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Read With Pride This Summer

Photo by Mick De Paola on Unsplash

By Angelica Little

With the current state of the country and the world, it’s easy to get lost in the roller-coaster of emotions associated with the disheartening news shared daily. The list below is your reminder to take time for yourself each day, even if it’s only for a few moments because reading is self-care too! June is recognized as Pride month, so here’s a collection of titles, with queer leads and/or authors, spanning several genres that will hopefully make your days and reading list more colorful.

Young Adult 

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

A mixed-race teen embraces his identity and passion as a drag artist named the Black Flamingo. 

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

When Nishat’s school forces her into competition with her best friend, the two battle henna business and matters of the heart. 

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

The scholarship bestowed upon prom king and queen is all Liz needs to get out of her small, Indiana hometown, but she’s falling for another girl running and it just might cost Liz her dreams. 

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

A transgender teen struggles with his identity after an insensitive incident involving another student and rediscovers himself while falling in love for the first time.

I'll be the One by Lyla Lee (Available June 16th)

Skye challenges the fat-phobic world of K-Pop and society when she auditions for a reality TV show, but is blindsided when sparks fly between her and one of her competitors. 

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus 

In this debut, sixteen-year-old Audre must leave her Trinidad home when her father discovers her secret girlfriend. Whisked away to Minneapolis, she finds romance in Mabel and their love challenges everything and everyone against it. 

Fiction

Starling Days: A Novel by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

Mina finds solace in the streets of London and in the blossoming friendship and attraction to another woman that tests her complicated love with her partner, Oscar. 

Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

A fresh start awaits in London for Jesse, a sex worker who grapples with his racial and sexual identities while exploring love, fatherhood and spirituality. 

You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

A Palestinian-American woman is caught betwen her cultural, sexual and religious identities after impulsive and destructive decisions lead her to an unconventional treatment center for her “love addiction.”

This Town Sleeps by Dennis E Staples 

With the help of a dog he brought back to life, an Obijwe man unearths secrets buried beneath his reservation’s soil while navigating the realities of being a gay man in a small, closed society. 

All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad

After her homophobic mother’s death, Maggie must embark on a road trip to deliver five sealed envelopes, each addressed to a different man, that shatters everything she ever thought she knew about her parents’ perfect relationship. 

Real Life by Brandon Taylor 

Wallace is Black and queer and working towards his Biochem degree at a Midwestern University while wrestling with past traumas, navigating white spaces, and managing a complicated relationship with someone in his peer group.

Nonfiction

Unicorn: The Memoir of a Drag Queen by Amrou Al-Kadhi

A heart-wrenching but a hilarious retelling of the author’s life as a Muslim boy growing up in a strict Iraqi household and transforming into a vocal, unapologetic drag queen who fights to be true to themself. 

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson 

A collection of essays ranging from Johnson’s childhood, adolescence, and adulthood while exploring topics like gender identity, toxic masculinity, Black joy, and more. 

Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America Essays by R. Eric Thomas 

A series of essays that traverse Thomas’ hysterical childhood, adolescence, and adulthood journey to self-acceptance and redefining what “normal” means. 

I Don’t Want to Die Poor by Michael Arceneaux

An essay collection that explores the financial and emotional cost of following your dreams. Also the author of “I Can’t Date Jesus,” Arceneaux’s storytelling is thoughtful, wry, and funny as hell.

How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones

A beautifully written memoir that dissects identity as a young, gay, black man growing up in the south. Jones tells us of his coming-of-age and how he was able to carve out space for himself in various spaces. He connects world events, family, and his own experiences into a collection of vignettes.

Poetry & Short Stories

Homie by Danez Smith

In poems showcasing Black love, between men, friends, and self, Smith acknowledges the struggle to survive in a society riddled with hostility and how it can harm from within and without. 

Catrachos by Roy G Guzman

This debut of poems spans borders, countries, and life and death in verse that is part immigration narrative, part elegy, and a queer coming-of-age story. 

Amora: Stories by Natalia Borges Polesso (translated by Julia Sanches)

An assortment of thirty-three poems and short stories that capture the fragile, private moments of women loving women. 

What are you reading by LGBTQ+ writers? Feel free to drop recommendations in the comments.

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