Tag: LGBTQIA

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Kisses for Jet: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Joris Bas Backer

(Available from William Rainey Harper College through I-Share)

Book cover for Kisses for Jet.

Kisses for Jet is perfect for fans of Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing, and Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure by Lewis Hancox.

Kisses for Jet is a semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age graphic novel based in Holland. The bulk of the story takes place at the end of 1999 when Dutch teenager, Jet, is sent to live at a boardinghouse for students while their parents temporarily relocate to Brussels while Jet’s mom works on a Y2K bug fix. We watch as Jet struggles to make friends at the boardinghouse and stay connected to their oldest friend, Sasha, as they embark on a journey of self-discovery (partly accelerated by Sasha). Lots of second embarrassment is felt, and I definitely physically cringed a few times when making my way through the panels. Since Jet is growing up during the pre-internet days, they struggle with finding the words for what they feel, and most of their information is gathered from television documentaries. The story ends as Jet starts puberty blockers with the support of their parents and friends. The art is primarily drawn in black, white, and blue with small amounts of pink used to emphasis Jet’s emotions.

Compared to other graphic novels, the dialogue in Kisses for Jet is sparse, and the story felt, at times, disjointed due to the lack of dialogue and context. I found myself having to re-read certain pages to decide whether they were a continuation of the same situation or if the narrator had moved onto another topic entirely. There are a couple of lines that seem to indicate that Jet could potentially be intersex, but that isn’t explored or discussed past those initial couple of lines. I did appreciate that this book challenges the notion that all trans folks need to have “always known” they were in the wrong body. It is through exploration and self-reflection, like pasting their own picture on a magazine image of Kurt Cobain’s face, that Jet comes to realize their gender identity.

Kisses for Jet does a really good job at portraying the messiness of teenage development and identity formation. I just really wanted this graphic novel to be longer with more information packed in! I would have loved a deeper exploration into Jet potentially being intersex, as well as Jet’s relationship with their mom, who is noted to have been affected by post-partum depression after Jet’s birth. Kisses for Jet is worth the read as another perspective in the diversity of trans experiences, but I found it slightly underwhelming.

Monday, September 19, 2022

Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure by Lewis Hancox

Book cover for Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure by Lewis Hancox. Shows an adult male with pointing a teenage girl in a school uniform with a speech bubble that says, "That was me in high school".

Welcome to St. Hell (GN H19126we) is perfect for fans of Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing, and Kisses for Jet: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Joris Bas Backer.

This graphic memoir caused all the feels! It starts with adult Lewis introducing his hometown of St. Helens, England (affectionately referred to as St. Hell throughout the book) and his pre-transition self, Lois. Quick note: Lewis introduces his pre-transition self as Lois and uses she/her pronouns to refer to himself during this pre-transition period. Lois spends the bulk of her high school career – age 11-16 – trying to be a “normal girl” to avoid bullying from her classmates. Once Lois enters college – ages 16-18 – she begins to explore her sexuality and gender: she publicly identifies first as a cis-lesbian and later as a straight, transman. During the recounting of his transition story, adult Lewis interjects with poignant interviews of his friends and family, which he mentioned he used as a tool of catharsis and healing.

Adult Lewis interjects himself into the recounting of his adolescent years to provide hindsight wisdom as well as some humor. As a child of the 90s, I appreciate the pop culture references from learning to code for the perfect Myspace page to the public’ collective obsession with Justin Timberlake. Lewis Hancox’s journey from adolescence to adulthood is portrayed with a brutally honest and refreshingly honest style, which made me tear up and laugh out loud. There is a portion of the book that covers Lois’ struggle with an eating disorder that folks should be aware of before picking up this book.

This is a must read for anyone who likes graphic memoirs and LGBTQIA+ stories!

Two black and white comic panels. The first panel shows Lewis Hancox an adult male with a speech bubble that says, "Whatever kinda hell you're goin' through, don't give up, okay? Coz in the end, it'll be reet! Copyright my dad". The second panel shows a drawing of a cityscape with the words, "And if it ain't reet, it ain't the end".

