Happy Pride Month!
In case you didn't know it, June is Pride Month, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. Obviously, they are celebrated all year around, but this month is particularly special for them. I made a similar post last year called "my favourite LGBTQ+ books", which you can read here. This post links to a series of posts I'll be making on my Bookstagram throughout June promoting a different book for each colour of the Pride flag (including a pink book, even thought that isn't a part of the Pride flag). A lot of these will be quite popular Pride books, but I hope there are some you might not have read before.
Red- Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda (Love, Simon) by Becky Albertalli
I want to start of my recommendation with an amendment from my 2020 pride post. In that post I said that Becky identified as straight. She has since come out as bisexual after a lot of harassment online. Firstly, it was wrong of me to assume that she was straight. As it literally says in her book, "why do we assume that straight is the default?". I apologise for doing that, I made a mistake and will work towards being more careful in the future. Secondly, what Becky has had to go through is truly horrible. I don't know the whole story, but I hope she's okay.
Now onto the actual recommendation. Simon vs (or Love, Simon as I think it's now known) is a YA classic. It follows a boy called Simon who is outed as gay and has to figure out who the mysterious "blue" is, as he's been emailing him. I read this back in 2018 in one sitting. It was funny, heartwarming and did the coming out story justice. I still haven't watched the film, but I am going to. I have fond memories of this book and it would be wrong to not recommend such as classic LGBTQ+ novel.
Orange- Trans*A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability by Jack Halberstam
This is one that I haven't read, but am planning on getting to in June. I won a free copy from my uni library last year. As far as I know, this is a non-fiction books about being trans and the gender spectrum. As someone who identifies as cis, this is something I'd like to know more about. The trans community had a very difficult time last year with the whole JK Rowling controversy, so I would like to expand my knowledge on gender and be able to be an ally to the trans community. They are valid and welcome members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Yellow- Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
Alice Oseman is one of my favourite authors and it just so happens that she is an LGBTQ+ writer. She also writes LGBTQ+ stories. I could have done an entire Pride rainbow flag from just her books. Nick and Charlie is a novella within the Heartstopper series about the titular characters. It follows them as Nick finishes school to go to uni and where this leaves their relationship. I read it last year and enjoyed it. There was a bit too much drama for my liking, but the LGBTQ+ rep was great.
Green- Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
I wasn't joking when I said I could make this entire Pride post about Alice's books. I've already touched on the Heartstopper series, so I had to include this on here. The Heartstopper books are some of my all time favourites. They follow Nick and Charlie from the beginning of their relationship (as friends, then boyfriends) and how it progresses. I've read all four volumes this year and they never fail to put a smile on my face. They do tackle some quite serious topics, such as mental health and eating disorders, but mostly these are soul warming books.
Blue- Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Another one I haven't read and am hoping to get to this month. This was on my radar at the beginning of the year and I'm very happy I picked up a copy. This is set in the 1950s as communism is sweeping America. It follows two girls, one about to be deported, as they discover their sexuality in a time where being LGBTQ+ wasn't widely accepted. I've heard a lot of good things about this, especially that it is someone discovering their sexuality, rather than someone who is comfortable with it. I can't wait to dive in at some point this month.
Purple- You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson
I adored this when I read it last year. This is about a young black girl hoping to win Prom Queen in order to win a scholarship so she can attend her dream university. Along the way, she meets and falls for the new kid who is also competing to be Prom Queen. This was a fun, summer contemporary. It did tackle some quite major these such as homophobia and racism, but the overall tone was quite hopeful. I know Leah Johnson has another book coming out this year, but it's apparently very different from this one. If you are looking for a cute, summer, female-female romance, then look no further.
Pink- Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston
Casey McQuinston also has another book coming out, but we're here to talk about her other book. I read this on holiday in 2019 in Bruges, so I will always associate this book with good memories. This follows ficticious versions of the son of the President of America and the Prince of England as they are forced to form a friendship that then evolves into a romance. I believe this is the only adult book on this list, so it does feature some more explicit sex scenes. Like You Should See Me In A Crown, this is another fun, summer romance novel.
That concludes my list of Pride recommendations for 2021!
