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23 LGBTQIA+ books releasing this Pride Month that you need to read

Feature Image of 23 LGBTQ+ books releasing this Pride Month
Feature Image of 23 LGBTQ+ books releasing this Pride Month

Pride Month is celebrated every year in June to commemorate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. During this month, a lot of attention is given to LGBTQIA+ culture and it serves as a much-needed reminder that even though representation has come a long way in recent years, it requires a commitment to pursuing and uplifting queer voices. We think this is a great opportunity to put a spotlight on creators, authors, and stories that reflect the diverse range of experiences in the queer community.

In honor of Pride, here are 23 books releasing this month that you should add to your reading lists! The books on this list portray LGBTQIA+ characters from a variety of experiences and across a variety of genres, so you are sure to find something exciting to read this month!

1. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídê

The cover of Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídê

In an ultimate combination of Get Out meets Gossip Girl, Ace of Spades is the perfect queer book you have to read this summer.

Devon and Chiamaka are the senior class prefects in the prestigious Niveus Private Academy. They are smart, focused, and all set to enter the Ivys with their perfect academic and extra-curricular records. But everything changes, when an anonymous entity called the Aces starts revealing all of their secrets.

Will the Aces sabotage the girls’ future, or will the girls ruin the Aces’ plans? Read this thrilling suspense to find out. Xoxo.

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2. Better Together by Christine Riccio

The Cover of Better Together by Christine Riccio

Two estranged sisters, Jamie and Siri get together to fix their broken family life. Despite having polar opposite personalities, they decide to switch places and confront their parents for separating them.

While navigating each other’s contrasting lifestyles was already complex, life gets more complicated when love gets into the picture. Siri develops a crush on Jamie’s best friend Dawn while Jamie ends up falling in love with a random stranger in New York.

In their quest of uniting their broken family, will the sisters be able to reignite love between their parents or will their personal lives get in between?

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3. The Darkness Outside by Eliot Schrefer

The Cover of The Darkness Outside by Eliot Schrefer

What happens when two sworn enemies are put together in the same spaceship?

This isn’t your typical YA haters turned lover’s story. Ambrose wakes up in the spaceship with absolutely no memory at all. All he knows is that the voice on board belongs to his mother and there is a brooding guy that won’t talk to him.

With their survival at stake, Ambrose and Kodiak need to find a way to reconcile and work together against an unknown force in space.

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4. The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver

The Cover of The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver

While we have plenty of stories describing the pain of losing a loved one, not many talk about the unilinear path of recovery that follows.

After losing his brother in a hit-and-run case, Liam is forced to deal with life alone. His life completely falls apart as he struggles to find the will to go on with life. People tell him that life goes on and he needs to cope with the grief. However, he does not know how to do it. He does not know if he can.

From survivor’s guilt to finding the reason to move on, in an honest and transparent way, this book recounts the struggle we face after losing someone we love.

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5. The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag

The Cover of The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag

After the success of The Witch Boy Trilogy, Molly Ostertag is back with a story of Morgan.

Morgan is your typical 15-year-old. She lives with her mom and brother in a tight-knit community where everyone is basically your extended family. But you know the thing with families, they have secrets. And Morgan’s biggest secret was wanting to leave this perfect island because they wouldn’t accept who she really was.

All she knew was that once she left the island, she’d be done be secrets. But what happens when she falls in love with someone that has the craziest secret amongst them all?

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6. Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June

The Cover of Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June

Revisit your teenage days with Jay’s Gay Agenda. All the way from wish lists and first date butterflies to complexities of first love and heartbreak, read this incredible LGTBQIA+ edition of finding love while balancing life.

By the way, we’re interviewing author Jason June on Instagram live, stay tuned for the announcement on our Bookstagram!

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7. The Love Song of Ivy K. Harlowe by Hannah Moskowitz

The cover of The Love Song of Ivy K. Harlowe
The cover of The Love Song of Ivy K. Harlowe

The Love Song of Ivy K. Harlowe follows the life of a high school graduate named Andie who is madly in love with her best friend Ivy.

Ivy, who is unabashedly sexual and sleeps with someone new every night and when she’s on the dance floor, she’s the one no one can tear their eyes from. To Andie, everyone loves Ivy but nobody can form a deep connection with her like Andie. That is until Dot comes along and Ivy finds herself looking for a relationship. 

This book grapples with Queer romance, blurred lines between friendship and love and the complexities of female friendships. It also portrays chronic illness and disability representation in an authentic and earnest light.

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8. Never Kiss Your Roommate by Philline Harms

The cover of Never Kiss Your Roommate by Philline Harms
The cover of Never Kiss Your Roommate by Philline Harms

Never Kiss Your Roommate is a dual-point-of-view novel set in an English boarding school. The book follows Evelyn and Seth as they join a new private institution (Seven Hills) in England after experiencing tough times in their personal lives. Together, they struggle to fit in at their new school. 

