PULPStories Tour: Robin Talley's LGBTQ* YA Recomendations

Today is my stop on the #PULPstories Tour, the blog tour for Robin Talley's latest novel, Pulp, which was published on 16th November! Robin is stopping by the blog with a guest post, recommending a number of LGBTQ* YA novels.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. This story, about a 15-year-old Iranian-American boy on his first-ever trip to Iran where he quickly becomes close friends with a very intriguing local boy, might be my favorite read of 2018, and that’s saying a lot. Darius is smart, hilarious, and misunderstood by pretty much everyone around him, and I would happily read 50 Darius sequels if it meant I got to spend more time inside his head.

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Review: Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley (eProof) - Fifteen-year-old Aki Simon has a theory.

And it’s mostly about sex.

No, it isn’t that kind of theory. Aki already knows she’s bisexual–-even if, until now, it’s mostly been in the hypothetical sense.

Aki’s theory is that she’s only got one shot at living an interesting life–-and that means she’s got to stop sitting around and thinking so much. It’s time for her to actually do something. Or at least try.

So when Aki and her friend Lori set off on a trip to a small Mexican town for the summer, and Aki meets Christa - slightly-older, far-more-experienced - it seems her theory is prime for the testing.

But something tells her its not going to be that easy... From Goodreads.

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Diversity Spotlight Thursday #4

Diversity Spotlight Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Aimal of Bookshelves and Paperbacks. Every week, we are to come up with one book in each of three different categories: a diverse book we have read and enjoyed, a diverse book on your TBR, and one that has not yet been released.

A Diverse Book I Enjoyed:

Run to Kody Keplinger

Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and an alcoholic mom. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks.

Agnes Atwood has never stayed out past ten p.m., never gone on a date and never broken any of her parents' overbearing rules. Rules that are meant to protect their legally-blind daughter, but Agnes isn't quite sure what they are protecting her from.

Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. And it's the sort of friendship that runs more deeply than anything else. But when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, police sirens wailing in the distance, Agnes is faced with the biggest choice she's ever had to make. Run, or stay? From Goodreads.

I loved this book a hell of a lot more than I thought it would. I bought it after all the VOYA controversy, and it was brilliant! And #OwnVoices legally blind character, and a bisexual character. Such a great book. Check out my review.

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Review: As I Descended by Robin Talley

As I Descended by Robin Talley (Review Copy) - Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

From acclaimed author Robin Talley comes a Shakespeare-inspired story of revenge and redemption, where fair is foul, and foul is fair. From Goodreads.

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Discussion: Why Hyping Books Because of Content Can Be a Good Thing

The lovely and wonderful Cait of Paper Fury started off the year with a great discussion, asking Is Book Hype Trully All That Bad? It's a really great post full of Cait's usual humour, but it also makes some really great points, especially about how everyone is different and we should read what we want, but not to necessarily ignore the hype. However, there was one point Cait made that I would like to look at in more detail. In her post, Cait makes a list of pros and cons for hyped books, and one the cons is:

"It’s NOT being hyped because it’s a “good book”…it’s being hyped because it fills a hole in the book world. I think this is monstrously unfair. And I’ve definitely seen it happen! Oh this book features a blind, asexual, ethnic protagonist? HYPE IT. IT MUST BE GOOD. Um, excuse me but: not necessarily. It bugs me when a book gets hyped because of content, not good storytelling!"
(All emphasis in the quote is Cait's, not mine.)

Now, as Cait pointed out, not all books are going to be liked by everyone. So just because a book is hyped doesn't mean you'll like it. But I do think this kind of hype is important.

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Review: What We Left Behind by Robin Talley

What We Left Behind by Robin Talley (proof) - From the critically acclaimed author of Lies We Tell Ourselves comes an emotional, empowering story of what happens when love isn't enough to conquer all.

Toni and Gretchen are the couple everyone envied in high school. They've been together forever. They never fight. They're deeply, hopelessly in love. When they separate for their first year at college—Toni to Harvard and Gretchen to NYU—they're sure they'll be fine. Where other long-distance relationships have fallen apart, their relationship will surely thrive.

The reality of being apart, however, is a lot different than they expected. As Toni, who identifies as genderqueer, falls in with a group of transgender upperclassmen and immediately finds a sense of belonging that has always been missing, Gretchen struggles to remember who she is outside their relationship.

While Toni worries that Gretchen, who is not trans, just won't understand what is going on, Gretchen begins to wonder where she fits in Toni's life. As distance and Toni's shifting gender identity begins to wear on their relationship, the couple must decide—have they grown apart for good, or is love enough to keep them together? From Goodreads.

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Inappropriate Language in Books - Are Authors Contributing to the Problem or Being True to Life?

I've been thinking recently about inappropriate language in books. The protagonist of my current read has used some words that aren't really appropriate, and that can be offensive, and it's made me think.

When inappropriate language is used, is the author simply being true to how their characters might speak, or by using it, are they telling readers it's ok to use such language?

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Review: Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley (review copy) - It's 1959. The battle for civil rights is raging. And it's Sarah Dunbar's first day of school, as one of the first black students at the previously all-white Jefferson High. No one wants Sarah there. Not the Governor. Not the teachers. And certainly not the students – especially Linda Hairston, daughter of the town’s most ardent segregationist. Sarah and Linda have every reason to despise each other. But as a school project forces them to spend time together, the less their differences seem to matter. And Sarah and Linda start to feel something they've never felt before. Something they're both determined ignore. Because it's one thing to be frightened by the world around you - and another thing altogether when you're terrified of what you feel inside. From Goodreads

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