It’s a new year and it’s time for some new approaches, projects, and goals. For real though, don’t I say that every year? Yes, I’m pretty sure I do. In all seriousness though, there is probably not a year that will go by that I won’t say something like that… I’m a Sagittarius. I will forever be striving to re-invent and better myself.
One of the other crazy things about being a Sag is that along with the overpowering need for constant change, expansion, and re-invention comes the equally intense desire to dive into dreams and goals and give them 1000% of myself.
For the past few years I’ve had a fuzzy picture of what my “dreams and goals” are, but this year I am (finally) reaching the point where the years and years worth of vision setting bulleted lists are culminating. OMG, y’all – I might actually accomplish something this year!
My lack of direction, messy mind map, and psychoanalysis of self are not why we are gathered in this blog post, however. Today I wanted to share my most anticipated queer reads for 2019. (While also breaking the news of a new project I’ve launched?!)
My BookTube content has officially become a podcast! Give me like, a week and I’ll write up a whole post just for the podcast with all sorts of cool info, but until then there are TWO ways you can find out about my LGBTQAI+ reads for the year: the podcast (linked above and here) and this blog post. Keep reading. (;
The List (finally!)
1. “Someday We Will Fly” by Rachel DeWoskin
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Penguin Teen
- Anticipated release date: 22 January, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: Set in Warsaw, Poland in 1940 this story follows fifteen-year-old Lillia. When her mother disappears her father flees with her and her younger sister to Shanghai, one of the only places Jews without visas could find refuge during World War II. As she and her family struggle to make new lives, Lillia finds an outlet for her creative passions by making puppets and remembering the happier days back in Poland when her family were circus performers. Conflict in the world rises as America declares war and the Japanese begin to force Americans in Shanghai into camps. I’m excited to read this one because we do not have enough historical fiction stories with queer protagonists / themes.
2. “The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali” by Sabina Khan
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Scholastic Press
- Anticipated release date: 29 January, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: Rukhsana Ali has conservative Muslim parents with unrealistic expectations. Because they openly favor her brother she saves her makeup and liberal fashion choices for the secret parties she attends. In just a few months she’ll be in Seattle and beginning her new life at Caltech… but then her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana and everything falls to bits. Her parents are devastated and decide to send Rukhsana to Bangladesh and into the world of arranged marriages and tradition that awaits her there. While in Bangladesh she finds and begins reading her grandmother’s old diary and realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love without losing the connection to her family as a consequence. There are so many incredible perspectives coming into the sphere of YA queer fiction / media and I am excited to dive into this one for sure.
3. “Willa & Hesper” by Amy Feltman
- Published by: Grand Central (Hachette Book Group)
- Anticipated release date: 5 February, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: The publisher’s description describes this book as a novel about two young women who fall in love, fall apart, and unwittingly take the same path to mend their broken hearts; seeking answers in their ancestral lands of Tbilisi, Georgia and at the war sites of Germany. Themes include queerness, familial connections, faith, identity, and coming of age in uncertain times. I believe it is contemporary (or contemporary-ish) and I think it sounds like a sweet read. Hopefully it doesn’t make me cry too much?
4. “We Set the Dark on Fire” by Tehlor Kay Mejia
- Published by: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins Children’s imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 26 February, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: This romantic fantasy novel is recommended for people who like the Handmaid’s Tale… so that makes me a little nervous (I feel like I’ll have to be in the right headspace for it), but it does sound interesting. At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles: depending on her specialization a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children. Both promise comfort and luxury, huge departures from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. The protagonist is Daniela Vargas and she is the top student, but her pedigree is a lie. So… she’s gotta keep that a secret so she doesn’t get sent back to where she’s come from. School did a poor job of preparing her for the difficult choices of the real world, and I think that’s the point we join her; when she’s asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Her parents definitely fought for her to be where she is, so it sounds like some super tough choices between the “easy path” and potential forbidden love and freedom lay ahead for her.
