Sage Nestler's Blog, page 5

Book Tour: Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing an early copy of Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli, a new LGBTQIA+ young adult horror novel that just released, and I am so honored to be on the book tour for this wonderful book! While it is classified as young adult, it is such an advanced story, and the writing is absolutely gorgeous. I can’t praise it enough! Please enjoy my review, as well as some of my favorite quotes from the book and author’s note.

Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

Death is neither the beginning nor the end for the children of Bridlington in this debut trans YA horror book for fans of Rory Power and Danielle Vega.

Chuck Warren died tragically at the old abandoned mill, but Paz Espino knows it was no accident — there’s a monster under the town, and she’s determined to kill it before anyone else gets hurt. She’ll need the help of her crew — inseparable friends, bound by a childhood pact stronger than diamonds, distance or death — to hunt it down. But she’s up against a greater force of evil than she ever could have imagined.

With shifting timeframes and multiple perspectives, Lockjaw is a small-town ghost story, where monsters living and dead haunt the streets, the homes and the minds of the inhabitants. For readers of Wilder Girls and The Haunted, this trans YA horror book by an incredible debut author will grab you and never let you go.

Overall Rating

4/5

Quick Take

Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli is a purely original young adult horror novel with gorgeous LGBTQIA+ representation and essences of IT and Cujo by Stephen King. I devoured it and would happily read it again.

Tell Me More

When I say that Lockjaw is one of the most original horror novels I have read, YA or otherwise, I truly mean it. While it has some subtle IT and Cujo vibes, the overall energy and concept were unique. Just about every character was diverse, and there was so much trans rep that it made my heart sing. But at the heart of this novel were the beauty, complexities, and pain of growing up – and growing up trans specifically. The ANGER that just about every character housed was magnificent – give me real and raw characters every time, and I will love them forever.

There were some horror moments that truly terrified me and were worded so well, which I don’t see often enough in YA horror novels. The twist itself was profound, fantastic, and surprisingly tragic – I didn’t see it coming all. The timeline shifts frequently, and there is a large cast of characters, which is why I rated it 4 instead of 5 stars because it can be difficult to follow – HOWEVER, it is one of those novels that makes you work, instead of spoon feeding you a story, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! It took a few rereading of passages and chapters as they each cover a different character, but when you put the work in, it is absolutely brilliant.

I haven’t been able to stop talking about this beautiful book, and it is clear to me that Cerilli is leading the way in YA horror. I so wish YA horror had been this complex when I was younger, and I’m so proud of Cerilli for taking the jump and not dumbing anything down. Just pick up this novel, okay? It might be one of those that you either love or hate, but which I think are the BEST because they create such intense conversations.

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Pub Day Review: A Heartbreaking and Haunting Collection of Lost Girls

The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls by Angela Sylvaine

The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls is the debut short story collection from the author of FROST BITE and CHOPPING SPREE.

The Dead Spot. A corner drenched in shadow. An earthquake’s epicenter. The part of a roller coaster ride where the car rounds the final curve and all force dissipates, leaving those trapped beneath the safety bar feeling sick and hollow.

The Dead Spot is a heart-wrenching collection of seventeen stories where lost girls and women live and die, where they laugh, cry, and disappear from view around that final curve.

Introduction by JAW McCarthy (Shirley Jackson Award finalist for Sometimes We’re Cruel)

Release Date: May 21, 2024Overall Rating

4/5

Spooky Rating

4/5

Quick Take

The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls by Angela Sylvaine takes the concept of “lost girls” and creates an incredibly eclectic collection of short stories that explores all facets of the term. Each story could make its own novel, and so many of them left me wanting more. I couldn’t put this collection down, and I loved just about every story included. That is so rare for me when it comes to horror collections.

Tell Me More

I have to start this review by saying that I didn’t realize that the author and I live in the same area until I read the short story that bears the title of the collection. That made me appreciate this fabulous collection even more!

