Backlist Books: Pride Edition
Greeting and Salutation Scribblers! Happy Pride Month! Today we’re talking about five more blacklist books and each of these books has conversations between characters about identity in queer spaces. I cannot emphasize enough how important representation is for any identity, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, religion, etc. Everyone deserves to see themselves in media. Additionally, the more books we read about people who have a different lived experience than us, the more we become global citizens with empathy because we’ve applied critical thinking skills to learning new things and new ways of looking at the world.
Alright, let’s dive in! Our first author is Rosiee Thor and two of their books, Fire Becomes Her and Tarnished Are the Stars. Both of these books feature conversations between characters where they examine their identities and attractions and they are so well done. It puts words to feelings and ideas that are a lot more common that the world seems to want us to believe. As a bonus, you get to enjoy Rosiee’s phenomenal writing with complex characters and tight plotting. Tarnished are the stars is a futuristic story with court intrigue and an assassin. Fire Becomes Her is set in a 1920s esque world in the middle of an election fraught with secrets. 10/10 stars for both.
Our second book is the first of a trilogy, Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. Little Thieves, along with the other two books in this series, Painted Devils, and Holy Terrors, features conversations between Vanya, the main character, and her friends and love interest regarding identity. These books also feature some of the best banter and overall character arcs in the business. If you’re looking for a smart, witty book that brings in queer identities and conversations, this is the one for you. Seriously, these books are also a masterclass in voice and banter–you don’t want to skip reading them.
My third book is Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson. Our first two books were fantasy, this one is contemporary and I think I read it in about a day. I couldn’t put it down or stop thinking about it. In addition to the delightful comedy of errors that bring Olivia and Toni together, you get some fantastic moments of discussion and discovery of identity not only between Olivia and Toni, but with their family and friends. I was really affected by how Olivia stepped into power and took back her identity from those who wanted to weaponize it against her. After you read Rise to the Sun, be sure to check out You Should See Me in a Crown–another absolute banger by Leah Johnson. 10 out of 10 stars, add it to your TBR.
Alright, our fourth book is The Beautiful Something Else by Ash Van Otterloo. This is a middle grade novel with hints of magic. We take a journey with Sparrow Malone as they navigate a very binary world and discover the truest version of themselves along the way. Ash is a phenomenal writer in the middle grade space and I highly recommend reading their other books as well, but The Beautiful Something else gets right to the heart of what the non-binary community goes through in order to feel comfortable in a world that tries to shove them into being something their not. And it does it all in that magical way middle grade has of tackling huge topics in the most gentle ways.
And finally, our fifth book is Technically You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson. This book is written entirely in text messages and it’s pretty brilliant. Our main character things she’s texting with one person, but really she’s gotten them mixed up with someone else by the same name–in the end, they have these really awesome conversations about identity via text which somehow feels very appropriate for today’s world since so much of our communication is digital. Be sure to add this one to your TBR!
What books have you read that really nailed conversations about identity? Share them below in the comments.
