YA LGBT Books discussion

I'm trying opening these at the beginning of the month:

What YA LGBTQ book would you like to read, or do you think members who haven't read it should try, (and those who have read it can discuss), as our BotM for February 2023?

What book made a difference to you, and might to other readers? What sounds interesting, appealing or different that you want to read?

If possible, link the book page on GR and tell us a little about it or why you picked it, or post the blurb.

The titles of past books of the month that we have read are on all the threads in this "Book of the Month" folder, and you can also check with a search of the group's book-of-the-month Bookshelf at - https://www.goodreads.com/group/books... Please do not repeat a book we have read - either as a past Book of the Month or as a Buddy Read (check the Buddy Read folder) - and please only nominate the first book in a series, unless a later book stands alone as a solo read.

Up to two nominations per member. Nominations will be open through Midnight Jan 31, or sooner if we get 12 nominations - the max for voting. Feel free to renominate a book that did not win in a past vote, if it fits this category.

Authors please do not nominate your own books - but readers can definitely nominate a member author's work

**The poll is now open HERE - https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2... through Feb 7

Carry On. by Rainbow Rowell? or does it have to be more recent? I'm reading the second in the series and want to go back and read the first as it seems like a good series.

I also have The Monster of Her Age but ignore if I am not allowed to say two. I already read that one but it was great.

Stef wrote: "Carry On. by Rainbow Rowell? or does it have to be more recent? I'm reading the second in the series and want to go back and read the first as it seems like a good ..."

We already did Carry On (Aug 2017) - it doesn't have to be a recent book, but I am avoiding repeats. You can find that (pretty active) discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I'll definitely put The Monster of Her Age by Danielle Binks on the nominations though. Thank you.

In a neo-Gothic mansion in a city at the end of the world, Ellie finds there's room enough for art, family, forgiveness and love. A coming-of-age story about embracing the things that scare us from the author of The Year the Maps Changed.

How do you ruin someone's childhood? You let them make-believe that they are a monster. But sooner or later, the mask must come off...

Ellie Marsden was born into the legendary Lovinger acting dynasty. Granddaughter of the infamous Lottie Lovinger, as a child Ellie shared the silver screen with Lottie in her one-and-only role playing the child monster in a cult horror movie. The experience left Ellie deeply traumatised and estranged from people she loved.

Now seventeen, Ellie has returned home to Hobart for the first time in years. Lottie is dying and Ellie wants to make peace with her before it's too late. But forgiveness feels like playing make-believe, and memories are like ghosts.

When a chance encounter with a young film buff leads her to a feminist horror film collective, Ellie meets Riya, a girl who she might be able to show her real self to, and at last come to understand her family's legacy - and her own part in it.

A story of love, loss, family and film - a stirring, insightful novel about letting go of anger and learning to forgive without forgetting. And about embracing the things that scare us, in order to be braver.

Stef wrote: "Carry On. by Rainbow Rowell? or does it have to be more recent? I'm reading the second in the series and want to go back and read the first as it seems like a good ..."

I nominate Bill Konigsberg's latest, Destination Unknown.

Paul wrote: "I nominate Bill Konigsberg's latest, Destination Unknown...."

Great - I'm a big Konigsberg fan

Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg

I do note that the blurb says "sexy" - do you know if this still falls in the YA umbrella?

From Stonewall Award winner Bill Konigsberg, a remarkable, funny, sexy, heartbreaking story of two teen boys finding each other in New York City at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

The first thing I noticed about C.J. Gorman was his plexiglass bra.

So begins Destination Unknown. It's 1987 in New York City, and Micah is at a dance club, trying to pretend he's more out and outgoing than he really is. C.J. isn't just out--he’s completely out there, and Micah can't help but be both attracted to and afraid of someone who travels so loudly and proudly through the night.

A connection occurs. Is it friendship? Romance? Is C.J. the one with all the answers... or does Micah bring more to the relationship that it first seems? As their lives become more and more entangled in the AIDS epidemic that’s laying waste to their community, and the AIDS activism that will ultimately bring a strong voice to their demands, whatever Micah and C.J. have between them will be tested, strained, pushed, and pulled--but it will also be a lifeline in a time of death, a bond that will determine the course of their futures.

