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Review: Funny Gyal by Angeline Jackson and Susan McClelland

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Funny Gyal by Angeline Jackson and Susan McClelland

Funny Gyal: My Fight Against Homophobia in Jamaica
Angeline Jackson and Susan McClelland
Dundurn Press
Published June 7, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Funny Gyal

“Instead of remaining silent, she chose to speak out…that’s the power of one person.” — Barack Obama

The inspiring story of Angeline Jackson, who stood up to Jamaica’s oppression of queer youth to demand recognition and justice.

When Angeline Jackson was a child, she wondered if there was something wrong with her for wanting to kiss the other girls. But as her sexuality blossomed in her teens, she knew she wouldn’t “grow out of it” and that her attraction to girls wasn’t against God. In fact, she discovered that same-sex relationships were depicted in the Bible, which she read devoutly, even if the tight-knit evangelical Christian community she grew up in believed any sexual relationship outside of marriage between a man and woman was a sin, and her society, Jamaica, criminalized homosexual sex.

Angeline’s story begins with her traumatic experience of “corrective rape” when she is lured by an online predator, then traces her childhood through her sexual and spiritual awakening as a teen — falling in love, breaking up, coming out, and then being forced into conversion therapy.

Sometimes dark, always threadbare and honest, FUNNY GYAL chronicles how Angeline’s faith deepens as a teenager, despite her parents’ conservative values and the strict Christian Jamaican society in which she lives, giving her the courage to challenge gender violence, rape culture, and oppression.

My Review

This book blew me away. I kind of expected that, to be honest. I was interested in reading more about Angeline Jackson for her activism and her experiences, but I’ve also read EVERY FALLING STAR by Sunju Lee and Susan McClelland. It’s been years since I read that book, but I still think about it, so I had high expectations for another memoir with Susan McClelland assisting in putting it together.

FUNNY GYAL drew me in from its early pages and didn’t let me go until the end of the book. I loved reading a queer, faith-positive story that continually challenged the idea that a person much choose between different aspects of who they are: faith or identity. Over and over Angeline Jackson returns to the idea that she can be, and is, both a person of faith and a lesbian, and that those two ideas aren’t in competition with one another.

I won’t lie– some parts of the book are hard to read. She describes some encounters with homophobic people. She also describes the trauma of rape, and the fears and doubts about the police taking the case seriously. Through her shared experiences, though, she reveals how the prejudices against LGBTQIA people leave them vulnerable as victims of violent crime. She shows incredible resilience and love, not only for herself, but for her country and her people.

She speaks frankly about the continual pain that it causes her for her family to choose a “love the sinner, hate the sin” kind of relationship with her. And how that makes her feel as though she can never fully be herself with them.

All in all, FUNNY GYAL is a rich, bold and vulnerable memoir about courage and resilience and finding your people. I loved this book. If you’re still looking for a good memoir to add to your Pride TBR this month, definitely check out this book!

Content Notes

Content warning for rape, homophobia, and abuse.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Angeline and her family are Jamaican. Angeline is a lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Two men rape Angeline and her friend at gunpoint. The event itself isn’t graphically described, but her trauma is.

Two girls kissing. Mentions of sex between two girls. Mention of oral sex between a boy and girl. At one point, Angeline (a teenager) enters into a sexual relationship with an adult who has had a position of authority over her.

Spiritual Content
Angeline is raised in a devout Christian home and church where she’s taught that same sex attraction or relationships are a sin. She points out that other Christian churches believe differently, and some are LGBTQ+ affirming. Angeline herself remains a Christian.

Violent Content
See sexual content. At times people say homophobic things to Angeline or others.

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol. Reference to drugs slipped into a person’s drink. Angeline also attends a party and drinks alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of FUNNY GYAL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating
Adiba Jaigirdar
Page Street Kids
Published May 25, 2021

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About Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating

Everyone likes Humaira “Hani” Khan—she’s easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she’s in a relationship…with a girl her friends absolutely hate—Ishita “Ishu” Dey. Ishu is the complete opposite of Hani. She’s an academic overachiever who hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for college. But Ishita agrees to help Hani, if Hani will help her become more popular so that she stands a chance of being elected head girl.

Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.

