all that in this book and it works. But I also like that this book doesn’t shy away from the realities of the world either. There are a lot of homophobes and bigots in the world. But the amount of support that Jake had and the fact that Stamper chose to really highlight that support was beautifully done.

Do I Own This Book? Nope.

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- Jake’s parents are the best. I adore them. I love dorky folks in fiction though. I mean, his dad raised a comically large pride flag to support his son and showed interest in Jake’s video game. That’s good dad behavior. And his mom does McDonald’s breakfast drives for him and his best friend and she allows them to use the utility closet at school (she’s a janitor) and it’s so cute.

- Jake and Brett have a cute budding relationship too. It’s not anything big which is fine because they’re like 12-13. But it’s cute to see them confide in and find comfort in each other when they’re under stress.

- I adore Pastor Nicole. It made me so happy knowing that Brett has her in his life too. I mean, she connected him to therapy! Therapy he needed! It just made me so happy to see a pastor advocating for better mental health like that.

- Ashley Ortega is such a good person too. I love what an unabashed ally she is and she actually helped raise money for the pride festival! By selling rainbow bracelets to the student body and faculty, that’s so cute! I love that Jake’s school is full of people that support him and want to make him feel like he truly belongs in their small town.

- I am 99.99% certain that Songbird Hollow is based off of Stardew Valley. And I honestly love that Jake had that escape into a world that is more accepting and loving of people like him. Because video games are often like that for me as well. But more than anything, I love that a video game is what inspired Jake to want to throw a pride festival in their town. Because, like Jake said, why can’t life be like it is in his video game?

- Overall, I thought this was a sweet book and I really appreciate it existing for middle schoolers to read today. They deserve stories like these, filled with hope and love.

Dislikes:

- Screw that one homophobe at the town meeting that said, “Can’t the kid move to San Francisco?” Like, that kid is 12-13 years old! How’s he supposed to move away at that age? 

- Also screw Brett’s mom. I hate parents like her. The ones that only care about their own image and put pressure on their kids to be perfect. Of course, that kind of pressure is going to cause the kid problems, sheesh!

- Okay, aside from the people, I only have one issue with this book. The characters felt older than middle schoolers. Then again, kids are growing up faster and I haven’t been in a middle school in over a decade so what do I know? 

#Booklr #Booksbooksbooks #Book Blog #Book Review #Book Recs #Small Town Pride #Phil Stamper #LGBTQ #Queer Books #Queer Lit #Queer Representation

[publishedtoday]

Small Town Pride - Phil Stamper 

Jake is just starting to enjoy life as his school’s first openly gay kid. While his family and friends are accepting and supportive, the same can’t be said about everyone in their small town of Barton Springs, Ohio. When Jake’s dad hangs a comically large pride flag in their front yard in an overblown show of love, the mayor begins to receive complaints. A few people are even concerned the flag will lead to something truly outlandish: a pride parade. Except Jake doesn’t think that’s a ridiculous idea. Why can’t they hold a pride festival in Barton Springs? The problem is, Jake knows he’ll have to get approval from the town council, and the mayor won’t be on his side. And as Jake and his friends try to find a way to bring Pride to Barton Springs, it seems suspicious that the mayor’s son, Brett, suddenly wants to spend time with Jake. But someone that cute couldn’t possibly be in league with his mayoral mother, could he?

tw: small town homophobia/microaggressions/homophobia 

#small town pride #phil stamper #harpercollins #lgbtqa #middle grade #may 31 2022

[queer-books-bracket]

#the gravity of us #phil stamper #once & future #once and future #Amy rose capetta #cori McCarthy #books #lgbt books #polls

[slaughter-books]

Day 3: JOMPBPC: Summer

Four beautiful books that make me think of Summer! 💙

#justonemorepage #jompbpc #summer #golden boys #phil stamper #loveboat taipei #abigail hing wen #aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe #benjamin alire sáenz #the lightning thief #the percy jackson series #rick riordan #beautiful books #amazing authors #lgbt+ #bookish #moana #i love books

[bookbaran]

Just finished another indie published romance novel and it was better than the last one. Now I'm in the mood for a short, sweet middlegrade novel. Fortunately, I just picked up two from the library today.

So, to read Phil Stamper's Small Town Pride or M.K. England's Player vs Player?

#small town pride #phil stamper #mk england #player vs player

[desdasiwrites]

I don’t have a favorite, but I literally couldn’t go to the gym for practice without my K-pop playlist.