Monday, February 21, 2022

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea was the second book I read in 2021, and honestly everything else after it kind of paled in comparison. So you may be wondering why I decided that two months into 2022 was the perfect time to read his latest adult novel Under the Whispering Door? I could tell you it was because I’m a bit of a masochist and knew that Klunes’ book would more than likely leave me in tears, or that I was sick of avoiding book spoilers on the internet. But the truth is much simpler-I’ve been in a bit of bookish turmoil! I’ve been plowing through books, many of which are HIGHLY regarded in the literary community and they are just not landing for me. So I turned to an author that never lets me down and set out on the journey that is reading Under the Whispering Door.

In the book, Wallace Price is not what we would call a “good person”. In life, he was a lawyer whose only goal was to win cases and maintain order in his life. When he suddenly wakes up attending his own funeral, everything he thought he knew about himself, his existence, and the world gets completely shaken up. Mei is Wallace’s Reaper, meaning she is charged with getting Wallace from his funeral to Charon’s Crossing, a tea shop in the woods owned my the enigmatic and oh-so-charming Ferryman, Hugo. By day, Hugo runs Charon’s Crossing with Mei, providing tea and treats to travelers and regulars alike. But his real job as a Ferryman means he helps people cross over from this life into the next. And Wallace may just be his hardest case yet.

I adored this book, much like I’ve adored everything else by TJ Klune I’ve read. He has a way of speaking directly to my soul and telling it that everything is going to be okay! Also, it doesn’t hurt that all of his books are brimming with Queer identities and situations. Gotta love it!

This book is beautiful. From the cover design, to the delicately crafted sentences, to the equally parts heart-warming and heart-wrenching final pages. Packed with wonderfully real and emotionally complex characters as well as supernatural musings and mystical elements, this is not a book that you will soon forget about. Find Under the Whispering Door on Uni High’s shelves today! You won’t regret it!

CW: This book contains depictions and discussions of death, including death by suicide.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders

Victories Greater than Death by Charlie Jane Anders

 

I loved ‘All the Birds in the Sky’ and ‘The City in the Middle of the Night’, and was overjoyed to see that Charlie Jane Anders was taking her first stab at YA. I was even more excited to be able to get it as an ARC (Advance Reader’s Copy)! I read this book back in October, but scheduled it to publish today, April 13, when the book is coming out.

A quick plot synopsis: Tina has known since she was thirteen that she had a higher calling– literally. Some day, someone would be coming from the stars to whisk her away to resume her post as one of the most celebrated heroes of the Royal Fleet. See, Tina is a clone of the fallen Captain Argentian, who gave her life to save her crew. When the Fleet comes calling, Tina/Argentian is their greatest hope in their fight against the insidious Compassion, but Tina struggles with this expectation. With Tina and a ragtag band of other Earthlings along for the ride, the crew of HMSS Indomitable strike out across the stars to find the means to stop the Compassion’s scourge.

This is a fast-moving sci-fi adventure with a fun cast of teen protagonists from all over the world. Although the book is a little bit jumpy, hopping from incident to incident, there’s very little downtime, and the whole last hundred pages is one long hype-train roller coaster. I love some good space combat scenes! I also loved a lot of the questions the book posed about things like humanoid bias and the interactions of cultures. It’s definitely not hard sci-fi, but encompasses enough plausible specifics to explore interesting questions. Oh, and if you’ve played Mass Effect I think you’ll see some inspiration in this book.

From a queer/social justice perspective, this book has a lot to offer. First, the normalization of pronouns other than he/she was great, especially the default inclusion of pronouns in introductions. One great moment was someone says what her pronouns are before declaring the protagonists are her prisoners. Amazing. Homophobia doesn’t exist in the Royal Fleet, and why should it?  I love when authors are willing to leave behind problems that exist in our society and envision a better one– while homophobia can be a source of realistic conflict, there are enough other problems in space!

While there are some minor bumpy parts in the book, largely caused by the amount of exposition that gets packed in, it was a still an awesome read that I devoured in a single day– and I’m even more excited for the rest of the series, whenever it might be coming out! Also, if you read this and like it, the author’s other books are amazing, especially All The Birds in the Sky.
Friday, October 9, 2020

Latinx Heritage Month Display

Happy Latinx Heritage Month! If you’re looking for a book about Latinx characters by a Latinx author to read this month, we’d love to recommend a few. From science fiction to realistic fiction to historical fiction, fantasy to romance, and poetry to prose, Latinx authors are (and have been) putting out amazing work in every genre and style you can imagine.