Evelyn’s roommate Noelle is unfriendly and bitter, who managed to send away her last roommate in tears. However, Evelyn instead of being intimidated by this mysterious roommate, is attracted to her. Never Kiss Your Roommate is a story full of queer friendship and queer romance. If you are a fan of enemies to lovers trope, this one should be on your must-reads!

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9. The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

The cover of The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
The cover of The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

Another high school read, The Passing Playbook follows a 15-year-old Spencer Harris, a black trans teen. After experiencing bullying at his old school, he is ready to start afresh at the most liberal school in Ohio (Oakley). 

Everything seems to be going well for Spencer at the new school. New friends who are very accepting, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy’s soccer team and even becoming a little something more than friends with one of his teammates. The only problem? No one at Oakley knows that he is trans. At Least not until his coach discovers the ‘F’ on Spencer’s birth certificate. Things go awry when Spencer is benched due to a discriminatory law. 

The Passing Playbook is a story about friendship, soccer, finding and standing up for one’s true self.

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10. Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin

The cover of Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin
The cover of Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin

This story takes the reader on a thrill ride with Riverdale-like aesthetics. Trixie lives a troubled life at home and she can’t wait to escape for a weekend getaway with her best friend Lux. On their dream trip, they stop by at a college bar where their fun time quickly turns violent. The event turns them from normal high school girls into wanted fugitives.

They soon realize that they can only rely on each other, and the love that they find for each other is the only thing that will make them stronger in the face of adversity. 

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11. The Un Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez

The cover of The Un Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez
The cover of The Un Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez

The Un Popular Vote tells the tale of a transgender teen (Mark) who has to be stealthy because his dad is a congressman who wants to keep his son’s transition a secret. However, when Mark finds a manipulative candidate with a dangerous agenda running for the student body president, he decides to step out of the low profile that he had promised his father and insert himself as a political challenger. 

Mark’s story arc is not about figuring himself out or dealing with internalized transphobia, it’s about keeping the promise of staying stealth to his Father.

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 12. All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue

The cover of All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue
The cover of All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue

An easy-to-grasp fantasy novel that grapples with elements of tarot reading, witches, occult behavior and mysterious kidnapping. It follows Maeve, a high school student in Ireland who one day during detention discovers a pack of Tarot cards. What starts as a harmless bit of tarot reading ends up with a missing girl and sinister cult of radicals who take their political beliefs to a dark level. 

The book speaks of sexuality and gender in an informative way without scolding or guilt-tripping the readers. 

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13. Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria

The cover of Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria
The cover of Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria

Fire With Fire is a fantasy novel about two sisters, Dani and Eden who are trained in dragon slaying. They are the complete opposites of each other. For Dani, dragon-slaying takes a back seat to normal school life, while Eden has worked her whole life to be recognized as a dragon slayer. Things take a turn when Dani befriends a dragon (Nox) and creates a magical bond. 

With Dani being lost to the dragons, Eden reaches out to a set of mysterious sorcerers for help to save her sister. Now fighting against each other to save one another, they fail to see the bigger enemy lurking over their shoulders. 

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14. Girls at the Edge of the World by Laura Brooke Robson

The Cover of Girls at the Edge of the World by Laura Brooke Robson

Perfect for the fans of Rachel Hartmen and Rae Carson, Girls at the Edge of the World is an incredibly romantic fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic flood. While Natasha is hell-bent on ensuring that everyone gets a safe passage into the new world, Ella is simply driven by her thirst for revenge against the Kosyrovian Royal Court.

With a common goal, these girls team up to challenge the system. They’ve calculated every single variable to ensure this much-needed success. But when love sneaks up on them and gives them a new purpose in life, will they end up giving up on their initial agendas?

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15. The Marvelous by Claire Kann 

The cover of The Marvelous by Claire Kann
The cover of The Marvelous by Claire Kann

Six lucky teens are invited to spend an unforgettable weekend at the mansion of heiress and social media mogul Jewel Van Hanen. After vanishing for a year, Jewel announces she has chosen lucky users of her app “Golden Rule” access into her private life, and for a chance to win a life-changing cash prize. Only things don’t appear quite as they seem. The guests find themselves thrown into an elaborate estate-wide game, with every riddle and challenge tailored to each individual player’s strengths and weaknesses. 

This exhilarating premise is like a social media-era version of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, and the novel also contains sapphic character and representation. It follows three players— Luna: Jewel’s biggest fan, Nicole: the darling of Golden Rule, and Stella: a brilliant outsider, as they navigate the insane puzzle set up by the reclusive heiress. 

