Book picks similar to
Sara, or The Existence of Fire by Sara June Woods
poetry
queer
lgbt
poetry-tbr
His Christmas Sweater
C.M. Valencourt - 2018
From November 1st to New Year’s Eve, his world is nothing but ugly sweaters, peppermint mochas, and Mariah Carey holiday singles.Jacob is a bit of a grinch. Since he’s gotten older, Christmas has never really been what he imagined. The closest he usually gets to festivities is an occasional bottle of peppermint schnapps.When Owen’s journey to his parents’ house for their famous Christmas celebration gets cut short by the worst blizzard central Colorado has seen in years, he finds himself seeking shelter at the small roadside inn that Jacob manages. With Christmas rapidly approaching, Owen sets out to bring some holiday cheer to the hotel and its grumpy manager. Will Jacob be able to let Owen in before roads clear and Owen drives away forever?
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl
John Colapinto - 2000
The case would become one of the most famous in modern medicine—and a total failure. As Nature Made Him tells the extraordinary story of David Reimer, who, when finally informed of his medical history, made the decision to live as a male. A macabre tale of medical arrogance, it is first and foremost a human drama of one man's—and one family's—amazing survival in the face of terrible odds.
Birdy Flynn
Helen Donohoe - 2017
Something that Birdy tries unsuccessfully to avert. While the other children in the gang find it easy to forget what they have done, Birdy is trapped in the moment and feels bound to do something to make amends. But how does a child face up to responsibility and find the courage to do the right thing?An uncompromising and uniquely powerful novel about growing up, making friends and being true to yourself.
Trans Like Me: A Journey for All of Us
C.N. Lester - 2017
Lester, academic and activist, takes us on a journey through some of the most pressing issues concerning the trans debate: from pronouns to Caitlyn Jenner; from feminist and LGBTQ activists, to the rise in referrals for gender variant children -- all by way of insightful and moving passages about the author's own experience. Trans Like Me shows us how to strive for authenticity in a world which often seeks to limit us by way of labels.
Corona
Bushra Rehman - 2013
When a rebellious streak leads to her ex-communication, she decides to hit the road. Corona moves between Razia’s childhood and the comedic misadventures she encounters on her journey, from a Puritan Colony in Massachusetts to New York City’s Bhangra music scene. With each story, we learn more about the past she’s escaping, a past which leads her to constantly travel in a spiral, always coming closer to but never quite arriving home.
One Man's Trash
Ivan E. Coyote - 2002
The talent evident in that first collection is confirmed with One Man’s Trash, a series of connected stories about being queer, searching out new frontiers, and being on the road.The characters in One Man’s Trash make evident the child in all of us, when heroes and superheroes won the day.Including the hilarious account of an attempted lesbian wedding in a Las Vegas chapel, and a touching tale of being beguiled by an uncle’s independent-minded girlfriend, these are stories about being on the road: to the northern tundra or the southern desert, through cities and towns, on horses, in trucks and vans, with friends, family, and lovers. In achingly personal tones, Ivan Coyote paints beautiful and honest portraits of life, the road, and the spirits within.
Stars Like Us
Frances Chapman - 2020
Liliana’s hitting all the wrong notes. She’s a sixteen-year-old exchange student with a secret crush on Carter, her new band’s smoking hot guitarist – but she’s also got a girlfriend back home. So when she writes a song about him and it lands the band a record deal, she quickly realises she’s in hot water. Soon, Liliana will have to choose – between an alluring boy and the girl she left behind, between love and lust, and between the fame that beckons and staying true to the music that’s in her heart. With shades of hit TV series Nashville, the musical passion of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and the band drama of Fleetwood Mac, this brilliant own-voices YA debut is perfect for music lovers everywhere.
Vow of Celibacy
Erin Judge - 2016
After a string of sexual conquests, she is determined to figure out why the intense romantic connections she’s spent her life chasing have left her emotionally high and dry. As Natalie sifts through her past and her present, she confronts her complicated feelings about her plus-sized figure, her bisexuality, and her thwarted career in fashion design.Piecing together toxic relationship patterns from her past, Natalie finds herself strutting down fashion runways and rekindling her passion for clothing design in the present. All the while, her best friend, Anastaze, struggles with her own secret—whether or not to reveal her true identity to the thousands of fans of her popular blog and her potential first sexual partner.Clever, sexy, and hilarious, Vow of Celibacy delves into the perilous terrain of love and relationships, the uncertainty of early adulthood, and the sustaining force of friendship. This is an irresistible novel about the stories we can’t help but tell ourselves about others, and it captures in perfect pitch what it’s like to be a young woman coming of age in America today.
how to be a good girl
Jamie Hood - 2020
as the text journeys from the ice age to climate crisis & devours figures & texts as expansive as levinas, plath, the ronettes, after-school-specials, fairy tales, & the romantics (among others). how to be a good girl dismantles contemporary formulations of womanhood to ask: how far will one woman go in her longing to be fathomed as good, & what pound of flesh must be paid to live through this.