Digital Display of Latinx Heritage Month books-- booklist is below!

Here’s the titles and their current availability– almost all are available from the Uni Library!

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo Ac37cl (on reserve)

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo ac37po

What if It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera AL146wh

Labyrinth Lost by Zaraida Córdova C8123la

Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas Available from CPL

Jazz Owls by Margarita Engle En35ja

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland Available from CPL/UFL

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older Ol17s

Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz Coming to Uni soon! and Available from CPL/UFL

Photographic : the life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero 770.92 Q458ph

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera R5243ju

They Both Die at the End by Adam SIlvera SI394t

Here’s a couple of our favorites:

Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas is an excellent romance-ish novel with some unique elements. Part-Cuban Isabella Fields has a passion for cooking, and isn’t going to let anything stand in they way of winning the internship of her dreams. Not even Diego, no matter how cute he may be. But what if her dreams don’t match the reality of being a chef? This was a really good, cute read, and the amazingly detailed cooking scenes make the book very vivid (and educational!)

Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz also has a teenage female protagonist who knows what her dreams are– but Lana Torres dreams about being chased up a mountain by fire-breathing dragons! Ever since the first Puerto Rican dragons emerged from the island itself, Lana has wanted nothing but to be the Runner for Puerto Rico’s Blazewrath team, and it’s not too much of a spoiler to say that she gets her wish. Like Isabella, though, Lana soon finds her dreams were a lot simpler than reality. Set in a fresh fantasy world where only a few have magical abilities, but ‘Regulars’ know all about them, this novel is the perfect thing for Harry Potter fans who find themselves less into Harry Potter after, well, you know. If you liked Quidditch, you’ll love Blazewrath! I (Charlie) just finished this one this week (got it this week too, which says good things about it), and will have a more in-depth review up early next week.

 

 

 

Sunday, September 13, 2020

From Far Away: Fiction About Connections Over Distance

Display Board of books. Book list is replicated in the post below

Hello! I’m Charlie, and I’m the new graduate assistant for the Uni Library for the 2020-2021 school year. This is also my first year in the U of I’s iSchool school library licensure program, and as it happens I’m also a Uni High alum (class of 2011).

Lately, reading has been an important source of human connection for me. Like so many of us, I’m doing my best to not get or spread COVID, but it’s been difficult not being able to see my friends or family. I know for high school students, too, things are weird– you get all of the boring parts of high school through Zoom, without any of the socializing. When I’ve been lonely, I’ve been escaping into books, particularly re-reading old favorites.

I don’t need to tell you what your old favorite books are, though, so I thought I’d put together a collection of books about people in similar spots. Whether as friends, more-than-friends, or alien-exploring-the-ruins-of-a-dead-race, these books are all about characters who make meaningful connections to others that aren’t in front of them. Through email, through video games, through letters, the characters in these stories find that, even when they’re not in front of you, other people can still touch your life.

Though all of these are great reads, I think a couple are particularly cool. Illuminae is a sci-fi thriller about two teens in a spacefleet on the run from a shady corporation. While they knew each other before, they’re now on two separate ships, messaging back and forth as they try to unravel the mysterious things happening around them. The stakes in the book get higher and higher as it goes on, and the authors make some avant garde choices beyond regular text-setting that I think really work.

Griffin & Sabine makes some avant garde choices as well, but takes it a step farther. The plot unfolds through letters back and forth between the characters, but the letters aren’t just printed in the book- there are separate letters tucked into the book you can pull out! It’s a cool enough book that the U of I’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library decided to tuck one away, so don’t miss this one.

Finally, Outer Wilds is… not a book?!?! Yes, I am in fact recommending a video game. It’s a game not quite like any other: the only way you make ‘progress’ through the game is by learning. With an absolute minimum of tutorial, you’re set loose to explore a small solar system and unlock its mysteries. There’s no keys to find, no power-ups to unlock,  only knowledge. What drew me to include it is the relationship between the player and an ancient race, the Nomai. There are no Nomai left in the galaxy– only their writing remains, and as you explore the miniature planets you genuinely come to know these long-dead aliens, in the same way you get to know a book character. While I’m unlikely to be putting League of Legends on a library display soon, Outer Wilds was such a readerly game that I couldn’t help but put it alongside books.

