sashahc's reviews
169 reviews

The Diablo's Curse by Gabe Cole Novoa

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Now, cuz young teens deserve Pride, too, I have an early YA for you.  "The Diablo's Curse" by Gabe Cole Novoa is about Dami, a gender fluid teenage demonio trying to finish out his contracts so he can become human again.  But this inconvenient and stubborn cute boy with a curse keeps dying....  There are adventures to mysterious isles!  Shipwrecks!  Pirate's treasure!  A wise cracking trans woman who takes no shit.  And a healthy dose of queer teenage longing.  I can't tell you how pleased I am that these books exist for my kiddo.

Gabe Cole Novoa: “I really love writing queer historicals, specifically because it gives a sense of legacy. I think oftentimes it’s easy to forget that queer and trans people have always been here.  And so being able to write these stories and put these characters in, you know, a hundred, 200 years ago helps to add to that narrative to say that even though traditionally, in media, we haven’t seen queer characters in historicals as often. They were there. They existed, and we have always been here."

Gabe Cole Novoa (he/him) is a Latinx transmasculine author who writes speculative fiction featuring marginalized characters grappling with identity. Now leveled up with an MFA in Writing for Children, when he isn’t being nerdy at his day job, or buried under his TBR pile, you’ll likely find him making heart-eyes at the latest snazzy outfit he wants to add to his wardrobe.
Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Blanca & Roja" by Anna-Marie McLemore is a sort of Snow White/Rose Red meets Swan Lake retelling.  The del Cisne sisters are born into a family with a curse - one girl in each generation is claimed by the swans.  It's hard to describe this book - quiet and lush almost to the point of hallucinogenic.  It leans into modern fantasy / magical realism and things are described in details that are sometime critical to the story and sometimes just beautiful.  There is generational trauma and outsider status and class divisions.  There is also mystery and overabundant foliage and witchiness.  And queer identity and longing, of course.  I want to reread this #book in a hammock surrounded by humid forest and the sound of cicadas.

Anna Marie McLemore: "I’m nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them. I’m often a boy, sometimes a girl. The fact that I’ve written so many trans and nonbinary characters without knowing I was one is humbling, but I hope it’s also a reminder that so many of us are on the journey of claiming who we are. If you are, Blanca, Roja, Yearling, Page, and I are there with you."

Anna-Marie McLemore (they/them) is a queer, Latine, nonbinary author with ADHD and dyslexia who grew up hearing la llorona in the Santa Ana winds.  Their identity is a work in progress.
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"The Taking of Jake Livingston" by Ryan Douglass is a YA horror ghost story about Jake, a gay Black teenager haunted by Sawyer Doon, the gay white school shooter in the next town over, who is still out for vengeance against his abusers.  The sense of dread and fear in this book is palpable.  But so, too, is the hope and longing to survive and even thrive.  This one is heavy: mental illness, rejection, bullying, racism, homophobia, abuse, and complex questions of justice.  But there is also a sweet teenage crush and someone discovering his own power.

Ryan Douglass: "I want more stories that encompass current realities of Black life, including realistic examination of how ideological differences in the Black community stunt our capacity for liberation. Specifically how homophobia and transphobia work in our own communities and how differences between Black radicals and Black liberals show up today. I’m dying for stories that don’t focus on racism, and ones that aren’t concerned with convincing white people how Black people are human too. That always feels pretty shallow to me, conceiving of a Black story through a white voyeur. "

Ryan Douglass (he/him) is a Black, queer man with ADHD and dyslexia.  He was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, where he currently resides, cooking pasta and playing records. He enjoys wooden-wick candles, falling asleep on airplanes, and advocating for stronger media representation for queer Black people.
The Truthseer and the Goose by Aven Shore-Kind

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“The Truthseer and the Goose” by Aven Shore-Kind.  It is described as a pastoral fantasy, which I think is appropriate. It’s the story of a goose, a disgruntled beekeeper, and a teen finding their gender identity in a world other than this one. It’s got bees and farming and traveling by foot.  It’s got minor magic and a monetary system based on contribution to society.  The world is gently unique, and the world building is intimate, where you learn along with the characters. If you are looking for a gentle and soothing escape, this is a good one.  (TW:  there is an attempted assault towards the beginning)

Aven Shore-Kind: “This one has me in it.  Bits of my soul live in most of the characters and I relate to their journeys.  I did not know what genre I was writing in, I largely ignored story arc, and I had no audience in mind.  My goal and daily writing struggle was to say what I meant… but it’s not always easy to wrap words around a thing!   I only needed to hear from one person that they had received the message I was trying to send.”

