My wonderful school librarian job affords me two months of travel every summer, and girl, I make the most of it. Am off hiking, writing, pet-sitting, National Park exploring, road-tripping, and having another wonderful travel adventure for the next couple of months. See y’all in the fall, and have a great summer (or winter if in the Southern Hemisphere!)
Title: The Key to You and Me
Illustrator: Jaye Robin Brown
Publisher: Harper Teen, 2021
Ages: 13+
Format/Genre: Contemporary YA
Themes: Pride Month, romance, coming-out, out and proud, riding, driving, dating, lesbians, small-town south, lgbtqia+
Synopsis:
A sweet and funny #ownvoices LGBTQ+ romance perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Julie Murphy, from the critically acclaimed author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit!
Piper Kitts is spending the summer living with her grandmother, training at the barn of a former Olympic horseback rider, and trying to get over her ex-girlfriend. Much to Piper’s dismay, her grandmother is making her face her fear of driving head-on by taking lessons from a girl in town.
Kat Pearson has always suspected that she likes girls but fears her North Carolina town is too small to color outside the lines. But when Piper’s grandmother hires Kat to give her driving lessons, everything changes.
Piper’s not sure if she’s ready to let go of her ex. Kat’s navigating uncharted territory with her new crush. With the summer running out, will they be able to unlock a future together? (publisher)
Why I like this book:
This was such and easy fun read and I mean that in a completely positive way. Many YA books I read drag a bit and I want to skim, but this really held my attention and I romped through the pages. I loved that it was a fun, lighthearted romance and while one of the two girls, Kat, wasn’t out at the beginning of the story, this wasn’t a gut-wrenching coming-out and being rejected my family story. While Kat is coming to terms with her lesbian identity, she is a strong, smart almost adult young adult, helping bring up her siblings in the absence of her mother, helping her father out at work, looking for ways to earn some money of her own to pay for the repairs of her sturdy van. I enjoyed her evolution and that her family life was so strong.
Piper is completely open about her sexuality, but is hung up on an ex-girlfriend (haven’t we all been there?!) While staying with her Grandma in the south for the summer, she not only gets to pursue her horse passion but also grows a lot in independence.
I found Kat and Piper’s interactions very typically teen and relatable. The slow burn and lack of impossible obstacles didn’t bother me. This felt like lives anyone of us might have led. Not only were the protagonists very likable, but there’s a good handful of cool well-developed side characters, from a horny gay cousin, to the ex, Kat’s sister and seasoned lesbian, Lou. Kat and Piper only get together right at the end of the book, which felt natural given what they were both dealing with (exes and identities) even if I might have wanted more making out there. 🙂 I also loved that it goes against the small-minded southern-small-town tropes as when Kat and her cousin Elliot came out, it wasn’t a big deal. Yeah!
This book is a fun and enjoyable queer YA read, perfect for some dreamy beach days.
Title: No Way, They Were Gay? Queer History Project
Author: Lee Wind
Publisher: Zest Books, 2021
Ages: 11+
296 pages.
Genre: nonfiction
Themes: Queer history, queer figures in history, lgbtqia+, historical bias
Opening:
History sounds really official. Like it’s all fact. But that’s not necessarily true. History was crafted by the people who recorded it. Imagine you got into a fight at school. Afterward, there will be different versions of what happened.. You’ll have your story, the other kid will have their story, and a third person, who maybe saw the fight happen, will have a third story. Whose story will the principal believe? Which version will become the official story, the history of the moment?
Synopsis:
History has often left out the stories of LGBTQIA+ people: men who loved men, women who loved women, people who loved without regard to gender, and people who lived outside gender boundaries. Historians have even censored the lives and loves of some of the world’s most famous people, from William Shakespeare and Pharaoh Hatshepsut to Cary Grant and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Lee Wind’s book provides a fascinating journey through primary sources?poetry, memoir, news clippings, and images of ancient artwork?to explore the hidden (and often surprising) Queer lives and loves of two dozen historical figures.
Why I like this book:
I have already read and reviewed Lee Wind’s great middle grade novel, Queer as a Five Dollar Bill (2018), which is based on solid evidence indicating that Abraham Lincoln was gay. Given the history of the treatment of the LGBTQIA+ community, it’s not a surprise that a lot of the history of this community has been suppressed, especially when it comes to the biographies of individuals. This new collective biography examines the lives of men who loved men, women who loved women, and people who lived outside gender boundaries, and puts these individuals, their times, and their evolving histories into context.
There’s a lot of queer history that was not recorded, or was systematically ignored. Wind starts with a really helpful introduction about different ways this history was hidden, as well as “Good Stuff to Know”. The side bars are super helpful and break up the denser text, making this very readable. I especially liked facts about the language that should be used. There are a lot of differences of opinion, as well as terminology preferences, and the explanations are really well done. I love that there is information about staying safe as well. This intro chapter alone is worth buying the book; it gives shows readers the difficulties that have been faced in the past and are still being faced, and is a great place for starting conversations.
From Abe, to Eleanor Roosevelt, to Catalina de Erauso (the lieutenant nun), each entry gives a brief description of the person’s life and works, evidence as to why they were gay, how this identity affected their lives and treatment. Historical context is a strength throughout the book, and the many illustrations of photographs support the narrative.
No Way, They Were Gay? is a well-researched, intriguing book of history. There is a concerted effort to include all facets of the LGBTQIA+ community, and there’s some cultural diversity as well. I hope we will see in all middle and high school libraries.
Resources/Activities:
Wind’s note about whom to include was also helpful. There were some people who were already on my radar, but some that were many new to me as well. The research is phenomenal, and there are extensive source notes at the back. It was particularly inspired to present the research and then ask readers “What do YOU think?” There is a lot of primary source evidence cited, making this book a fantastic resource for teaching use of primary sources in history projects.
The “Putting it in Order” chart at the back is also very helpful; sometimes it’s hard to understand the historical order of events across world history.
I think this would be an awesome text to do as a group read in GSA’s around the country.
In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.
