LGBTQ – Page 5 – Unleashing Readers

Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash

September 16, 2015 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Honor Girl
Author and Illustrator: Maggie Thrash
Published September 8th, 2015 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: All-girl camp. First love. First heartbreak. At once romantic and devastating, brutally honest and full of humor, this graphic-novel memoir is a debut of the rarest sort.

Maggie Thrash has spent basically every summer of her fifteen-year-old life at the one-hundred-year-old Camp Bellflower for Girls, set deep in the heart of Appalachia. She’s from Atlanta, she’s never kissed a guy, she’s into Backstreet Boys in a really deep way, and her long summer days are full of a pleasant, peaceful nothing . . . until one confounding moment. A split-second of innocent physical contact pulls Maggie into a gut-twisting love for an older, wiser, and most surprising of all (at least to Maggie), female counselor named Erin. But Camp Bellflower is an impossible place for a girl to fall in love with another girl, and Maggie’s savant-like proficiency at the camp’s rifle range is the only thing keeping her heart from exploding. When it seems as if Erin maybe feels the same way about Maggie, it’s too much for both Maggie and Camp Bellflower to handle, let alone to understand.

My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book is a book of truth. Maggie has put her heart and soul onto paper and shared it with all of us. I adored the honesty of her story and the slow unraveling and realization of her feelings for Erin. The romance in this felt so much more real (well, it is real!) than other YA books out there. Maggie’s feelings over this specific summer will resonate with so many readers because it is how real people fall in love and/or confirm their sexuality. I also was surprised that I liked the art. At first I found it hard to follow, but then it felt just as real as the story. This is a book that will be important to many readers out there, so it needs to be available to teens.

Discussion Questions: How hard did you think it was for Maggie to feel so opposite of what was expected of her by the camp and her parents?; Why do you think that Erin and Maggie’s relationship didn’t work out? Were you surprised that they were so uncomfortable when they reconnected a year later?; How did Maggie’s friends play a role in how she felt at camp?

Book Trailer:

Read This If You Loved: Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg, Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

Recommended For:

Author Guest Post and Giveaway!: “Why We Still Need Coming Out Stories in YA Fiction” by Emily O’Beirne, Author of A Story of Now

August 30, 2015 by Ricki

“Why We Still Need Coming Out Stories in YA Fiction”

A friend of mine recently complained that the LGBT literary market seems to be dominated by coming out stories. “Why do all the gay stories have to be about people coming to terms with their sexual identity?” she asked. This focus is limiting and narrow, she argues.

I have seen this sentiment in many Goodreads reviews of LGBT stories, too, ya fiction included. And I see the point. I do. It is based in the argument that as much as we need diversity in the kinds of people we tell stories about, we also need diversity in the kinds of stories we tell about them. In this modern and increasingly tolerant world there should now be a place for books where the sexuality of gay characters need not be the focus of the story, but simply an element of character.

Sure, that sounds great, but coming from the perspective of someone who both teaches and writes for young people, I would argue (and did) that coming out narratives still have a vital role in the realm of ya fiction. And it doesn’t surprise me that those arguing for less focus on coming out stories on Goodreads are often adult readers and reviewers of ya fiction, not the primary audience.

I think we’d be pretty misguided to think we are living in a world so progressive that stories about realizing your sexuality aren’t still vital for young people who are in the process of discovering who they are. Because that’s growing up, isn’t it? It’s the experience of becoming yourself in the world. And it is a time when questions of your sexual identity have suddenly become psychologically and hormonally urgent.

Coming out stories give ya readers an opportunity to see how other young people negotiate these uncertain terrains, and to give perspective to an experience they are going through. And as anyone who has been through the war zone that is puberty can attest, it’s hard enough to go through the uncertainty of adolescence. But it’s even harder to discover you are different from most of those around you. And if you are gay, that is statistically likely to be the case. And difference, sadly, must always be made known, and it is always there to be noticed.

As a young gay person, you are asked to recognise and announce yourself in terms of your difference from others, and at a time of life when there is so much pressure to socially conform. For some this is difficult and stories about negotiating and surviving these pressures are vital. For example, in Kelly Quindlen’s Her Name in the Sky, Hanna and Baker both try to ignore their feelings for each other in order to conform to their religious and heteronormative environment, but ultimately realise they cannot. They slowly discover they do not need to fit into tightly prescribed social categories to be accepted and happy.