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16. Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas

The cover of Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas
The cover of Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas

Dani’s best friend is Sarah, who happens to be a ghost who has been dead for 20 years. Living with an abusive father and not fitting in at school, Sarah is the one thing that gets Dani through it all — and he thinks that they might be even be more than friends. But there’s one thing Dani can’t tell her. He knows that Sarah hates men, having been murdered by one, so he Is afraid to tell her that he is trans. 

One day, Sarah and Dani come across another ghost in the woods, suffering with the memory of her own brutal murder. The duo decide to help ghosts like this spirit find peace and give them a sanctuary to return to. But when an old friend reenters Dani’s life, and helps him find a sense of belonging, he begins to wonder if being a part of the living world means he needs to let go of his ghosts.  

This novel deals with a lot of heavy themes, such as trauma, abuse and struggling with one’s gender identity.

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17. Bi The Way: The Bisexual Guide to Life by Lois Shearing

The cover of Bi The Way by Lois Shearing
The cover of Bi The Way by Lois Shearing

Bi The Way is a thorough look into understanding and embracing your bisexuality. This essential guide contains accounts from bisexual advocates, practical guidance on topics such as dating, sex, coming out, biphobia, bi erasure, activism, and gender identity. The book is an honest and powerful manifesto that aims to shed light on a community that is often overlooked and has experienced a history of erasure.

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18. Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

The cover of Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta
The cover of Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

In Gearbreakers, we meet Eris and Sona, two girls on opposite sides of a terrible war in a cyberpunk world, who discover that they are fighting for a common purpose. 

In the country of Godolia, a tyrannical power is spreading, aided by giant mechanized inventions called Windups. Eris is one of the rebels, a Gearbreaker who specializes in taking down these weapons of destruction. When a mission goes horribly wrong, she is thrown into a Godolia prison, where she meets Sona. Sona is a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot, and at first Eris thinks she is the enemy, until Sona reveals she is a secret double agent, infiltrating the program to destroy it from within. The girls team up, with the odds stacked against them as they plot to destroy the overloads’ reign for good, and find themselves inadvertently growing closer, as allies, and maybe even something more.

A book that is a sapphic sci-fi adventure and uses the enemies to lovers trope? It can’t get any better than that. 

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19. This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

The cover of The Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
The cover of The Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

From the author of Cinderella Is Dead comes a darkly evocative fairytale about Briseis, a girl who can grow plants with a single touch.

Bri has never known her biological family and has no idea where her gift comes from. When an aunt she’s never met dies and leaves her an old estate in rural New York, she and her adoptive parents leave their city life behind. Bri hopes that being surrounded by nature will help her gain control over her gifts, but the new home is eerier than she could have imagined. Her aunt has left her in charge of a secret apothecary and a garden filled with deadly botanicals that can only be entered by someone who shares Bri’s unique bloodline. 

Then strangers begin to drop by unexpectedly, asking Bri for special elixirs, which she learns she has a talent for creating. She meets Marie, an unusual young woman she is inexplicably drawn to, but Bri begins to suspect there is something Marie is not telling her, about the dark secrets of her sudden inheritance. Before she can do anything, a nefarious group arrives and demands Bri make them a rare elixir, one that grants immortality. Facing a centuries-old curse and deadly poisonous plants, Bri must take control of her gift to protect herself and her loved ones. 

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20. Indestructible Object by Mary McCoy

The cover of Indestructible Object by Mary McCoy
The cover of Indestructible Object by Mary McCoy

Lee has her life worked out. She loves her job as a sound tech at the local coffee shop, and she cohosts a popular podcast called ‘Artists in Love’ with her boyfriend. 

Then her boyfriend breaks up with her on air right free graduation. To make matters worse, the timing of her parents split and losing her job coincides with the breakup, and Lee’s perfect life is thrown out the window. Trying to make ends meet, Lee decides to start a new podcast with her new friends Max and Risa, called “indestructible objects” where they pose the question of whether love truly exists at all. As she starts to explore the love stories in the city of Memphis, Lee begins to wonder if maybe love is more than what she expected. 

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21. The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott

The cover of The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott
The cover of The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott

A queer coming-of-age story dealing with themes of grief, love, and coming out, and perfect for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

Emily had always considered herself lucky, that is, until she lost her mother to cancer three years ago. Now, about to go off to university, things are worse than ever as Emily packs away her mom’s things and her dad prepares to sell the house she grew up in. No one is talking to Emily due to an incident at school, except for one person: Blake.

Emily comes across a bucket list her mother had made in her senior year of high school, buried in the back of her closet. With the hope of fixing her life and feeling close to her mother, she decides to complete the bucket list with Blake’s help. Emily soon realizes there is another thing she has to check off for herself: accepting a secret part of herself she never got to share with the person who knew her the best.