– Phil Stamper, The Gravity of Us

#book quote of the day #phil stamper #the gravity of us #gay #pride month #book quotes #kpop

[the-dust-jacket]

#Phil Stamper #David Levithan #Michael Leali #The Civil War of Amos Abernathy #Small Town Pride #Answers In the Pages #Love That? Read This! #middle grade

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Books About Pride

Fave Five: Books About Pride

‘Twas the Night Before Pride by Joanna McLintick (text) and Juana Medina (illustration) Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper (MG) You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan (YA) When You Get the Chance by Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson (YA) DC Pride by by Devin Grayson, Ivan Cohen, Tini Howard, Greg Lockard, Alyssa Wong, Stephanie Phillips, Danny Lore, Stephanie Williams, Jadzia Axelrod, Dani…

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#&039;Twas the Night Before Pride #Alyssa Wong #Dani Fernandez #Danny Lore #David Levithan #DC Pride #Devin Grayson #Greg Lockard #Ivan Cohen #Jadzia Axelrod #Joanna McLintick #Juana Medina #Kevin Conroy #Nicole Maines #Nina LaCour #Phil Stamper #Ro Stein #Robin Stevenson #Small Town Pride #Stephanie Phillips #Stephanie Williams #Ted Brandt #Tini Howard #Tom Ryan #Travis Moore #When You Get the Chance #You Know Me Well

[seb-writess]

BOOKS I READ JUNE (2022)

General thoughts of the books I read in June '22! I read 4 books in June. My top recommendations from this month are

The Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Golden Boys by Phil Stamper

Find synopsis and reviews under the cut!

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood fiction, contemporary, adult romance,

Summary: Olive suddenly kisses an extremely surprised (and rumoured, rather rude) Adam in the hallway of their shared lab late one night.  Which only goes one way, of course.  Into them both having to fake a relationship to keep up the ruse.  They both find the benefits in it might outweigh the cost, until the cost becomes falling in love for real.

Rating: 3/5 

This book had rave reviews on tiktok and thought I’d pick it up to see what the hype is about, and I’m sorry, I don’t see it.  It’s a really cute story, and I didn’t mind the characters.  I found the reason for them to be fake dating really well conceived and believable (something that can be quite hard in the fake dating trope).  I enjoyed Adam (the main love interest) and found him really likable, and I was entertained over all.  It’s an easy and fast read, the problems I have with it a rather small and trivial.

Spoilers ahead.  I think A Clockwork Reader on YouTube said it best; this reads like a fanfiction.  In a fanfiction, you already have preconceived notions of the main characters, so are reading fanfic for the bare bones.  This ship you like getting together in different scenarios.  For a book, these characters need to have motives and lives outside of the tropes and relationship in the fanfic.  Olive and Adam don’t have much substance outside of either each other or their work, which makes them feel like rather flat characters.  I love published fanfic and think it’s definitely something that everyone should be proud to do, but this could have used some deeper bones to stretch out the narrative.

The smut was bad.

The villian was worse.  Tom revealed his hand so quickly. And so bluntly.  I know it was for the point of having a recording of him basically saying “I’m a bad guy and here’s why”, and it’s not that it was totally out of the blue, but it felt very sudden in a way that had my thoughts of the book shift dramatically.  I’m sure there are guys like that in any field that are just as cocky and speak just as disgustingly as he did to Olive, but it honestly reminded me of Dr. Draken from Kim Possible.  How he just blatantly reveals his plan every episode in a dramatic monologue.  And just as cheesy and childish writing.

However, Adam threatening him in Olive’s name is always a trope I’ll enjoy.  So at least that was hot.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao fiction, sci-fi fantasy, LGBTQ+

Summary: Wu Zetian is named a concubine; sold off to boy soldiers to use her qi as fuel to pilot giant, shape-shifting metal statues.  The only way to survive; be better than them.  Be better than all of them.  Which Wu Zetian is.  After murdering Yang Guang, one of the most powerful pilots in a generation, the army feels the need to keep a close eye on her.  It doesn’t help.  With the help of her new partner, Li Shimin, and her long-trusted friend, Yizhi, there’s a story that goes deeper down and conspiracy that stretches far beyond what Wu Zetian can offer.