Horror collections are always so varied in their offerings, and The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls is one of the most eclectic collections I have read. It features flash fiction and novelettes, and no two stories are alike. Some are more brutal than others, and a lot of them are on the heartbreaking side. The theme is consistent in that it features stories of girls and women in tough and often violent situations – and many of the women featured were morally grey. I appreciated this aspect, because so many times women and girls who are deemed “lost girls” are assumed to be weak, but that was not the case with this collection. The term “lost” was explored in a variety of ways, including women who fight back against hatred and violence, girls who are seeking to fight back against their lower social status, and girls who are working to save their neighborhood from gentrification. None of these girls and women go down without a fight, and I loved it.

My favorite selections included Playing Tricks, Antifreeze and Sweet Peas, The Dead Spot, and Clutching Air.

The ending of Playing Tricks was deeply reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode, and it took my breath away. It addressed perceived mental illness in a way that twisted it into more of the effects of manipulation by others.

Antifreeze and Sweet Peas was brutal, heartbreaking, and shocking. It addressed mother-daughter relationships and fighting back against violence towards women in a completely unique way. The twist of the story was also fantastic and unexpected.

The Dead Spot featured an old amusement park that I grew up around here in Colorado, so it was near and dear to my heart. It was haunting and supernatural, while being a bit bloody, which was a nice treat.

However, my absolute favorite selection was Clutching Air. It tackled the subject of gentrification and left me in tears. It follows a young woman fighting back against the changes in her neighborhood with an ultimately devastating ending.

Sylvaine knew how to address difficult subjects through a horror lens, and I was amazed by her intense imagination. I look forward to reading more of her work!

If you are a fan of horror that features feminine themes and doesn’t shy away from real-world horrors, you are going to adore this collection. I definitely need a physical copy now so that I can hold this gorgeous collection in my hands and revisit each story! I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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ARC Review: A Masterpiece Epistolary Novel Unlike Anything You Have Read

Letters to the Purple Satin Killer by Joshua Chaplinsky

Release Date: April 6, 2024

Jonas Williker is considered one of the most sadistic serial murderers of the modern era. This epistolary novel explores the aftermath of his arrest and the psychological trauma of those who lived through it. The Pennsylvania native brutalized his way into the zeitgeist during the early part of the new millennium, leaving a trail of corpses across five states before his eventual arrest. All told, Williker was responsible for the rape and murder of 23 women, and is suspected in the deaths of dozens more. His calling card—a torn piece of fabric found on or inside the bodies of his victims—helped popularize his now ubiquitous nickname. The Purple Satin Killer.  In the years following his arrest, Jonas Williker received hundreds of letters in prison. Collected here, these letters offer a unique glimpse into a depraved mind through a human lens, including contributions from family, the bereaved, and self-professed “fans.” They represent a chilling portrait of the American psyche, skewering a media obsessed culture where murderers are celebrities to revere. What you learn about the man from these letters will shock you, but not as much as what you learn about yourself.

Overall Rating

5/5

Spooky Rating

3/5

Quick Take

Letters to the Purple Satin Killer by Joshua Chaplinksy is in the running for my favorite novel of 2024. It is a unique take on the serial killer subgenre and forces us to confront our obsession with true crime and the way our society characterizes serial killers as celebrities. Brilliant is an understatement. Go into this one blind, and you will be blown away!

Tell Me More

Let’s just say that this book took me by the throat and would not relent! 

Letters to the Purple Satin Killer is one of the most unique and ingenious novels I’ve ever read. Rather than being from the perspective of the serial killer or telling a full-length novel regarding the serial killer in question, it is written in letters sent to the Purple Satin Killer as he sits on death row. By utilizing this format, Chaplinksy gives the reader insight into who this man was based on how others viewed him, what he did, and the relation they had to him. But it also challenged the obsession our culture has with serial killers in general. It is written as though it is a true crime book (which took me forever to realize that it is actually fiction, it was that well formatted) and the amount of time and dedication Chaplinsky put into this story to keep track of the varying storylines was beyond impressive. 

