I am a non-binary author and artist who, like so many of the characters in the books I have recommended, struggled with navigating their sexual identity while growing up. I believe this is an incredibly common experience amongst youth that deserves to be represented more in modern media, as well as mental health and disability representation. As for myself, I'm a big fantasy nerd who loves cats, collecting plushies, and drawing my heart out.
Discover a new coming-of-age fantasy with LGBTQIA+ themes that speak to those who have ever felt like an outsider. Monster Crush presents an unforgettable story of self-discovery and teenage romance with a monstrous twist.
The entire whirlwind adventure of love, gender, and big emotions is written, drawn, and colored by Twitch streamer and cat mom extraordinaire Ellie Franey.
This book was recommended to me by my mentor, so it was one of the first queer graphic novels I ever got to experience. I love this book because it goes through so many of the hardships of being openly yourself. It’s nostalgic, it’s relatable, and it’s incredibly heartfelt.
While the main focus of Kiss Number 8 is exploring queer identity in young adulthood, my favorite part of this book is the relationship the main character has with her father and how that relationship struggles, changes, and grows over the course of the book.
Mads is pretty happy with her life. She goes to church with her family, and minor league baseball games with her dad. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. It's everything she hoped high school would be - until all of a sudden, it's not.
Her dad is hiding something big - so big it could tear her family apart. And that's just the beginning of her problems: Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn't want to kiss Adam - because the…
For myself, this book was a very impactful, emotional, and thought-provoking read. This story hits home for me in so many ways.
I love that nostalgic feeling of going up north in the summer with a friend or family and just finding little adventures everywhere you go. I also love the awkward yet wholesome relationship the two main characters have, as they’re both in that “coming of age” era of life, where they’re starting to explore their sexualities more.
Lastly, I love this story because it dares to tackle the intricacies of mental health, a topic that I believe should be normalized, accepted, and represented in media.
Every summer, Rose goes with her mum and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It's their getaway, their refuge. Rosie's friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose's mum and dad won't stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It's a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.
Let me start by saying…this book is gorgeous. Each page is so beautifully illustrated—I would genuinely recommend this book for the art alone.
The story, however, is just as much of a treat. I love this book because it features a wide variety of lesbian characters and tackles an important topic: representation of toxic relationships and the struggle to break out of them! I’ve certainly been there myself, and it made this story very relatable and meaningful for me.
Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley's dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There's just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.
Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy's best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: Break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it's really Laura Dean that's the problem. Maybe it's Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who…
(If it wasn't obvious by the cover, this book has adult content in it - so it's not for young readers!)
I relate so heavily to this book! Since it’s an autobiography, it’s such a raw and honest look at what it can be like to explore your sexuality as an adult, all while struggling with mental health and self-image.
I feel that the author’s tone of voice and inner monologue throughout the story is so relatable and humorous. Just like Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, I would recommend this book for the art alone! It has an incredibly charming and simplistic art style that suits it so well.
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is an honest and heartfelt look at one young woman's exploration of her sexuality, mental well-being, and growing up in our modern age. Told using expressive artwork that invokes both laughter and tears, this moving and highly entertaining single volume depicts not only the artist's burgeoning sexuality, but many other personal aspects of her life that will resonate with readers.
I love Paper Girls because it’s a wild adventure with a great cast of dynamically written, queer girls. It’s a fantasy story that really grips the reader by the shirt collar and pulls them in. I definitely couldn’t put this one down because the story keeps you wanting MORE.
I have to again recommend this graphic novel for its gorgeous artwork and color palettes that really make it a feast for the eyes.
Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's Eisner Award
winning series Paper Girls is coming Amazon Prime Video in July 2022!
Finally, the entire Eisner Award-winning epic
in one complete volume, with a new cover from co-creator CLIFF
CHIANG!
Four
12-year-old newspaper delivery girls from the year 1988 uncover the most
important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide
in this critically acclaimed series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last
days of childhood.
I grew up in Green Bay and my dad was the official scorer for the Packers, so I was immersed in pro football history even as a child. During my careers as a newspaper feature writer and editor and as an advertising copywriter, I also became a sports historian. My magnum opus was “The Encyclopedia of North American Sports History,” 650,000 words. But my favorite by far is my biography of Johnny Blood. I was 12 or 13 when I decided I wanted to write it, 33 when I began working on it, 38 when I finished it, and 78 when it was finally published.
From Kirkus Reviews: "This debut short-story collection paints the wistful life of a newspaper journalist as seen through his sexual and romantic encounters...
Throughout, Hickok writes in an assured style, pulling readers along. The narrow sexual focus results in a distorted picture, yet other aspects of Art's life emerge at the edges—his intelligence, his career as a journalist, and even the sincerity with which he gives in to his male urges and construes sex as love...
Subdued yet alluring; a pensive reflection on the male psyche."
Love, Sex, and Other Calamities: 15 Stories and a Poem by Ralph Hickok
A man arrives in a new city, hoping to start a new life, but he’s still haunted by memories of past loves… A 12-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl have a brief romantic encounter when their families are vacationing in neighboring lakeside cottages… Two teenagers enjoy sexual experimentation when she babysits for her little brother while her parents are out drinking… A high school boy has a crush on an older woman who identifies with Molly Bloom… A college freshman falls in love with a high school freshman and is amazed at the depths of her passion… A guy wins…
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