Coming out is also a jarringly public process. Few heterosexual girls will ever have to announce, ‘Hey, I’ve decided I want to make out with boys!’ In fact, it’s expected. But if it’s a teenage boy, he’s probably going to have to say it out aloud at least once. For some young people, the scrutiny this declaration invites can be awkward. For example, in A Story of Now, Mia is not uncomfortable about realising she is gay, but with the fact that her newfound identity is something she must announce to the world, rendering her private life immediately public.

Another point where I think my friend has really missed the importance of coming out stories is that coming out is as much about coming out to yourself as it is to the world. Coming out is also about a person figuring out who they mean when they say ‘I’, and where this places them in the world.

For some young gay people, accepting and embracing their sexual identity can be the most difficult part of coming out. A perfect example of a story that sympathetically depicts this struggle is A.S. King’s Ask the Passengers. For the reader, it might seem like the job of coming out is half-done at the start of the novel: Astrid has a girlfriend and she has gay friends. But Astrid is not yet ready to accept who she might be. And while everyone around her tries to push her toward certainty, she stubbornly takes her own sweet time to come to terms with her sexual identity.

How can books that shows readers how negotiate these experiences not just be good, but be necessary? George Gerbner describes storytelling as the process that makes us recognize ourselves. And as ya writers it remains our responsibility to pass down the kind of stories where young people have the opportunity to think, ‘Hey I feel like that too.’ We do this so they can recognize themselves at a crucial time in their lives. It. So I am sorry, my friend, you are wrong. There is one domain at least where coming out stories are still sorely needed.

A Story of Now

About the Book: Nineteen-year-old Claire Pearson knows she needs a life. And some new friends. But brittle, beautiful, and just a little bit too sassy for her own good sometimes, she no longer makes friends easily. And she has no clue where to start on the whole finding a life front, either. Not after a confidence-shattering year dogged by bad break-ups, friends who have become strangers, and her constant failure to meet her parents sky-high expectations.

When Robbie and Mia walk into Claire’s work they seem the least likely people to help her find a life. But despite Claire’s initial attempts to alienate them, an unexpected new friendship develops.

And it’s the warm, brilliant Mia who seems to get Claire like no one has before. Soon, Claire begins to question her feelings for her new friend.

Author’s Note: The characters are university aged and thus the story contains elements like drinking and mild sexual content.

About Emily O’Beirne

Author website: http://emilyobeirne.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13543645.Emily_O_Beirne

Tumblr: http://it-used-to-be-fun.tumblr.com/

Excerpt of A Story of Now: http://emilyobeirne.com/2015/06/18/excerpt-a-story-of-now/

Thank you so much to Emily for allowing us to host this giveaway and for writing about something we genuinely believe in.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Feature LGBTQ Characters or Issues

August 4, 2016July 21, 2015 by Ricki

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

Today’s Topic: Books that Feature LGBTQ Characters or Issues

When this week’s topic popped up about celebrating diversity, we knew that we wanted to celebrate books with LGBTQ characters or issues (particularly in light of the SCOTUS same-sex marriage ruling). Below are 10 books we’ve read that we feel are wonderful representations of middle grade and young adult literature that include LGBTQ characters or issues. They are listed in no particular order, and to be honest, we had a hard time narrowing the list to ten!

Ricki and Kellee

1. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

A beautiful, quiet book that is very literary, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe follows Aristotle, a boy who doesn’t have friends until he meets Dante. Through Dante, he learns about friendship, life, and loyalty.

2. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

Astrid is very cerebral–she can get lost in philosophical theories and questions about the world. Her favorite pastime is laying on the bench in her backyard so she can send her love to the passengers on the airplanes that fly overhead. At her catering job, Astrid meets Dee, and she falls in love. She isn’t sure if this makes her a lesbian, as she has never loved another girl, and society wants to fit her in a box that she isn’t quite sure describes her.

3. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Drama takes place during a middle school theater production and deals with dating and friendships of the theater kids. This book needed to be included on our list for the way that homosexuality is dealt with as a non-issue in the book. It is just straight forward and matter of fact–just part of life.