5. “Out of Salem” by Hal Schrieve
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Seven Stories Press
- Anticipated release date: 5 March, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: The two main characters are a genderqueer zombie and a lesbian werewolf who resist a corrupt government trying to incinerate them. What?! Yes. So Z is a white, 14-year-old zombie whose while family died in a car crash and is dependent on illegal necromancy to hold them together. They live in a small town in Salem, Oregon (anti-monster town for sure) and their only allies are their caretaker Mrs. Dunnigan, an aging, brown-skinned lesbian whose health is not in a good place and Aysel Tahir, a fat, Turkish-American lesbian who is… wait for it… an unregistered werewolf. A murder and werewolf terrorism accusations begin to fly and a national spotlight is cast on their town. The two are forced to stand up to the opposition together to survive. The book is set in 1997 and deals with themes of censorship, government surveillance, homelessness, and oppression (not just of magical creatures). I’ve read that the author does a wonderful job of highlighting diversity amongst the many queer characters in her cast and highlights how economic and racial privilege make the concerns of a middle-aged, rich, white trans women different from those of a young, trans woman of color without access to health care. Dude. So many things that sound so needed right now.
6. “Squad” by Mariah MacCarthy
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (imprint of Macmillan)
- Anticipated release date: 12 March, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: “Jenna Watson is a cheerleader. And she wants you to know it’s not some Hollywood crap: they are not every guy’s fantasy. They are not the “mean girls” of Marsen High School. They’re literally just human females trying to live their lives and do a perfect toe touch. And their team is at the top of their game. They’re a family.” Okay but then… her friends stop talking to her and she isn’t invited out with the rest of the squad anymore. She doesn’t know what happened, but she finally allows herself to explore stuff she’s never allowed herself to like; stuff like LARPing (live action role playing) and a relationship with a trans guy that she thinks feels “a lot like love.” OMG, this book sounds so legit and also like, I’m trying to strike a balance of books that feel heavy because they deal with real issues in a super real way… and books who have great lessons / queer representation but are fun and a little more light-hearted. This feels like it’s going to be one of the latter.
7. “Love & Other Curses” by Michael Thomas Ford
- Published by: HarperCollins
- Anticipated release date: 9 April, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: Sam Weyward’s family has a generational curse – if a Weyward falls in love before their seventeenth birthday, the person they love dies. No pressure! Sam doesn’t plan to fall in love with anyone before his birthday. He’s got plans to avoid love at all costs: working at the Eezy-Freeze (can’t wait to find out what this is!), hanging out with his grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother (!!!), and experimenting with drag at the local gay club. Of course a new guy comes to town and… while it doesn’t sound like he feels LOVE, it might be more than friendship he feels? The curse seems to be getting more powerful and less specific about who it targets as his birthday approaches. Sign me up; I am IN.
8. “The Meaning of Birds” by Jaye Robin Brown
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: HarperTeen
- Anticipated release date: 16 April, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: This books sounds sad. Jessica, one of the only out teens at her school, loses her father in her freshman year of high school. In sophomore year a girl called Vivi comes into her life and their relationship blossoms; she helps Jess deal with her pain and encourages her in her art. Then in the middle of senior year Jess loses Vivi too. Dang, this poor freaking girl! The world once again falls apart around her (understandably so) and it isn’t until she makes a new and unexpected friend that she begins to realize she may be able to heal again after all. “Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit” is the first book I read by Jaye Robin Brown and it was so good that’s why this one had to go onto my most anticipated list… sad sounding storyline aside.
9. “Belly Up” by Eva Darrows
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Inkyard Press (Harlequin Press rebranded in Jan 2019)
- Anticipated release date: 30 April, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: This book has a theme of “firsts”. When the protagonist has sex for the first time (it’s for sure at least her first one night stand) with a guy she just met and gets pregnant… her whole world changes. She ends up having to move to a new school and falling for a new cute boy, but like… at some point she’s going to have to tell him she’s pregnant with a stranger’s baby. Maybe just a coming of age story that is simple and not too complicated?