Aven Shore-Kind (she/they) is a white American and Canadian who lives in the woods of rural Canada with an entourage of chickens and several hives of honeybees.  She has narrated over 300 audiobooks and has been a firefighter, a tax preparer, a bartender, and a professional snowboarder.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“The Saint of Bright Doors” by Vajra Chandrasekera is a #book full of turns and passages and yes, doors.  I had no idea where it would end up.  Fetter is a refugee in a big city who acts as a sort of neighborhood fixer, meeting his lover regularly and relatively satisfied with life.  He is also the son of a goddess who was trained as an assassin to kill his cult leader father from a young age. There are revolutionaries and archaeologists and time slipping and curses and colonialism and refugee camps and multigenerational family drama on an epic, earth shattering scale.  It references Sri Lankan lore and history and has a rich, colorful world.  Definitely a brain twister.

Vajra Chandrasekera: “The hurts that I know, and try to give, and take, [are] on the page. Grief and lost things; atrocity and guilt; bodies and minds damaged by time and broken in twisted histories; love and treason; not mindfulness but bloody-mindedness, you know, ordinary life, but your feet sinking two inches below the surface of the earth. Things that are bittersweet and smoky. Things that feel like a rainy city street at night, lit in yellow. Things that ache between the chakras of the heart and the throat.”

Vajra Chandrasekera (he/him) is a queer second generation writer-editor from Colombo, Sri Lanka.  He has published over 50 short stories and is a recent Nebula award winner. He claims to be a revenant.
The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“The Sun and the Star” by Mark Oshiro and Rick Riordan is in the Percy Jackson world and it’s gaaaaaay.  It’s about boyfriends and demigods  Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, the sons of Hades and Apollo, on their quest into Tartarus to rescue their old friend Bob.   There are adventures and battles and mythic creatures come to life.  There are personal demons and personal growth realized, healing from trauma and learning to support each other.  It’s a rollicking middle grade tale.

Mark Oshiro (to LGBTQ+ readers): “You belong here. You belong in adventures, in fantasies, in middle grade books, in the world around us. You are every bit as important and as brilliant as the sun and the stars. We both hope that this #book makes your heart sing!”

Rick Riordan: “Writing about two young queer demigods, I felt very strongly that this wasn’t a story I should be telling by myself as an older straight guy. I needed to work with a great LGBTQ+ author who could bring perspective and thoughtfulness to these characters in ways that I might not be able to.”

Mark Oshiro (they/them) is a queer Latinx author based in Atlanta.  They love vinyl records, running, and when not writing, they are trying to pet every dog in the world.

Rick Riordan (he/him) is the straight white man responsible for Percy Jackson and the fabulous Rick Riordan Presents imprint that highlights middle grade writers from many backgrounds and mythologies.
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps”, a novella by Kai Ashante Wilson, is one of those books where you’ll want to linger on some of the turns of phrase.  It is almost a slice of life of Demane, the main character, a sorcerer who is descended from a god and who works for a merchant caravan as a guard.  He is also the secret lover of the captain of the guardsmen, another god touched man.  It switches between formal and casual registers as the cultures of each of the characters intersect.  It’s beautiful and by turns melancholy and hopeful and colorful.   It has passion and an appreciation for life and culture.  It is very worth a read.

Kai Ashante Wilson:  “One insidious idea that holds true for African Americans especially is that only sweet and unblemished innocence has any worth, and that any flaw or instance of wrong-doing merits all the hardship and retribution that ever comes your way. [...] My thinking was, Fuck that noise. Guys who are ‘no angel’ deserve heroes looking out for them too.”