Rating: 5/5

Had this book on my TBR for a while and I’m thrilled to have finally read it.  It’s incredible!  The action is well-paced.  The descriptions aren’t paragraphs long, but still described well enough I can picture it all perfectly.  I will say, it reads like a debut novel.  Some of the writing feels very bare bones, and doesn’t run deep, but the events it tells and the story it unravels is unbelievably entertaining.  I honestly love Wu Zetian’s disregard for human life; I think it’s a really refreshing take on a main character who is forced between the choices kill or be killed.  I love that Yizhi uses his place of privilege to help.  (”You can’t shoot me, I’m rich!” has got to be one of my favourite lines).

It’s a very basic and fast read, the pacing is well done and I’m so excited for the second book!   One of my only criticisms is the epilogue, which I feel revealed something extremely big that could have had more impact in the first pages of the second book.  Personally, I don’t think it needed that big of a cliff hanger to engage readers enough to want to read the sequel, but I’m still excited to see what Xiran does with the story after this.

Spoilers ahead.  I knew this book had a polyamorous relationship in it, but I thought it would be just Zetian with two boyfriends.  I didn’t realise Li Shimin and Yizhi would also fall for each other.  I am MORE than pleasantly surprised; I’m fucking ecstatic.  

The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune fiction, fantasy, LGBTQ+

Summary: Extraordinaries, or superheroes, are just as a normal part of anyone’s lives in Nova City.  Maybe more of a part of Nick’s life than they should be.  He’s obsessed with Shadow Star, the frought hero who protects their streets, and uses this obsession to write self-insert fanfiction of he and his hero.  One day, fiction meets reality when Shadow Star saves him personally, and Nick is overwhelmed with the need to be closer to him.  How else is he meant to get close enough to an Extraordinary than become an Extraordinary himself?

Rating: 2.5/5

As endearing as the main character, Nick, is, this book was actually really hard for me to get through.  As much as I love cringe, tropes and a good cliche, this book is full of them, but they aren’t enjoyable.  I don’t think it’s a bad thing that the identities of the hero and villian are very easy to spot early on, but it does make it frustrating later when their actual reveal isn’t very climactic.  

I like the world building and the limits Klune put onto this universe he’s created, and most of the characters are quite lovable, but besides that, there’s nothing to keep me coming back for a second read.  I didn’t like the story progression and honestly felt like Nick got no character development, but still got what he wanted.

It also reads kind of pro-police, which might just be an unfortunate snag in timing, but doesn’t age well.

Spoiler ahead:  Slightly disappointed Nick will be an Extraordinary in the second book, as the whole point of this book is for Nick to learn to love who is without super powers.  it kind of negates that entire message if he has a super power waiting to be revealed later on.  It might have even made for a more interesting read if he figured it out in this book and the book became about discovering who he is with this added pressure of learning to control this new power, all the while balancing his family, school and love life.

Golden Boys by Phil Stamper fiction, young adult, contemporary, LGBTQ+

Summary: Heath, Sal, Gabe and Reese have never spent a summer apart, and now all that’s about to change as each find a reason to be drawn away from their small little town, and dumped out into the big, wide world.  With each going through family dramas, work dramas, friendship dramas (and the drama of wanting to be more than friends), they discover small parts of themselves they were thriving on, and set out to make those parts grow to be more.

Rating: 5/5

I enjoyed every page of this book to the very end.  It was so easy to find a part of each character to relate to, their struggles felt completely grounded in reality, and some of those struggles I remember experiencing myself when I was in high school.  Heath’s parents’ divorce, Sal the need for approval by overworking himself, Gabe’s anxiety and Reese putting all his value in his art.  Struggles most of us will go through as we grow up but I’ve rarely seen conveyed in contemporary fiction.  Especially not LGBTQ+ fiction.  

It was easy to route for each character; they were all flawed in their own ways but you still wanted to see them succeed, and I love the message of failing at one thing does not mean failing entirely.  That this will give you room to succeed in something else.  

I love the message of letting go, whether that be to old traditions, memories or friendships you no longer need, and how that’s not always a bad thing.  

Most of all, I loved the feeling of hope and change throughout this entire book.  It’s written with such language that has you burning to turn the page, wanting nothing but good things for these 4 boys just trying to figure themselves out outside of their small town and away from everything familiar.  This is a really brilliant coming of age story that has me keeping an eye on Phil Stamper as an author and has me eager to read his other works!

#queer fiction #book reviews #iron widow #xiran jay zhao #golden boys #phil stamper #the extraordinaries #tj klune #the love hypothesis #ali hazelwood #lgbtq books