There are quite a few twists and turns that I did not expect, as well as connections between some of the letter writers. Getting a sense of who this man was based on those he impacted was mind blowing – especially those who had no personal relation to him at all! I loved how dark it was, but in a subtle way, and the lingering sense of dread it produced was palpable. This book asks a lot of its reader by forcing the reader to piece together all of the little nods and hints, making it a kind of puzzle. The Purple Satin Killer is clearly based off of Ted Bundy, which made it feel like a satire, and I enjoyed it immensely.

I seriously cannot recommend this novel enough. It is in the running for my favorite book of the year, and I am recommending it to everyone! However, I do have to mention that there are some graphic and unhinged elements in some of the letters, so be forewarned about that. This book doesn’t shy away from some of the most grotesque atrocities that humans have committed, thought, or felt, and the level of discomfort you will feel upon finishing the novel will leave you changed. Go on, take the plunge! I dare you.

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ARC Review: A Heartfelt Examination of Grief, Female Relationships, and How the Past is Imprinted into Who We Are

Knife River by Justine Champine

Release Date: May 28, 2024

When Jess was thirteen her mother went for a walk and never returned. Jess and her older sister Liz never found out what happened. Instead, they did what they hoped their mother would do: survive. As soon as she was old enough, Jess fled their small town of Knife River, wandering from girlfriend to girlfriend like a ghost in her own life, aimless in her attempts to outrun grief and confusion. But one morning fifteen years later she gets the call she’s been bracing herself for: Her mother’s remains have been found.

Overall Rating

4/5

Quick Take

Knife River by Justine Champine is an atmospheric and heart wrenching look at grief, loss, and the powers of female relationships. The writing is exquisite, and the twists and turns keep coming. I have read nothing else like it.

Tell Me More

Friends, we have the next Jodi Picoult on our hands! And if you know me at all, you know just how much Jodi Picoult means to me. 

At first glance, Knife River is a mystery following the discovery of the remains of a mother who went missing several years prior. The story follows Jess, the younger of two sisters who fled Knife River as soon as she was of age and spent most of her adult life moving from girlfriend to girlfriend before receiving a call from her older sister, Liz, that their mother’s remains had been found. Finding herself back in the town and the childhood house that she hoped to never see again, Liz is forced to relive the past, including confronting the first girl she ever fell in love with. 

Highly character driven, Knife River is an atmospheric and beautifully written exploration of the relationship between two sisters and female relationships in general.

I found Champine’s writing to be similar to Picoult’s in that she created a difficult and heart wrenching situation filled with mystery and intrigue but peppered it with deeply real and flawed characters. While the mystery behind how their mother died is the focal point of the novel, it is the surrounding situations involving the police and Jess’ and Liz’s personal lives that create the majority of the story. There are a few twists and turns that create a thriller aspect to the story, but in the end, it is the characters and their development that took my breath away.

I loved the possible neurodivergent representation of Liz’s character and the sapphic elements involving Jess. The problematic elements of small-town life and how those in the LGBTQIA+ community are often treated in these areas were addressed, and it was such an essential piece of the book.

The novel is at once heartbreaking and hopeful, and the ending was gorgeous. I only took off one star because the extensive descriptions could get tiresome at times, but other than that, it was a special and heartfelt book that will stick with me for a long time.

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ARC Review: A Poetic Examination of the Human Experience Through the Beauty of Water

The Secret Beautiful by Ximena Escober Release Date: June 14, 2024

In this captivating collection, Ximena takes us on a journey filled with vivid imagery and powerful prose that captivates the senses. Her words breathe life into emotions as vast as the ocean, weaving a tapestry of passion, love, discovery, and grief. All delicately entwined within her heartfelt verses, mirroring the tide’s eternal ebb and flow.

Every turn of the page reminds us that, while time flows ever forward, our heart is never so constrained. Her evocative storytelling deftly blends past and present, beckoning readers to embrace the undulating rhythm of life’s experiences.

