I find that a rise in LGBT in books, tv, movie etc to be so inspiring an outstanding. I love how people are finally getting the idea that if you want your audience to feel a connection to a character you charter has to be real. A HUGE part of real life is the LGBT community. But I dislike when shows and books just throw LGBT characters in there with no development. It is great to see some representation but why is that character gay for like two episodes or the last thirty seconds of a movie.
When I first started writing LGBT I asked people I knew what it was like and the answer was always different. The only thing all those people had in common was it took time to find that part of themselves. It is so inspiring to hear those stories and to implement them can teach your audience such important lessons about self-discovery. When That story is just thrown in I feel like something great just got thrown out.
a flirty girl helping a shy girl get with her crush, so she can prove to her touring musician girlfriend that she can make friends & help people - but they fall for each other instead
two nonbinary trans boys and the magical world below the lake full of fantastical creatures that everyone in their town has heard of, but only they can enter
Couldn’t find a good smutty enemies to lovers fantasy book so decided to try to write one starting with a scene that I absolutely am in love with just need to be able to write better and of course being the bisexual she/they that I am it is going to be as gay as I can possibly make it so yes a hetero looking relationship with a very bisexual lead who may or may not be non binary not decided that yet and the male lead being maybe demisexual or something on the ace spectrum idk I need to figure that out
Every once in a while, a book comes along that is so beautifully written I procrastinate on writing the review to the point of guilt just to eschew not doing the book justice. The Heart’s Invisible Furies is such a book.
It sat on my stacks for weeks because I didn’t know if the story of an orphan Irish boy would sustain me for so many pages. But boy, oh Irish boy, was I wrong. This book is everything a literary novel should be: sweeping in scope, intelligent, nuanced, darkly comedic - filled with pathos and estrangement, humor and humanity.
The tale follows Cyril Avery from utero, and proceeds generationally throughout his life. Born in a conservative Ireland to an unwed young mother who is literally thrown out of her church, the piece threads expertly through Cyril’s entire life: his unlikely adoption into a home where he is treated more like a middle-aged boarder than a child, chance encounters with his birth mother and a series of life-defining - and threatening - struggles along the way, struggles - and threats - that seem embedded in the fight for Ireland herself to survive.
Moving, generous and finely-crafted, this book made me laugh out loud and audibly sigh. A multifaceted portrait of a desperately evolving man against the never-changing landscape of his intransigent origin country.
*Thank you to the publishers for providing B3 with an ARC.
When you start any novel, what do you notice first about the narrator? I imagine concurrent to style of voice, you make immediate assumptions about gender. I, in fact, often actively search for narrators of a certain gender. I imagine there are some readers out there that actively avoid narrators of a certain gender. Actually, the old chestnut that they like to sell writers is that girls will read stories about boys and girls, but boys are only interested in stories about boys. #alternativefact
So, then, what do you do when the narrator’s answer to “boy or girl” is a simple nod?
Riley is starting at a new high school halfway through the four arduous years, a terrifying plight for any narrator, but exacerbated more acutely by the fact that Riley identifies as “gender fluid,” - as male or female or anywhere along the spectrum on any given day. Compound this situation by a congressman father running for re-election and an accidental fame-by-blog-post scenario and you’ve got the makings of a modern cyber hero - and heroine - tale.
The book came out five minutes ago and has already been recognized as a 2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection by American Library Association, among Most Anticipated Debuts by Barnes & Noble, and in 5 YA Novels You Need to Read in the First Half of 2016byHuffington Post. The list of notable mentions is exhaustively long this far. And why?
Well, it’s a fun read to be sure, but what is perhaps most notable about this book is that like all good fiction, it manages to implicate the reader in its exploration. Heck, the gender-fluid narrator is even self-critical. Why are we all so eager to categorize? To label? To break down? Is a thing defined less scary? More relatable? Or is it simply habit? A result of a lifetime of pronouns we’ve been fed and regurgitated? Or, it is more insidious? Is it segregated children’s toy aisles and blue and pink cake reveals and seventy-seven cents on the dollar? Why do we see the world how we do, and why do we cling so ferociously to our arbitrary classifications?
Symptoms of Being Human is destined to join the ranks of the young modern underdog tales like Wonder, Eleanor & Park,andCurious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It’s a story we’ve never heard before from a narrator we didn’t know we needed - a narrator who invites us to see the world from a slightly less-defined perspective.
Pages I Never Wrote is a Queer Coming-of-Age YA Book featuring themes of disability, diversity, creativity, self-discovery and academic achievement. Perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Alice Oseman and Adam Silvera.
Available in eBook(Kindle app) and PaperbackonAmazonworldwide
~Summary~
“Why would he want to date me? I can’t even hold a pen.”
Luke has good friends, a passion for books, and dyspraxia, a disorder that, ironically, makes him unable to write. He also has a hatred for anyone who tries to help him. Yet when he fails his first term at university due to his learning difficulties, he’s forced to get support. That’s how Nate, an excitable last-year student, becomes his self-proclaimed personal tutor and starts writing down essays for him, as a distraction from his own quarter-life crisis. But Luke’s writing ambitions are not just academic. He dreams of penning a novel, although that’s never been a real possibility. Until now. Will the two boys manage to write a successful love story together?
~Reviews~
“Incredibly relatable. Such quintessential student experiences… We’ve all been there.” - total.boron, FictionPress
“One sign of good storytelling for me is when I’m right there with the character, like I was with Luke, hyperventilating, only slightly!” - KrissKringle, FictionPress
“It was so freaking good! I’m seriously so inspired to go and write my own story.” - Flowersandlillies, FictionPress
“How obvious Nate is, and how oblivious Luke is, is what adds spice to the story.” - excahuseamwah, Wattpad
“All the thoughts and self-doubt made me rotfl. We’ve all been there when meeting someone new. It’s all so familiar.” - KevinPaterson, Wattpad
I was really torn on what to score this one, somewhere between 7 and 8 but I settled on 8/10 when I remembered how much this book touched me and left me feeling even weeks after I’d finished
For those that haven’t read the book or seen the movie, this novel is a beautiful story about a summer romance between two men that touches both of their lives so deeply and how they developed such a strong love for each other. This book came to me at a time in my life where I had recently ended a relationship and it was such a great book to help with the healing and emotional process that I was going through. The story follows the life of Elio, a young boy who’s parents host an academic each year at their summer home in Italy to stay with them and work on their work, and along comes Oliver. The relationship between Oliver and Elio is one built on stolen glances and rooted in suppressed desire; reading the way in which these two characters interact with one another, as well as how they struggle to come to terms with both their feelings and denial is one that is not only gripping, but beautiful.
The way Aichman depicts this story between the two men is so touching and had such a lasting impact on me - I found myself thinking over different passages and interactions in the days and weeks following finishing the book. Without spoiling too much for those who are yet to experience Call Me By Your name in some capacity, the book really does communicate this idea of ‘the forbidden love’ as well as the element of true love as a reality.
This book was both painful to read, as well as a complete pleasure. The way Aichman describes Italy as a place, as well as the hidden references to mythology and literary classics made this such a joy thread - funny, clever, considerate and at times downright scandalous. I don’t think I’ve read a modern novel quite like it before.
A gorgeous story that’s skilfully written and allows for complete escapism and emersion into the love story between Elio and Oliver - and the ending completely shattered my heart. A must read for any hopeless romantics, or even those looking to get lost in a wonderful journey of navigating love.