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22. Love and Other Natural Disasters by Misa Sugiura 

The cover of Love and Other Natural Disasters by Misa Sugiura
The cover of Love and Other Natural Disasters by Misa Sugiura

Love and Other Natural Disasters is a rom-com set in San Francisco which tells the story of Nozomi, a queer Japanese-American teenager who struggles to recognize love outside of her picture-perfect ideals. On her first evening in San Francisco, she stumbles on the most gorgeous girl ever (Willow). Willow however, doesn’t seem all that interested in Nozomi. 

To Nozomi’s surprise, she finds Willow working at the same place as hers. Willow and Nozomi start a fake relationship to make Willow’s ex-girlfriend (Arden) jealous. They get into the relationship with different motives but will they come out of it together? If you want to read more, we published a full-fledged review of the book!

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23.  Fat and Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives

The cover of Fat and Queer
The cover of Fat and Queer

A collection of prose and poetry compiled by Bruce Owens Grimm, Miguel M. Morales, and Tiff Joshua TJ Ferentini explores the intersection of fat and queer identities, showcasing new, emerging and established queer and trans writers from around the world. This book challenges negative and damaging stereotypes of queer and fat bodies and gives the readers a way to reclaim their bodies and narrative while providing stories of support, inspiration and empowerment.

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We have no doubt you’ve found something on this list that you’re absolutely dying to read! Which ones are you going to get? Share your pictures with us and tag @thetempestbooks to be featured!

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Categories
College 101 Dedicated Feature Life

This is why you should study abroad – I went to Madrid

[A girl is standing near the windows at Palacio de Cristal in Madrid] Via Unsplash
[A girl is standing near the windows at Palacio de Cristal in Madrid] Via Unsplash

I’ve always been a little hesitant and unsure of myself. When I started telling people that I planned on studying abroad for the Fall 2019 semester in Madrid, I could tell that they were worried. I mean, how was I going to survive alone? I wasn’t fluent in Spanish, I didn’t know anyone else that was in my program, and I don’t exactly have a plethora of common sense – I’m more book-smart. I think that part of it was that they didn’t want me to get my hopes up. Studying abroad could be a really great experience or a really terrible one, and there wasn’t room for anything in between. 

But, I was determined to prove them wrong. I always have been. Ever since I was little I’ve always felt that people saw my capabilities as one-sided. I could do this but never that. To me, it seemed like an expectation thing. No one expected me to be so independent and sturdy, especially when I appeared in front of them as fragile or sensitive.

The truth is that I had never been given the chance to prove myself in this capacity. The second that I took too long or wasn’t doing something precisely the way that someone else would, they took over. And, as a result, I became apprehensive, kind of shy, and extremely nervous. 

However, it turns out that I was right. I had been largely independent all along, and studying abroad was a great idea. I slowly realized that I could do anything I set my mind to, even this, all the while holding on tightly to my emotional tendencies. I learned a lot about myself while basking in the Mediterranean sun. 

During my time in Madrid, I met people and made connections in ways that are indescribable. I don’t know if it is because I finally found myself in a situation in which I was free from implicit restraints and boundaries or if I became a product of my surroundings. But, I am sure of at least one thing, that being that I was entering a moment in which I was young enough to still have the ignorant belief that nothing mattered, but also wise enough to know that everything mattered much more than it had ever before. There were so many things, and so many people, clawing at me and insisting for my attention, and I finally let go.

For the first time I acknowledged the positivism of this sweet, even blissful, point in my life—one that I may never get again. So, I gave in to the extremities. In doing so, the whole world opened up. I found security in empathy, I learned about ambition, self-awareness, and I felt genuine longing for the first time. I spent days dancing in streets that were once touched by Goya, Ernest Hemingway, and Velasquez. I read poems by Pablo Neruda on the metro and I ate TONS of churros con chocolate.

What I found to be the most pivotal about my experience in Madrid, though, would be living in a home-stay. This is where I spent the most time, had the most laughs, and learned the most about myself. The day after landing in Madrid I met my host family and moved into their home. While they didn’t speak any English at all, and whatever Spanish I did know I forgot the second I opened my mouth, we managed to work through it. 

I knew I wanted to build a relationship with them, but before I could do that, I had to conquer my own confidence battle. I had to remind myself that yes, they were strangers with whom I would be living with for months, but I was also a stranger to them. Frankly, we were all in the same boat. Eventually, I got used to their habits, learned their family traditions, and studied their culture until I felt like I belonged there. They made me feel like I was as much a Madrileño as they are.

At dinner, my host parents would always ask about my day, my classes, and if I was up to anything fun. On the weekends, they would recommend countless restaurants or art museums to my friends and I, and then ask me if I liked it the next day. They even comforted me when I felt overwhelmed or insecure. What I appreciated the most, however, is that they actually listened to my stories, which I am sure that I told in broken Spanish, and always seemed interested.