My Review

If you know me at all, it won’t surprise you to learn that I love the relationship between Ishu and her sister in HANI AND ISHU’S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING. I won’t spoil anything, but it definitely hooked me and really added a lot to the story, I thought.

I also liked that Hani and Ishu were really different from each other and had really different approaches to their lives and their connection to each other. At first I thought Hani’s relationship with her friends didn’t make a lot of sense– and then as I thought about it more, I started to see why it made sense. I liked the way that Ishu and Hani help each other see the holes or unhealthy parts of the relationships they have with the other people in their lives. That felt so real to me and totally drew me into the story.

Another thing that I liked was that it’s a faith-positive story. I feel like it’s easy to focus on negative experiences that people have with faith, and those stories are valid, those experiences do happen for sure. But I love that there are stories featuring teens who value their faith and ascribe to be better people because of what they believe. I think we need those stories, too.

Of course, fans of THE HENNA WARS will find lots to love in this book. I think it will also appeal to readers who enjoyed SAINTS AND MISFITS by S. K. Ali and MUSIC FROM ANOTHER WORLD by Robin Talley.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Hani is bisexual, Muslim, and Bengali. Ishu is a lesbian and Bengali. The story is set in Ireland.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Islam is really important to Hani. She references going to services and waking up to pray. Her father, who’s running for election, becomes more involved in their mosque, and Hani wonders if he’s doing it for the right reasons.

Violent Content
Some instances of bullying and racism.

Drug Content
Hani and Ishu attend a party where the girls are drinking alcohol. Hani doesn’t drink because of her faith.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of HANI AND ISHU’S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

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The Henna Wars
Adiba Jaigirdar
Page Street Kids
Published on May 12, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Henna Wars

WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI meets SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA in this rom com about two teen girls with rival henna businesses.

When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants—as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family. And her life only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life.

Flávia is beautiful and charismatic and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat choose to do henna, even though Flávia is appropriating Nishat’s culture. Amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on Flávia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized.

My Review

I think this is my favorite f/f romance that I’ve read so far. I love the relationship between Nishat and her sister Priti. I’m a huge fan of sister books and sister relationships in books, so theirs was an easy win for me. It felt so much like my relationship with my sister in school– that tug-of-war between needing each other and needing to do things on your own or needing to find your own way.

If I struggled with anything (big IF!) it was feeling like Flávia didn’t deserve Nishat. The heart wants what it wants, but sometimes I struggle with a book where someone is in love with someone who just doesn’t seem worthy of them. As the story went on, however, it became clear that there was more to Flávia than I originally gave her credit for, and ultimately, she won me over.

I also loved the evolution of Nishat’s relationships with her parents. It obviously wasn’t an easy journey, and I don’t want to give anything more away. But there were some great moments there for me, too. (My favorite was her mom’s comment about someone being pansexual, but the way she said it sounded like someone who was in romantic love with paan. I definitely laughed out loud at that!)

On the whole, HENNA WARS was exactly the book I needed right when I read it. It’s funny and heartwarming (and at times, heartbreaking) and packed with the high of first love and the strength of a sister bond.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Nishat and her family are Bengali. Flávia is Brazilian and Irish. They all live in Ireland.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Some references to Muslim faith and beliefs.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
Some instances of bullying. Someone sends a hateful text message outing a lesbian. Some property destruction as bullying and references to cruel comments. When other girls find out that one character is a lesbian, they refuse to change in the locker room with her. There aren’t any descriptions of events when anyone directly attacks the bullying victim (which doesn’t make any of the things that happen better or okay, just thinking in terms of triggers).

Drug Content
References to alcohol at a teen party.

Note: I received a free copy of THE HENNA WARS in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Queer: the Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teenagers by Kathy Belge and Marke Bieschke

Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, , , , , , , ,

Queer: the Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teenagers (2nd Edition)
Kathy Belge and Marke Bieschke
Zest Books
Published October 1, 2019

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Queer: the Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teenagers (2nd Edition)

Teen life is hard enough with all of the pressures kids face, but for teens who are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender), it’s even harder. When do you decide to come out? To whom? Will your friends accept you? And how on earth do you meet people to date?

Updated in 2018, Queer is a humorous, engaging, and honest guide that helps LGBT teens come out to friends and family, navigate their new LGBT social life, figure out if a crush is also queer, and rise up against bigotry and homophobia.

