Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher (YA)
Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig (YA)
Emry Merlin by Robyn Schneider (YA)
One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny
The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi
Exclusive Cover Reveal: These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein
You probably know Izzy Wasserstein from her short fiction, but today I’m thrilled to have her on the site to reveal the cover of her very first novella, These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart, releasing March 12, 2024 from Tachyon Publications! Here’s the story:
In a queer, noir technothriller of fractured identity and corporate intrigue, a trans woman faces her fear of losing her community as her past chases after her. This bold, thought-provoking debut science-fiction novella from a Lambda Award finalist is an exciting and unpredictable look at the fluid nature of our former and present selves.
In mid-21st-century Kansas City, Dora hasn’t been back to her old commune in years. But when Dora’s ex-girlfriend Kay is killed, and everyone at the commune is a potential suspect, Dora knows she’s the only person who can solve the murder.
As Dora is dragged back into her old community and begins her investigations, she discovers that Kay’s death is only one of several terrible incidents. A strange new drug is circulating. People are disappearing. And Dora is being attacked by assailants from her pre-transition past.
Meanwhile, It seems like a war between two nefarious corporations is looming, and Dora’s old neighborhood is their battleground. Now she must uncover a twisted conspiracy, all while navigating a deeply meaningful new relationship.
And here’s the thrilling cover, designed by Elizabeth Story!
Izzy Wasserstein is a queer, trans woman who teaches writing and literature. Wasserstein was born and raised in Kansas, and she received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico. She is the author of dozens of short stories, two poetry collections, and the short-story collection All the Hometowns You Can’t Stay Away From (Neon Hemlock Press, 2022). Wasserstein loves books, comics, horror movies, and slowly running long distances.She shares a home in Southern California with her spouse, Nora E. Derrington, and their animal companions. These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart is her debut novella.
Fave Five: Queer Novels About Haunted Houses
She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran (YA)
Saint Juniper’s Folly by Alex Crespo (YA)
A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui (YA)
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
Exclusive Cover Reveal: Murray Out of Water by Taylor Tracy
Today on the site, I’m delighted to welcome Taylor Tracy to reveal the cover of their debut Middle Grade fabulist novel in verse, Murray Out of Water, releasing from Quill Tree/HarperCollins on May 21, 2024! Here’s the story:
Twelve-year-old Murray O’Shea loves the ocean. It could be because it never asks her to be someone she’s not, something her mother refuses to do. But Murray also shares a secret magic with her beloved sea, which allows her to control its tides, hear the gorgeous sounds of its creatures, and feel as powerful as she wishes she could feel in her regular life.
But then a hurricane hits Murray’s Jersey shore home, sending the O’Sheas far inland to live with relatives. When Murray learns of the storm’s destruction, she loses her magic. Stuck in a house with her family, she can no longer avoid the truths she’s discovering about herself—like how she feels in the clothes her mom makes her wear, or how she may be more like her older brother who left the family than she thought.
Thankfully, it’s not all hurricanes and heartache. Murray befriends a boy named Dylan, who has a magic of his own. When Murray agrees to partner with him for a youth roller-rama variety show in exchange for help getting her magic back, the two forge an unstoppable bond that shows Murray how it’s not always the family you were given that makes you feel whole…sometimes it’s the family you build along the way.
And here’s the magical cover, designed by Celeste Knudsen with art by Sas Milledge!
Taylor Tracy writes books filled with humor and heart that explore the joys and hopes of queer kids, focusing on mental health, found family, and the importance of building a sense of community. She lives in New Jersey with her family, including a fluffle of mischievous rescue bunnies, and loves everything her home state has to offer: the best bagels, pizza, and beaches. When not writing, she can be found down the shore, in the rock gym, or next to her growing pile of books to read and love. Visit her online at www.taylorismyfirstname.com.
Happy Friday the 13th!
Yes, I made up an excuse to post about a whole bunch of Spooky Season-appropriate books at once. Sue me.
Middle Grade
Gallowgate by K.R. Alexander
Sebastian Wight is cursed. As a boy with the forbidden ability to traverse the lands of the dead, he must not only harness his newfound powers to fight the monster that stalks him, but also to navigate a creepy world of hunting ghosts and ghouls with his eccentric classmates.
And that’s only the start of his concerns.
There’s also the tangled on a boy who barely looks at him twice… and the deadly family history that brought him to the halls of Gallowgate Academy in the first place.
