Tag: LGBTQ+

REVIEW: Break in Case of Emergency by Brian Francis

REVIEW: Break in Case of Emergency by Brian Francis

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

When Toby was a kid, growing up with her mom, she was fascinated hearing her mom talk about her absent father. It didn’t happen often. She showed Toby one picture of them together, and she talked about his singing. She said he was “magic.”

Toby’s mom cycled through dark moments and neutral ones. The voices would become incessant and drive her to the quiet of her locked bedroom. When Toby was 10, she came home from school and found her mother dead by suicide.

Now, at 15, Toby lives with her grandparents. Her grandparents rarely speak about Toby’s mother. And her father is a non-factor in her life. Toby fights her own darkness. She has to force herself out of bed in the morning. She’s convinced everyone will be better off when she is gone. She’s almost ready for her plan.

Then, out of the blue, her father calls. He’s going to be in the area. He wants to meet Toby.

Her grandparents don’t want him to come. Toby’s not sure she wants him to visit either. Where has he been all this time? He didn’t even come for her mom’s funeral. And when she hears more about him – that he’s gay and a drag performer – she’s even more confused than ever. Her plan is postponed for the moment – she’ll wait to check out this “father” who wants to meet her. But the darkness still stalks her.

Review

This is heartbreaking. The early chapters were dark and sad. Toby’s depression and her struggles are so well described it was almost hard to read.

Really, the whole story has a dark edge to it, but the heart develops alongside the darker pieces, and I was captivated by the story. There’s so much pain here. Toby’s loss is tragic, and she’s never been able to talk to anyone about it. Her father never felt at home in the community. His family turned him away. Toby’s grandparents carry their own grief. The pain of it all was raw and conveyed so well.

The mental illness pieces of this are well-written. I do wish there was more therapeutic follow up for Toby. Her needs were not going to just magically clear up. But I did enjoy the ways Toby starts to grow from her experiences – the new ways she sees her mom, her dad, her friends, and her experiences.

This needs an intense trigger warning for suicide and depression. I would caution readers to be in a good, safe, and healthy emotional place before reading this one. This left me in tears multiple times. Toby’s emotional state and her suicidal plans are well described and sensitively handled. But this could be triggering for some readers. (Language, sex, LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: What Was Stonewall? by Nico Medina

REVIEW: What Was Stonewall? by Nico Medina

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Stonewall was a gay bar in New York City in the late 1960s. It was also the site of a riot between gay patrons, protesters, and police when the bar was raided for violating the liquor license law. The police were really trying to deal with the mafia owners of the club, but the liquor license issues were a simple way of getting to them.

The riot at the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969 became a rallying point for the LGBTQ+ community and led to marches and changes to the nation’s laws. What Was Stonewall? covers a brief history of the gay community and the ways gay people and their allies have pursued social justice for the whole community.

Review

When I first saw the cover for this book earlier this year, I had to go searching for the title’s answer. I had never heard of Stonewall. By June of this year, the 50th anniversary, I was more familiar with the event. But I was still curious what information could be gleaned from this resource.

I enjoy this whole line of nonfiction books. They are relatively short (this is 107 pages with illustrations on each spread), and make for a good introduction for elementary and middle school readers on a vast number of subjects.

This covers the Stonewall riot pretty well. Only a handful of people are noted by name. Three chapters cover the uprising. The rest set the event in an historical context and talk about how the LGBTQ+ community continued to organize and pursue rights like employment security, the ability to serve in the military, and the right to marry. These are still timely topics today as the Supreme Court is hearing discrimination cases right now.

The language bounces from formal (defining terms, etc) to casual (“Heads were busted.”). And some topics are covered so quickly that it left me with a slight feeling of reading whiplash. I think this is a decent starting point for readers and adults interested in providing some LGBTQ history. But those longing for a meaty, nuanced discussion might find this lacking.

Rating: ♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Going Off Script by Jen Wilde

REVIEW: Going Off Script by Jen Wilde

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Bex is finally in LA. She has put everything towards this for the last few years. She’s saved money, put up with crummy jobs, and researched and applied for jobs and internships. She’s done everything she could conceive of to make this happen. And now she’s here. She has an internship on her favorite TV show, Silver Falls, a show about werewolves and those hunting them down. She’ll be in the writer’s room, learning everything she can to eventually break into TV writing and production.

The showrunner is supposed to be writing a script for an upcoming episode, and so far he’s produced nothing. And this episode needs to be BIG – it needs to turn things up a notch. So Bex writes a script. The showrunner probably won’t use it – he’s been a jerk since Bex showed up on the lot. But she can show some initiative and some of her ideas. Bex’s script shows the female lead of Silver Falls getting a new love interest. A female love interest.

Bex is still wrapping her mind around her own sexuality and trying to figure out how to come out to her family and friends. But she understands how to write this relationship. And she knows Silver Falls, so she knows how to write well for these characters.

The showrunner decides to use Bex’s script. But when he “straight-washes” her storyline, Bex will have to decide how much she is willing to risk to see her story – and characters who share her sexual identity – on television.

Review

This story really came alive for me when everything started to fall apart. When Bex and her friends – both on and off the show – band together to fight the system and the individuals who want to silence them, I couldn’t read fast enough to see how it would all play out. It was fantastic!

There’s a thread of the story that’s about Bex’s personal development – her sexuality, her upbringing in a home with lots of love but little money, and her decisions about what to do with her voice and her opportunities in LA and on Silver Falls. The other thread is the “we’re not going to take it any more” rebellion. For me, that was the stronger thread. Since both have to work together, of course both were good. But the rebellion left me cheering and talking back to the characters of the book. I love when the underdog fights back.

I’ve read several books lately with gay romantic story lines in an effort to build my understanding of people and groups outside my own frame of reference. It’s been intentional. I think my faith calls me to love everyone, and I can’t do that well if people who are racially or ethnically different from me, or those with a different sexual orientation feel “foreign” or “other.” I strongly believe that my empathy and compassion grows as I know and understand people who think or live differently from me – and reading helps me do that. It helps me make better book recommendations, too, when I read widely.

If you love Hollywood stories, don’t miss this one. Even more, if you like stories where the oppressed/maligned stand up for themselves, be sure to check this one out.  If you are curious to try a gay romance (F/F), this one is fairly mild as far as descriptions of the couple’s physical relationship go (kissing, descriptions of romantic feelings, and a physical encounter that takes place off-page) – pretty standard stuff for YA heterosexual romances. (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