Six For Sunday – Celebrating All The Pride: Recommending LGBT Books

Good afternoon / evening! Today’s post is being shared super late for me, and if I’m honest it nearly didn’t get written at all. The weather has not been kind to mr and I’ve had headaches on and off all week, I’d not been organised and written this in advance and yesterday I spent the day in bed because I just could not be bothered… However after certain tweets were posted by an author I used to love I figured today this post was more important than ever so I dragged myself out of bed, had a shower and put my laptop on to write.

Six for Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Steph at ALITTLEBUTALOT. You can find a list of prompts for April, May and June here

Recommending LGBT Books

This is an area that I have not read as much of as I would have liked to, I know I have some great LGBT+ books sitting in my TBR but there is always room for more so I’ll be eagerly reading other posts and adding even more to the list!

Nothing Ever Happens Here by Sarah Hagger-Holt

“This is Littlehaven. Nothing ever happens here. Until the spotlight hits my family.”

Izzy’s family is under the spotlight when her dad comes out as Danielle, a trans woman. Izzy is terrified her family will be torn apart. Will she lose her dad? Will her parents break up? And what will people at school say? Izzy’s always been shy, but now all eyes are on her. Can she face her fears, find her voice and stand up for what’s right?

This was such a lovely middle grade read. I really emphasised with so many characters in the story, I can completely understand why Izzy struggled with her dad’s coming out at first but I was so pleased to see her reach a point where she could support her going forwards.

Read my Nothing Ever Happens Here review in full

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To Night Owl From Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer

From two extraordinary authors comes a moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters.Avery Bloom, who’s bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who’s fearless, outgoing, and loves all animals as well as the ocean, lives in California. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and are both being raised by single, gay dads.When their dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same sleepaway camp. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends–and possibly, one day, even sisters. But things soon go off the rails for the girls (and for their dads too), and they find themselves on a summer adventure that neither of them could have predicted. Now that they can’t imagine life without each other, will the two girls (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?

Another lovely middle grade read with almost Parent Trap vibes. I loved the seeing the two girls develop a relationship over the course of the story.

My To Night Owl From Dogfish review

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The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L. D. Lapinski

Pack your suitcase for a magical adventure! Perfect for fans of Nevermoor and The Train to Impossible Places.

At the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, each suitcase transports you to a different world. All you have to do is step inside . . .

When 12-year-old Flick Hudson accidentally ends up in the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, she uncovers a fantastic secret: there are hundreds of other worlds just steps away from ours. All you have to do to visit them is jump into the right suitcase. Then Flick gets the invitation of a lifetime: join Strangeworlds’ magical travel society and explore other worlds.

But, unknown to Flick, the world at the very centre of it all, a city called Five Lights, is in danger. Buildings and even streets are mysteriously disappearing. Once Flick realizes what’s happening she must race against time, travelling through unchartered worlds, seeking a way to fix Five Lights before it collapses into nothingness — and takes our world with it.

This is one of my most recent reads and I absolutely adored it. It truly is just magical, I have already ordered the sequel, although I have far too long to wait for it to come out! My review will be up on SWB in the next couple of weeks!

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Jack Of Hearts (And Other Parts) by L. C. Rosen

My first time getting it in the butt was kind of weird. I think it’s going to be weird for everyone’s first time, though.

Meet Jack Rothman. He’s seventeen and loves partying, makeup and boys – sometimes all at the same time. His sex life makes him the hot topic for the high school gossip machine. But who cares? Like Jack always says, ‘it could be worse’.

He doesn’t actually expect that to come true.

But after Jack starts writing an online sex advice column, the mysterious love letters he’s been getting take a turn for the creepy. Jack’s secret admirer knows everything: where he’s hanging out, who he’s sleeping with, who his mum is dating. They claim they love Jack, but not his unashamedly queer lifestyle. They need him to curb his sexuality, or they’ll force him.

As the pressure mounts, Jack must unmask his stalker before their obsession becomes genuinely dangerous…

This book was such a good read. I think the setting was particularly important to the story, set in a supposedly ‘progressive’ city it shows that Homophobia happens everywhere, it isn’t restricted to stereotypical rural bible belt areas. Also it is full of useful relationship advice for people in general! I’ve got Camp L. C. Rosen’s new book to read and I can’t wait.

Find out exactly what I thought of Jack Of Hearts here

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These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling

Hannah’s a witch, but not the kind you’re thinking of. She’s the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she’s ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow 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.

But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah’s concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire. Evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, and Hannah’s sure it’s the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: Veronica.

While the pair attempt to smoke out the Blood Witch at a house party, Hannah meets Morgan, a cute new ballerina in town. But trying to date amid a supernatural crisis is easier said than done, and Hannah will have to test the limits of her power if she’s going to save her coven and get the girl, especially when the attacks on Salem’s witches become deadlier by the day.

Isabel Sterling’s delightful, suspenseful debut is equal parts sweet romance and thrilling mystery. With everything she loves on the line, Hannah must confront this murderous villain before her coven–and any chance she has with the new girl–is destroyed.

There’s a lot going on in this book, it took me a little while to get into it, but once the plot really got going I was hooked, I’ve already bought the sequel to read.

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One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.

Sports star Cooper only knows what he’s doing in the baseball diamond.

Bad boy Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.

Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.

And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won’t ever talk about any of them again.

He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it’s no accident. All of them are suspects.

Everyone has secrets, right?

What really matters is how far you’ll go to protect them

This story definitely has an LGBT strand to it, although it’s not the primary plot point. Without wanting to spoil anything it was really nice to see the character’s growth, and even better to catch up with them again in the sequel and see them still in a really positive relationship

You can find my reviews of One Of Us Is Lying and One Of Us Is Next here on SWB

They were my #SixforSunday! If you’ve taken part leave a link to your post below and I’ll be sure to check it out!