(almost) all the books of june
This is my last June newsletter and so I’ve decided to compile my thoughts on the books I’ve read this month. I’m not including the Diana Wynne Jones because I’ve already included links to my reviews of them in previous newsletters.
JAY’S GAY AGENDA by Jason June
Jay had been the sole queer teen in school for most of his life, and although he had supporting parents and best friend, he couldn’t wait for high school to be over so that he could go to college and meet other queer people. A habitual list-maker (typical Virgo!), he made up his own Gay Agenda filled with milestones he wanted to reach - from meeting another queer person and finding a community, to having his first kiss, first love, and yes, first-time sex. When his parents told him that they were moving to Seattle, he was ecstatic because he could get started on his Gay Agenda earlier than expected. But of course, first loves also lead to other firsts… and if he doesn’t learn to be true to himself, it might also be his first heartbreak. Overall, this is a fun read, even though Jay can be pretty annoying as a protagonist. It’s a pretty basic romcom and is enjoyable in that sense, and I think the sex positivity is a plus point. However, for those wanting more depth, this book is a little lacking. (3/5)
MAY THE BEST MAN WIN by Z.R. Ellor
I think this is really the book I wanted, when I read Between Perfect and Real. After coming out as trans over the summer, Jeremy Harkiss (cheer captain AND student body president) decided to take back his popularity by running for Homecoming King. His ex-boyfriend, Lukas (football star and head of the Homecoming Committee) is also running for the position, and believes that winning Homecoming King is the extra thing he needs to get into Stanford and prove to his parents once and for all that his autism isn’t a barrier to success. The two of them take their rivalry a bit too far, escalating to the point of almost getting Homecoming cancelled. I don’t really give two hoots about school activities and things like Prom or Homecoming, but underneath the boys’ desperation to win the title are all their insecurities about being trans/autistic, and both Jeremy’s dysphoria and Lukas’ struggles are so relatable, and I’m so here for that. (4.5/5)
AFTER HOURS VOL. 1 by Nishio Yuhta
This is a girl’s love manga that I was interested in ages ago and added to my wishlist. Recently I was tempted to get it with the 10% BookDepo voucher, but I’m glad I decided to read it online first. As far as girl’s love manga goes, it’s pretty average - nowhere near as bad as it could be, because a lot of the yuri stuff I’ve read includes toxic, manipulative relationships, and the relationship depicted in this (a “normal” girl out of her element in a night club is befriended by a DJ, who pulls her into the world of VJ-ing) is pretty chill in comparison. In fact, I wouldn’t mind continuing to read this series, although I’m not sure I’m keen enough to the point of collecting it. This is one of those moments when I wish we had functioning libraries that I can just borrow manga from! (3/5)
LOVE ME FOR WHO I AM VOL. 1-3 by Konayama Kata
I was somewhat interested in this manga because it features a non-binary main character, and is written by a non-binary mangaka. But I wasn’t into the title, or the cover of the first volume, which just seems in your face “THIS IS AN LGBT MANGA!” - I’ve been wary of this sort of covers due to a lot of the manga and shows marketed this way tend to be appealing to cishets (a big example would be all the Thai BL shows right now.) But I decided to try reading it first (again, because of the 10% BookDepo voucher) and realised that despite appearances this series is actually really good. Mogumo is a non-binary high schooler who just wants friends that understand them, and when Tetsu reads their Tanabata wish, he invites them to work at Cafe Question, an untraditional maid cafe run by Tetsu’s sister, who is trans. Mogumo’s fellow workers include a trans girl, a gay guy who enjoys crossdressing and a cis (maybe bi/pan?) guy who loves cosplay. I love how these teens learn to support each other even though they struggle to understand one another. This isn’t quite up there with Our Dreams At Dusk, but it comes pretty close. (4.5/5)
NOT MY PROBLEM by Ciara Smyth
Oh, give me more queer YA books not set in the US. This book is one of my faves and might be my fave June read, which I guess isn’t a surprise after how much I loved Ciara Smyth’s previous book, The Falling In Love Montage. Unlike TFiLM, this isn’t a romcom, although it does include the perfect amount of enemies-to-lovers (one of my fave tropes as you may know!) romance. It’s mainly a coming of age story featuring Aideen, whose only friend is slowly pulling away from her, whose mother has a drinking problem, whose ability to keep the social workers at bay is starting to get a little shaky. While she can’t fix her own problems, though, Aideen is certainly good at fixing others’ - when she glibly offers to push the stressed out and overwhelmed Meabh down the stairs (freeing Meabh’s over-busy schedule), a fellow student overhears and begins to bring Aideen more “clients” in need of help. Thankfully, not the stair-pushing kind of help. Anyway, helping others doesn’t fix her own problems, but it does help Aideen get the new perspective she needed to open herself up a little more to let in new friends, or maybe even to ask for the help she desperately needs. (4.5/5)
LOVE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS by Misa Sugiura
