It’s June and that means that everything around us is painted in colors. In the month of LGBTQI+ pride, beyond the march and the party, we must reflect on a community that has fought for its rights for many years and that every day needs us to put the spotlight on them and their causes. That is why we have taken on the task of looking for books written by LGBTQI+ authors, who you should keep in mind for your next readings.
You’ve probably already heard the name of some of them. Through his writings, they have impacted the lives of many people. Sharing stories of love, battles, fantasy and more. Beyond wanting to encapsulate them in a group, we want more people to see them. know and have the opportunity to continue growing and taking their unique stories everywhere. Not forgetting Camila Sosa Villada’s Las Malas!
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“All My Mother’s Lovers” by Ilana Masad
We walk through the story of Maggie Krause, who is forced to return home after the sudden death of her mother. She has to face not only her sadness, but also her father and brother, with whom she has a complicated relationship. In the midst of this grief, she is presented with five sealed envelopes from her mother, addressed to a mysterious man she had never heard of. To fulfill her mother’s last wishes, she travels down the road to personally deliver the letters and learn more about these mysterious men.
“Cactus Country” by Zoë Bossiere
A personal and impactful work in which Zoë Bossiere writes about her childhood and life experience as a transgender child moving to Cactus Country RV Park in the Sonoran Desert in Tucson, Arizona. The desert environment is described in surprising detail as Zoë discovers her gender identity through its harshness and beauty. It’s a moving story about coming into your sense of self, as Zoë adopts androgynous pronouns during adolescence and learns to confront binaries.
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“First Love: Essays on Friendship” by Lilly Dancyger
Often, the love of our lives is not a man, but the women we meet and grow up with, from our closest friends to our grandmothers. Lilly Dancyger’s collection of essays reflects on those closest to her, her sexual awakenings, and what her relationships say about the spaces women create for themselves and their identities.
“The Girl of Honor” by Maggie Thrash
This graphic novel is a journey back to heartbreak, set at a girls’ summer camp in Kentucky in 2000. It documents the experience of first love with drawings that feel familiar and easy to understand.
“In the House of Dreams” by Carmen María Machado
There are still more novels that talk about domestic abuse experienced by people in the queer community, as it is a difficult topic to address. However, Carmen María Machado portrays it perfectly in her memoir. She uses tropes from folklore and reflects on the moments in her life that led her to be “in the house of her dreams,” where she once lived with a manipulative and emotionally abusive partner, as if they were dreams and nightmares.
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“Wild Girls” by Rory Power
Hetty is quarantined at Raxter School for Girls for 18 months due to a plague called the Tox, which has swept away everyone in its path except a handful of students. When Hetty’s best friend Byatt goes missing, she’ll do anything to find him, even if it means going beyond the school grounds. Warning: this is not for the faint of heart.
“With Teeth” by Kristen Arnett
It tells the story of a queer woman’s desperation to keep her family together as her son becomes increasingly hostile. It is a quintessential community book that has been recognized with the distinguished New York Times Best Sellers.
“Under the Rainbow” by Celia Laskey
Can you imagine living in the most homophobic city in your country? Big Burr, Kansas, has that title, bestowed by a nonprofit that decides to make an intense change and sends a group of queer volunteers to move and live in the Midwestern city for two years. The educational experiment doesn’t go exactly as planned, but it brings everyone closer together than they ever thought.
“The Cruelty of Ghosts” by Rivers Solomon
We focus on the life of Aster, who lives in the slums of the HSS Matilda, a spaceship that escaped from a dying Earth centuries ago. Leading a meaningless life in a directionless job, his life will quickly change when an autopsy of the ship’s ruler reveals a surprising link between his death and the death of his mother by suicide in the past. Aster, with the help of some friends, retraces his mother’s steps and discovers a life beyond the ship.
“Red, White and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston
This is one of the most famous novels on the list, since it has a visual production. On one side of the Atlantic is Alex Claremont-Díaz, son of the president of the United States, and on the other, Prince Henry of the British royal family. Despite living with figures of power, they do not like each other. When they are photographed fighting at a real wedding, both parties are forced to enter into a fake friendship to keep the tabloids at bay. Soon, the friendship turns into something more that could put both countries at risk.
Each of these books, written by LGBTQI+ authors, has a good story, great writing, incredible characters, and a voice to give in their DNA. Although some topics are focused directly on community issues, there are others that do not mention them, showing that this is not their entire identity and that they write for all types of tastes and interests.
Especially in the month of June, don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about all the people who live their lives without apology, who expose themselves and shine the spotlight on themselves and their works.
Written by: Bianca Rodriguez
Source: MC Mexico
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