Toby's Recommend Reads
Published on 06 June 2024
Toby, Library Administration Support Officer and Mortlake Branch Officer, has shared their recommend reads for this June - which is Pride Month!
None of the Above and And She Was are both divisive among readers online - None of the Above because the author isn't intersex herself, and And She Was because of the deadnaming and misgendering of one of the characters. In my opinion, None of the Above is still a great read, and I found And She Was a difficult but also realistic read, from the point of view of a teenager - she is incredibly self centred and selfish and the deadnaming and misgendering falls into her exploration of her relationship with that character.
All available at our libraries, with the last two titles are available on borrowbox!
Eighteen-year-olds Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are two members of the boy-band Saturday, one of the biggest acts in America. Along with their bandmates, Angel Phan and Jon Braxton, the four are teen heartbreakers in front of the cameras and best friends backstage. But privately, cracks are starting to form: their once-easy rapport is straining under the pressures of fame, and Ruben confides in Zach that he's feeling smothered by management's pressure to stay in the closet.
A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she's intersex...and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.
"Amy will do anything to revive her ailing restaurant, including hiring a former reality-show finalist with good connections and a lot to prove. But her hopes that Sophie’s skills and celebrity status would bring her restaurant back from the brink of failure are beginning to wane… Sophie just wants to cook. She doesn’t want to constantly post on social media for her dead-in-the-water reality TV career, she doesn’t want to deal with Amy’s take-charge personality and she doesn’t want to think about what her attraction to her boss might mean… Then, an opportunity: a new foodie TV show might provide the exposure they need. An uneasy truce is fine for starters, but making their dreams come true means making some personal and painful sacrifices and soon, there’s more than just the restaurant at stake"
"Liz Baker and her three roommates work at The Nether Fields, a queer magazine in New York that's on the verge of shutting down--until it's bought at the last minute by two wealthy lesbians. Even though Liz is eager to leave listicles behind for more meaningful writing, she knows that she's lucky to still have a paycheck. But it's hard to feel grateful with minority investor Daria Fitzgerald slashing budgets, cancelling bagel Fridays, and password protecting the colour printer to prevent "frivolous use." When Liz overhears Daria scoffing at her articles, she knows that it's only a matter of her time before her impulsive mouth tells Daria off and gets herself fired. But as Liz and Daria get thrown together more and more, Liz starts to see a softer side to Daria--she's funny, surprisingly helpful, and actually seems to like that Liz's gender presentation varies between butch and femme. Even as the evidence that Liz can't trust Daria piles up, it starts getting harder and harder to keep hating Daria--and harder and harder to resist her the chemistry between them."
What happens when, aged 30, you realise you're transgender? This was the question that confronted Yves Rees, a historian whose life was upended by gender transition in 2018. Then known as a woman called Anne, Yves was forced to grapple with the sudden realisation that they were not, in fact, female at all. But did this realisation mean that Yves was a man - or something else altogether? When you've lived a lie for so long, how do you discover who you really are? And how do you re-learn to live in the world as a different gender? This book follows Yves on their raw journey of re-becoming, telling a transmasculine transition story that digs into the messiness of bodies, gender and identity. It brings to light the challenges and joys of being transgender in Australia today, and reveals how much trans experience can teach all of us about what it means to be man or woman?
Meet Shane Jenek. Raised in the Brisbane suburbs by loving parents, Shane realises from a young age that he's not like all the other boys. At a performing arts agency he discovers his passion for song, dance and performance, and makes a promise to himself: to find a bigger stage. Meet Courtney Act. Born in Sydney around the turn of the millennium, Courtney makes her name in the gay bars of Oxford Street and then on Australian Idol. Over ten years later, she makes star turns on RuPaul's Drag Race and Celebrity Big Brother UK, bringing her unique take on drag and gender to the world. Behind this rise to national and global fame is a story of searching for and finding oneself. Told with Courtney's trademark candour and wit, Caught in the Act is about our journey towards understanding gender, sexuality and identity. It's an often hilarious and at times heartbreaking memoir from a beloved drag and entertainment icon. Most of all, it's a bloody good time.
Jessica Verdi Read by Chloe Cannon
Dara's lived a sheltered life with her single mom, Mellie. Now, at eighteen, she's dreaming of more. When Dara digs up her never-before-seen birth certificate, her world implodes. Why are two strangers listed as her parents?
Dara confronts her mother, and is stunned by what she learns: Mellie is transgender. The unfamiliar name listed under "father"? That's Mellie. She transitioned when Dara was a baby, after Dara's birth mother died. She changed her name, started over.
But Dara still has more questions than answers. Reeling, she sets off on an impromptu road trip with her best guy friend, Sam, in tow. She is determined to find the extended family she's never even met. What she does discover-and what her mother reveals, piece by piece, over emails-will challenge and change Dara more than she can imagine.
This is a gorgeous, timely, and essential novel about the importance of being our true selves.
When Taylor is accepted as a finalist for a diverse writers' internship at Saturday Night Live, it turns her life upside down. And if Taylor wants a shot at winning, she'll have to come out about both of her secrets: she wants to be a comedian ... and she's a lesbian.
The only thing keeping Taylor from self-combusting is her pining for Salem's most bewitching actress — out and proud classmate, Charlotte Grey. So when Taylor finds herself sitting opposite Charlotte to discuss a school project, Taylor's simmering need to tell everyone exactly who she is and what she wants burns hotter than ever ...
From Australian author Hayli Thomson comes a deeply relatable and hilarious queer rom-com about coming out as funny and gay.
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