Private Truths
C.B. Lewis - 2016
He approaches Edward Marsden, Viscount Routhsley, a known playboy and philanthropist, about sponsorship for his charity. To his surprise, Edward isn’t the shallow pleasure-seeker everyone assumes, and he and Edward share many interests. Little by little, they are drawn together in spite of the different worlds they come from.But for two men in the public eye, happiness won’t be so easily achieved. Edward fears coming out as gay will shift attention from his charity work, and Jack worries his relationship with the aristocrat will undermine the integrity of his foundation. They come under intense scrutiny, leading to an inevitable clash between Jack and the press who won’t stop harassing them. As what they’ve built comes crashing down, Jack and Edward must make a choice: continue presenting the facade the public expects, or expose the private truths in their hearts so they can be together.
Ben's Bakery and the Hanukkah Miracle
Penelope Peters - 2018
Former ice hockey star Adam Bernard has spent the last ten years caring for his ailing father and coaching his pee-wee hockey team. He doesn’t have time to brood over what could-have-been since leaving the NHL draft - and he sure doesn’t have time for a love-life. When his team is invited to a prestigious tourney in Boston - and it’s during the week of Hanukkah - he can’t find it in his heart to tell them no. Adam hates the idea of leaving his dad alone during the holidays - but a promise is a promise. Ben Daniels wasn’t running from his almost-Olympic past when he started up a kosher-style bakery three years ago. Deciding to stick to Hanukkah-themed treats, though, was probably running from the truth, which is that he’s one bad month away from bankruptcy. An infusion of donut-hungry preteens is exactly what his register needs - but their adorable and mysterious coach might be exactly what Ben’s heart has been yearning for. Adam’s life is back in Montreal - but the more time Adam spends with Ben, the less he wants to leave Boston. Ben might have spent the last three years avoiding the ice - but Adam could be the key to melting his resolve. When Adam gets an offer from the NHL, it’s a chance for them both to rewrite their histories. But Ben hasn’t been entirely truthful with Adam - and Adam’s got some prejudices that might just extinguish what’s burning between them. With Adam’s future at a crossroads, and Ben’s past out in the open, will they find a way to prove that miracles aren’t only found on the ice? Ben's Bakery and the Hanukkah Miracle is a m/m romance with a HEA ending. It features two sexy and sincere Jewish guys, match-making 12-year-old hockey players, and lots of yummy kosher donuts.
Up!
Al Stewart - 2018
He recovers from bitter disappointment and gradually life returns to a regular rhythm. Safe and predictable. Every day he gains confidence, but with health comes boredom. From the window ledge, he watches people outside and wishes he could be like them. There's another side to Luke. Underneath his bed are five hidden pairs of jeans with matching Dr Martens: yellow, purple, striped, green and tartan. Some days he feels the itch to get them out. Nope. Those days are gone. One day, an amazing thing happens. Dynamic blog artist Formaldehyde Bob comes to town with an exhibition of light and dark! Luke has crushed on him since being fifteen, idolising the man and his unusual creations. Something about the art calls to Luke like nothing else, makes him believe there might after all be someone out there who thinks in the same way. A soul mate. A bird with a similar song. No. Luke isn't going to go and see Formaldehyde Bob. He isn't. Because he's happy with his monotonous lot and doesn't want to see hope sliding down a mountain of sand. Will Luke take a chance and visit Formaldehyde Bob? Can the jeans ever be worn again? Does grumpy Barbara ever smile? And the most important question: is there any magic left in the world? Find out in this snowy tale of young love in the most unexpected places. Content warning: references to self-harm, mental illness.
When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love and Revolution
Jeanne Cordova - 2011
When We Were Outlaws offers a rare view of the life of a radical lesbian during the early cultural struggle for gay rights, Women’s Liberation, and the New Left of the 1970s. Brash and ambitious, activist Jeanne Córdova is living with one woman and falling in love with another, but her passionate beliefs tell her that her first duty is "to the revolution”---to change the world and end discrimination against gays and lesbians. Trying to compartmentalize her sexual life, she becomes an investigative reporter for the famous, underground L.A. Free Press and finds herself involved with covering the Weather Underground and Angela Davis, exposing neo-Nazi bomber Captain Joe Tomassi, and befriending Emily Harris of the Symbionese Liberation Army. At the same time she is creating what will be the center of her revolutionary lesbian world: her own newsmagazine, The Lesbian Tide, destined to become the voice of the national lesbian feminist movement.By turns provocative and daringly honest, Cordova renders emblematic scenes of the era---ranging from strike protests to utopian music festivals, to underground meetings with radical fugitives---with period detail and evocative characters. For those who came of age in the 70s, and for those who weren’t around but still ask, "What was it like?", Outlaws takes you back to re-live it. It also offers insights about ethics, decision making and strategy, still relevant today.With an introduction by renowned lesbian historian Lillian Faderman, When We Were Outlaws paints a vivid portrait of activism and the search for self-identity, set against the turbulent landscape of multiple struggles for social change that swept hundreds of thousands of Americans into the streets.