LGBTQ+ books to read

Stephanie Landaverde News & Lifestyle Editor

Every year during Pride Month, movies, TV and music by or featuring LGBTQ+ people trend on streaming platforms. One essential and powerful media component is often left out of the discussion: books. So, here are books featuring LGBTQ+ characters recommended by students.

Josie Bryant, an OSU music education junior, recommended two books: “They Both Die at the End” by Adam Silvera and “Gracefully Grayson” by Ami Polonsky.

“They Both Die at the End” follows two teenage boys who spend their last day together, after receiving a phone call that they will die. “Gracefully Grayson” features a sixth grader who doesn’t feel the same inward as they present outward. Bryant said the novel avoids using gendered pronouns as Grayson navigates confusing feelings and realizes they’ve been experiencing a desire to be a girl.

“While incredibly different, both books were so refreshing and authentic in the way that they expressed queer joy,” Bryant said. “Nothing about these books felt as though they were written to please a straight or cis audience.”

Bryant said that while well written, “They Both Die at the End” saddens her because it is another queer story wrapped in tragedy. Many stories featuring LGBTQ characters, particularly gay men, involve death, grief or illness, and it is rare to see a happy ending, Bryant said.

Adie Webb, a sophomore majoring in history and museum studies at the University of Central Oklahoma, recommended five books: “On a Sunbeam” by Tillie Walden, “House of Hollow” by Krystal Sutherland, “All

Our Hidden Gifts” by Caroline O’Donoghue, “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins

Reid and “Plain Bad Heroines” by Emily M. Danforth.

“On a Sunbeam” is a webcomic and graphic novel set in a science fiction universe following Mia, who just joined a repair ship. The story jumps between a period of five years, where Mia fell in love with a classmate to the present as Mia makes her way back to the woman she loves.

“These books all have incredible stories that you can fall into and spend hours reading,” Webb said. “Aside from these books being super cool and unique stories, I love reading stories that I can relate to as a lesbian. Reading books with LGBT characters that reflect my life and feelings is something that brings me great joy, and I think is important for everyone to get to see themselves in stories.” entertainment.ed@ocolly.com

While “House of Hollow” doesn’t have much romance, Webb said these books do a really good job of showing how even when the story is not about being gay, it is still part of who the character is and cannot be separated from them.

Audrey White, a psychology junior at the University of North Texas, recommended “The Girl from the Sea” by Molly Knox Ostertag, “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston and “Last night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo.

The Girl from the Sea” is a graphic novel featuring a 15-yearold girl with a chaotic family life and a secret: she likes girls. One night, she is saved by a beautiful girl in the ocean named Keltie who has some secrets of her own. White said this book is only 247 pages long, making it a quick and easy read.