4. Shine by Lauren Myracle

Cat is best friends with Patrick, and they are inseparable. After some troubling incidents, she decides to stray from Patrick and their group of friends and becomes a loner. The book starts off with Patrick, beaten until he is unconscious, slumped in front of a gas station with a gas nozzle hanging from his mouth and a sign that reads “Suck this, faggot.” With every page, readers become more and more hooked to the mystery that unfolds. This is a book that teaches readers to look internally at the judgments they make of others. Most importantly, this is a book that teaches us to SHINE.

5. October Mourning by Lesléa Newman

This is an incredibly important publication–both for those who know and remember his story, and for those who were too young to have lived through the horror of it all. Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old, openly gay college student encountered two other college students in a bar on fateful night on October 6th, 1998. Pretending to be gay, the two men lured Matthew into their truck, drove to a deserted area, tied him to a fence, and beat him with a pistol as he begged for his life. Eighteen hours later, a biker saw Matthew and rode for help. Sadly, Matthew died in a hospital five days later with his family by his side. Leslea Newman, the author, was scheduled as the keynote speaker at Matthew’s school for Gay Awareness week the following Sunday. Using resources and documents, she constructs a beautiful, unforgettable book in verse that truly captures the horrifying events of this tragedy.

6. Luna by Julie Anne Peters

Regan is the only person who knows that her brother, Liam, secretly feels he is a female. As Liam transgenders into Luna, the reader is able to feel the multitude of emotions that both Regan and Luna feel throughout the process. This book is worthy of the awards it has received.

7. So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez

Very few books deal with questioning sexuality in middle school, but Alex Sanchez does just that in So Hard to Say.

8. Boy Meets Boy by David Leviathan

This was the first David Leviathan book that I ever read, and I was truly enthralled with the world that he crafted. In Boy Meets Boy, different is normal and prejudice doesn’t exist, so it is a romantic comedy which just happens to be between a boy and a boy.

Note: Two Boys Kissing also deserves to be honored in this list. It weaves together stories of four gay teens as they face the challenges of being young and gay as they navigate the world.

9. Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Rafe just wants to be a regular teen. Not the GAY teen who does this and that. Just a teen. So, for his senior year, he transfers to a boarding school and keeps his sexuality a secret; however, hiding who you are is harder than Rafe ever thought it’d be.

10. I Am J by Cris Beam

J is a boy but was mistakenly born as a girl. I am J is his story of working through the depression associated with having a body that was “assigned” to him. This is a truly inspiring, heartfelt, and change-making novel.

Honorary

Gracefully Grayson and George are both about transgendered youth, and their search for acceptance. Neither of us have read these books, but we are so excited that such important LBGT books are being published in the MG/YA world! We cannot wait to read these.

For more LBGT titles, check out the Stonewall Book Award which is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize “exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience” in English-language books published in the U.S.

There are so many great books about LGBTQ issues, and as we stated above, we had a hard time narrowing down our list to just ten books. Which would you add?

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Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman

July 9, 2015 by Ricki

Heather Has Two Mommies
Author: Lesléa Newman
Illustrator: Laura Cornell
Published March 11, 2015 by Candlewick Press (First Published October 28, 1989)

Goodreads Summary: Candlewick relaunches a modern classic for this generation with an all-new, beautifully illustrated edition.

Heather’s favorite number is two. She has two arms, two legs, and two pets. And she also has two mommies. When Heather goes to school for the first time, someone asks her about her daddy, but Heather doesn’t have a daddy. Then something interesting happens. When Heather and her classmates all draw pictures of their families, not one drawing is the same. It doesn’t matter who makes up a family, the teacher says, because “the most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love one another.” This delightful edition for a new generation of young readers features fresh illustrations by Laura Cornell and an updated story by Lesléa Newman.

Ricki’s Review: This is a timeless classic, and I am so glad that Candlewick decided to republish it with new illustrations. I’ve always known what this book is about, but I’d never read it in its entirety. Heather’s story is one of many children growing up in the United States. She comes from a nontraditional family. I am sure that many parents have anxiety about sending their children to school because kids can be cruel. However, with some understanding and with books like these, children can understand that many of their peers come from different families, and this provides enrichment in the classroom. This book should be a staple in early elementary school classrooms. It teaches empathy.