Within the storms of love and grief, she reveals the hidden beauty waiting to be discovered. Dive into its pages and let the author’s words wash over you, leaving behind a profound appreciation for the transformative magic and secret beauty found within the ever-changing tides of the heart.

Overall Rating

4/5

Quick Take

The Secret Beautiful by Ximena Escober is a collection of poetry that explores the human experience through aquatic imagery. I enjoyed the varying themes, such as love, grief, and passion, but I did find that some of the lines were clunky, and the structure of some of the poems was odd, which detracted from my enjoyment of them. However, it is a heartfelt and unique collection that is sure to resonate with a multitude of readers.

Tell Me More

Ximena Escober winds a wide variety of poems together through the common thread of water visualizations in her collection, The Secret Beautiful. Some of her poems are lighter in nature, such as the ones that focus on themes like love, while others are darker and more graphic, especially those concerned with grief. The beauty of the water theme throughout the novel is that it helps poems that might not otherwise belong in the same collection have a common ground. They all encompass the very universal emotions that we experience as humans, and some of the phrasing is truly spectacular.

Reading this collection felt like diving into Escober’s soul, and her ability to portray such intense emotions through her writing was admirable. It is clear just through reading her poems how deeply she feels her emotions, and as a deep feeler myself, this was beautiful to see. I think that empathic readers will particularly find enjoyment in such an intense poetic collection, and I look forward to seeing all of the feedback her poems receive.

*Thank you to Ravens Quoth Press for the ARC!

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Book Review: An Empowering and Unique Children’s Book About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

The Very Best Me by Marin Canaday

A young girl faces day-to-day struggles with her OCD monster. Some days she is victorious, unbothered, and confident. Other days, it feels as if the monster is the one leading the way. It’s a one-on-one battle for control―or is it? With the support of those around her listening, encouraging, and reassuring, she gains the strength to continue facing her monster. The Very Best Me is a helpful tool for those with obsessive compulsive disorder. It sheds light on the type of support that would be helpful for those battling their own little―and sometimes big―OCD monsters.

Goodreads Synopsis

Overall Rating

5/5

As someone who has lived with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) tendencies for the majority of my life but wasn’t diagnosed until my 20s, I was ecstatic to come across a children’s book that addresses OCD. The book is written for children from the perspective of a child who lives with OCD. The beauty of this picture book is that Marin Canaday struggles with OCD herself, and largely portrayed the illness from her own perspective in a way that is accessible for young children.

While the illness was portrayed as a little monster that disrupts the child’s life, the story also portrayed how the child can live with the monster and focus on their strengths to manage the turmoil that the monster brings to their day-to-day life. The visuals were excellent in portraying how some days OCD symptoms are more severe than other days, while also providing insight on how parents and other loved ones can help support children with OCD.

I wish that I had had this book as a child. I think that it would have helped me to understand what I was going through, and I think that it will help many children and their families for generations to come. Canaday has created a truly spectacular tool for children living with OCD and their parents and caregivers, as well as mental health professionals and other professionals working with children who have this disorder. I cannot recommend it enough. I will definitely be using it in my mental health practice.

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Celebrate International Asexuality Day with These 6 Books

Happy International Asexuality Day (IAD!)

Today is incredibly important to me as an asexual individual. While asexuality is gaining more awareness, it still tends to be extremely stigmatized. International Asexuality Day (IAD) is important, because it brings awareness to the global ACE community, and it highlights advocacy, celebration, education, and solidarity.

What is asexuality?

An asexual person does not experience sexual attraction – they are not drawn to people sexually and do not desire to act upon attraction to others in a sexual way. Unlike celibacy, which is a choice to abstain from sexual activity, asexuality is an intrinsic part of who we are, just like other sexual orientations. Asexuality does not make our lives any worse or better; we just face a different set of needs and challenges than most sexual people do. There is considerable diversity among the asexual community in the needs and experiences often associated with sexuality including relationships, attraction, and arousal.

https://www.asexuality.org/?q=overview.html

Asexuality has a broad spectrum, including various forms of romantic attraction, as well as aromanticism – which is a lack of romantic attraction. Due to the diversity of the community, there are so many excellent asexual authors who have put their books out into the world to share their personal views and experiences on and with asexuality.

