Friendofhayley's Top Books of 2022 Pt. 1 LGBTQIA+ Fiction
This Book Rec is on LGBTQ+ books (realistic fiction edition). It includes 5 books. Let's go!!
I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee | F/M both bisexual!! This book follows Skye, a Korean-American bisexual girl in high school who wants to be the next K-Pop star. Her dancing is incredible but the biggest barrier to everyone else is her body. As someone is half-Korean and considered plus-size in that culture, this book definitely felt like something I've always wanted. It hurt but I definitely understood every character's intentions and I loved every second of it. (Even the painful parts. Do we all have mommy issues??) I will definitely read this again whenever I'm feeling down after hearing another Ajumma comment on my body.
"There are so many forms of Asian-parent tough love, where parents say and do mean things only because they want the best for us. Is all of that “tough love” abusive? What distinguishes tough-love parenting from abuse? After all, Mom did say she’s afraid of what other people might say about me. Even though she is mostly afraid that people might think she’s a bad parent, isn’t the fact that she’s worried about me a good thing?"
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley | Sapphic Relationship
This book follows 2 girls: the daughter of the head Civil Rights leader in town and the daughter of his rival. Sarah is the leader of the small group of black students to start integration at Jefferson High. This story was ambitious and carried itself well which is mainly why it's a top book for me. Intersectionality is so important and this author emphasized race but also heavily included the LGBTQIA+ struggles as well in that lens. However, the author is white, so take it with a grain of salt.
"What if this—this rule that says what I did in the back room that day is a terrible sin—what if that’s just a rule some old white man made up, too?"
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera | Latinx Lesbians
Juliet goes on an internship to peek outside the closet by studying under a white cis feminist. She discovers the communities she belongs to and the drama they have, along with finding herself. I loved the queer joy in this book and the warm acceptance Juliet found everywhere in every pocket of the BIPOC community in all the corners of America. You can tell I love intersectionality.
"My God is Black. It’s queer. It’s a symphony of masculine and feminine. It’s Audre Lorde and Sleater-Kinney. My God and my understanding of God are centered on who I am as a person and what I need to continue my connection to the divine,” Maxine explained. She took a long breath. “It’s everyone’s job to come up with a theodicy. One that has room for every inch of who they are and the person they evolve into.”
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta | biracial gay man
This book is a metaphor for a biracial gay boy growing up while feeling like an outsider in two different worlds. The story is told in prose, yet it cuts you to the core. I absolutely loved this book and how it told this story. It's hard to even put into words how amazing it was. The characters were real and incredible, especially the drag queens.
"If you’re happy in the closet for the time being, play dress-up until you find the right outfit."
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel | dykes & co
This book was an absolute delight. It has all the comic strips of this story showing the life of dykes (and their chosen families) from 1983 to 2003. It was literally queer joy seeing these characters grow from post-grad to settling down (or definitely not), finding themselves, and supporting each other.