Here’s a list of the books pictured above. While requesting books from us is a little bit tricky right now, it is doable! Get in touch with me, Ms. Arnold, or Paul if you want help getting your hands on a physical copy of these. Many of these are available from the public libraries as well, either physically or in digital formats.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Kay Kristoff (Uni High Call # K162i1)

Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock (Uni High Call # B2282gr)

Paper Towns by John Green (Uni High Call # G823p)

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (Uni High Call # M4599re)

Don’t Read the Comments (Available from Urbana and Champaign public libraries)

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi (Uni High Call # C4522em)

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater (Uni High Call # St522ca)

Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (Uni High Call # Al146s)

The Outer Wilds (For PC, PS4, and XB1)

 

 

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Celebrate Pride: Books with LGBTQ+ Characters

The background image of this graphic is creased brown paper. In the top right-hand corner there is a stamp with the Pride flag. In the center, text reads "Celebrate Pride: Books with LGBTQ plus Characters." There are book covers pasted on the graphic, which are listed in the blog post.
Book covers are organized in order of the list below from left to right.

Happy Pride month! Although we should read books celebrating pride all year, I wanted to make a list of books that feature LGBTQ+ characters before June ends! One book on this list, All Boys Aren’t Blue, is a nonfiction book written by a Black queer author. These books represent various experiences on the Pride spectrum and immerse readers into contemporary, fantasy, and drawn worlds. I personally recommend Little & Lion, a story about a bisexual Black and Jewish girl navigating the changing relationship with her brother amidst conversations of mental illness. Clap When You Land also features family relationships as two girls discover they are sisters when their father dies in a plane crash and it is revealed he had two families. Another book on this list I enjoyed is Bingo Love, a comic spanning generations about two women who fell in love as teens and then reconnect as older adults.

I am working on individual reviews of a couple of these books, and I invite you to do the same! Shoot me an email if you’d like to write a review on Uni Reads for any of these books. Have a favorite book not on this list? We’d love to post it.

If you’d like more book lists and content, check out YA Pride, a blog advocating for inclusive and affirming content in YA Lit.

I made note of where you can find online copies through OverDrive and Hoopla via the Champaign Public Library and Urbana Free Library. If you need help finding books at your local library or with anything else, don’t hesitate to ask!

Please note: Books that are available as physical copies through the Uni High Library are noted with a call number in case you reference this list once we are able to return to campus. Some of these books are on order and we will update the call number ASAP.

  • Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar (Audiobook & eBook on Overdrive)
  • Running with Lions by Julian Winters (eBook on Hoopla)
    • Call # Fiction W736ru
  • Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (Audiobook & eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction C671li
  • Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (Audiobook & eBook on Overdrive)
  • Check, Please! Book 1, #Hockey! by Ngozi Ukazu (eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # GN Uk1ch
    • You can also find this as a webcomic here.
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (Audiobook on Hoopla & Overdrive) (eBook on Overdrive)
  • The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow (Audiobook on Hoopla) (eBook on Overdrive)
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (Audiobook on Hoopla)
  • Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction K1331le
  • Bingo Love by Tee Franklin (eBook on Hoopla)
    • Call # GN F8548b
  • Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (Audiobook & eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction Em369pe
Friday, June 5, 2020

Uplifting Black Stories: Fiction Books by Black Authors

This is an illustration by Casey Moses of a few YA fiction books by Black authors.
This is an illustration by Casey Moses (@_thebookcase on Instagram). The order of the books listed below is determined by the illustration, top to bottom, left to right.

Nic Stone (author of Dear Martin, Odd One Out, and Jackpot) urged readers in an Instagram post to read beyond books about racism and “also read books about explicitly black people– especially black kids– just being human. Doing things humans are allowed to do in our imaginations: falling in love, dealing with illness, navigating time travel, questioning other aspects of their identities, saving their country, fighting with their parents.”

