Tag Archives: LGBTQIA+

Review: HoverGirls by Geneva Bowers

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,
HoverGirls by Geneva Bowers

HoverGirls
Geneva Bowers
Bloomsbury
Published August 6, 2024

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About HoverGirls

The web comic sensation about magical girls by acclaimed illustrator Geneva Bowers, now in a beautiful print edition, featuring an expanded storyline and revised art!

Jalissa and Kim Vasquez are cousins who move to the city of Los Aguaceros together. Kim dreams of becoming a famous model and fashion designer, while Jalissa is just trying to hold herself together after a breakdown the year before.

When a curious incident on the beach leaves them with supernatural powers and monsters start attacking the city, Kim decides that using their powers to stop them is the perfect way for them to become famous. But being heroes isn’t as easy as it seems–and Los Aquaceros is in more danger than they imagine.

This beautifully illustrated and hilarious YA graphic novel began as a web comic and quickly became a WEBTOON sensation. This print edition features an expanded story and updated art, offering something for new and old fans alike!

My Review

The illustrations in this graphic novel definitely live up to the hype. The character expressions are great, and the color palette is warm and inviting.

Jalissa and Kim are a grumpy/sunshine pair. Kim dreams of being a famous fashion designer and sees the best possibilities in everyone around her. Jalissa is the more grounded, responsible cousin.

When the girls receive superpowers, Kim hopes that their adventures in saving the city will boost their notoriety and help her achieve her personal goals. Jalissa would rather stay on the couch in her comfy clothes and watch soap operas. She reluctantly gives the superhero life a try, though, if only to make sure Kim stays safe.

The story celebrates the life of girls getting out on their own for the first time and strong female superheroes. It’s a fun adventure for readers who enjoy stories like Karate Prom by Kyle Starks.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Main characters are Latine. Jalissa is romantically interested in another girl.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kim dates a boy who seems more interested in taking advantage of her than in her. Jalissa is romantically interested in another girl.

Spiritual Content
The girls develop magic powers after encountering an otherworldly creature.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battles between the girls and strange flying fish.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Blessing by Lyla Stone

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, New Adult 18up, Paranormal, Romance, , , , , , ,

The Blessing
Lyla Stone
And She Was Publishing
Published May 24, 2024

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About The Blessing

It’s a fine line between a blessing and a curse.

When ancient Water Spirits seek revenge against the Forest Witch who imprisoned them thousands of years earlier for the crime of blessing one ancestral line while cursing another, they each enlist modern-day descendants as their champions in a fight to the death.

Margot comes from the blessed line. Jessica from the cursed one. Neither wants to fight someone else’s war.

As their town is pulled into a battle between land and sea, the distinction between good and evil becomes as indistinguishable as the line between love and hate. Margot and Jessica are forced to choose between saving their love or saving themselves.

My Review

The story alternates between Margot and Jessica’s perspectives. I think Jessica is my favorite character. She’s spunky and has great exit lines. I liked the way she uses sarcasm and snark as armor even though underneath that prickly exterior, she does care about people and feels incredibly lonely.

Margot is a great character, too. She wrestles with guilt over her best friends’ deaths in a car accident. She also wants desperately to protect her little sister, who will be next in line as the three spirits’ conduit if Margot refuses to do their bidding.

The whole book is set in a small Maine town, which I also enjoyed. I liked the vibe of the town and the way it felt hemmed in by the power of nature and the natural disasters that the supernatural battle spawned.

The beginning was a little bit slow as the story introduces the history of the blessing and curse, but once Jessica and Margot meet, the pacing picks up considerably. I flew through the last half of the book, really eager to see how things resolved and what the girls would have to do in order to free themselves from the battle between spiritual forces.

The cover notes that this is a new adult fantasy, and the writing does fit that age group and genre. I think the main characters are in high school, so the book will appeal to some young adult readers as well. Another reviewer recommended the book for Amanda Hocking fans, which is a great comparison. If you liked Watersong, you will want to check this book out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
The Blessing is a retelling of a Yiddish fairytale. Margot and Jessica are both Jewish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some f-bombs and other strong profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a one-night stand. Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
References to Jewish faith and practice. Three sister spirits blessed one family and cursed another. A Forest Witch imprisoned the sisters in ice when they cursed a family line she protects. Now the sisters are free and want vengeance on the Forest Witch and the girl from the cursed line. Some supernatural things happen in the form of weather and other strange events. A character gives Jessica tarot readings to try to figure out what she should do next.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Waterspouts, flash flooding, and other natural disasters occur.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a party.

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

Review: Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin

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

Unbecoming
Seema Yasmin
Simon & Schuster
Published July 9, 2024

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About Unbecoming

Two Muslim teens in Texas fight for access to abortion while one harbors a painful secret in this funny and heartfelt near-future speculative novel perfect for fans of Unpregnant .

