With so much time on winter break, you may want to pick up a book or two. Not a textbook, just a book for pleasure, since you may not have as much time during the semester.
While there are many book genres out there, one that I feel doesn’t have enough books in it is LGBTQ. I’ve been reading a lot in this genre lately. Here are the five books I’ve really enjoyed.
1. Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
I read this book about a year or two ago and finally found the title in an old journal. It’s a great story, and probably relatable to those in the LGBTQ community (remember Q stands for queer and questioning).
In the novel, Nicola (Nic) falls for Battle but is kind of confused on labeling herself, something that many people experience. She falls for Battle, a lesbian, but they get into a silly argument. They, along with their group of friends are at an institution for the summer taking classes.
Their group of friends and their drama is very entertaining, along with Nic and Battle’s love story. The book has a coordinating book that tells Battle’s story called Rules of Heart, which I have not read yet.
2. Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters
This book is a lot less loving. Rage refers to the rage of a high school girl, Reeve’s, abusive family. Joanna is in love with her, and ends up getting tangled into the abusive web, but deals with Reeve’s physical abuse because she’s in love.
Joanna finds out about the abuse because she’s tutoring Reeve’s slightly autistic brother and he writes about it in his final essay. Joanna tries to help them escape their family to keep their relationship alive.
There’s also Joanna’s toxic relationship with her sister that comes into play throughout the novel. Its multiple story lines, among with Joanna’s dirty dreams in “joy land” make it great for the LGBTQ community, and any other readers.
3. Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters
When I liked the previous book, I decided to look up the author and read this book of hers too. It’s another relatable book of labeling yourself and the struggle to keep it to yourself for fear of rejection.
The main character Holland is student council president, with a boyfriend, but falls for loud and proud lesbian Cece. Her friends and mom don’t really seem to like Cece and she has to keep her attraction and their relationship a secret.
Her life totally changes for the worse when others betray her as she chooses to follow her heart. It shows the rejection of others and fear people have towards coming out.
4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
John Green is probably most known for The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, but this is another great novel of his. It’s cool because it’s told by two guys, both named Will Grayson.
Also, each part is written by separate people, one John Green and the other David Levithan. It’s part of this list because one of the Will Graysons is gay. I won’t give any more away, but if you’re looking for more of a comedy, pick up this book.
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of my favorite movies, and I enjoyed the novel too. While the main love story that comes to mind is probably Charlie and Sam, there’s also Patrick’s relationship. Patrick, who is gay, has a secret relationship with football player Brad, but his father gets very upset when he finds out.
This is another novel with multiple stories, and it makes the LGBTQ list for that relationship. It shows the hardships that homosexuals may go through when coming out, even if it’s not the main love story discussed.
Just like mystery, drama and biographies, LGBTQ is a book genre. It doesn’t really seem to be one that is as popular as others, but I consider it to be a separate genre.
I hope I gave you some ideas on good books, and hopefully you’ll pick up a book, any book, with the time left of break.