Today is my stop on the #PULPstories Tour, the blog tour for Robin Talley's latest novel, PULP, inspired by the history of Queer literature in the 1950s - novels which were printed on cheap 'pulp' paper and flew under the radar of censors by adhering to certain stipulations (lesbian characters had extremely rare happy endings and often either received punishment for daring to be different or ended up realising 'the error of their ways' and entering into a heterosexual relationship.) Robin is sharing the books which inspired her and the ones she found along the way to creating her own story.

About PULP:

In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. It’s not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself—and Marie—to a danger all too real.

Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can’t stop thinking about her senior project and its subject—classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby’s own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires and tragedies of the characters she’s reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity.

In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we’ve come and how much farther we have to go. 

Robin Talley’s Recommended Reading – Lesbian Pulp Fiction
 
Beebo Brinker by Ann Bannon (1962). Ann Bannon, the legendary queen of lesbian pulp fiction, wrote a series of books now known as the Beebo Brinker Chronicles, and this — the last in the series, and a prequel to the rest — is my personal favorite. Beebo Brinker is a masculine woman living in a time when being who she is means being shut out of most of society, but she lives, loves and thrives despite it all. This is the book that will suck you in and introduce you to the long-running soap-opera-esque story that encompasses Beebo and her many queer friends and lovers in 1950s Greenwich Village.
 
The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (1952). This novel, made into the film Carol starring Cate Blanchett in 2015, is an incredible work of literature by an extremely talented author (who unfortunately was also a very problematic human being). It’s a romance between two women in New York that starts like a dark fairy tale and goes to very frightening places before an ultimately — and surprisingly — uplifting ending. A must-read.
 
The Girls in 3-B by Valerie Taylor (1959). Valerie Taylor, another prolific author of lesbian pulp fiction, thoroughly captivated me with this story of three recent high school graduates who move from the far-out suburbs into a tiny Chicago apartment and face a gritty urban landscape that they’re all thoroughly unprepared for at the age of 18. Two of the characters are straight, and their stories are full of their own alarming highs and lows, but the third character finds herself — after plenty of highs and lows of her own — in a romance with a female coworker that’s by far the most positive relationship in the book. It’s a fascinating look at a terrifying time to be a young woman and the surprising ways the characters find to make it despite the odds.
 
Spring Fire by Marijane Meaker (1952). This novel, by another prolific author (who also writes young adult stories under the pen name M.E. Kerr), is credited with starting the lesbian pulp fiction phenomenon. Its success in the early 1950s (1.5 million copies sold!) inspired legions of imitators. It’s set on a university campus and follows two sorority sisters who become roommates and, shortly thereafter, lovers — but who stand to lose everything if anyone even guesses at their secret. The author was forced to put a tragic ending on this novel by her publisher (they were understandably worried about censorship) but the story that comes before that is mesmerizing and more than a little chilling.

​@Robin_Talley
 
Thank you, Robin, for the guest post, and all the fantastic recommendations! Check out Robin's contemporary LGBTQ+ YA recommendations on her tour stop yesterday with Jo at Once Upon A Bookcase. Check out the rest of the stops on the tour below!

Girl Hearts Girl
By Lucy Sutcliffe
Release Date: 24th June 2016
Publisher: Scholastic
Buy here

Girl Hearts Girl is the open hearted and easily readable memoir from YouTuber, Lucy Sutcliffe. Charting her journey of self-discovery from bookish little girl to confident film editor, the book is a story of overcoming anxiety and breaking down society's heteronormative views to find the girl she is at heart. Funny, inspiring and uplifting, Lucy’s candid introspection is the perfect book to share with anyone questioning their sexuality or wanting to gain some perspective on a life that doesn’t fit into the mainstream girl meets Prince Charming narrative.

Sutcliffe's debut memoir is a personal and moving coming out story. In 2010, at seventeen, Lucy Sutcliffe began an online friendship with Kaelyn, from Michigan. They began a long distance relationship, finally meeting in 2011. Lucy's video montage of their first week spent together was the first in a series of vlogs documenting their long-distance relationship. Funny, tender and candid, the films attracted them a vast online following. Now, for the first time, Lucy's writing about the incredible personal journey she's been on.

I very much enjoyed reading Girl Hearts Girl – as a fellow queer girl, growing up in rural Oxfordshire, I related so much to Lucy’s story. It makes me so happy knowing girls who follow Lucy will have this book available to them to see they aren’t alone. The first time I heard of Lucy Sutcliffe was when Diva Magazine reported on a meet up she and Kaelyn had organised for queer women in London. It was the first time it had occurred to me to check out YouTube to hear directly from real women out in the world, living their life and celebrating their loves openly. Girl Hearts Girl is the perfect book to check out for anyone curious about how she got to that place of living out, open and proud, and sharing glimpses of her life with fans around the world.