In a not-too-distant America, abortions are prosecuted and the right to choose is no longer an option. But best friends Laylah and Noor want to change the world. After graduating high school, they’ll become an OBGYN and a journalist, but in the meantime, they’re working on an illegal guide to abortion in Texas.

In response to the unfair laws, underground networks of clinics have sprung up, but the good fight has gotten even more precarious as it becomes harder to secure safe medication and supplies. Both Layla and Noor are passionate about getting their guide completed so it can help those in need, but Laylah treats their project with an urgency Noor doesn’t understand—that may have something to do with the strange goings-on between their mosque and a local politician.

Fighting for what they believe in may involve even more obstacles than they bargained for, but the two best friends will continue as they always together.

My Review

The book begins with a note from the author explaining that she began writing this story about a dystopian future in which girls and women could not access birth control or abortions before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. I don’t know how that change in the law impacted her journey writing the book, but I imagine there were some big, complicated feelings.

This was a hard book for me to read, but I think the author does an amazing job balancing the hard parts of the story with lighter parts, such as Laylah’s Bollywood blackouts. (I kind of wish there were more of those, honestly.) There are also lots of scenes showing baking and celebrating the joy of preparing and eating food together. The book also lifts up the power of support women offer other women. Most of the story’s central characters are female.

Unbecoming also shows the messy side of activism. It’s easy for anyone to believe claims that echo what we already believe to be true and to do harm by perpetuating unverified information. It’s also easy for us to reduce our understanding of people to one idea or one virtue/vice. And it’s easy amid fear and turmoil to forget that we need each other; we need community and a support network.

Though this story left me feeling more somber than many others I’ve read lately, I think it raises some really important questions and offers valuable insights about friendship, activism, and community.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Laylah and Noor are both Muslim. Noor is pansexual and in a relationship with a girl. Laylah’s little brother has Down Syndrome.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
F-bombs appear somewhat frequently with other profanity used here and there.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to sex. Kissing between girls.

Spiritual Content
Noor recalls attending events at the mosque and why she stopped going. Laylah is still connected to the mosque community and prays at different times of day.

Violent Content
References to the death penalty. References to police brutality against protestors.

Drug Content
Birth control and hormone therapy of any kind are outlawed in the book. Medications that cause an abortion or are used for IVF are also illegal.

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

Review: It’s Only a Game by Kelsey Yu

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s Only a Game
Kelsey Yu
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 9, 2024

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About It’s Only a Game

In this twisty, fast-paced YA thriller, a dangerous game becomes all too real when Marina and her friends are framed for murder.

When Marina Chan ran from her old life, she brought nothing with her-not even her real name. Now she lives in fear of her past being discovered. But when her online gaming team is offered a tour of their favorite game company, Marina can’t resist accepting, even though she knows it might put her fake identity at risk.

Then the creator of the game is murdered during their tour. Whoever killed him plans to frame Marina and her friends for the murder unless they win four rounds of a dangerous game. A game that requires them to lie, trespass, and steal. A game that could destroy everything Marina’s worked so hard to build…. A game that she might not survive.

My Review

The really interesting part of this book is that it mashes up what is essentially a video game contest with a murder mystery. Marina carries secrets that she worries could put her friends and teammates in danger, but she longs to have uncomplicated connections with people and values the closeness in those relationships.

The chapters alternate between two different timelines. In the present, Marina and her team attempt to complete challenging levels of a video game to meet the demands of an unidentified person who threatens to harm the people each teammate loves. The other timeline begins ten years earlier and shows glimpses of Marina’s past, where she lives with her mom. She tries to piece together why the two live such an isolated life.

The tension spikes as the two timelines intersect, and pieces of the mystery come together. The relationships between the characters impact the story in some interesting ways, and I found it easy to root for all of them.

While this isn’t my favorite style of book, I did enjoy reading it. It felt like a quick read with its short chapters, and I particularly liked the mash-up of video game conquests and murder mystery elements. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that done before, and it worked really well here.

Readers who enjoy books by Karen McManus or liked How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao should check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Marina is Chinese American and romantically interested in a girl. One of her friends is transgender. Another friend is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Marina witnesses a shooting. Someone threatens Marina and her friends, effectively holding them hostage until they complete a series of tasks. A woman harms child repeatedly.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Book Review and Content, Coming of Age, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Memoir, Nonfiction, , , , , , , ,

Gender Queer
Maia Kobabe
Lion Forge Comics
Published May 28, 2019

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Gender Queer

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, GENDER QUEER is here.

Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, GENDER QUEER is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

My Review

I think what’s really cool about this book is that the author takes time to give clear, well-explored explanations of key moments in eir life when eir identity came into focus. Maia Kobabe diligently and openly explains eir relationship with eir body as a child, an adolescent, and later as an adult. Why did female pronouns feel so wrong for em? Why do sexual fantasies feel so much more satisfying to em than experiences do?