10. “Castle of Lies” by Kiersi Burkhart
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Lerner Publishing Group
- Anticipated release date: 7 May, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: The synopsis I’ve read of this book so far kind of confuses me, but it sounds chock-full of action and fun goings-on? The main character is called Thelia and isn’t in line to inherit the crown, but she’s been raised to take power however possible. She’s been friends with princess Corene forever, and she’s scheming to marry Bayled, heir to the throne. But like, then an army of elves invades the kingdom and all of her plans have to change, obviously. Thelia, her cousin Parsival (who is this?!), and Corene become trapped in the castle and an elf warrior called Sapphire may be Thelia’s only hope of escape. Also there’s magic in the castle that’s waking up (naturally) and it has the ability to destroy the whole kingdom. Here’s hoping this keeps us all entertained!
11. “These Witches Don’t Burn” by Isabel Sterling
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Razorbill
- Anticipated release date: 28 May, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: This is probably one of the releases I’m most looking forward to. Also the cover is cuh-uteee! Hannah is an Elemental Witch (like can control fire, earth, water, and air). She lives in Salem, Massachusetts and has to keep her magic a secret from Regs (non-witches, “Regulars” I guess?!) or she’ll lose it forever. So she spends her time trying to avoid her ex-girlfriend Hannah (also an Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans. Then apparently there is a terrifying blood ritual that interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire… and dark magic begins popping up all over. Hannah thinks it’s the work of a Blood Witch, but her coven is not convinced so she has to team up with… you guessed it: Veronica. There are like, lots of romantic interests at play (cue: cute ballerina Hannah meets at a party), but there’s a lot going on so… complicated. Doesn’t this book sound kind of wacky and fun?!
12. “Not Your Backup” by C.B. Lee
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Interlude Press
- Anticipated release date: 1 June, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: This is the third book in the Sidekick Squad by C.B. Lee and I am so excited. This one follows Emma who, at this point has left school to team up with her friends to lead a fractured resistance movement against the corrupt Heroes League of Heroes. The only catch is… she’s the only one on the team who doesn’t have superpowers. Emma is determined to win the battle and then get back to school, and as a natural leader she feels like she totally has something to contribute. Honestly, the whole cast of characters is awesome and super diverse and I can’t wait to dive back into the super world of Andover with this lot.
13. “If It Makes You Happy” by Claire Kann
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 4 June, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: Winnie is living her best fat girl life and is on her way to her favorite place– Misty Haven and her granny’s diner, Goldeen’s. Apparently she’s all set for a perfect summer before she heads off to college in the fall… family, the diner, and her ungirlfriend. Then she gets crowned Misty Haven’s Summer Queen. She’s forced into the spotlight of tons of community “royal engagements” and learns she hates it all. Especially the way the Summer King wears his heart, humor, and honesty on his sleeve. She’s got to her conquer fears, come out above expectations, and learn to be her best self. According to the author: “The thing about cover copy is it rarely ever actually gives you the full nitty-gritty about a book. And while this one comes close, you might have a few questions such as: What exactly is an ungirlfriend? Do I sense a love triangle? Summer Royalty, you say? Why is my small town Gilmore Girls vibe alarm wailing right now!? All valid questions that I’m probably not going to answer so you’ll have to read it to find out. 🙂” She sums it up as being about a fat, Black girl living in a fatphobic and racist world in a queerplatonic relationship– and falling in romantic love with someone else for the first time. Her first book “It’s About Time” was super awesome so I cannot wait to read this one.
14. “An Impossible Distance to Fall” by Miriam McNamara
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Sky Pony Press (Skyhorse Publishing imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 4 June, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: Our protagonist, Birdie William’s life crashes along with the stock market in 1930 when her father’s bank fails. Just when things couldn’t get worse, her father disappears with his Jenny biplane. A leaflet advertising a barnstorming circus with a picture of her dad’s plane on it leads Birdie to Coney Island looking for answers. The circus has lady pilots, daredevil stuntmen, fire-spinners, and wing walkers – Birdie is completely mesmerized; especially with a girl pilot called June. She doesn’t find her father, but does find some clues that he came to Chicago. She figures she’ll hitch a ride with the traveling circus, but the overconfidence that usually charms people may be too reckless for the new community she’s found to endure.