We really grew to love and care for one another. In those four short months I am sure that they watched me grow exponentially. I truly became myself and started to feel comfortable in my own skin. Plus, I came out being able to speak and communicate in Spanish light-years beyond my ability from when I first arrived in Madrid. 

My memories from this time in my life are whole, and they always will be whole. I’m finally able to show off my independence and I’m never turning back. This just goes to show that a little bit of introspection and determination could go a long way. Of course, I was scared to be alone and so far away but I knew that it was what I needed.  Once I convinced myself to just rip off the band-aid my possibilities for personal growth became endless.

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Categories
Standoms Books Pop Culture

Confession: I haven’t read books for fun since I was in 8th grade

[Image description: Library with books and dangling lights] Via Janko Ferlič on Unsplash.
[Image description: Library with books and dangling lights] Via Janko Ferlič on Unsplash.

One of my biggest obsessions used to be reading books. I was that typical fangirl “tween” who even wrote for a fandom magazine at one point. Hearing about all these different stories and worlds was exhilarating and I just got so involved with them. Picking up a good book, reading it all the way through in one sitting, and getting invested in the characters and plot was so easy for me. I would cry with the characters and throw my book across the floor when the author killed someone I liked.

Books were my thing.

From Harry Potter to Divergent, I was one of the most passionate readers you’d ever meet. I even used to write a bit of fanfiction, if I were to be completely transparent. In fact, I attribute my writing journey beginning to 8th grade journalism. However, it actually started before then in 6th grade when I started writing about my favorite books. And most of the kids at my school would make fun of me if I ever told them. Right off the bat, I think it would be kind of unfair to attribute all of why I stopped reading to just academics taking over. I will say this – judgemental teens suck. That didn’t stop me throughout middle school from reading the cheesiest, best Wattpad and YA stories ever. But, it did in high school.

In addition, once I started high school, academic reading became increasingly important, and reading quickly became more of a chore. At first, I still read novels to keep me sane in between all of it, because here’s the thing. Academic reading can be BORING. But as I progressed through high school, the readings became harder, the time became smaller, and the leisure reading became nonexistent. Going to the school library to check out a book is unheard of at my school, much less taking the time to go to a public one. I think this stigma around reading at my school actually stemmed from the fact that everyone cares so much about getting into college.

Reading a YA book can’t possibly get you into Harvard, right?

But, I think it totally can. Reading is an incredibly valuable experience. It can teach understanding, acceptance, and other values that you just can’t get from anywhere else. Books contain thousands of new words that you’ve never heard before. They have rhetorical strategies (that DO NOT need to be analyzed so in-depth in my opinion). In academic reading, we tend to read too much into the book, which makes it so unbelievably boring. But when you read simply because you want to read, there is so much more to gain, as your brain is also more invested.

I do miss reading a lot though. I want to go back to reading the best YA novels I’ve ever read and dressing up as Hermione from Harry Potter and simply enjoying living in a different world. Reading was kind of an escape for me, and I need that escape now more than ever. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get back to it while in quarantine.

For now, I’ve amounted to reading digital magazines, news publications, and, of course, the books that are assigned to us in school. There’s nothing wrong with any of these, and if it’s your style, you should definitely check out some great digital magazines. However, for me, reading was about romance, fantasy, and the stories that just won’t appear in a news publication or a magazine, or even an academic book. Reading was about the things I dreamed of and the things I desired. It wasn’t ever about why the author chose to write a capital ‘S’ rather than a lowercase ‘s’. Ultimately, reading still is and will always be one of my most favorite things to do in the whole world, but I just don’t do it anymore with a real, 500-page hardcover book. But you should.

Have YOU submitted your book nominations for our Reading Challenge yet? Hurry up, you only have until April 30!

Categories
Movies Pop Culture

I’m a feminist and I think all-female reboots are completely missing the point

Attribution: [Image description: Still from (Ocean's 8): 8 women stand in various poses facing the camera] via rollingstone.it
Attribution: [Image description: Still from "Ocean's 8": 8 women stand in various poses facing the camera] via rollingstone.it

Okay, I have feelings about all-female reboots.

Equal representation is a loaded topic. In some cases it feels like we’re all at different points in the same conversation. When it comes to entertainment, however, what we as an audience deserve seems easy enough: entertaining content that truthfully depicts our communities, correctly represents us, and tells our stories in new, inventive ways. 

Entertainment needs to be more aware of its influence, not in terms of box office and value for money but as the makers of culture and a method through which we record our shared histories.  

The conversation on equality and representation has hit its peak in Hollywood with the recent guilty verdict of Harvey Weinstein, the aftermath of the MeToo movement, the continuous backlash to awards nominations, as well as more positive changes such as Parasite’s sweeping win at the Oscars and a slew of films that have given us a glimpse into what more inclusive cinema could look like.  