Having these conversations plainly and openly offers solidarity to others having similar experiences. It shows people who have similar questions that they’re not alone. They’re not the first ones to feel a disconnect with their bodies. It also provides a roadmap for people who do not identify as genderqueer. Reading a book like this, a story that details someone’s personal experience, allows readers to bring questions to a safe space where there’s no judgment or intrusion. Reading about Maia’s experience allows us to listen and cultivate empathy for others who may have a different life experience than we do.

Banning Gender Queer

One of the reasons I opted to read this book is because I hear it discussed so often in the context of being banned in schools. If you’ve been on my blog awhile, you probably already know that I’m not a fan of book bans, and it’s not a position I came to lightly. The core of the decision really is this: as a parent, my job is to be part of the decision-making about books my child reads. It is not my job to decide which books are okay for someone else’s child to read.

With that said, I think GENDER QUEER brings some important topics to the table for discussion. It does address some mature topics, so I think it would generally be more appropriate to older readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Maia identifies as genderqueer and uses Spivak pronouns (e/em/eir), which are a set of gender-neutral, grammatically singular pronouns. Some other people appearing in the memoir are queer as well.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to gay pornography. References to sex. In one scene, Maia very briefly outlines with a partner the things e would not feel comfortable doing sexually. One line later states that e and eir partner have made out and had sex. In one scene, Maia lists a snippet of a sexually explicit conversation e had with eir partner and the divergence of eir feelings about the fantasy of the experience versus the actual experience.

Maia is also very open about eir personal experience with arousal and masturbation. E explains these feelings as part of a larger explanation of eir asexuality and/or gender dysphoria. It didn’t come across as something meant to be sexy. Instead, it appeared to be a thoughtful examination of how eir body reacts to touch and visual stimulation and how that might differ from others’ experiences.

There are a few panels that show some cartoon nudity. One panel shows two men kissing from their hips upward. One shows two men facing each other, referencing a fantasy Maia had based on Plato’s SYMPOSIUM. A couple show Maia from the side, sitting on a toilet, after e has discovered the start of eir period. One page shows Maia undressing for an examination with a gynecologist. One panel shows em naked from the front.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Maia describes the pain of a gynecological exam as feeling like e has been stabbed through the abdomen. The illustration shows a torso without gender details with a blade stabbed through the abdomen. Another illustration shows a similar image, but from a side view.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Biography, Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives
Dashka Slater
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published October 17, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The 57 Bus

One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.

If it weren’t for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.

My Review

I’ve had this book on my TBR for a long time, and I seriously can’t believe I waited so long to read it. What an incredible book! It blew me away.

What’s funny is that I’ve read several picture books by Dashka Slater (the Escargot books are a favorite in my house). This book is so different than those, and each is so well done.

It’s obvious that the author put so much care and thoughtfulness into the book’s structure. It’s got a ton of short sections. One defines some different queer identities. Another spells out the rights of a prisoner at a juvenile detention center. Others contain short stories or observations by Sasha or Richard or people close to them.

The narrative explores the lives of Sasha (victim) and Richard (perpetrator) with dignity and fairness. Nowhere does the author minimize or dismiss the seriousness of what happened to Sasha. She also includes interviews and statements from Richard’s friends and family, along with some biographical information about and statements from Richard himself. This way we get a more complete picture of both of the teens involved that terrible day on the 57 Bus.

Slater discusses how different people become targeted in hate crimes and the advancement and rolling back of protections for LGBTQIA+ people and the impact that has had. She also talks about the justice system, particularly in the process of juvenile offenders being charged as adults, and how that impacts the lives of young people and the community as a whole.

It’s such a powerful book. The points and information are clearly stated and related in a way that made me feel like I knew each of the people the narrative followed. I think this is a really important book for people to read.

Conclusion

Fans of true crime books and readers looking for compelling nonfiction or stories about LGBTQIA+ youth need to grab a copy of this one. Put it on your Pride Month reading list or read it on a weekend– the short sections and compelling writing make this a super quick read.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sasha is agender and uses they/them pronouns. Some of their friends have LGBTQIA+ identities as well. Richard is Black. His family members and some of his friends are Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently. The N-word is used, usually by a Black boy to his Black friends. There are a few homophobic statements.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some discussion of various sexual and gender identities and what the labels mean to the people using them.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Contains brief but graphic descriptions of the burns sustained by Sasha when their skirt was set on fire on a bus and brief but graphic descriptions of the treatment of the burns.

Drug Content
References to the smell of pot smoke in bathrooms at school. Doctors prescribe morphine for Sasha during their recovery from burns and surgeries.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but help support this blog. All opinions my own.

Book Bans and The 57 Bus

THE 57 BUS is a frequently challenged or banned book. Author Dashka Slater offers this statement about book bans in general and in reference to this book.