Oh, Misa Sugiura. After two great hits (It’s Not Like It’s A Secret and This Time Will Be Different) I guess she’s bound to release a miss at some point? Having said that, Love and Other Natural Disasters is PERFECTLY FINE. It’s just… a typical romcom, and I was used to getting something more from the author. In this book, Nozomi Nagai is a romantic looking for the perfect summer fling. When she meets-cute (and immediately develops an infatuation for) Willow, though, she doesn’t expect to get into a fake relationship with her. Willow is gorgeous and everything Nozomi wanted, except she’s still not over her recent break-up. When Willow asks Nozomi to fake a relationship with her to make her ex jealous, Nozomi agrees in hopes to get Willow to fall for her instead - after all, isn’t that how all the romcoms work? I said that I was disappointed that this is “just” a romcom, but I think my main irritation with this book is Nozomi’s all-too-romantic character rather than the romance. In fact, I quite enjoyed the romance bit and loved the fact that this book includes not one, but two of my favourite romcom tropes! (3/5)
BOYS RUN THE RIOT VOL. 1 by Gaku Keito
This manga is marketed under the LGBT umbrella, as it features a trans boy and is written/illustrated by a trans mangaka. But it’s really more than that? This is one of the few times I feel like the marketing is really limiting the potential audience for this series. Because yes, this manga’s MC is a trans boy, and it addresses his concerns/dysphoria as well as the discrimination and microagressions he faces on a daily basis, but it’s also the story of his obsession with men’s fashion. This obsession leads him to a friendship with an older boy at school, and together they decide to start their own brand. So I think it’ll appeal to fans of LGBT manga, but also to fans of manga like Yazawa Ai’s Paradise Kiss and Gokinjyo Monogatari. (4/5)
THE [UN]POPULAR VOTE by Jasper Sanchez
This book is so good and I think the only reason I don’t love it more than I do now is because I hate the lies attached to politicking. It’s also why I never finished watching the very good Netflix show The Politician, and in fact, if you love that show you will probably love this book. Mark Adams is charming, erudite, pansexual… and the son of a congressman who still pretends he has a daughter rather than a son. In order to protect his father’s image as well as be who he is, Mark had agreed to move to a new town with his mother, where they would lay low and let everyone assume that he’s cis. But when one of his friends becomes a victim of homophobic bullying and gets suspended instead of the bully, and one of the candidates for student body president paints the bully as a victim to inflame dangerous rhetoric, Mark decides to step up and put his name in the the ballot. The problem is, he’s new, and no one really knows him outside of his small circle of friends. Still, the group of friends get together to come up with a campaign, and as they get deeper into it, Mark begins to question his motives and what it means to do the right thing while being true to himself. I loved this book but I don’t enjoy dishonesty in characters, and Mark made some questionable choices before he came to his senses. I always wondered why all these characters that have made promises to keep certain things secret in books/movies/tv shows always end up telling stupid lies instead of, you know, saying “there’s something I can’t tell you because I made a promise”/“this isn’t my secret to tell”/etc.? (4/5)
I’m currently reading PUMPKIN by Julie Murphy, which is another Clover City book (Beau’s promposal to Willowdean was sweet!).
Insert obligatory island tour promo, because I've been working hard on my island lately so please visit my Dream Address!
I haven't been watching much stuff in the last week, other than random Orville episodes (I think I'm getting addicted to this show, it does for space operas what B99 does for cop shows) and of course, LOKI.
Episode three is SO GOOD. I still don't know if I'd say this series is my fave over WandaVision - maybe equals? - but this episode gave us that single sentence that CANONISES Loki's bisexuality in the MCU (we all know that comics Loki is bi/pan, but this is the first time it's confirmed on screen) so soon after canonising his gender fluidity, too. Kate Leth wrote on Twitter about how this series is de-Whedonising his character and I think that's the perfect way to look at it, and also, let's make de-Whedonising a thing with all of the Avengers coming forward. Make the Avengers greatqueer again!
&etc
- recently I've been asked for my wishlist which is on BookDepo even though I support buying the books from brick & mortar stores if you choose to get me anything from it, BD is just an easy way to compile the list! Anyway just in case anyone else is interested the wishlist can be found here.
- Check out Charlie Jane Anders in this panel on LGBTQ+ Identity in YA Fiction. If you're wondering why I keep sharing Charlie Jane stuff, it's because (1) I stan her, and (2) I subscribe to lots of authors but she's the one who shares stuff I'd like to share to others too, for now? I will share any others too!
- For those of you in the YA Fantasy Book Club, see you guys today at 3:30pm - can't wait to conclude our Queen's Thief discussions which has been going on since January! I didn't think we'd make it through the entire series, and I'm so glad we did. Can't wait to get started on the Dark Is Rising books next!
- As usual, STAY SAFE!