Below are six of my favorite books featuring and about asexuality, and I hope that you will enjoy them as much as I do!

A Quick & Easy Guide to Asexuality by Molly Muldoon & Will Hernandez

This book is for anyone who wants to learn about asexuality, and for Ace people themselves, to validate their experiences.

Asexuality is often called The Invisible Orientation. You don’t learn about it in school, you don’t hear “ace” on television. So, it’s kinda hard to be ace in a society so steeped in sex that no one knows you exist. Too many young people grow up believing that their lack of sexual desire means they are broken – so writer Molly Muldoon and cartoonist Will Hernandez, both in the ace community, are here to shed light on society’s misconceptions of asexuality and what being ace is really like. This book is for anyone who wants to learn about asexuality, and for Ace people themselves, to validate their experiences. Asexuality is a real identity and it’s time the world recognizes it. Here’s to being invisible no more! 

ACE: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen

An engaging exploration of what it means to be asexual in a world that’s obsessed with sexual attraction, and what we can all learn about desire and identity by using an ace lens to see the world

What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through the world not experiencing it? What does asexuality reveal about consent, about compromise, about the structures of society? This exceedingly accessible guide to asexuality shows that the issues that aces face—confusion around sexual activity, the intersection of sexuality and identity, navigating different needs in relationships—are conflicts that all of us need to address as we move through the world.

Through interviews, cultural criticism, and memoir, ACE invites all readers to consider big-picture issues through the lens of asexuality, because every place that sexuality touches our world, asexuality does too.

Journalist Angela Chen uses her own journey of self-discovery as an asexual person to unpretentiously educate and vulnerably connect with readers, effortlessly weaving analysis of sexuality and societally imposed norms with interviews of ace people. Among those included are the woman who had blood tests done because she was convinced that “not wanting sex” was a sign of serious illness, and the man who grew up in an evangelical household and did everything “right,” only to realize after marriage that his experience of sexuality had never been the same as that of others. Also represented are disabled aces, aces of color, non-gender-conforming aces questioning whether their asexuality is a reaction against stereotypes, and aces who don’t want romantic relationships asking how our society can make room for them.

Loveless by Alice Oseman

The fourth novel from the phenomenally talented Alice Oseman – one of the most authentic and talked-about voices in contemporary YA.

It was all sinking in. I’d never had a crush on anyone. No boys, no girls, not a single person I had ever met. What did that mean?

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day.

As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight.

But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever.

Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?

This wise, warm and witty story of identity and self-acceptance sees Alice Oseman on towering form as Georgia and her friends discover that true love isn’t limited to romance.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee

From the author of Lucky Few comes a “refreshing” (Booklist, starred review) teen novel about Internet fame, peer pressure, and remembering not to step on the little people on your way to the top!

After a shout-out from one of the Internet’s superstar vloggers, Natasha “Tash” Zelenka suddenly finds herself and her obscure, amateur web series, Unhappy Families, thrust in the limelight: She’s gone viral.

Her show is a modern adaption of Anna Karenina—written by Tash’s literary love Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy. Tash is a fan of the 40,000 new subscribers, their gushing tweets, and flashy Tumblr gifs. Not so much the pressure to deliver the best web series ever.

And when Unhappy Families is nominated for a Golden Tuba award, Tash’s cyber-flirtation with a fellow award nominee suddenly has the potential to become something IRL—if she can figure out how to tell said crush that she’s romantic asexual.

Tash wants to enjoy her newfound fame, but will she lose her friends in her rise to the top? What would Tolstoy do?

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure of—she wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea.

Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. Now thousands of miles from home, Rumi struggles to navigate the loss of her sister, being abandoned by her mother, and the absence of music in her life. With the help of the “boys next door”—a teenage surfer named Kai, who smiles too much and doesn’t take anything seriously, and an eighty-year-old named George Watanabe, who succumbed to his own grief years ago—Rumi attempts to find her way back to her music, to write the song she and Lea never had the chance to finish.