The most confusing recent trend that the dialogue of equality has brought upon us is all-female reboots. This is not a comment on the movies themselves but a comment on the logic behind their existence.

Here’s what I think: gender-flipping well-known movies that had a predominantly male cast in the interest of telling female stories, or to preach equal representation, are missing the entire point. 

All-female reboots seem more like a lazy rewriting of history, for an audience that has already seen the same story, by a studio that hopes the remake will bring in the same box office success as the original. But equality of the genders isn’t about replacing one with the other the way that all-female reboots seem to imply.

I remember watching Ocean’s 8 in cinemas and wondering who this movie was for. I was already a fan of Ocean’s 11 and this wasn’t so much inspired by the original story as it was ripping off the exact same storyline – it was also simultaneously a continuation of the series because, for whatever reason, the central protagonist had to be Danny Ocean’s sister?

The only real difference between Ocean’s 8 and Ocean’s 11 was that Ocean’s 11 had all the perks of being an original film with a well thought out plot. The big twist ending for Ocean’s 8 on the other hand, brought back one of the original (male) cast members, Qin Shaobo, for a sequence where he steals their actual target for them. This one scene where he singlehandedly steals all of their loot just serves to discredit the female characters’ efforts over the course of the movie and makes the whole point of the all-female reboot murkier still. To add insult to injury the movie assembled an all-star cast that could’ve made a brilliant film. All they needed was great content.

Hollywood needs to pour its effort and money into telling stories from a perspective that has been largely ignored, not rehashing the same story and taping a different gender on the front cover.

There have been plenty of sensational films that took the box-office by storm over the years that have been loved by all audiences, regardless of gender – Hustlers, Bridesmaids, Bombshell, Hidden Figures, Booksmart, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, Mystic Pizza are just a few. Each of these movies, even remakes of classics like Little Women, took the opportunity to tell a side of a story that wasn’t always visible on the big screen. They told stories from the female perspective about females where femininity was a given, not a plot-point. 

Organic representation takes more than just casting diverse people for the sake of diversity. True representation will come when there is equal opportunity for all, regardless of gender, race, and sexuality to own their stories and take part in every step of the process of sharing them, from scripts to the screen.   

Until then, Hollywood needs to put new experiences and perspectives forward and not just churn out afterthought reassessments of movies from the past. The lasting effects of a film, at the end of the day, will be based on its own merit and not on the political statement it tries to make. 

All-female reboots of existing movies are a cop-out from actually delving into female stories. The conversation about the representation of all genders, races, sexualities, abilities and everything else that makes the human experience distinct and unique is now more open than ever. Studios funding projects that swap male characters for females only miss the point of actually telling stories about women.

They need to stop putting females in male shoes and just give them the opportunity to wear their own.

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The 20 best new books you can read to escape today’s reality

[Image description: 3 books against a blue background] via Amazon
[Image description: 3 books against a blue background] via Amazon

There’s nothing quite like finding a good book that helps you escape and take a break from the world. Books, both non-fiction and fiction, can teach us more about ourselves, history, people and other cultures.

Right now, as we’re all forced to isolate because of the COVID-19 outbreak, it is a perfect time to catch up on new books. It is also a great time to support authors whose book tours and other related events are being canceled due to the pandemic, which limits how much promotion they can do.

From children’s books to captivating young adult novels to confessional memories to books about overlooked moments in history, there is something on this list for everyone.

1. Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne

[Image description: the cover of the book Lifting As We Climb by Evette Dionne] via Amazon

Lifting as We Climb by Evette Divonne shares the stories of Black women who fought for the rights of women to vote in the United States. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, it is more important than ever to learn about Black women who were and continue to be leaders in the fight for women’s and human rights while facing racism from white women, are far too often glossed over in history books.

Pre-order this book from Amazon for $13.99.

2. Strung Out: One Last Hit and Other Lies That Nearly Killed Me by Erin Khar 

The cover of the book "Strung Out: One Last Hit and Other Lies That Nearly Killed Me
[Image description: The cover of the book “Strung Out: One Last Hit and Other Lies That Nearly Killed Me] via Amazon

When I hear stories about opioid addiction, it’s often about people who died overdoses, rather than narratives of the many people who were able to overcome their addiction. This is what makes Erin Khar’s memoir Strung Out: One Last Hit and Other Lies That Nearly Killed Me such a refreshing and honest read.

In this book, Khar takes the reader through her fifteen-year struggle with opioid addiction, which both helps to smash stigmas surrounding this addiction and can give hope to people living with addiction that life can get better.

Order this book from Amazon for $18.29.

3. Lakewood: A Novel by Megan Giddings

The cover of the book "Lakewood" by Megan Gidding
[Image description: the cover of the book Lakewood by Megan Giddings] via Amazon

This debut novel by Megan Giddings, which has been listed as one of The Million’s Most Anticipated Reads, taps on many issues through this fictional tale about a woman named Lena Johnson, including the struggles that working-class families face and the exploitation of black bodies for science. If you are a fan of Jordan Peele’s movies, this is a perfect book for you.

