Under the Queer Umbrella
The CBC looks for a theme to spotlight in each month’s Hot Off the Press list so that we can alert parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and all children’s book enthusiasts to cool new offerings from our member publishers.
Here in the book community, we talk a lot about stories being both windows and mirrors: windows into how people different from us live, and mirrors reflecting back our own experiences. This becomes especially important for those who are often underrepresented and want to see themselves within the pages. These titles from our October Hot Off the Press list feature the myriad identities and voices under the queer umbrella. Whether gay, lesbian, bi, pan, ace, trans, nonbinary, or any of the diverse descriptors along the gender/sexuality spectrum, these characters express the triumphs and struggles that are often unique to LGBTQIA+ people as well as those that are universal to us all.
Jasmine Is Haunted, by Mark Oshiro (Tor Publishing Group / Starscape) — Fantasy, Death / Grief / Loss, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC Characters and Creators, ages 7-12.
Jasmine Garza has a problem: a ghost has been following her for years, ever since her Papi died. Not that Mami will admit anything supernatural is going on. But even the ghost she won’t acknowledge makes real trouble, so Jasmine and her mami are moving (again) to a new apartment in East Hollywood. This time Jasmine is committed to living a normal life with normal friends.
Enter: Bea Veracruz and Jorge Barrera. They’re the only two members of Jasmine’s middle school’s Gay Straight Alliance and they’re already obsessed with all things supernatural. Bea wants to prove herself to her paranormal investigator parents and Jorge is determined to overcome his fear of the beyond. And when Jasmine confesses she’s been tormented by a ghost for years, they not only believe her, they’re thrilled!
Together they set out to prove that Jasmine’s not just acting out after her father’s death–ghosts are real and Jasmine is haunted. But not everyone agrees how to deal with the departed. As Jasmine’s hauntings increase in intensity, her resentment builds. Why is her Mami so secretive about her past? Why is she the center of such a terrible vortex of supernatural activity? And why hasn’t her Papi ever reached out to her since he passed?
In order to face her ghosts—both internal and external—Jasmine must come to terms with her own history.
Lucy, Uncensored, by Mel Hammond, Teghan Hammond (Random House Children’s Books / Alfred A. Knopf BFYR) — LGBTQIA+, Coming of Age, Friendships, Teen.
A road trip through gender identity, self-expression, and the thorny process of figuring out where you fit after high school as an out-and-proud transgender teen.
Lucy imagines college as more than a chance to party with other drama nerds and be roommates with her best friend Callie. College will be her fresh start. For the first time, she’ll be able to introduce herself as Lucy to people she hasn’t gone to school with since kindergarten. Plus, she happens to live an hour away from one of the most prestigious theater programs in the country. She’s always dreamed of going to Central, but when she finally has a chance to visit, it’s not what she imagined.
While Lucy and Callie are on their campus tour, two kids from their high school make the typical transphobic comments Lucy’s gotten used to in her small town. She starts to worry that her dream school might end up being High School 2.0. What if she belongs somewhere else? Somewhere that she can truly have a fresh start?
When Lucy finds a beautiful school with a great theater program on a list of the most LGBTQ+ friendly colleges, it seems like fate—except that the school is hundreds of miles away. And there’s something unexpected about it: it’s a women’s college. As far as she can tell, they’ve never admitted a trans woman. Will they let Lucy in? There’s only one way to find out: road trip!
This Dark Paradise, by Erin Luken (Bloomsbury Publishing / Bloomsbury Children’s Books) — Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, Romance, Action / Adventure, Teen.
In this YA fantasy debut perfect for fans of Hotel Magnifique and These Violent Delights, a girl visits the enchanted island of her dreams only to discover that its magic is horribly cursed.
An enchanted island.
In the tenements where Lucia lives, everyone dreams of making it to the enchanted island of Estaralla, where mystical fountains reveal your deepest desires, fantastical feasts appear from nowhere, and dark caverns allow you to whisper with the dead.
A dangerous heist.
But Lucia Arduini isn’t going to Estaralla to experience miracles. She’s going to steal the most valuable object in the world: the source of the island’s magic.
Lucia has five days to steal the source or a dangerous gang will go after her brother.
A deadly secret.
But Estaralla is not what it seems.
Torn between a boy who once broke her heart and a girl with a dark secret, Lucia soon discovers that something sinister is happening behind the enchantments . . . and she might not survive the island’s magic long enough to steal it.This dark YA fantasy with a bisexual love triangle is perfect for fans of Caraval and Belladonna.
Under All the Lights, by Maya Ameyaw (Annick Press) — Mental / Physical Health, Coming of Age, BIPOC Characters and Creators, LGBTQIA+, Teen.
A songwriter wrestles with instant stardom and his bisexuality in this raw and propulsive novel for fans of If This Gets Out and Alice Oseman’s I Was Born for This.
After one of his songs goes viral, Ollie Cheriet gets the opportunity of a lifetime: a cross-country tour, an album deal, and a chance to help his family with their financial struggles. The only problem? Ollie has major stage fright, a symptom of his anxiety disorder. As pressure from performing, social media rumors, and his romantic life rises, his mental health starts to spiral. So he’s surprised at how grounded he feels when he collaborates with his wildly talented—and distractingly cute—touring partner, Jesse. Music has always helped Ollie through hard times, but he’s going to have to be more vulnerable than he ever thought possible to find self-acceptance in the glow of the spotlight.
Featuring characters from Maya Ameyaw’s acclaimed debut When It All Syncs Up, this story takes readers into the green room, immersing them in the vivid behind-the-scenes world of touring musicians.
A Vile Season, by David Ferraro (Page Street Publishing / Page Street YA ) — LGBTQIA+, Romance, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Teen.
Bridgerton meets The Bachelor in this queer regency romance of a vampire competing for the heart of a duke.
After being run out of his castle by vampire hunters, Count Lucian encounters the god of vampires, Vrykolakas, while in hiding. Unhappy with how many vampires have been bested by hunters, Vrykolakas gives Lucian a test: Infiltrate the future duke’s marriage games as a suitor and uncover the clandestine vampire hunters Vrykolakas suspects lurk in their midst. The god strips Lucian of his immortality so he can walk amongst mortals—making him human for the first time in centuries. If Lucian succeeds, Vrykolakas will make him the most powerful vampire in existence, but if he fails, the god of vampires will torture him for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, Lucian isn’t prepared for the emotions that come with humanity, nor the treacheries of courting season with fellow nobles posing as friends, enemies, and wholly unsuitable romantic distractions. To win the life he wants, Lucian will have to decide if being a vampire is worth giving up the friendship and love he’s found.
Wrong Answers Only, by Tobias Madden (Page Street Publishing / Page Street YA ) — LGBTQIA+, Coming of Age, Mental / Physical Health, Family / Community, Teen.
Marco should be at university, studying biomedicine. Instead, he’s been sent to live on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean with his estranged uncle, all because of a “blip” everyone else is convinced was a panic attack. (Which it most definitely was not.)
And even though Marco’s trip is supposed to provide answers—about himself, about his family—all he finds on board the Ocean Melody are more and more questions.
But then his best friend CeCe proposes a new plan: for someone who has always done the right thing, in every possible way, it’s time for Marco to get a few things wrong. And hooking up with a hot dancer from the ship is only the beginning . . .
For more great book suggestions, be sure to check out the full October Hot Off the Press list!
List compiled by CBC’s resident book connoisseur, Brooke Pisarsky. Check out other Hot Off the Press Spotlight book lists on our blog.