Aching, powerful, and unflinchingly honest, Summer Bird Blue explores big truths about insurmountable grief, unconditional love, and how to forgive even when it feels impossible.

The world of books featuring asexual characters and topics is expanding, and I love seeing how diverse this small sector of books is becoming. I hope that you enjoy the above recommendations, and if you have any to add, I would love to hear them!

Book Review: An Ethereal Fever Dream

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.

Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.

As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.

The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.

Goodreads Synopsis

Overall Rating

3/5

Quick Take

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland is like nothing else I have ever read. It is filled with fantastical elements that border on horror, and the entire is laced with thrills. I was utterly captivated.

Tell Me More

So, I was super intrigued by this book. A trio of sisters who go missing and come back different, but can’t remember what happened to them? Yes, please! That’s right up my alley. The mystery and intrigue were palpable from the get-go, and I found the story to be compulsively readable. It was creepy and fantastical at the same time, and while it is a YA novel, it did not feel like it.

The story is told from the perspective of Iris, the youngest of the three sisters. It follows her as she tries to find her eldest sister, Grey, with her other sister, Vivi, and Grey’s boyfriend, Tyler, after Grey goes missing. Grey is a rather elusive character, and I got manic pixie dream girl vibes from her, which I wasn’t too fond of (however, I think, now, that this might have been used as satire). Grey was wholly self-absorbed and pretentious (especially the descriptions of her as a fashion model and her designs as a fashion designer). But the mystique surrounding her and the sisters’ situation kept me entertained, especially since none of them seemed exactly human.

The beauty of the novel was that information was given to the reader in a trickle, which always kept me guessing. I also found the fantastical elements to be completely original, and Sutherland’s idea of life after death and those who get left behind was incredibly fascinating. I have never read a novel like this one, and I have already begun to collect Sutherland’s other novels.

The only reason I gave this novel 3/5 stars and not a higher rating is because of how short it was and that I felt it didn’t allow time to fully develop the complex ideas that were represented. The story started abruptly and ended the same way, and I would have loved to see the book be longer in order to allow time for these fully fledged ideas to form.

However, if you enjoy creepy fantasy with a thriller edge, I highly recommend this book for you! It will keep you thinking for a long time, as it has done for me.

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Book Review: A Delightfully Queer and Diverse Novel That Hits It Out of the Park

Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball by Jason June

The next LGBTQ+ young adult rom-com from  New York Times  bestselling author Jason June (author of  Jay’s Gay Agenda  and  Out of the Blue )!

Femme, gay teen podcaster Riley Weaver has made it to junior year, which means he can finally apply for membership into the Gaybutante Society, the LGBTQ+ organization that has launched dozens of queer teens’ careers in pop culture, arts, and activism. The process to get into the Society is a marathon of charity events, parties, and general gay chaos, culminating in the annual Gaybutante Ball. The one requirement for the Ball? A date.

Then Riley overhears superstar athlete, Skylar, say that gay guys just aren’t interested in femme guys or else they wouldn’t be gay. Riley confronts Skylar and makes a bet to prove him Riley must find a masc date by the time of the Ball, or he’ll drop out of the Society entirely. Riley decides to document the trials and tribulations of dating when you’re gay and femme in a brand new podcast. Can Riley find a fella to fall for in time? Or will this be one massive—and publicly broadcast—femme failure? 

This new novel from Jason June explores how labels can limit and liberate us, and shows just what can happen when you bet on yourself.

Goodreads Synopsis

Overall Rating 4/5Quick Take

Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball by Jason June is at once a delightful rom-com and a charming exploration of identity and self-love. It features characters of all different backgrounds and identities and spreads an outstanding message of love. It is a must read, and already one of my favorite reads of 2024.