The book begins with stories from Lucy’s experiences being the self-proclaimed quiet, bookish weird girl at her Primary School who struggled with anxiety and making friends. She idolised young female protagonists in books such as Little Women, Pippi Longstocking, and Hermione in Harry Potter. Wallpapering her wardrobe in magazine clippings of Emma Watson, she experienced crushes on actresses whilst internalising Hermione’s determination and desire to achieve well academically and stand up for her self worth as a young, intelligent and fiercely independent young woman. Girl Hearts Girl speaks directly to anyone who struggled to join in a conversation with their friends at school because the gender of their celebrity crushes doesn’t match up with the topic (or boyband) of the day.

As Lucy begins to realise she is gay at age fourteen, the book moves along to her internal struggle to define her sense of self, attempting to find a label so she knew where she belonged, despite not being ready to claim that label out loud, nor fully ready to embrace her identity fully. It’s a great exploration of evolving ideas of sexuality, both allowing you to proclaim yourself and giving the reader (and Lucy’s past self) the space to try ideas on and cast them away if they don’t quite work. Being honest is a process, and there’s no end point. Embrace the journey and you’ll find your way. It's a strong case for the continued need for coming out stories, to help young people feel their own way along the path. The process is ongoing and changeable.

But there’s no rush to this discovery – as Lucy explores through her memories of three years of self-denial to her decision at the end of Sixth form to finally come out to friends and family, it takes time to get to a place of comfort with self proclaiming something as intimate as desire and love, or something as integral to who you are as a person.

Lucy also candidly discusses the negative mental health effects of keeping some integral part of yourself a secret out of fear. The constant nagging feeling of lying to those closest to you, even if you know you aren’t yet ready to come out. The worry that you’re different, weird, an outcast, just waiting to be discovered amidst the terrible clashing ground of school personalities. Lucy’s honesty in this respect is very relatable and reinforces the point that even those most out and proud still experienced the struggles of self-acceptance we all go through. Her advocacy of CBT and therapy groups in university is particularly relevant to teens and young adults finding their feet in the pressures of today. Rejecting toxic friendships and finding friends who love and accept you is so important, and that applies to everyone but particularly LGBTQ* youth who may experience alienation and bullying as well as their own struggles.

Lucy’s relationship with her American girlfriend Kaelyn is also a large focus in the latter parts of the book, as she embraces her sexuality and reaches out through tumblr to someone she sees to be going through similar experiences. This incredibly brave step led to a long lasting long distance relationship that has inspired young women around the world. Their story is sweet, fun, real, and honest, and by choosing to share their love with the public in this small but important way, they've changed lives.

I think Girl Hearts Girl is the perfect book to give to any young teen wanting to think about the world in all the many shades of the rainbow, however they identify. 

About Lucy:
Co-star of the popular YouTube channel Kaelyn and Lucy which documented the long distance relationship she had with Kaelyn Petras. She and Kaelyn finally came together in August of 2014, ending the long distance element of their relationship. She graduated from Plymouth College of Art and Design in 2014 with a degree in Film Arts. She works as a freelance film editor and author. She and Kaelyn's channel mainly focuses on advice videos for LGBT youth.

Find Lucy on Twitter at @LucyLiz and on YouTube 

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE.

There is a tour-wide giveaway! 3 copies of Girl Hearts Girl for 3 lucky winners! Participants must live in UK or IRL

Follow the link to enter: GIVEAWAY

Orangeboy
By Patrice Lawrence
Published 2 June 2016
Review copy from Books With Bite

Thrilling, dangerous, compelling, mysterious and intriguing - delve into the curious question of Orangeboy for a fast and furious contemporary read. One of my most highly anticipated books of 2016, the debut YA novel from author Patrice Lawrence Orangeboy is an action packed story that hurtles along the streets of London, and my heart is still pounding after the final page. It is the journey of one young boy’s desperate attempts to outrun the past and a society whose expectations are stacked against him.

Set in and around the residential streets of a Hackney estate, Lawrence’s Orangeboy is a contemporary thriller that demands you race along in a screaming downward spiral when main character Marlon is forced to do terrible things to keep his family safe. With a breezy, humorous and engaging writing style that cuts through the clutter and gets straight to the point, you can’t help but keep turning the page to find out what happens next.