In Destination Unknown, Bill Konigsberg returns to a time he knew well as a teenager to tell a story of identity, connection, community, and survival.

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Hell followed with us by Andrew Joseph White

Soph wrote: "Autoboyography by Christina Lauren"

That's a great choice but we did it (and even had a giveaway for copies). It was one of our most active BotM choices - you can find that discussion here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Lesso wrote: "Hell followed with us by Andrew Joseph White"

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Prepare to die. His kingdom is near.

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.

A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors. Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Annihilation.

Three nominations from me if that’s ok

@Aristotle and Dante dive into the waters of the world

,

@Perfect on paper

And

@I wish you all the best

Mai wrote: "Three nominations from me if that’s ok

@Aristotle and Dante dive into the waters of the world

,

@Perfect on paper

And

@I wish you all the best"

<3
We did I Wish You All the Best in June 2019 - you can find the discussion here (I loved it) - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

We did the first Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - I have the second waiting (I guess I was not sure it could live up to the incredible first, so I kept putting it off.)

We don't do sequels unless they stand alone - do you think someone could read Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World without having read book 1 ?

Perfect on Paper sounds like fun and I'll put that on the list.

Kaje wrote: "Paul wrote: "I nominate Bill Konigsberg's latest, Destination Unknown...."

Great - I'm a big Konigsberg fan

Destination Unknown by [autho..."

Yes. It is YA-LGBT. Although it uses the word "sexy," that is not the same as "sexual" or "explicit."
Lots of people describe lots of things with the use of the word "sexy." For example, "I have a sexy car, a new, sexy wardrobe, and a sexy haircut."

Paul wrote: "Kaje wrote: "Paul wrote: "I nominate Bill Konigsberg's latest, Destination Unknown...."

Great - I'm a big Konigsberg fan

Destination Unknown [bookcover:Destination Unknown|587191..."

Great, thank you!

I would say Redwood and Ponytail by K.A Holt. It's definitely close to children's and middle grade, but I like to think of it as YA.

Laurel wrote: "I would say Redwood and Ponytail by K.A Holt. It's definitely close to children's and middle grade, but I like to think of it as YA."

I'll add it - Redwood and Ponytail by K.A. Holt

ICEBREAKER !!! Icebreaker by A. L. Graziadei !! its good. i also really loved Dante and Aristotle by Benjamin Alire Sáenz — both the books r so good

I agree. I just finished reading Icebreaker and really liked it. Aristotle and Dante is excellent too.

atticus wrote: "ICEBREAKER !!! Icebreaker by A. L. Graziadei !! its good. i also really loved Dante and Aristotle by Benjamin Alire Sáenz — both the books r so good"

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

will add it (and to my own loooong TBRs )

i nominate The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer!!!! i can’t tell you how much i loved this book and i think it’s so severely underrated/not talked about and i need it to blow up!!!!!!!!

austen wrote: "i nominate The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer!!!! i can’t tell you how much i loved this book and i think it’s so severely underrated/not talked about and i need it to blow up!!!!!!!!"

Added to the list, thank you
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

The poll is now open HERE - https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2... through Feb 7

Kaje wrote: "Mai wrote: "Three nominations from me if that’s ok

@Aristotle and Dante dive into the waters of the world

,

@Perfect on paper

And

@I wish you all the best"

<3
We did [book:I Wish You All..."

I've just seen Perfect on Paper in the voting post. Couldn't help but voting for it (it's really good!). The second Dante and Aristotle is not exactly a stand alone, I wouldn't say. But I think it's totally understandable and can be 100% read without having read the first one. And it's honestly much better than the first (I did like the first one though, it's just that I *loved* the second one). Even if it can't be added to the list I totally recommend reading it :)

Mai wrote: "
@Aristotle and Dante dive into the waters of the world

..."

I loved the first one so much, I held off on the second not sure it could live up to it. I really have to reread books 1 and go straight into book 2.