15. “Like a Love Story” by Abdi Nazemian
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins Children’s imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 4 June, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: This one is going to be a heavy hitter… it follows three teenagers in 1989 New York City. Reza is an Iranian boy who just moved to the city with his mother and in with his stepfather and stepbrother… he’s secretly gay, but all he knows about being gay are the images in the media of men dying of AIDS. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle, a gay man with AIDS who spends his time as an activist. Art is Judy’s best friend and also their school’s only out and proud teen, but his parent’s are super conservative so he rebels the only way he knows how: documenting the AIDS crisis through photography. This book sounds like the teenage version of RENT maybe? I’m sure it’ll make me cry, but it also sounds like it’s going to be incredible.
16. “Red, White & Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: St. Martin’s Griffin (Macmillan imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 4 June, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: A blurb I read for this book begins with “What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?” and I was like… “The Prince & Me”, but queer?! Sign me up! Apparently when Alex Claremont-Diaz’s mother becomes President and then, his handsome, charismatic, genius image is millennial-marketing gold for the White House. Okay, but then the tabloids get ahold of a photo involving an altercation between Alex and Henry, the Prince of Wales, U.S./British relations take a turn. A damage control spins up and eventually, what begins as a fake, Instagramable friendship, begins to grow deeper and into something neither of the teens could have ever imagined. A secret romance with a prince is always a good time, right?!
17. “Tell Me How You Really Feel” by Aminah Mae Safi
- Published by: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 11 June, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: The cover of this book is so freaking good. Sana Khan is a cheerleader and straight A student, totally textbook goody-two-shoes overachiever. Rachel Recht is a wannabe director totally into movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. Enter her senior film project and Sana is the perfect lead. Apparently Rachel hates Sana because Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out and she thought it was a prank and has held a grudge ever since. Who doesn’t love a good frenemy-turned-romance storyline?
18. “Wicked Fox” by Kat Cho
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 25 June, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: Miyoung lives in modern-day Seoul with her mother, hiding in plain sight. No one believes in the old fables anymore, which is perfect because Miyoung is a Gumiho, a nine-tailed fox, who must eat the souls of men to survive. Every full moon she feeds, eating the souls of men who have committed crimes, but have evaded justice. Her live is turned upside down when she kills a Dokkaebi, a murderous goblin, in the forest one night to save a human boy. Then the two of them, Miyoung and the boy who’s called Jihoon, develop a friendship that blossoms into romance and forces Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s. I am SO interested in this book, y’all! The cover art is also gorgeee!
19. “The Downstairs Girl” by Stacey Lee
- #OwnVoices
- Published by: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 18 August, 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: Jo Kuan is a lady’s maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta, but at night she moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, “Dear Miss Sweetie.” Unprepared for the column to become wildly popular, she takes the opportunity to address some of society’s ills, until the column she writes challenging fixed ideas about race and gender receives a ton of backlash. Of course everyone wants to find out who the author behind the column is, and Jo receives a letter that sets her off on a quest to attempt to find the parents who abandoned her as a baby. It sounds like there is a lot going on in this story and it sounds really interesting.
20. “Semper Augustus” by Mackenzi Lee
- Published by: Flatiron Books (Macmillan imprint)
- Anticipated release date: 2019
- Why I’m excited to read it: Okay all we know about this book so far is from a couple of Mackenzi Lee’s Tweets. This book is set in 1637 Holland at the height of the Dutch Tulipomania. Which is totally a thing I am going to look up because it sounds awesome?! She said it’s about gender identity, first love, cons (?!), tulips, and Holland. “A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue” was my favorite read of 2017 and Mackenzi Lee writes really fun characters. I can’t wait!
*Anticipated release dates are subject to change because that’s how the cookie sometimes crumbles in the publishing world. Don’t take these dates as set in stone!
Here’s a link to my bookshelf on GoodReads if it makes it easier to add them to your “to read” shelves! ♡