“Not cool enough, not clever enough, not street enough for anyone to notice me. I was the kid people look straight through. Not anymore. Not since Mr Orange.”

Sixteen year old Marlon has made his Mum a promise – he’ll never follow his big brother, Andre, down the wrong path. But when a date ends in tragedy, Marlon finds himself hunted. Now he must become the person he never wanted to be to protect everyone he loves.

I spent six hours on a train reading this book, and it swept me along so brilliantly I barely felt the time. The central mystery that Marlon must solve will keep you guessing throughout, just who exactly is Mr Orange? What does he have to do with the path Marlon is travelling? It reminds me of films like Kidulthood and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Attack the Block with a hint of The Dumping Ground. The references to Reservoir Dogs, which doggedly follow Marlon through the footfalls of Hackney and Stratford as he runs from his anonymous enemies, are masterfully interwoven into the plot.

Lawrence explores what happens when you set your prejudices aside to enter into the mind of someone who feels they’ve been backed into a corner, and asks what would make the nicest person you know do desperate things? The powerful opening chapter that follows Marlon on a date with the beautiful Sonya, girl of his dreams, will give you an electric shock with its unapologetic exploration of race, privilege, revenge and selfish manipulation. It’s an ecstatic fairground ride with a heartstopping end. What happens will make your jaw drop in horror and desperate to read on.

Patrice’s writing makes you really feel for her protagonist He’s in the most horrendous of spiralling circumstances, with luck stacking up against him. Marlon is a brilliant character that you want to be ok, he just feels so real and honest. He is the invisible kid at school, the one with his head down, getting his work done and keeping out of trouble. There’s nothing particularly remarkable about him, besides the backstory of his family. His brother Andre had been in trouble with the police for his involvement in local gangs and drug dealing, the outcome of which landed him in an accident that left him permanently brain damaged and even angrier against the injustices of the world. The ramifications of Andre’s past have collateral damage, and the ricochet gets to Marlon despite his best efforts. Intrinsic to the plot and to the characters is a deft and knowledgeable exploration of race relations in the UK, and particularly in the gang culture of London, which Lawrence conveys in her realistic and much needed depiction of the multifaceted, multicultural landscape of the area. This is no whitewashed London populated by stereotypes.

One of the elements I most enjoyed about the book was the strained friendship between Milo (his nickname) and Tish. Next door neighbours and best friends since childhood, the circumstances threaten to tear them apart, with Marlon delving deeper into his own thoughts and paranoia, and Tish feeling left behind and forgotten. She’s a mouthy, bolshy presence who keeps him honest, even when he doesn’t want to be reminded of who he is at heart. I’d love to find out more about what makes Tish tick, and her own story.

In the Urban Dictionary, Orange Boy is an insult used to offend someone who goes against a cause they used to stand by - the story of Milo as he ventures away from the boy he used to be to the man he must become to survive is perilous, and full of pitfalls that tiptoe along the line of morality. When family ties are stretched thin, right and wrong is a blurred, inconstant dichotomy. As the story hurtles towards its conclusion, the tangled lives of the brothers screech to an end that doesn't allow anyone off easily, it's a truthful and powerful story that is much needed in the UK YA scene. 

I absolutely adored this story. It is full of tears and laughter, unfettered fears and furious joy, family and friendship. This important, gripping, heart in your throat contemporary about teen boy swept up in trouble is not to be missed. For fans of Malorie Blackman, Jacqueline Wilson, Alan Gibbons, Benjamin Zephaniah and Melvin Burgess. If you like your stories real, heartfelt and moving, Orangeboy is one for you.
 
​5*

Carry On
By Rainbow Rowell
Published 8 October 2015
Copy purchased.
 
Fandom is important. It can be life changing. It can be life saving. The shared community, the in jokes, the anticipation and excitement, the creation, reimagining, reframing and sharing of a much loved media. I adored and highly related to Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, which followed Cath on her path through college, combating anxiety and falling in love all the while working on her epic meta fanfic that shipped storybook characters, Simon and Baz. As such, it was with much fangirlish excitement that I anticipated this spin off Simon Snow story from Rainbow herself. And I wasn’t disappointed. In Carry On, Rainbow creates the meta meta fanfic novel of my dreams.
 
