Education

When the Moon was Ours, by Anna-Marie McLemore (she/her/s)

Mythology and magical realism are threads that weave a rich and diverse tapestry in this teen novel by Latinx author Anna-Marie McLemore. The friendship between the two main characters sets them apart in a town secretly influenced by suspected witches. Miel friend grows roses from her wrists and her friend Sam paints the moon. When the witches attempt to steal the roses from Miel, mysteries surrounding the town and its inhabitants begin to intertwine and unravel.

Not Your Sidekick, by C. B. Lee (she/her/s)

Anyone who loves comic books and superheroes is also aware of how…. Straight, and white, they tend to be. Though we still love those heroic adventures, C.B Lee freshens up the genre with this queer, quirky, slightly romantic adventure. After Jess Tran lands an internship with a notorious super villain and a (mega) cute fellow intern, she finds herself tangled in a massive secret plot. Spiting her super-hero parents turns into a dangerous and exciting adventure, even bigger than her world of heroes and villains.

You Should See Me In a Crown, by Leah Johnson (she/her/s)

Having always felt too Black, too poor, and too awkward to break out of her small midwestern hometown, Liz is devastated to learn financial aid for her dream college/ticket out falls through. But what about the scholarship given to the prom queen and prom king? Prom competition may be the last thing she wants to go through, but she is willing to do anything to achieve her goals. Will her prom queen opponent keep her from playing in the Pennington college orchestra and studying to become a doctor, or will their rivalry spark a new adventure?

Another Brooklyn, by Jaqueline Woodson (she/her/s)

This ’18-’19 Children’s Ambassador is brilliantly prolific and expansive in her work. The PAGES of awards and nominations for her picture, middle grade, YA, novels and poetry books speak for themselves (most recently including the Hans Christian Andersen Award). You may want to read everything she has ever written. Also, her favorite food is pizza.

An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon (they/them/theirs)

Solomon’s debut Sci-fi novel landed itself on the Stonewall Honor list upon publication. Protagonist Aster Grey is ferocious and unrelenting; her story told with a cunning and sharpness likened to that of a “syringe full of stars”. Fans of Octavia Butler will swoon over this title., by Rivers Solomon (they/them/theirs)

Wow, No Thank You, by Samantha Irby (she/her/s)

As an obsessive consumer of audio books, I highly recommend listening to Samantha Irby read her latest title (or any of her books really). She is fiercely intelligent in her writing and yet wry, honest, hysterical and a bit greasy at times. Irby’s anecdotal essays offer realness and the kind of warmth that may cause you to consider whether you have crapped your pants.

The House of Impossible Beauties, by Joseph Cassara (he/him/his)

Glimpse into the world of 80’s NYC ball culture and the drag queens that helped shape a dynamic era in queer subculture. The story highlights the creation of the first Latinx Drag House, but there are thorns among the glitter and glamour. Love and community surround darker themes of grief, addiction, and AIDS.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, by Marlon James (he/him/his)

Epic, dark, dizzying and polymorphic are only a few words used to describe the latest novel (and first in a planned trilogy) of Pulitzer prize winning Jamaican author, Marlon James. Marlon’s protagontist narrates a world so rich in complexity it exists within its own incoherence. Genre-defying in its scope, this title you cannot miss.

Sister Outsider, by Audre Lorde

This collection of works spanning from 1976 to 1986 ring today as echos. Lorde’s master of language and sharp philosophy command change and empathy. Though she chronicles the suffering of Black women, these essays also provide hope and guidance.

You Should See Me In a Crown, by Leah Johnson (she/her/s)

Having always felt too Black, too poor, and too awkward to break out of her small midwestern hometown, Liz is devastated to learn financial aid for her dream college/ticket out falls through. But what about the scholarship given to the prom queen and prom king? Prom competition may be the last thing she wants to go through, but she is willing to do anything to achieve her goals. Will her prom queen opponent keep her from playing in the Pennington college orchestra and studying to become a doctor, or will their rivalry spark a new adventure?

Another Country, by James Baldwin (he/him/his)

An honest, brutal (at times), emotional look at a group of friends and lovers brought together in 1960’s Manhattan. Brokenness and fragility within these characters and their deeply personal relationships reveals often painful realizations around race, sexuality and love. Baldwin strips bare these issues and offers us a vision of ‘another country’, a country of healing, and love.

Redefining Realness, by Janet Mock (she/her/s)

Janet shares her coming of age as a biracial, trans and poor in her home state of Hawaii with fierce prose and clarity. Her quest to womanhood and self-identity paves a road of possibility for self- realization and unapologetic acceptance for the reader. Radically honest and universally accessible, the necessity of Janet’s story is glaring. This title also took the OBC Book Club 2019 award for best non- fiction!

The Gilda Stories, by Jewelle Gomez (she/her/s)

Queer, Black, feminist, butch vampires. Need I say more? I will anyways. Two-time winner of the lambda literary award and considered amongst the most influential speculative sci-fi novels by black authors, this is a must read to have on your shelves along with Octavia Butler, and N.K Jemisin. Gilda’s journey begins with seeking freedom from slavery in antebellum South; after becoming a vampire, it continues through the next 200 years into a utopian future. Explorations of blackness, sexuality, love, family, and climate change take center-stage in this 1991 lesbian classic.

Don’t Call Us Dead, by Danez Smith (they/them/theirs)

This is the title of Smith’s second book of award-winning poetry. A quote from a Lambda Literary review by David Eye: “This book made me slam it shut a few times to keep from weeping in restaurants. Not because the poems are sad. Or because they are joyful. But because they are both, and neither. They confront the world(s) we live in (e.g. “you’re dead, america”) and imagine others (e.g. “summer, somewhere”) in ways and in language so precise and evocative that we lament and yearn right along with these searing, soaring poems.”

Bread out of Stone: Recollections on Sex, Recognitions, Race, Dreaming and Politics, by Dionne Brand (she/her/s)

Professor Brand is legendary and prolific in her (now) home country of Canada, serving as Toronto’s Poet Laureate from 2009-2012 amongst a litany of awards and recognitions. Her creative works span poetry, novels, essays and documentaries. 49thshelf.com describes this collection of essays as: “An evocative and insightful essay collection, Bread Out of Stone brings Dionne Brand’s signature unflinching eye and personal history to issues of sex, sexism and sexual autonomy; politics, community and the centrality of whiteness in Canadian culture; diaspora and immigration; violence and stereotypes; racial imagination; and music, art, literature and freedom.”