In response, Casey Moses (@_thebookcase on Instagram) illustrated a stack of YA fiction books written by Black authors across various genres, including contemporary, romance, fantasy, and LGBTQ stories. These books showcase everyday life, the fantastical, and the brilliant imagination of Black people. I’ve listed below the titles illustrated in the graphic.

I made note of where you can find online copies through OverDrive and Hoopla via the Champaign Public Library and Urbana Free Library. If you need help finding books at your local library or with anything else, don’t hesitate to ask!

Please note: Books that are available as physical copies through the Uni High Library are noted with a call number in case you reference this list once we are able to return to campus.

  • Dear Martin by Nic Stone (Audiobook and eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction St722de
  • The Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds (Audiobook on Hoopla and Overdrive) (eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction R3355op
  • With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (Audiobook and eBook on Hoopla and OverDrive)
    • Call # Fiction Ac37wi
  • Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett (Audiobook and eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction G1922fu
  • Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson with lyrics by Malik “Malik-16” Sharif (Audiobook and eBook on Hoopla and OverDrive)

Post by Cynthia

Monday, March 2, 2020

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett

“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.” – Goodreads

Garrett captures the insecurity, turmoil, sweetness, and excitement of first love and building close friendships in a respectful, honest, and deeply caring way. This book is unique in its subject matter, and I found it informational without being preachy or heavy-handed. Alternatively, it broke down stigmas, which I believe will lead to more stories about teens who are HIV-positive just living life. Simone and her friends, Claudia and Lydia, read in an authentic, age-appropriate, and relatable voice, not shying away from any topics. There were unabashed conversations about sex, and the characters encompassed a diverse array of sexual identities and experiences that felt open-ended and explorative rather than neatly defined and cemented.

One issue I came across was that we never meet Claudia and Lydia’s partners despite them coming up in conversation frequently. They seemed like icebreakers to bring up the topics the girls wanted to discuss about their relationship struggles instead of fleshed out characters affecting the plot. Since Claudia is asexual and frankly discusses the pressure she feels from her girlfriend to do sexual things, I think teens would benefit from dialogue and interaction to process a very real issue ace folks experience. As it stands, there’s room to make one’s own judgements about the couple’s relationship and Claudia’s experience. Readers curious about sex and invested in relationship-driven stories will enjoy Full Disclosure. Fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Little & Lion will be swept into the drama and consequences of secrets spilled.

Call # Fiction G1922fu

Review by Cynthia

 

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (Illustrator)

Freddie Riley is in love with Laura Dean, the most popular, dreamiest, and charismatic girl in school, but there’s a few problems: Laura isn’t all that nice to her. Full of desperation after Laura breaks her heart again, Freddie begins writing to advice columnist, Anna Vice, framing the story through these emails. Despite the sound advice from her best friend, Doodle, and local mystic, Seek-Her, Freddie can’t seem to give up on her toxic relationship, even at the cost of her closest friendship. Throughout the book, Freddie isolates herself and becomes a bad friend.  She must realize the person she’s dating brings out the worst in her. This heartfelt graphic novel follows Freddie’s journey of re-learning how to show up for her friends (and herself).

The muted pinks bursting across the black and white sketches are raw, making readers empathize with intense emotions. Much like Mariko Tamaki’s previous works (This One Summer and Skim), this snapshot delves into an experience that alters a girl’s self-perception and opens opportunity for growth. There isn’t a dramatic crescendo for plot, but rather continuous moments of deep introspection. You keep wondering “will she, won’t she?” as it offers convincing portrayals of a queer teen girl making choices and finding herself. Tamaki and O-Connell succeed in representing racially diverse LBGTQ characters in a way that feels natural and layered. While this novel promotes universal experiences of first love, heartbreak, and friendship, the queer characters bring a refreshing perspective and send a powerful message, especially regarding Laura and Freddie’s unhealthy relationship. It gifts LGBTQ readers with open conversations about their experiences in a genuine and touching way. Audiences who enjoy highly emotional and realistic stories will appreciate this sad, but soft (oh so soft) book.

Side note: The plushies that sent little messages were so cute.

Call #GN T15la

Review by Cynthia