With more than a wink and a nod to Potter, Carry On follows Simon and Baz on their final year at Watford School of Magicks. Simon is the most powerful magician the world has ever known, the Chosen One, but he’s the worst Chosen One you’ve ever encountered. He can’t cast spells properly, and his magic tends to just build up and go off, catching all and sundry in the blast. Baz is his roommate, his nemesis, and also a teen vampire (even if no one will believe Simon when he tells them!) He’s also missing. Together with his best friend Penelope, and his ex-girlfriend Agatha, Simon must survive the school year…if only he could stop obsessing about that git Baz’s whereabouts.
 
This is a school where there are dragons, ghosts, pixies, a mint aero, mobile phones and laundry to deal with alongside lessons. It is FANTASTIC.
 
I wasn’t sure what to expect when picking up Carry On. It *could* have been a full on spoof, with jokes on every page to the detriment of plot. However Rainbow works her magic and instead creates a subtle world that celebrates the mundanity of ‘Normal’ life, from bus rides and foster homes to Ant and Dec, and puts it alongside a world full of incredible magical things that all still serve a function. The spells aren’t intricate Latin, but instead clichés and song lyrics, imbued with power from their repetition. The swearing is TOP NOTCH, with all the f bombs and Stevie Nicks you can dream of, paired alongside a good dose of Merlin’s beard. It made me guffaw. Actually guffaw. I’m glad no one was there to see it…
 
Of course, we can’t discuss Carry On without discussing the central relationship. For many shippers and fandoms, writing same sex pairings is old hat. (One word…Drarry.) But as the push for diverse stories demonstrates, there’s always always room for more in mainstream media. Simon and Baz are a delightful nod to tropey love stories of fics past, as enemies turned reluctant friends, turned lovers. They’re also fully rounded in their own right, with foibles, loves and worries as individuals. Rainbow creates an entirely new set of characters who deserve their own stories. With simmering tension, and lingering looks, they are the ultimate JUST KISS couple…and boy will they let you know when they do.The UST on this M/M OTP is truly explosive!! Rainbow’s fandom credentials come out in force in these scenes, and she can make you swoon with utmost gusto. She also looks at self-identifying and labels, with two very different paths. 
 
As to the villain of the story, move over He Who Must Not Be Named, the Humdrum is here, and his raison d’etre is to suck away magic, leaving dead spots behind where no magic can be conjured. Worrying the mage world, this ultimate evil causes political unrest and fractious relationships in the coven. But all might not be as it seems. The Humdrum is wonderfully creepy in its slight ridiculousness. It seems quite the hapless villain, without much cause. But when it wreaks havoc, it really gets destructive. I laughed and gasped in equal measure.
 
I also adored the girls in Carry On. Mixed race Anglo-Indian Penelope with her magicked hair and her need to get everything sorted and keep Simon safe. She’s gobby and unapologetic and brilliant. She swears like a trooper with some damn fine inventiveness, and her knack with words makes her a fantastic magician. She also has a scene or two with just Agatha (which passes the Bechdel test thank you) who she doesn’t entirely get, but who is her friend all the same. Agatha is done with the magical world, and would rather be having pedicures with her friends, on sunning herself on a beach somewhere. With the trouble her friends get into on a regular basis...fair play!
 
This story unfolds slowly, taking its time, revelling in drip fed backstory and gorgeous tongue in cheek world building.The setting embraces fantasy England; there’s a boarding school, a manor house, catacombs and lakes, burning forests and brisk chases across the city. The action is earned, pacy and thrilling. The book is full of delightful hidden references, from British pop culture to UKYA authors!
 
With twists and turns, hilarity and humanity, love and loss, Carry On is one epic fandom ride that understands, celebrates and pushes the boundaries of the origins from which it was born. Cath would be proud.
 
Now…give me ALL the fanart!

​5*

PS: Thank you Mel for recommending I have chocolate at the ready. ALL THAT ROMANTIC TENSION AND DELICIOUS ANGST!!! I ate my feelings. Also Mint Aero.

The Next Together
By Lauren James
Published 3 Sept 2015
Review copy from Walker Books

From the moment I heard about the concept of The Next Together, a time hopping romance set in four different periods centered around reincarnated versions of the same couple, I was hooked. Then I saw the absolutely jaw droppingly beautiful cover designed by Jack Noel and the need to have it in my hands, yesterday, grew all the more urgent. What Lauren James delivers is a brilliant, funny, romantic, perilous, unforgettable journey that fans of Fangirl to The Time Traveller’s Wife would die for.

Our leads, Katherine and Matthew, are destined to meet in every lifetime, born again and again in a variety of lives. Every time they meet, they (eventually) fall hopelessly in love. However time is against them, and some perilous force is working to separate them. Will losing the person you love many times over eventually destroy them both? How many times can death split them apart before the world is really saved? Will it be different the next time they are together?