For Sebastian Wight, fighting the dead might be hard… but it’s dealing with the living that may bring him down.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
Inside an Anthology: Lofty Mountains ed. by J.S. Fields
Today on the site we’re taking a look inside Lofty Mountains ed. by J.S. Fields, an anthology of Sapphic fantasy stories that released on October 10th from Space Wizard Science Fantasy! Here’s the gist:
Look to the skies!
Brave adventurers face new relationships and adversity in all sizes, from steampunk dirigibles to harpies, giant bees to garden gnomes, and winged dinosaurs to sky pirates.
Isolated mountain peaks, clifftop cities, and battles in the sky abound in this sapphic anthology focused on overcoming challenges awaiting in the clouds.
And here’s a little more insight into the stories from its contributors and illustrator! Continue reading Inside an Anthology: Lofty Mountains ed. by J.S. Fields
Happy National Coming Out Day 2023!
For even more Coming Out reads, check out this post from way back when! (And for a post on coming out, check out “Never Too Late” by Kelly Farmer.)
Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
Thirteen-year-old Ellen Katz feels most comfortable when her life is well planned out and people fit neatly into her predefined categories. She attends temple with Abba and Mom every Friday and Saturday. Ellen only gets crushes on girls, never boys, and she knows she can always rely on her best-and-only friend, Laurel, to help navigate social situations at their private Georgia middle school. Laurel has always made Ellen feel like being autistic is no big deal. But lately, Laurel has started making more friends, and cancelling more weekend plans with Ellen than she keeps. A school trip to Barcelona seems like the perfect place for Ellen to get their friendship back on track.
Except it doesn’t. Toss in a new nonbinary classmate whose identity has Ellen questioning her very binary way of seeing the world, homesickness, a scavenger hunt-style team project that takes the students through Barcelona to learn about Spanish culture and this trip is anything but what Ellen planned.
Making new friends and letting go of old ones is never easy, but Ellen might just find a comfortable new place for herself if she can learn to embrace the fact that life doesn’t always stick to a planned itinerary.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
Happy World Mental Health Day!
It’s World Mental Health Day, the perfect day to check out some great queer fiction revolving around mental health. These books have characters with anxiety, OCD, depression, agoraphobia, PTSD, and more, and of course, for a more extensive list of fiction about mental health or starring main characters who have mental illnesses, check here.
To Buy Now
Middle Grade
The Best At It by Maulik Pancholy
Rahul Kapoor is heading into seventh grade in a small town in Indiana. The start of middle school is making him feel increasingly anxious, so his favorite person in the whole world, his grandfather, Bhai, gives him some well-meaning advice: Find one thing you’re really good at and become the BEST at it.
Those four little words sear themselves into Rahul’s brain. While he’s not quite sure what that special thing is, he is convinced that once he finds it, bullies like Brent Mason will stop torturing him at school. And he won’t be worried about staring too long at his classmate Justin Emery. With his best friend, Chelsea, by his side, Rahul is ready to crush this challenge…. But what if he discovers he isn’t the bestat anything?
Funny, charming, and incredibly touching, this is a story about friendship, family, and the courage it takes to live your truth.
Buy it: B&N | Amazon | IndieBound
Fave Five: Queer Indigenous Fiction, Part III
For Part I, click here. For part II, click here.
Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson (YA, Métis)
Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline (YA, Métis)
Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon (YA, Seminole)
Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse (Fantasy)
Coexistence: Stories by Billy-ray Belcourt
Reader’s Guide: World Cerebral Palsy Day
In honor of World Cerebral Palsy Day, here are three novels starring queer main characters with cerebral palsy, for your reading pleasure!
The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown
THE BSE (Best Summer Ever) LIST!
1. Blueberries
2. Art show in ShoeHorn
3. Lizzo concert
4. Thrift shop pop-up
5. Skinny Dipping at the lake house
6. Amusement Park Day!
7. Drew Barrymarathon
8. Paintball day
Oh, and ….
9. Fall out of love with Hailee
Andrea Williams has got this. The Best Summer Ever. Two summers ago, she spent all her time in bed, recovering from the latest surgery for her cerebral palsy. She’s waited too long for adventure and thrills to enter her life. Together with her crew of ride-or-die friends, and the best parents anyone could ask for (just don’t tell them that), she’s going to live it up.
There’s just one thing that could ruin it: Her best friend, Hailee, finding out Andrea’s true feelings. So Andrea WILL fall out of love with Hailee – even if it means dating the cute boy George who keeps showing up everywhere with a smile.
Do we want Andrea to succeed? No! Does she? We’re not telling!