Queer also includes personal stories from the authors and sidebars on queer history. This updated and revised edition is a must-read for any teen who thinks they might be queer – or knows someone who is.

My Review

QUEER has a lot of personal stories from the authors about experiences they had that they learned from– either because they went well or badly. The authors are frank, funny, and warm. The overall message is that if you’re a person looking to better understand yourself, you’re not alone. Being comfortable in your own skin and learning to have healthy relationships part of a lifelong journey, and there are lots of great tips in the book on those things.

The book offers suggestions on topics like how to come out to your family, how to approach a crush and find out if they might be interested in you. I thought those tips in particular were great. The advice is practical and simple.

There were a couple of things that I wish QUEER had gone into more depth about. The great majority of the text refers to gay and lesbian issues– perhaps because those are the authors’ experiences? There are some moments where bisexual or transgender issues get a focus, but they don’t get the same focus or depth. Asexuality is mentioned only briefly as well, and again, I wish there had been more information about the spectrum of asexuality.

I would have especially liked to see tips and suggestions for how to come out to family members as nonbinary, asexual, or transgender. (There’s a mention of coming out as transgender in the chapter on coming out, but I wish there had been more, because it’s not the same as coming out as gay or lesbian.)

QUEER focuses on support and validation, so it’s a very permissive book. There’s no judgment toward non-monogamous relationships or one night stands. It leaves readers (and encourages them) to decide on moral values and relationship rules for themselves and with their partners.

One of the really great assets of this book is the resource section, which lists support websites for LGBT teens and sites that will help you connect to supportive groups and organizations in your area, including how to find religious organizations that are friendly to members of the LGBT community. I love that section and am anxious to explore more of those resources.

Overall, I think QUEER is warm and engaging, and a great resource particularly for lesbian and gay teens and support communities.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Written by and intended for members of the LGBT community.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief personal stories about romance (with hints at sex but not graphic descriptions). Some references to sexual acts.

Spiritual Content
The resources section lists ways to find religious groups that are friendly to the LGBT community.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of QUEER: THE ULTIMATE LGBTQ GUIDE FOR TEENAGERS (2nd Edition) in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Get It Together Delilah by Erin Gough

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Get It Together, Delilah
Erin Gough
Chronicle Books
Published April 4, 2017 (orig Feb 1, 2015)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads

About GET IT TOGETHER DELILAH

Seventeen-year-old Delilah Green wouldn’t have chosen to do her last year of school this way, but she figures it’s working fine. While her dad goes on a trip to fix his broken heart after her mom left him for another man, Del manages the family cafe. Easy, she thinks.

But what about homework? Or the nasty posse of mean girls making her life hell? Or her best friend who won’t stop guilt-tripping her? What about her other best friend who might go to jail for love if Del doesn’t do something?

But really, who cares about any of that when all Del can think about is beautiful Rosa who dances every night across the street. . . . Until one day Rosa comes in the cafe door. And if Rosa starts thinking about Del, too, then how in the name of caramel milkshakes will Del get the rest of it together?

My Review

The very first thing about GET IT TOGETHER DELILAH that hooked me was Delilah herself. I loved her spunky, quirky voice. It was easy to feel that sense of being overwhelmed and struggling to juggle all her responsibilities even as the weight of them was crushing her. I loved that the story pulled me in so quickly that way.

Delilah’s relationships felt real and complex, too. I wasn’t a huge fan of some of them, but others were totally endearing. I loved Lauren (the guilt-trip queen) and Charlie (who loves to be in love) and enjoyed watching both of those relationships evolve in the course of the story.

Some moments got a little weird for me. At one point, Del gets super drunk and stoned and tries to hook up with a guy, but it just gets awkward and weird and literally going up in flames.

But I loved the messages about community. Del realizes the only chance she has at saving the cafe will come from pulling together her people, depending on each other, and working together. That message absolutely resonated with me and made the book really satisfying, too.

Recommended for Ages 17 up.

Representation
Del’s friend is Asian. Del herself is a lesbian.

Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. One reference to reaching under each other’s shirts. Kissing between a boy and girl and some fondling each other.

Spiritual Content
None.

Some battle sequences with situations of peril.

Drug Content
Charlie smokes pot, and Del occasionally joins him. They drink alcohol, too.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which don’t cost you anything, but which help support this blog when used.