At the heart of the novel is a timeless love story, literally. We get to see feelings develop between our leads again and again in a multitude of extremely satisfying ways. From the Lady and her Servant, the journalist and his scribe disguised as a boy, to an office romance conducted via email and notes pinned to a fridge and eventually university lab partners. That James makes each reiteration of this pairing unique and yet utterly believably the same is a mark of her considerable skill both as a writer and as a clever plotter.

James also peppers her book with some fantastic tongue in cheek pop culture references, to OITNB (Orange Is The New Black) fandom, a nod to Sarah Waters, plus historical research from a Crimean War journal to Bonnie Prince Charlie and the attempted siege of England from Scotland. The detail she puts into defining each period works brilliantly in tandem with some clever font use from Walker’s designers, ensuring the reader is never lost in time. From written diaries to tumblr posts, the media in which the story is conveyed sets the tone of the time.

Furthermore the mystery that pushes the plot along will keep you guessing and completely on your toes, as you sense danger is never too far away from Katie and Matthew. Embroiled in wars, conspiracies and interference from all sides, they race forwards determined to save the day, if not to save themselves, then their loved ones' futures!

James’ writing is full of all the joy of fan culture, and her characters’ enthusiasm is absolutely endearing.

If you loved Cath from Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl’s sass and verve you will absolutely fall in love with Katherine/Katie whose clever tongue delivers quips and ironic insight with no holds barred and a twinkle in her eye. Matthew as the sweetly devoted yet droll observer of Katie’s wit is equally loveable. It makes their mission all the more heart pounding as you fear they will face the same fate as their predecessors. 

I am already super excited to read the next book in James' series, The Last Beginning, with a time travelling protagonist who is bound to become my next favourite.

The Next Together is a hilarious, heartfelt, tearjerker, fandom hug of a book that will no doubt garner a legion of adorers. My Quantum Leap, Time Traveller's Wife, Orphan Black, shameless Soulmate AU fic loving heart was in heaven!

Or as the me in another timeline would say...

The Big Lie
By Julie Mayhew
Published 27 August 2015

Jessika Davina Keller is the daughter of a high ranking official in an alternate history setting of modern day Nazi occupied England. She’s a good girl, who obeys her father. However when a family moves next door, she strikes up a friendship with their radical daughter Clementine that could change everything. Political unrest snaps at their heels and it soon forces Jessika to look beyond her blinkers and sheltered childhood. But what happens when the regime notices what’s going on behind closed doors?

I absolutely adored Julie Mayhew’s previous title from Hot Key Books, Red Ink, and had high hopes for the The Big Lie. My expectations were exceeded and then some, and the words “you HAVE to read this!” have been uttered emphatically many times since I first got my greedy mits on a copy. An alternate history with proud hot pink politics.

This powerful story weaves the past and present into a haunting image of life under the rule of the Reich – made all the more terrifying by its calm plausibility. Taking events such as Justin Bieber’s infamous message in Anne Frank’s house guest book and the protests and imprisonment of Pussy Riot, Mayhew’s modern day is not so far detached from our own.

As we are reading from Jessika’s reported recollections, events are disjointed, out of time, looking forward and back and missing out vital clues along the way to build an incomplete puzzle. Peeling back layers of propaganda and enforced naiveté is no easy feat. The main message of the book is to see, and to think. Challenge everything, even (especially) yourself and your own world view.

As I was reading one section in which a controversial concert is held in London’s Trafalgar Square, I couldn’t help but think of the 2014 LGBTQ* pride parade at which drag queen Conchita Wurst had performed having won Eurovision – all as the Russian laws against homosexuality were spread across the news.

This is particularly relevant due to Jessika’s loves and desires, her crushes and kisses – none of whom she can name out loud. As a young queer woman without the language to express her feelings, she forms relationships in secret, at once denying their existence to herself and terrified to share what’s happening to her with anyone else. The fear of being caught and the risk of being discovered is made all the more powerful due to the very real threat that faces her should she be found out.

If you’ve read Code Name Verity, Only Ever Yours, The Handmaid’s Tale, Anne Frank’s Diary or an issue of Glamour recently, this book is for you. If you’ve switched on the news and rolled your eyes at political reports in disdain or disinterest, this book is for you. If you’ve signed a petition and it didn’t feel like enough, this book is for you.

Read this book and ask yourself, are you free?