Order this book from Amazon for $16.99.

4. Fury: Women’s Lived Experiences in the Trump Era by Amy Roost and Alissa Hirshfeld

The cover of the book "Fury: Women's Lived Experiences During the Trump Era by Amy Roost and Alissa Hirshfeld
[Image description: the cover of the book Fury: Women’s Lived Experiences During the Trump Era by Amy Roost and Alissa Hirshfeld] via Regal House Publishing

When Donald Trump was elected president, I was enraged. This man, who for decades has constantly degraded women and claims that it is okay to sexually assault because he is famous, became the leader of the United States.

Fury: Women’s Lived Experiences in the Trump Era, edited by Amy Roost and Alissa Hirshfeld, features essays by a group of diverse women who are as mad as I am. Contributors to this book include Reema Zaman, Katherine Morgan, Mahin Ibrahim, and Susan Shapiro.

Order this book from Amazon for $16.95.

5. If I Had Your Face: A Novel by Frances Cha

The cover of the book "If I Had Your Face" by Frances Cha
[Image description: the cover of the book If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha via Amazon

Set in Seoul, South Korea, If I Had Your Face explores issues like beauty standards in South Korea and sexist, strict societal norms through its four main characters Kyuri, Miho, Ara and Wonna and their friendship with each other.

In praise for the book, author Janice Y. K. Lee wrote that “Cha, an entrancing new voice who guides us into the complexities and contradictions of modern-day Seoul, a dissonant, neon world that is ripped open to bare the same universal and human challenges that face us all.”

Pre-order this book from Amazon for $27.00.

6. Resilience Is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde by Julie Lalonde

The cover of the book "Resistance is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde" by Julie S. Lalonde
[Image description: the cover of the book Resistance is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde by Julie S. Lalonde via btlbooks

When she was 20 years old, women’s rights advocate Julie S. Lalonde fled intimate partner violence. For the next ten years, during which Lalonde became an outspoken activist against gendered violence in Canada, her ex stalked her for ten years.

In her book Resistance is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde, Lalonde raises awareness about stalking and IPV through sharing her harrowing experience.

Order this book from Amazon for $14.95.

7. Wandering Dixie: Dispatches from the Lost Jewish South by Sue Eisenfeld

The cover of the book "Wandering Dixie" by Sue Eisenfeld
[Image description: the cover of the book Wandering Dixie by Sue Eisenfeld] via Ohio State University Press

In Wandering Dixie, Sue Eisenfeld takes the reader on a journey as she uncovers lost Jewish communities in the South and writes about uncomfortable truths in how white or white-passing Jews assimilated in slave-owning states.

Eisenfeld’s personal stake to this issue is clear, besides being a Jewish woman, her distant cousin Andrew Goodman’s murder during the Freedom Summer of 1964 drove her in part to conduct this research.

Pre-order this book from Amazon for $19.95.

8. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

The cover of the book "Wow, No Thank You." by Samantha Irby
[Image description: the cover of the book “Wow, No Thank You.” by Samantha Irby] via Amazon

I think we all need a laugh these days, and Wow, No Thank You. by author and comedian Samantha Irby will surely do the trick. This book, which consists of a collection of essays, includes topics like food, marriage, skincare obsessions, and financial problems.

Pre-order this book from Amazon for $14.36.

9. Rust Belt Femme by Raechel Anne Jolie

The cover of the book "Rust Belt Femme" by Raechel Anne Jolie
[Image description: the cover of the book Rust Belt Femme by Raechel Anne Jolie] via Belt Publishing

Rust Belt Femme is a memoir of writer Raechel Anne Jolie on how rural Ohio poverty and alternative 90s culture helped shape her into the queer activist and educator that she is today. In an article at Cleveland Magazine, Jolie said that her memoir stemmed from bigoted rhetoric that she heard about working-class people in the Rust Belt during the 2016 Presidential Election.

Get this book from Amazon for $17.08.

10. The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

[Image description: the cover of the book The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar] via Amazon

The Henna Wars is the debut Young Adults novel by Bangladeshi and Irish writer Adiba Jaigirdar. In this book, two teenage girls Nishat and Flávia have rival henna businesses, but they do not stay foes for long. Their relationship is made complicated by the fact that Nishat falls for Flávia, but is afraid to say something because she is afraid of disapproval from her family. You can read at an excerpt of The Henna Wars at Book Riot.

Pre-order the book from Amazon for $17.99.

11. Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

The cover of the book "Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot" by Mikki Kendall]
[Image description: the cover of the book Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall] via Amazon

Feminism that does not take an intersectional approach to problems only helps a select few. In her book Hood Feminism, Mikki Kendall critiques mainstream feminism in the United States. Her essays underline how making sure people’s needs are met, like confronting homelessness and food insecurity, are feminist issues.

Order this book from Amazon for $18.91.

12. All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

The cover of the book "All Your Twisted Secrets" by Diana Urban
[Image description: the cover of the book “All Your Twisted Secrets” by Diana Urban] via Amazon

In All Your Twisted Secrets, a queen bee, a star athlete, a valedictorian, a stoner, a loner, and a music geek are all invited to what they think is a scholarship dinner. But, then the door shuts, and the attendees are told to pick someone to kill in the next our… or they will all die.

Order this book from Amazon for $16.19.

13. Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

The cover of the book "Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning" by Cathy Park Hong
[Image description: the cover of the book Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong] via Amazon

Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong’s memoir Minor Feelings explores how her Korean heritage and struggles to navigate her racialized identity as a child in the Los Angeles area caused her to have “minor feelings.” In a glowing review, Kirkus said the book “deftly explores the explosive emotions surrounding race in ways sure to impact the discourse surrounding Asian identity as well as race and belonging in America.”

Order this book from Amazon for $24.30.

14. Surgery on Sunday by Kat Harrison

The cover of the book "Surgery on Sunday" by Kat Harrison
[Image description: the cover of the book Surgery on Sunday by Kat Harrison] via Warren Publishing

Health procedures can be scary, especially for children, who may not understand what is going to happen to them. Chronic illness advocate Kat Harrison wrote the children’s book Surgery on Sunday, about a girl named Sunday who nervously awaits her upcoming ear surgery at the beginning of the book, and feels a lot better after surgery at the end. If you know a child who is getting surgery soon or deals with health conditions, this is the perfect book for them.

Pre-order the book on Amazon for $17.95.

15. Lurking by Joanne McNeil

The cover of the book "Lurking" by Joanne McNei
[Image description: the cover of the book Lurking by Joanne McNeil] via Amazon

For many of us who are self-isolating or are on lockdown, we spend hours engaging on social media platforms and using the internet in general, which may cause privacy concerns for some. In her book Lurking: How A Person Became A User, cultural critic Joanne McNeil examines concerns that people have about using the internet, including safety, identity, community, and anonymity.

Order this book from Amazon for $15.89.

16. We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

The cover of the book "We Ride Upon Sticks" by Quan Berry
[Image description: the cover of the book We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry] via Amazon

Set in Danvers, Massachusetts – where the first accusations that led to the Salem Witch trials began – this book by acclaimed writer Quan Barry is no ordinary field hockey story. This young adult novel is magical because of the friendships between the characters, and the witchcraft that these characters use to do what they can to make it to the field hockey state finals.

Order this book from Amazon for $18.39.

17. Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami

the cover of the book "Conditional Citizens" by Laila Lalami
[Image description: the cover of the book Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami] via Penguin Random House

In Conditional Citizens, Laila Lalami intertwines both her journey to becoming a U.S. citizen as an immigrant from Morocco and the role that white supremacy has on determining one’s “American-ess,” whether someone is from the United States or an immigrant like Lalami.

Pre-order this book from Amazon for $24.65.

18. Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A true (as told to me) story by Bess Kalb

The cover of the book "Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A true (as told to me) story" by Bess Kalb
[Image description: the cover of the book “Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A true (as told to me) story” by Bess Kalb] via Amazon

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A true (as told to me) story by Bess Kalb is a tribute to Kalb’s beloved late Jewish grandmother. Kalb weaves together both memories from her life with her grandmother, shares details about her Jewish family’s history, and dialogue of what her grandmother is telling her from the dead. It’s a story of love and resilience. 

Order this book from Amazon for $23.36.

19. The Herd: A Novel by Andrea Bartz

[Image description: the cover of the book “The Herd: A Novel” by Andrea Bartz] via Amazon

If you live in a major city, you may see that coworking spaces are on the rise, and they definitely come with their own drama (for example: see this article on The Wing). In the novel, The Herd, the head of an elite coworking space, Eleanor goes missing, and her friends go on a mission to find the truth. This thriller also offers commentary on female friendships and social media.

Order this book from Amazon for $13.99.

20. Strong Like Her by Haley Shapley

The cover of the book Strong Like Her by Haley Shaple
[Image description: the cover of the book Strong Like Her by Haley Shapley] via Simon & Schuster
From shining a light on the first female Olympian to current female powerhouses, Haley Shapley’s upcoming book dives into and celebrates the physical power of women. Shapley’s book puts stereotypes that women are “weak” to shame and features photographs of athletes by Sophy Holland.

Pre-order this book from Amazon for $29.99.

There are plenty of other ways to support these authors right now, if you have a library that puts books online, or has started to in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, you can contact your library to request them to add some of these awesome reads.

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