Lucy
The Great Gatsby meets Practical Magic in this darkly atmospheric tale of magic and murder in the Roaring 20s. Enter a dangerous and dazzling world of glittering parties, illicit temptations, and sinister witchcraft alongside sheltered Annie, whose attraction to her glamorous new neighbor Emmeline awakens her to her own powers and desires… May’s prose was the highlight of this read for me. Her writing is both lyrical and visceral, drawing you inexorably into her world. I’m excited to see what she writes next.
At once expansive and compact, this century-spanning story of time travel, space colonization, and simulated reality sings with quiet but startling humanity. An exiled English aristocrat considers the overwhelming indifference of the Canadian wilderness. An author born on the moon goes on a book tour of Earth at the beginning of a deadly pandemic and misses her distant family. A time traveling investigator grapples with the ethics of his position and the nature of reality. All of these characters – and more – are joined together by an inexplicable anomaly of time and space that shapes their lives in large and small ways. Mandel proved she was a master of the literary dystopian with Station Eleven, and this next entry into her canon is equally arresting.
Pop culture writer and noted Twitter Lesbian Jill Gutowitz unpacks the origins of her obsession with the internet and celebrity, and how they intersected with her developing queerness. Funny and heartfelt, these essays cover everything from the pangs of first queer love to the most iconic sapphic paparazzi photos of all time. At once deeply personal and insanely relatable, this is a must-read for queer women who grew up with the internet, or anyone who loves millennial pop culture.
A literary thriller that reads like a viral Netflix show. Two American art students abroad in Berlin in 2008 begin to suspect that the crime author whose apartment they are subletting is spying on them and using their lives as fodder for her next book. Henkel blurs the lines of friendship and obsession, grief and paranoia, social media and fiction and art. A total page turner!
A sweet, colorful, and totally accessible introduction to the ideas of living outside of the binary, embracing your individuality, and finding your community, that teaches compassion for self and for others. Perfect for anyone who is a little different, but I think every child would enjoy and benefit from this story!
This Mamma Mia!-inspired story about a theatre kid on a mission to find her birth mother is a delight from start to finish! Chock full of Broadway references, with an enemies-to-love-interests romance, a frank portrayal of mental health struggles, and a touching father-daughter relationship, it is as charming and big-hearted as its plucky protagonist. Feed your inner teenage drama queen!
Gonzalez and Dietrich deliver the perfect combination of sweetness and angst with this queer boy band romance. After catapulting to fame as teens, the members of Saturday are starting to realize that international pop stardom is not all it's cracked up to be. Over the course of a whirlwind European tour, these four best friends are forced to reevaluate their relationships with their controlling management, their obsessive fans, and even one another -- especially when bandmates Ruben and Zach realize they are falling in love, and that if management has its way, the world will never know. I was rooting for all four boys to stick it to the industry that wants to put them into neatly labeled boxes, and to share their authentic selves with the public! If you've ever found yourself spending way too much time speculating about the personal lives of your favorite celebrities (and maybe even shipping them...) this one is for you.
Pacific Rim meets The Hunger Games in this bada**, feminist sci-fi epic about a rage-fueled, morally gray heroine seeking vengeance against a brutally patriarchal society. The story is loosely inspired by China’s only female Emperor, and Zhao fuses Chinese history and futuristic technology in the coolest way. This book is truly a wild ride, and worth every second — you will be rooting for Zetian as she sets out to destroy everything in her path, and you will never look at a love triangle the same way again…
Easily one of my favorite books of the year! When his best friend Eddie dies under suspicious circumstances, Andrew follows in his footsteps to Vanderbilt, determined to uncover the truth of Eddie's final days. There, he finds himself thrust into a world of cutthroat academic competition by day and liquor-fueled street-racing by night -- all the while haunted by the gruesome specter of the man he loved. This stunning debut functions as both a mind-bending Southern Gothic and a visceral exploration of loss and grief, served up with a healthy dose of queer longing. I was captivated from start to finish.
A swoon-worthy gay romance set behind-the-scenes of a Bachelor-style dating show; what more could you ask for! I would have loved this book based on the romance and the reality TV intrigue alone, but Cochrun's authentic and nuanced portrayal of mental illness and queerness in their various forms really took it to the next level. I tore through it in two days, and immediately recommended it to my friends. Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston, or anyone who (like me) started watching The Bachelor semi-ironically and now can't stop.
An atmospheric, character-driven noir set against the backdrop of the Mexican Dirty War on leftist activists in the 1970s. I loved that Moreno-Garcia wasn't afraid to give her protagonists flaws: secretary Maite lives for acts of petty theft and lying to her coworkers about her love life, and government thug Elvis doesn't let his sensitive, cultured side get in the way of doing his bloody job. Even so, as these two circle the same mystery, you can't help but root for them to find each other. Weaving these two storylines together, Moreno-Garcia expertly sheds light on a dark period in Mexican history.
The darkness lurking at the edges of rural Snakebite, Oregon is alive, and it’s hungry. But when newcomer Logan rolls into town — along with her fathers, Snakebite natives who once swore never to return to their small-minded hometown — the Dark may have finally met its match. Teaming up with local Ashley to investigate the disappearances of several Snakebite teens, Logan finds herself dangerously close to uncovering the dark secret at the heart of Snakebite, and her own family history — and falling for Ashley in the process. Beautifully written and addictively scary; think Stephen King, but for queer girls. I could not put it down!
The final installment of Rowell's Simon Snow trilogy is just as inventive, engrossing, and romantic as the last two. Rowell wraps up Simon and Baz's relationship with so much care and depth, and gives every one of her characters a satisfying (if sometimes surprising) ending.
A must read for anyone who loves heist movies, found family, and morally gray protagonists. Bardugo’s entire Grishaverse is great, but this is her darkest and most sophisticated. Gritty and suspenseful, with a diverse cast of characters. You will fall in love with every single character!
A queer coming-of-age story that is moving, romantic, and a little bit spooky! Trans teen Yadriel just wants to prove to his community that he is a real brujo by summoning a spirit. But when the spirit he summons belongs to a recently deceased classmate, Yadriel agrees to investigate his mysterious death, and finds himself falling for a ghost…
A legendary Hollywood star reveals her life story to a no-name reporter, including the sordid details of her seven marriages, and the love of her life who was not among them. A gripping and unforgettable story about love, loss, and the price of fame.