Jessika will infuriate you, but she is everyone who closes their eyes to avoid hurts, who loves their family and desperately wants to think the best of them, who sees the news but doesn’t know where to begin to combat the ills.

Clementine is radical, unapologetic and a spark of anger. Her mother is a whirlwind of desperate pleas to be heard. Her father is an enigma who fades before you ever get an idea of who he is.

There are many other characters that will stick with you: Ingrid, the ice skating coach who waits doggedly and patiently. Lilla, the next generation who hasn’t known anything else. GG, a source of comfort and a loose wire. Fischer, the misogynistic young guard who doesn’t think and forces his way onwards. The family of Harts, shouting to be heard.

But above all Jessika, whose golden scales fall off her eyes, and Clementine the tiny radical.

This book will send fury pumping around your veins: it’s an unapologetic, powerful shout for readers to view the world with their eyes wide open – at the ready to question everything. Read it, internalise it, tell your friends.

For fans of Noughts and Crosses, Only Ever Yours and The Book Thief. THE BIG LIE is a heartbreaking story that explores family loyalty, awakening sexuality and political activism. I absolutely could not put it down and it will stick with me for a very long time.

“Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Clementine.”

Back in 2013, shortly after her marriage, I read a heartfelt blog post from Liz Kessler. In it she announced that Read Me Like A Book would be published, and gave the background of why (and when) she had written it. The blog post was met with thundering support and love from the online book community for Liz. Seeing that reaction, and how much it moved Liz, was incredibly inspiring to me.

Liz was publicly coming out in her professional life.

This announcement was understandably laced with some trepidation on her part as Liz is a successful writer of books for a younger readership with her popular Emily Windsnap series. She feared how parents and other gatekeepers would react. But as a young reader of mermaid books who has had to step into the real world now and then, it was a very encouraging step.

The world was ready for Ash's story at long last, and having read the book, I can safely say that it is a much welcome addition to our shelves!
Event Report:

Last week, for a sold out event, Liz's supporters gathered at a truly incredible launch for Read Me Like A Book. Authors, bloggers, ex teachers, friends and fans alike all came together to celebrate the coming out of Ash’s story at long last. Hosted brilliantly by bookseller Yael from Waterstones Hampstead, the atmosphere was buzzing. With speeches from Yael, Liz and Ruth Hunt of Stonewall, it really felt like a grand launch that would be truly unforgettable. Yael opened by praising Liz and saying how excited Hampstead was to host the launch, and their aim to become a forerunner in the advancement and promotion of diverse titles.

Everyone was extremely moved by Liz’s speech as she reiterated the story behind Read Me Like A Book from her original blog post and told hilarious stories about her journey to publishing, including her brother pointing out that Emily Windsnap's own story was perhaps a metaphorical coming out (some people marry mermaids, and proud!). Liz thanked her friends and family for their support, her publishing team at Orion, as well as tearful thank you to her wife Laura. (Well I was certainly crying!)

A highlight of the evening was the speech from Stonewall’s Ruth Hunt. Laying the groundwork for Stonewall’s mission to open the minds of the UK general public to equal rights for LGBT individuals, Ruth discussed the importance of representation in schools. I was very happy to hear that Read Me Like A Book will be getting a great introduction to secondary schools in the UK thanks to the work of Stonewall. No where else is there a more important place for this booked to be stocked than the very location that might help change someone’s life by truly proving that you are not alone, whether your worries be about sexuality, family problems, friendship breakdowns or even crushes. Ruth reminded us all of the social, political and personal impact in simply sharing our stories.

We ended the evening with cheers for Liz, tears and hugs all round, books were signed (one for me, one for my Mum), and then proceeded to dig in to the graciously provided rainbow cake (yum!) 

Book Review:

Read Me Like A Book is about Ashleigh Walker, a young and bolshy teenage girl prone to avoiding homework, getting fed up, and going on dates. Worrying about bad grades and college is the least of her problems when her parents are having screaming matches on a daily basis, or freezing each other put entirely. Playing the field is a perfect distraction, and Ash likes her boyfriend Dylan well enough. But something is missing. It's when she finds herself besotted with the funny, kind words and challenging lessons of her English teacher, Miss Murray, that things start to become clear. For it's not just the chance to debate that has Ash hooked. She wants to get to know Miss Murray herself. Even if she is a girl, and a teacher.

