Hello, and welcome to my wrap up for Queer Lit Readathon Round 4. I’m actually finishing a little bit early, the readathon doesn’t end until midnight today. But I’m going ahead and ending because I did what I can. My TBR had eight books. I actually finished six, a little more than halfway through one, and one that I won’t be able to get before this ends.
The first book I read is Gender Queer. I chose this for ace/aro main character, and graphic novel. I didn’t connect it until after I made my TBR. Oh, really, the book I’m currently reading – Amateur by Thomas Page McBee – has three challenges that Gender Queer also covers. So I will go ahead and consider these challenges met. Memoir – choose your own category, non-binary/trans main character, and non-fiction. Gender Queer is a gorgeous and touching story about this person trying to figure out what eir identity is, growing up confused about liking girls and boys too. Trying to figure out why my body doesn’t feel it fits what people are telling me, a lot of confusion. I really liked this book, e is honest and raw about eir experience, growing up and trying to figure out eir identity, figuring out where e fits in the world. It’s really good.
Next, because I wanted to get some books finished quickly, I went ahead and read Blue is the Warmest Color. It meets translated. For some reason, as reading this, it’s not what I expected. I don’t know why. I tend to try to not know too much about a book when I’m reading it, just so I can be surprised. This is a really good story about a woman whose partner died, so the woman goes to the partner’s parents’ house because the partner told them that she wants her (partner) to read her diaries. She’s reading them, so this whole graphic novel alternates a little bit. Mostly from reading the diaries, telling the story in pictures. But it also has scenes with the woman talking with her partner’s parents, interacting and connecting with them, kind of. I really enjoyed this book, I think this may be the first book I’ve picked for translated that I’ve actually liked.
Next, I decided to read Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens. This meets two – disability rep, and new genre. I decided that would mean one that I don’t usually read, being a short story anthology. Obviously, because this is a story anthology, I can’t really tell you what it’s about. All are very varied stories, all have disabled characters. Many of them are queer. I was really surprised, because for me, when I read story anthologies, it’s rare that I actually like all of the stories. But this one, I enjoyed all of them. I liked all of them. I would recommend this, for sure. I liked that this had variety, a mix from fantasy/magical to sci-fi. That sci-fi one, I really want to see more. That always happens for me with short story anthologies, I always have certain stories that I want to see a full story, not just the short story.
Next, I read Cantoras. I chose this for author of color, #ownvoices, and historical fiction. This is set around the 1970s, and most of it happens in the 1970s. It’s a group of five women who all get together, finding each other, and go on “vacation” to Polonio, on the coast. They find a house, buy it, and it becomes their house. They go from time to time, that becomes a place where they can be themselves. They live in Uruguay, and at the time, they just had a military coup, so it’s really controlled and restricted. You couldn’t say anything against the government, or… It’s really dangerous, so most people just stay quiet and keep to themselves. So these women feel suffocated, they go to that house as an escape, be themselves, be queer, be with their lovers. This story is… Really good. It’s really well-done, all of the relationships between these five women, their growth, learning about each other, their backgrounds. We have some that we don’t anything about them until much later, and that’s really hard hitting. The way this ends… It’s worth it. It’s worth it. I definitely recommend this, yes.
Next, The Hidden Witch. I chose this for middle grade. This is a really good story. This is the second book in a series, so I can’t really tell you much. But basically, the main character – Aster – is from a family where all of the men become shapeshifters, and all the women become witches. But Aster doesn’t want to do shapeshifting, he wants to learn magic, he wants to be a witch. The first book is about that, fighting with his family. The second book adds to the world, building on that world, how magic works a little bit, and so on. It’s really good. If you liked the first book, you’ll like the second one.
Next is the final book I finished before filming this, Full Disclosure. This meets three – bi/pan main character, rainbow cover, and new author. This story is about a 17-year-old who has HIV that she got from her mother at birth, she’s adopted by her two dads. She recently transferred to a new school because at her old school, people found out she was HIV positive, and parents freaked out. Saying that they don’t want their daughters going to the same school as her, chaos. So she transferred to a new school where no one knows her. She keeps going, keeping it a secret, not telling anyone. Then she starts liking a boy at the school. She’ll have to tell him at some point… Someone leaves a threatening note in her locker, saying she has to stay away from the boy, or they’ll tell everyone that she has HIV. She’s freaked out, what to do? She doesn’t want to tell everyone, she doesn’t want the same thing from her old school, but… Really conflicted. I’m not going to say anything more than that. This is a recent release, so I don’t know how many people know about this yet, but… It’s really good! I really enjoyed this, definitely get it if you can.
That’s it for the books I finished before making this vlog. I will continue reading Amateur. I doubt I will finish before the readathon is over, because after this, I will edit, upload, captions, and so on. Then I will be meeting friends, hanging out for the rest of the day. So I may not have the time later today to finish Amateur, which is why I’m doing this video now.
That’s it for today. I hope you found some new books to read. Kathy and I will announce the 2020 dates for Queer Lit Readathon soon, so keep an eye out for that!
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