lou's library

So, I’ve been binge-watching all three seasons of Heartstopper and to say I’m obsessed would be a bit of an understatement. The show got me thinking about queer representation in the books I read, and so here’s a little list of books that have just that and that I love! Enjoy (and go watch Heartstopper, if you haven’t already!!!)!

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Obviously I had to start with that!!!! I read the graphic novels in January and honestly, going into them I had low expectations. I didn’t expect them to be bad, but I’m 27 and so perhaps not exactly the target audience? Turns out I was all wrong, because I loved the first one so much I had to go straight back to the library to get the second novel. I think the way young, queer love is portrayed in the series is so special. They are written (and illustrated) with so much love, care and consideration. I’m don’t read graphic novels very often, but this made me think that maybe I should change that? It felt so special to actually see Nick and Charlie on the page? I also love how cosy and safe these books feel, even though they touch on quite heavy topics a lot of the time. I would die for the characters (particularly Nick Nelson, that boy has my heart and we must protect him from harm at all costs!!!), they are so well-rounded and wonderful I’m getting emotional just thinking about them. So, please please please read this if you want something wholesome that has the potential to teach you a lot about queer love and sexuality!!!!

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

Well, would this even be a list of the best LGBTQIA+ books if Call Me By Your Name wasn’t on it? I don’t think so. This is a very different vibe from Heartstopper, but my god, a vibe it is!! It’s set in 1980’s Italy, and you can almost taste that on every goddamn page of this book!! It centres on Elio and Oliver, who fall in love over the course of a summer and I won’t say any more than that because you should really just read it and be swept away by it. The novel deals with questions of power and stigma really well and the writing style is beautifully unique (it might take you a moment to get used to, but it’s worth perservering!). Be prepared to immediately want to book a holiday in Italy once you’ve read this, and also to keep thinking about Elio and Oliver long after you’ve finished the book. Obviously, the movie adaptation with Mr Timothee Chalamet is very popular and I’d say rightly so because they did transport the feeling of the novel onto the screen so well!!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune

I couldn’t write a blog post about queer love stories in books and not mention at least one by T. J. Klune!!! He is the master of writing endearing characters and I just wanna give them all a hug constantly. Arthur and Linus have my heart, I can’t quite put into words how special their relationship is. It develops so tenderly and beautifully and reading this book felt like a warm embrace. In this book, the (queer) romance isn’t the focus (unlike in the other books I’ve mentioned so far), it certainly is important, but I’d say there are other developments and plot points that are more in the foreground. What is very clear on every single page though is the inclusivity of the world the author has built. It is made very evident from the beginning that everyone is welcome and cared for, and I think that is such an important message in the world we’re living in.

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

I thought quite a bit about whether or not to include this book in this list, because the protagonist isn’t part of the queer love story. But it has a big impact on her own life and decisions, and the story encapsulates the stigma that is often still associated with queer relationships in a heartaching way. It’s set in Ireland (a country with a historically difficult relationship with same-sex relationships, to put it mildly) and follows a young woman graduating from uni and her best mate, who is also her flatmate. The story is told by the protagonist a few years in the future, and we keep getting little hints as to how the situation is in her present, which left me wondering how we were gonna get there (am I making any sense? SORRY THIS IS HARD TO DESCRIBE). While we do focus on her (heteronormative) relationships and her trying to get her life together, her own story begins to intertwine with that of her gay best friend (I promise he’s not just a stereotype walking on two legs!!!) so much that in the end, you can’t separate the two anymore. The book heavily touches on the consequences of the shame and stigma a lot of queer people have been made to feel (and often still do, I guess) and how that can not only have negative effects on their mental health, but lead to decisions that they wouldn’t have made otherwise. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the fact that the story is told from the straight person’s point of view, but I think that’s just something to take into consideration when thinking about the book and the message it sends.

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

Fair warning: this book destroyed me, made me incredibly sad and upset and yet is one of my all time favourites, so do with that what you want!! I really do think knowing next to nothing about this is best, so I’ll try to keep this short and vague. It’s set in contemporary Scotland and we follow the life of Mungo as he becomes a teenager and tries to survive the hardships of growing up on a council estate in Glasgow. There’s so much more than that going on, but that’s all you need to know, I think. The characters are so well written I felt like they were in the room with me while I was reading and I had this intense urge to protect Mungo from page one. The writing is hauntingly beautiful and immersive and made me miss Scotland so much, but also kind of detest certain parts of its culture?? Basically, I felt all the feels reading this one, so please give this a try!!!

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Some might say literature doesn’t get better than this book. I’m inclined to agree. It’s a retelling of Achilles’ life, focusing on the Trojan War. When I say the writing in this is absolutely, devastatingly gorgeous it doesn’t even come close!!! Madeline Miller (re)imagines Achilles’ life with so much skill, care and love that I wanted to cry every other sentence. I know this is by no means an unknown book (in fact, if you haven’t heard of this, have you even been online in the past few years?), but I had to mention it as I really didn’t expect a queer love story as I went into this book. In case you don’t know what went down in the Trojan War, I won’t spoil it for you. But maybe just make sure you’ve got tissues.

So, these are my top queer romance book picks!! Writing this has made me realise I’m really lacking books featuring lesbian love stories, so if you have any recommendations on those, let me know!!