Liz's writing is natural and accessible which makes this coming out novel in an English setting an exciting book to pick up and sink into. There have been novels in America that have explored these events such as Annie on My Mind, Ask the Passengers and The Miseducation of Cameron Post. But few on English turf - most notably in recent years is Keris Stainton's Starring Kitty. Read Me Like A Book is a great next step as it is aimed at a slightly older audience and has such a sense of heart in the personal knowledge and understanding, particularly in regards to that confusing slow building realisation that Liz puts into each word. Unlike some of its older US counterparts, RMLAB is not so much concerned with homophobic reactions to Ash coming out as it is with her growing understanding and acceptance of who she is. It begins the process of owning an identity. 

Ash is a messy teen, often stroppy. This makes her path all the more relatable as she makes bad decisions and sometimes gets burned for it. She finds wonderful support from some of her friends, most notably Jayce who has reasons of his own to lend a supportive ear. The evolution of her crushes and relationship is endearing and will capture your heart, ready to cheer her on to find her happiness.

From that first kiss, those crushes you don't quite know what to do with - to not knowing who you can share your secret with at all, there can never be enough coming out stories as everyone has their own unique narrative. Be you fourteen and confused, in your twenties and getting ready to face the world, or taking a risk and a leap of faith in your professional life, coming out is an ongoing process. Thank you, Liz, for sharing both your journey and Ash's with all of us who needed to read it. Even if it did take us over ten years to get there!

Liz’s book will change lives for the better. What more could we ask for from our fiction?

🌈

Summer Love: An LGBTQ anthology
Edited by Annie Harper
Published June 23rd 2015 by Duet, an imprint of Interlude Press
Review copy provided by the publisher

This collection of bright and bold short stories offers an optimistic glimpse of young LGBTQ+ life, from coming out, first romances, summer flings, bad break ups, and everything in between. It's pure escape from the doom and gloom that so often lines the shelves, and a blissful Summer retreat. From authors with a huge variety of personal perspectives and experiences, this anthology is a welcome addition to readers looking for an intro to LGBTQ+ YA and well worth picking up. Its joyful outlook avoids sugar coating yet offers escapism whilst putting the under-represented at its front and centre.

In Beautiful Monsters we get an insight into the trepidation of coming out, both to yourself and to others. Cody likes to keep invisible, but when his work sends him to help the local GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) run their Pride parade, he finds himself spilling his soul to André, their young leader. A line about the GSA being a place for the kids to come and chat about clothes, music, games or whatever they wanted really strikes home: ‘this is the place they come to not to talk about all that other shit.’ Rachel Davidson Leigh creates a myriad of people and experiences all linked with a sense of belonging. The electric connection between Cody and André drives this story, as well as gorgeous character detail: Cody has a hobby of painting figures for a game he doesn’t play, with his favourite character Kaelyssa doubling up as confessional. The writing is full of life and the nerves of taking that feared first step are felt with each word.

The Willow Weeps for Us by Suzey Ingold has Jack and Richard engaged in a summer romance set against a pre-WWII back drop in England, reminiscent of Michelle Magorian. It's a tale of the calm before the storm. This gentle romance has the depth and grandness of the era imbued in the glorious scenery and decadent descriptions. With a river punt, pallets of strawberries and piano song, this is a gay Little Love Song and a step out of time.

Amy Stilgenbower's The Fire Eater's Daughter had me hooked from the first lines, deftly setting the scene with the scent of fried foods at the carnival. An illicit love story set in the 1950s, our young Polish descended protagonist finds herself having well and truly fallen for the fire eater's daughter. My favourite aspect of this story was the incredible mother figure, who has a real sense of personal history that encourages a seize the day attitude. I feel this is a story that could well be expanded into an entire novel.

Surface Tension by Ella J Ash is an introspective look at the pressure of labels versus passing and the chance for a summer of escape, only to be left with 'a belief in the present, not just the imaginary future.' Exploring social circles within a band of teen camp volunteers, and what happens when a crush disrupts the hope to keep things low key. I loved the real sense of friendship and summer fun here, with such a sense of camaraderie in unexpected places. An insightful exploration of what happens when you confront your own internalised stereotypes and assumptions.

My Best Friend has a nostalgic look back at a platonic friendship through the years. An epistolary communication on the event of a wedding, this story is Brokeback where they really are just good friends.

