The rainbow flags are flying across the region because June is Pride Month.
While this month is set aside to honor the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 and the advancement of LGBTQ+ protections and rights, stories featuring queer characters have become increasingly visible year-round.
The Queer NEPA Book Club meets year-round, and they delivered plenty of reading ideas this week.
Find the perfect LGBTQ-themed reads for Pride Month in these recommendations
Fawn Contreras, Queer NEPA Book Club leader
Book: "The Guncle"
Author: Steven Rowley
This book we read as a Book Club back in 2023, and it has stayed with me ever since. It holds a dear spot in my heart.
It has a bit of everything except for spice. It is an adult fiction book about an uncle taking care of kids who have just lost their mother, for the summer. It is funny, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, clever and witty, but it also has so many emotions and so much heart.
It's dealing with topics of grief and addiction and love, and being your authentic self. Our book club talked about this book for at least two hours. It's a beautiful book.
Olivia Butkiewicz, Queer NEPA Chair
Book: "The Undetectables"
Author: Courtney Smyth
This book has you in your feels, but also kind of gripping the edge of your seat because it is a murder mystery that is set in a world filled with magical and non-magical beings.
It's a series that is known for its witty writing, quick humor, and definitely focuses on inclusivity and diverse representation. Who doesn't love witches, demons, fae folk and more?
But what I also love about this book is that it includes disabilities and individuals with chronic illnesses. You'll see that struggle with the main character, Mallory, and how she goes about it with discussing it with her friends. I really feel that's very important in today's society.
Lindsy Smigel, Queer NEPA Book Club member
Book: "Strange Beasts"
Author: Susan J. Morris
This is a great, gothic fiction novel. It takes place around the turn of the 20th century, and it has this wonderful array of characters. You are going to be meeting people like Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty... you're going to be meeting the kids of these famous characters like Mina (Murray) and Jonathan Harker, Van Helsing and a very large cast of supernatural beasts and menagerie.
It's got very strong female leads. There's a little bit of romance towards the end, but it really works on developing that character partnership and the trust that they're they're building up, which I think will look great in future - hopefully - sequels. But I truly recommend it to anyone who's interested in that type of Gothic, fantasy fiction.
Lydia McFarlane, WVIA News Healthcare Reporter
Book: "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe"
Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" is a must-read during Pride Month.
The book’s namesake main characters, Aristotle and Dante, meet in the summer of 1987 at a local pool in El Paso, Texas. The two Mexican-American teenage boys bond over their historical names and quickly become inseparable.
They try to squeeze every second out of the summer after Dante learns he and his family will move to Chicago, where his father will take a job as a professor. An accident at the end of the summer brings the boys and their families even closer together.
Aristotle and Dante navigate their long-distance friendship while finding their places in the world as young boys of color. Sexuality and family issues complicate things as they try to uncover the secrets of their identities as well as the secrets their families dare not speak about.
They love each other, but do they love each other as more than friends? You’ll have to pick up this charming coming-of-age story to find out.
This book is technically a young adult book, but the important lessons about acceptance, love and friendship transcend age groups. It’s a perfect summer read, as you follow the lovable main characters through the heat of summer and the ebbs and flows of their relationship.
You’ll be crying, laughing and thinking about your own “secrets of the universe” as you read this book.
Jacob Kelley, founder and CEO, Mx. Kelley Queer Education
Book: "The LGBTQ+ History Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained"
Publisher: DK Books
This is an amazing book that helps people break down these large constructs throughout our history, from before 13 B.C. all the way up until 2022, on all different areas of LGBTQIA+ history going from things we may have never known about to things that we modernize today.
(Things like) why we might have Pride, why we have different LGBTQIA+ events, and what really impacts our history as LGBTQIA+ plus community and individuals.
This book really helps all people break down an understanding of what it means to be queer back in different times, different eras, and most importantly, why we have Pride today.
Sarah Scinto, WVIA Morning Edition Host and Reporter
Book: “The House in the Cerulean Sea”
Author: T.J. Klune
When I think about “The House in the Cerulean Sea,” my heart immediately feels lighter.
It really has everything from lovingly developed characters and a found family to a sweet, cozy romance and more than a touch of magic.
Our main character is lonely Linus Baker, a 40-year-old case worker with the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He oversees the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When he receives a highly classified assignment, he travels to an orphanage on an island where six allegedly dangerous children live: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian and the Antichrist. Linus has to decide if this group will truly bring about the end of days - and figure out his feelings for their caretaker, Arthur Parnassus.
If you like cozy tales of family found in the most unexpected of places, this book is absolutely for you. I’m planning to reread it this summer so I can finally dive into the sequel, “Somewhere Beyond the Sea.”
That’s all for this edition of Bookmarks! Look for the next episode on June 21. We’ll kick off the summer with some beach reading ideas.
Want to talk about a book you loved? Email sarahscinto@wvia.org with Bookmarks in the subject line.