Tell Me More

Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball is a really adorable, excellent addition to the LGBTQIA+ book scene. I completely ate it up! There were so many representations for identities in the queer community (including asexual and aromantic identities – which I loved because of my own asexuality), and all of the characters were really endearing and flawed. The book left me wanting to join the gaybutante society, and I really wish that there was such a thing!

Jason June brought much needed light to the issue of attraction and validating another’s experience. He brought up the issue that another person is valid WHETHER OR NOT you are attracted to them because your attraction does not determine their worth, jeopardize their existence, or decrease their ability and right to find joy and love. He also made a point to mention that invalidating someone simply because you aren’t attracted to them breeds such things as fatphobia, transphobia, homophobia, racism, ableism, etc. which really needed to be said.

The issue of femmephobia was central to the story, and I loved being able to take a look into the life of a femme teen and their wholeness as a person. I feel like femmes are often not taken seriously and are even laughed at, in literature, media, and life, and this book did well to validate the femme community. I also liked how June, when describing characters, also made note of their race. There is such a problem with only bringing up race when a character isn’t white, and this is so problematic because it makes readers assume that all characters are white unless otherwise noted. So, thank you, June, for paving the way in rectifying this situation!

My only issue with this book was that it wasn’t entirely trans positive. I know that may not have been intentional, but it seemed like Riley had a hard time accepting and addressing individuals who aren’t cis. For example, he sees an individual from behind with long hair who he assumes is female, until they turn around, and he immediately assumes they are male, without realizing the possibility of other gender representations (nonbinary, gender queer, etc.) As a nonbinary person I found this problematic – as this is something I constantly face in my day to day life – but it did bring up the issue that so many of us immediately assume gender. It also served as a reminder to always ask pronouns without first assuming.

I so wish I had had this book as a teen. I think it would have made me feel so accepted and allowed me to see myself reflected in a story. But I am so grateful for June to be contributing such beautiful queer literature to the book community. He is such a beautiful soul, and I adore him.

If you love over the top, incredibly queer stories filled with love, joy, and finding oneself, please do yourself a favor and read this book. It is truly special.

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Book Review: A Groundbreaking Trans Queer Romance

The Prospects by KT Hoffman

The pressure cooker of minor league baseball leads to major chemistry in this exhilarating, sexy, and triumphant rivals to lovers debut romance.

Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.

Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis makes feel possible.

A joyful, heartfelt debut rom-com revealing what’s possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences.

Goodreads Synopsis

Overall Rating

5/5

Release Date

4/9/2024

Quick Take

The Prospects by KT Hoffman is a highly original romcom that paves the way for trans queer romance novels. It drips with a profound love for baseball and queer joy, and it is an absolute must-read.

Tell Me More

How do I put into words how much I utterly loved this novel? The Prospects by KT Hoffman is an ode to trans queer love and joy, and it purely warmed every ounce of my being. It is by far the most diverse novel I have ever read, in every sense of the word, and I will treasure these characters forever.

Gene is a trans gay man and the first openly trans baseball player. He is boisterous, funny, and adorable, and I quickly found that I would love for him to be my best friend. Luis is a quiet, introverted, gay man who suffers from severe anxiety, and I related to him on such a deep level. While he and Gene began as rivals, they quickly found a connection with one another that was both spicy and compassionate in all of the best ways. Their love was so pure, and my heart swelled with love for them both as the story continued.

Baseball is central to the story, and it was similar to Ted Lasso in humor and the relationships between the characters. However, one does not need to know a lot about baseball to enjoy the story. Hoffman did well at explaining baseball terms and portraying his deep love of the game. I have always loved baseball, but this story made me want to follow the game and gave me a deeper love for this all-American sport.

While there are spicy elements, they aren’t over the top. Hoffman did well to portray sex between Gene and Luis in a way that normalized trans and gay sex and expressed the deep connection between the two. It was really beautiful.

The Prospects is groundbreaking and genre-defining in so many ways, and I am so proud of Hoffman for paving the way in trans queer romance. I hope that this novel gets all of the love it deserves, and I can’t wait to see where Hoffman goes next!

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