Kellee’s Review: I love that this isn’t a book about LBGT families as much as it is a book about how there are so many different kinds of families. Although it seems a bit syrupy sweet at times, I think that tone was needed to be an introduction to a subject that may be new or different for readers. I think this book is an important one. I know that critics will say that the book is preachy, but if it is preachy about anything, it is about how everyone’s family is unique yet full of love.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The activity that the teacher uses in this book is one that should begin every kindergarten curriculum. Children should understand that loving families come in so many different forms. We’d love to pair this book with books like And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Students could read various books that deliver this message and talk about their similarities and differences. Kids might also write about a time that they felt different and how it made them feel. From an artistic side, teachers might show students the original 1989 publication of this book and ask them to compare the two versions of the text.

Discussion Questions: What kinds of nontraditional families can you think of? What do these families have in common?; What role does Heather’s favorite number play in this book? Did it enhance your reading of the story?; When have you felt different from other kids? How does this compare to Heather’s experience?

We Flagged: “‘What does your daddy do?’ David asks Heather.

‘I don’t have a daddy,’ Heather says. She looks around the circle and wonders, Am I the only one here who doesn’t have a daddy?“

Read This If You Loved: And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell; ABC A Family Alphabet Book by Bobbie Combs; Donovan’s Big Day by Lesléa Newman; Daddy, Papa, and Me by Lesléa Newman; The Family Book by Todd Parr; King and King by Linda de Haan; A Tale of Two Daddies and A Tale of Two Mommies by Vanita Oelschlager; October Mourning by Lesléa Newman

Recommended For:

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**Thank you to Candlewick Press for providing copies for review!**

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil (Ricki’s Review)

March 26, 2015 by Ricki

Life in Outer Space
Author: Melissa Keil
Published August 1st, 2013 by Peachtree Publishers

Goodreads Summary: Sam is a geek movie-buff with a ragtag group of loser friends who have been taking abuse from the popular kids for years. But when the super-cool Camilla moves to town, she surprises everyone by choosing to spend time with Sam’s group. Suddenly they go from geek to chic, and find that not everything boils down to us and them. With their social lives in flux, Sam and Camilla spend more and more time together. They become the best of friends, and Sam finds that he’s happier and more comfortable in his own skin than ever before. But eventually Sam must admit to himself that he’s fallen in love. If he confesses his true feelings to Camilla, will everything change again?

My Review: Kellee wrote her review almost a year ago, and after reading her review, I laughed because my notes about this book are so similar to her thoughts.

While reading this book, I thought about its connections to Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and Paper Towns by John Green, and the narrator reminded me of Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. But while this book is similar to others, it is very different.

Sam makes being geeky feel cool. I am geeky, so I appreciated this. He experiences tough life issues that many teenagers face, and he doesn’t lie about his lack of knowledge about dealing with these issues or understanding girls. The book contains scenes with World of Warcraft and there is a lot of information about horror movies (both of which aren’t interesting to me), yet I remained very engaged in the story and the characters. Keil writes the male narrator very well, and I think all types of adolescents will identify with the themes of this book. This is one of Kellee’s favorite books, and I see why. Thank you for nagging me to read it, Kel. It is one that will stick with me forever.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Why hasn’t this book received more press? It belongs in classrooms. As a teacher, I would use it as a mentor text for characterization. The scenes with Camilla are written breathtakingly well. If students read these scenes, they would want to read the entire book.

Discussion Questions: Did you find Camilla to be realistic? Could a student walk in and change the entire dynamic at the school in such a powerful way?; Why does Camilla like Sam? Is this realistic?; In what ways are media used by Keil to engage readers?; What does this book teach us about friendship?; How does Sam’s family life add to the complexity of this book?

We Flagged: “I guess some people enter your orbit and get stuck, and there’s nothing either of you can do about it” (p. 70).

And I loved the quote Kellee picked out. It is the scene I remember the most in the book:

“She is wearing a yellow dress that looks like it belongs to a 1950s housewife, and a pair of flat red boots. Her hair is longer than I’d imagine would be practical; it’s parted in the middle and hangs in brown waves almost to her waist. She peers around the room impassively. She doesn’t look terrified. She doesn’t look insanely overconfident, like Adrian that time in year seven when he performed a song as his book report for The Outsiders. Mike and I mark that event as ground zero for the downward social spiral of our group.” (p. 11)

Read This If You Loved: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Paper Towns by John Green, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Recommended For:

YALSA Morris Finalists’ Blog Hop: Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

May 2, 2015January 29, 2015 by Kellee

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces
Author: Isabel Quintero
Published October 14th, 2014 by Cinco Puntos Press

Goodreads Summary: For all the gorditas, flaquitas, and in-between girls trying to make their space in the world. Don’t worry, you got this.

Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy’s pregnancy, Sebastian’s coming out, the cute boys, her father’s meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity.

Author Bio: Isabel Quintero is a library technician in the Inland Empire. She is also the events coordinator for Orange Monkey and helps edit the poetry journal Tin Cannon. Gabi is her debut novel.

Kellee’s Review: What I found in this book was a book of truth. While I normally find a book that has so many topics in it to be cumbersome (just some of the topics hit were: pregnancy, abortion, meth, family, religion, ethnicity, school, homosexuality, sex, death, poetry, college, rape, and gender expectations), I felt that Gabi was just truthful. Her story was just a story full of real life which just happens to be messy. I enjoyed the unique format, the diversity (not just race/ethnicity, but lbgt, body size, class, ELL, etc.), and the amazing cast of characters. Gabi’s voice rang true throughout, and even got stronger as she became more independent within the story. Well done.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Parts of Gabi’s story could easily be pulled out to be a mentor text for many different literary elements; however, I feel like one of the best ways it could be used is to have students emulate Gabi’s writing. For example, Gabi writes letters to her father sharing how she really feels. Students could write to someone sharing something with them that they are keeping from them. You could also use Gabi’s magazine and poetry the same way. Gabi’s writing is very raw, and I think that students will definitely connect with it.

Discussion Questions: Gabi makes a choice towards the end of the book that makes Cindy be upset with Gabi. Do you agree with what Gabi did?; Gabi’s mother is very protective of her. Why do you think she is so hard on Gabi?; Gabi deals with body issues throughout the book. How do you think our society affects how she pictures herself?; Sebastian and Cindy’s parents are both disappointed in their kids for different reasons and deal differently with their disappointment. Do you agree with how they treat their children?

We Flagged: “My brother is fifteen. He knows many things. He knows how to make a pipe out of an apple, and he knows how to make beautiful murals on public property. He likes wresting and biking and skateboarding but doesn’t like school because school doesn’t understand kids like us. My brother–the brat, the crybaby, the quite one, the brown one, Mami’s favorite: where will he go? I ask myself the question over and over. Y no se. I don’t know where he will go, but I hope wherever it is it’s better than here.” (p. 94)

Read This If You Loved: Yaqui Delgado Wants To Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina, Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott, What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Perez, Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia MacCall, Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding

Recommended For:

Make sure to stop by Cinco Puntos Press blog to see the other stops on the tour!

**A special thank you to Jessica Powers at Cinco Puntos Press for organizing this blog hop!**

Winger by Andrew Smith (Kellee’s Review)

August 13, 2014 by Kellee

Winger
Author: Andrew Smith
Published May 14th, 2013 by Simon & Schuster

Goodreads Summary: Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.

My Review: Andrew Smith sure knows how to write a teenage boy’s voice. He gets inside of adolescent male’s mind, and puts it all on paper for us. (It probably has something to do with teaching high school.) Ryan Dean’s voice and his story are so authentic. This book will make you cringe, laugh out loud, shake your head, and cry. I am also so impressed with all of the themes that are dealt with in this book without ever feeling over done. These themes include bullying, absent parents, peer pressure, identity, sexuality, prejudice, and friendship. In addition, Smith builds his characters, setting, and plot seamlessly. You fall in love with all of the characters, main and secondary. Even the antagonist. The setting itself is a character. And finally the plot arc was perfectly done, and was so unpredictable all the way to the end.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: First and foremost, this book needs to read by teens. However that happens, it is the right thing. The easiest way would be to get it into libraries and classrooms. There are also parts of the book that could definitely be pulled out to be used in the classroom in may different ways. On that junps to mind right away is using Ryan Dean’s comics as mentor texts for writing comics to write narratives of everyday events. Ricki also has some great ideas for Winger in the classroom in her review.

Discussion Questions: What kind of social challenges does Ryan Dean have to overcome since he is 14 but a junior?; Were you able to predict the end of the book?; What are some traits about Ryan Dean that made him easy to connect to?; How does Opportunity Hall and the rest of the school become a character in Winger?

We Flagged:

(p. 21)

Read This If You Loved: Looking for Alaska by John Green, Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Recommended For: