More Representation in Books & 5 LGBTQ+ Novels You Need to Read ASAP
Reading is never dull and if it seems so you’re probably doing it wrong. But still, there are times when a reading slump is inevitable and that’s the worst thing about being an avid reader: picking up a book but not feeling the spark of it. Maybe because it feels like one of the same, maybe because the writing style isn’t actually your cup of tea, maybe because it simply has too many tropes…
Whichever the reason, we definitely need more representation in books nowadays. And I’m not talking solely about LGBTQ+ references in books (though I will mention some really cool novels later in this post). I’m talking about people of colour (aka POC), people with mental health issues, people with disabilities, people with eating disorders, people with autism… In other words, people with whom EVERYONE can identify.
This is the true beauty, the real magic a book can give to a reader. To make them see themselves in its characters and its pages. I, for example, clearly saw myself and how I have been struggling for the past year or so with depression and grief, in the pages of The Storm Crow and its main female lead, Anthia. I also saw myself in the pages of Fangirl, as that’s exactly who I was in college: the same girl that Cath is. A girl who used to write stories but clearly was too scared to share them with the rest of the world. A girl who overcame her fears and now has her debut novel available for all of you to read. A girl who wrote the story of a bisexual young woman and is currently working on the story of a geek.
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It really brings me joy that the bookish community embraces all those characters, all those people, because, at the end of the day, we all want the same things. We’re all searching for love. We all have dreams of our own.We all want to travel and visit new places, taste exotic foods, make the people we care about proud, achieve our goals…
It doesn’t matter whether we’re straight or bi or gay. Whether we’re blind or deaf or struggling with insomnia and depression. Whether we’re white or black. What matters is that we all need to feel accepted and books are a safe place to feel that way. So why not give the chance to those who feel like “outcasts” become members of the coolest society out there? Maybe by doing so, we’ll show to the real world and its members that they need to do the same. If the bookish community can do it, then so can you! Because the bookish community is a real, fierce community and it has proven that it can work wonders when it comes to making everyone feel accepted and loved.
The books I’m gonna share with you now have definitely done that and if you haven’t read them by now, I highly recommend you do!
1. GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE, BY NATASHA NGAN
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We’re talking about the ULTIMATE book of girl power! It has a lesbian and POC protagonist, it talks about sexual abuse, there are references of violence, as well as references of how the “strong” ones in societies tend to treat the “weak”.
And if you need to read the blurb to see it for yourselves, here it is:
“Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most cruel.
But this year, there’s a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.
In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.
TW: violence and sexual abuse.”
You guys can also read my spoiler free review of this book by following
