Rin Chupeco has written a bunch of YA fantasies to great acclaim, so definitely check her out. There’s also the Bitch Queen series by K.S. Villoso, if you want epic fantasy.
And, not fantasy but because I know of them, I have to list them, The Quiet is Loud by Samantha Garner is literary intergenerational sci-fi and A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadbourn is magic realism about a murder victim who becomes an aswang.
Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate! In honor of mothers who love and fully embrace their queer kids everywhere, we wanted to highlight a few books we thought were worth checking out! Here are 8 queer books with loving, supportive mothers!
HERE THE WHOLE TIME by Vitor Martins
Felipe is planning to spend his summer break alone reading and catching up on his favorite tv shows.
But when Felipe’s mom informs him that Caio, the neighbor kid from apartment 57, will be spending the next 15 days with them while his parents are on vacation, Felipe is distraught because A) he’s had a crush on Caio since, well, forever, and B) Felipe has a list of body image insecurities a mile long. He also has absolutely NO idea how he’s going to entertain his neighbor for two full weeks.
Suddenly, the days ahead of him promis anything BUT rest and relaxation.
—–
THE MAGIC FISH by Trung Le Nguyen
Tiến loves his family and his friends… but Tiến has a secret he’s been keeping from them, and revealing it might change everything.
Real life isn’t a fairytale, but Tiến still enjoys reading his favorite fairy tales with his parents. It’s hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tiến, he doesn’t even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he’s going through?
Is there a way to tell them he’s gay?
—–
AVI CANTOR HAS SIX MONTHS TO LIVE by Sacha Lamb
Avi Cantor Has Six Months To Live
Avi comes across these foreboding words scrawled on the bathroom mirror, but what do they mean? Is this a curse, a prediction, or a threat from Avi’s emboldened bullies? And how to they know his real name when he hasn’t even told his mother yet?
Then there is Ian—the cool new guy at school, who is suddenly paying attention to Avi. Ian is just like Avi, but he is also all sunshine, optimism, and magic. All the things that Avi doesn’t know how to deal with…yet.
A romantic fairy tale for trans boys.
—–
RUNNING WITH LIONS by Julian Winters
Bloomington High School Lions’ star goalie, Sebastian Hughes, should be excited about his senior year: His teammates are amazing and he’s got a coach who doesn’t ask anyone to hide their sexuality.
But when his estranged childhood best friend Emir Shah shows up to summer training camp, Sebastian realizes the team’s success may end up in the hands of the one guy who hates him. Determined to reconnect with Emir for the sake of the Lions, he sets out to regain Emir’s trust. But to Sebastian’s surprise, sweaty days on the pitch, wandering the town’s streets, and bonding on the weekends sparks more than just friendship between them.
—–
HEARTSTOPPER by Alice Oseman
Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more…?
Charlie Spring is in Year 10. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He’s heard a little about Charlie - the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months - but he’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.
They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways.
—–
ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED by Sophie Gonzales
Will Tavares is the dream summer fling ― he’s fun, affectionate, kind ― but just when Ollie thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After, summer vacation ends and Will stops texting Ollie back. Now Ollie is one prince short of his fairy tale ending, and to complicate the fairy tale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country. Which he minds a little less when he realizes it’s the same school Will goes to… except Ollie finds that the sweet, comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted ― and, to be honest, a bit of a jerk.
Ollie has no intention of pining after a guy who clearly isn’t ready. Right?
Right? Right.
—–
MONSTER OF THE WEEK by F.T. Lukens
Spring semester of Bridger Whitt’s senior year of high school is looking great. He has the perfect boyfriend, a stellar best friend, and an acceptance letter to college. He also has this incredible job as an assistant to Pavel Chudinov, an intermediary tasked with helping cryptids navigate the modern world. His days are filled with kisses, laughs, pixies, and the occasional unicorn. Life is awesome.
But as graduation draws near, Bridger’s perfect life begins to unravel. Uncertainties about his future surface, his estranged dad shows up out of nowhere, and, perhaps worst of all, a monster-hunting television show arrives in town to investigate the series of strange events from last fall. The show’s intrepid host will not be deterred, and Bridger finds himself trapped in a game of cat and mouse that could very well put the myth world at risk. Again.
—–
WOLFSONG by T.J. Klune
Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.
Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.
Ox was seventeen when he found out the boy’s secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega.
Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.
It’s been three years since that fateful day—and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.
[ID: Text on a white square that says: “8 queer books with loving, supportive mothers. The border is in the colors of a lesbian flag. The subsequent slides each show one of the books above with the same description.]
Hi Friends! Looking for books that have big Studio Ghibli vibes…
I’m talking: ~ cute friendships ~ magical beings ~ whimsical aesthetics ~ magical realism ~ incredible world building
I already know about the Howl’s Moving Castle book, and How Do You Live, and that Arrietty is loosely based on The Borrowers. I’m just in desperate need of an escape, Studio Ghibli style. For reference, one of my faves is Kiki’s Delivery Service, if anyone has specific recs for that!
Thanks friends, and happy reading!
Check out the Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, which I would pay good money to get a Ghibli adaptation for. Or Pratchett’s Bromeliad series, maybe?
There are also the Eva Evergreen books by Julie Abe, which I remember thinking had major Kiki vibes when we carried them at work, and The Ship of Stolen Words by Fran Wilde, which also very much should fit the bill. Oh, and at least some of the stories in Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho will work too! Some of T. Kingfisher’s fantasy books too—but careful, as she also does straight-up horror.
And while you know about the Howl’s book, I’d highly recommend looking at Diana Wynne Jones in general. You might enjoy The Dark Lord of Derkholm or the Chrestomanci books too.
Can anyone recommend any SFF books with prominent characters with chronic illness, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, etc.
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold has a protagonist who was born with brittle bones, Between the frequent surgeries to repair or replace bones and the injuries gained over the course of the series, he’s never not in pain. Does that stop him from being a space mercenary? Absolutely not.
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses is about a girl with chronic fatigue from Lyme disease and the best friend she meets through a Discord support group, who turns out to be a werewolf—which is also portrayed as a chronic illness.
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots has a protagonist who gets severely injured near the start of the book, and she deals with the pain from that for the rest of the book, even after she’s “healed”. She uses a cane for a good part of the book too. (It’s about taking down superheroes with the power of social engineering and good spreadsheets.)
The Arcadia Project books by Mishell Baker, which is about a woman tasked with being a Faerie immigration agent in Hollywood, also feature a woman who’s suffered major injuries and has to handle pain throughout the series. She’s also a double amputee with prosthetics, a wheelchair, and canes.
Among Others by Jo Walton is another one with a character in pain from past injuries, who also uses a cane. It’s about a girl at a boarding school who’s dealing with some rough family stuff and may or may not talk to fairies.
So we mods have been talking. You may or may not have seen this recent post where someone asked if a curated fic rec list would count towards being considered a completionist. After some discussion we decided to not include this as an option for filing the Whumptober prompts this year. BUT, we are willing to open the matter up to the community for discussion.
What do you guys think? Would you like to see whump rec lists (fics, books, movies, shows, etc.) added as a way to complete the challenge? Please comment below and let us know!