Kai Ashante Wilson (he/him) is a Black queer man.  He was born in Toledo, Ohio and lives in New York City.  He began to look for male queer characters in genre fiction at age 12.  He was a techno-optimist until recently.
Inara: Light of Utopia by Yaffa As

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emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing slow-paced

5.0

In a time where pinkwashing is used against Palestine as a pretext for genocide, it feels especially important to include the speculative voices of LGBTQ+ Palestinians.  “Inara: Light of Utopia,” edited by Mx Yaffa AS, is a collection of stories, poems, and art by queer Palestinians from around the world collectively imagining free Falasteen, a utopia that comes after occupied Palestine and the fall of capitalist regimes throughout the world.   It is rich with love for the land and imagines deep inclusivity and mutual aid. It is full of flavors and sights and the warmth of family and community.  It made me wish for a free Falasteen, as well.  I want to see that future.

Yaffa: “I think that’s absolutely necessary in any resistance movement is to find modalities that are fully accessible for everyone. Like, not every, not everyone could create a giant mural. I love that people can do that not everyone can can make music, I love that some people can do that. Not everyone can write novels. I love that people can do that. Poetry, though, for the most part, whether it’s poetry, as in like written or even like in storytelling and verbal exchanges. Poetry is almost accessible by everybody.”

Yaffa (They/She) is an acclaimed disabled, autistic, trans, queer, Muslim, and indigenous Palestinian. They are the executive Director of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) & author of Blood Orange. In a Free Falasteen, Yaffa is a death worker and spirit healer.
Water Horse by Melissa Scott

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“Water Horse” by Melissa Scott is an epic fantasy of the old school.  There are folk beneath the hills, prophesies, talismanic weapons, alliances made between kingdoms, and invading hordes of religious zealots.  But it’s also about the bonds between parents and children and the responsibilities of leadership.  There is a multigenerational ensemble cast, mostly queer, of interesting finely drawn characters.  Like maybe if GoT wasn’t grim dark and full of assholes!.  Anyway, if you have a hankering for a good yarn, it’s a fine choice.

Melissa Scott: “ I wouldn't say that my work is written for a lesbian audience—I want as wide an audience as I can get—but it is all definitely written from a lesbian perspective. I mean, it really can't not be! It's a huge part of who I am. But I've been an out lesbian writer since the 1980s, and that perspective has meant different things and received very different reactions over those decades. It's a lot less fraught than it was when I started, that's for sure! And of course some of my stories are addressing issues that are most directly relevant to and subject to debate by a queer audience.”

Melissa Scott (she/her) is a white Lesbian author of over thirty books.  She was born and raised in Little Rock, AK. She has a PhD in comparative history and has been publishing SFF books for forty years.
The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“The Red Scholar’s Wake” by Aliette de Bodard has Vietnamese inspired lesbian space pirates!  Xích Si’s ship is captured by the Red Banner pirate fleet and she is offered protection via an arranged marriage between herself and Rice Fish, a sentient space ship and leader of the Red Banner.  She is thrust into piracy politics, interstellar war, sapphic longing, and questioning her view of the universe.  There is tea and dumplings, found family, disaster lesbians, and nerdy engineers.  I’m sure this will scratch someone’s itch!

Aliette de Bodard: “The further away your character is in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, time period . . . from you, the more work you're going to have to catch up with them. And when you're doing a minority culture, there's also a significant risk of misrepresentation: it is very very hard to not perpetuate problematic clichés (the Mystical Asian, the Native American magically in tune with nature, etc.), because, if you haven't had firsthand experience of the culture, the clichés are what feel natural to you. It's a problem both because you continue perpetuating clichés, and because you drown out voices from the culture”

Aliette de Bodard (she/her) is queer, lives in Paris, France, and is of French and Vietnamese descent.  She works as a software engineer specializing in image processing.  She speaks French, English, passable Spanish, and basic Vietnamese.  She likes semi-colons and fountain pens.