My personal favourite from the anthology is What The Heart Wants masterfully written by Naomi Tajedler. This sumptuous heart in your throat awakening is exquisite and delivers a truly diverse snapshot of life across sexuality and race. What The Heart Wants asks 'perhaps I'm Ambersexual' offering pansexuals and demisexuals representation (though without stating labels explicitly.) There is also an established asexual character that defines themselves thus and enters a happy romantic relationship. Taking place in a summer extra credits art class, it looks into the friendship of Noam and Charlie who are polar opposites in looks and temperament. Charlie worries that Noam is not putting herself out there until she falls for Amber, the art class model. Meanwhile they form a firm friendship with quiet artistic Peter. I could read an entire novel about the dynamics of this little group of friends, the characters are complex and unique with a fully rounded sense of individuality and uniqueness that sets this story apart. Fully realised and utterly enchanting. It's a heart thudding tale of first desire. The family dynamics at play are also very interesting, with supportive parents strained by a fraught sibling relationship.

S.J. Martin's The Most Handsome shows another side to the idea of labels within this collection, as a young transgender protagonist finds a sense of belonging in the pages of a book at Oliver's Bookshop in Provincetown. The bookshop experience lays the groundwork for Carter's acceptance of who he is, discovering the experiences of other transgender people. The tale reminds readers of the power of words and representation and has a heartfelt and uplifting conclusion.

Something Like Freedom by Caroline Hanlin has bisexual Eli meeting his best friend's cousin Gabe. Recovering from the break up of his two year relationship, Eli is a sympathetic ear to Gabe who has run away from his religious parents after they discovered he was gay. This quiet, layered little story has shades of darkness but carries a sunrise of hope and connection with music and reflection.

On the Shore by Rachel Blackburn is the perfect end to the collection, what better way to end Summer Love than caught in the rain on a beach at night with the restorative promise of a new romance after nursing a broken heart.

Overall the collection has some strong gems and some lovely first steps for new authors. It's a great read for anyone looking for somewhere to start reading LGBTQ+ stories, or for anyone who wants a diverse array of experiences. I look forward to seeing what else Duet Books have to offer.

4 out of 5 Stars!

Preorder a copy of Summer Love here or at your local store.

The Accident Season
By Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Published 2 July 2015
Review copy from NetGalley

The Accident Season is a danger laden trip through a family’s unspoken fears. With the sense that peril and pain is around every corner, I was utterly gripped and had to keep reading even with a distinct sense of unease. Not quite contemporary, not quite fantasy, this story tiptoes the borders of genre like a girl balancing on a slippery log over a fast moving river. You will be swept away!

“It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?”

This book reads like a contemporary classic in the making, Fowley-Doyle's vivid descriptions are completely unforgettable. A brilliant, dark, sexy and gloriously creepy story. The Accident Season is the kind of book where scenes just get stuck in your head forever like snapshots.

My favourite aspect of the book was the slow unspooling of reality and the fae world. The protagonists exist in a space where the impossible happens on a daily basis. Cara pretends not to see the dangers around her, whilst her sister Alice sees them but stubbornly walks along her lonely path. Best friend Bea has always had an edge of free spirited fierceness that draws her to Cara and her family. Step-brother Sam knows there’s something out there, but he’s unprepared for the harsh truths. And they’re all held together by the paranoid presence of their long-suffering mother, whose fears are born of love but can be unwelcome and smothering.

Cara is obsessed by the mystery of secret keeper Elsie. This is a clever and intriguing hook that will keep you guessing. It reminded me of a Susan Hill novel, where a growing sense of wrongness infiltrates every sentence. It is Final Destination meets The Woman in Black. Be prepared to check your photos obsessively to make sure that Elsie isn’t in them.

Elsie’s presence creeps into every space in Cara and Alice’s lives, the haunting spectre of secrets held deep at the heart of the novel. She is a terrifyingly innocent flicker in the corner of your eye. I feel no shame in saying she gave me the shivers.

I also loved the setting in Galway, Ireland. It felt refreshing to experience the lives of teens outside of the English landscape. These teenagers are a little wild, a little rebellious, but still completely relatable. Their mixed up relationships are full of passion and desperate desire. It lent credence to the otherworldliness of their exploits to this outsider. The dark elements of the story aren't all wrapped up in the freakish Fae mystery, but on the real life hurts and abuses that exist and are experienced by far too many people. Fowley-Doyle's clever unpicking of these events will leave you with a desperate need to reread with fresh eyes. It's one of the best accounts of domestic disasters I have ever read, and an excellent discussion starter.

The enchanting twisty turny plot set against this backdrop of bleak grabbing onto fun when you can is certainly one that will make you catch your breath. I dare you to attend the most unmissable Halloween party in town. It's frightfully fun.

A beautiful and gripping book, full of secrets that will play on your mind long after the final page. Perfect for fans of E. Lockhart, Henry James and Holly Black.


Make sure you pick up a copy when it hits the shelves in July!