Tag: LGBTQ+ Books

‘Cross My Heart and Never Lie’ by Nora Dåsnes, translated by Matt Bagguley

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

When Tuva comes back to school after the summer holidays, she’s dismayed to realise that some things have changed in her friendship group. Now she is in seventh grade they are allowed to go into the woods behind the school at lunch and Tuva and her friend Bao are really excited to build dens and enjoy themselves, but their other friend, Linnea, has a new boyfriend and is not interested in joining them. The girls in Tuva’s class seem to have split into two groups, Tuva thinks she’d like to fall in love and have a boyfriend but she also loves building dens and playing in the woods – she feels torn between her two best friends. And just to make everything even more confusing, Tuva can’t stop thinking about the new girl, Mariam.

Nora Dasnes is a Judy Blume for a new generation. ‘Cross My Heart and Never Lie’ is a wonderfully authentic, thoughtful and engaging graphic novel about friendship, growing up and first crushes – perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier. I adored this story and the graphic diary style and can highly recommended it for upper KS2 and Year 7 pupils in particular – I know my Year 6 Book Club is going to love this one!

Thanks to The Reading Agency and Farshore for the book group copies.

‘Just Like Everyone Else’ by Sarah Hagger-Holt

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Thirteen-year-old Aiden has four younger sisters, embarrassing parents and a noisy overcrowded house, and he just feels the need to escape sometimes. Fell running is Aiden’s passion, a passion he shares with his aunt who is planning on running the London Marathon.

When Aiden’s mum tells him that she is going to be a pregnancy surrogate for a gay couple, Justin and Atif, Aiden is mortified. He wishes his family would just be more like everyone else. And with Justin and Atif spending more time with the family, he is worried that someone will work out his biggest secret – that he thinks he might be gay too. 

‘Just Like Everyone Else’ is a wonderfully sensitive and authentic exploration of a young teenager coming to terms with his own identity. Sarah Hagger-Holt is brilliant at writing clear and sensible explanations of complicated situations and creating empathy for everyone involved, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen surrogacy represented in a teen book before. Aiden’s warm and supportive relationship with his best friend Jack is particularly well-drawn. 

A thoroughly engaging and informative read about friends, family and growing up. Loved it!

‘Happy Head’ by Josh Silver

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

When 17-year-old Seb is selected for an exciting new retreat programme called ‘Happyhead’, designed to counteract an epidemic of teenage depression and anxiety, he hopes that this could be the solution he needs to get his life together and make his parents proud. 

As the programme begins, Seb realises that there’s a hierarchy and the participants are being pitted against each other to gain rankings. Seb wants to do well to please his parents and the people in charge, but he finds himself drawn to the rebellious Finn who is asking difficult questions and refusing to cooperate. 

When Seb and Finn discover that the fences are electrified and that they are all trapped, they decide to investigate to uncover the true aims of HappyHead.

It’s a great premise, we are currently living in a teen mental health crisis so the context feels very convincing and urgent. HappyHead sounds like exactly the kind of programme our government might dream up as a solution.  

‘HappyHead’ is a thrillingly addictive read, I couldn’t put it down, and it’s perfect for fans of ‘Maze Runner’, ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Scythe’. It also reminded me a lot of ‘Brave New World’. Brilliantly done – I can’t wait for the next book!

‘Jamie’ by L.D. Lapinsky

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Jamie is your average Year 6 pupil, apart from one thing – they have known for a few years that they are non-binary, neither a boy nor a girl. But when everyone starts talking about which secondary school they are going to, Jamie realises that there are only two options: a Boys’ School and a Girls’ School, and there is nowhere for Jamie to go without having to pick one or the other. And if that’s not bad enough – Jamie’s friendship group will be split up and Jamie will have to pick one best friend over the other.

At first Jamie’s teachers, their parents and even their best friends, Ash and Daisy, don’t understand how important this is to Jamie. But when Jamie, Ash and Daisy stage a dramatic protest, to raise awareness of non-binary people, Jamie receives support from some unexpected places. 

‘Jamie’ is an empowering story about finding out who you are and learning to stand up for yourself. It is equally informative and empathetic – a joyful rainbow of a book that left me in tears at the end.

‘If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come’ by Jen St Jude

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Avery Byrne is about to take her own life when she receives the news that a huge asteroid is headed for the earth and everyone has just nine days left to live. This spurs her to reconnect with her family and her best friend, Cass, who she has been secretly in love with for years.

It’s an incredibly arresting opening – you know that the book is not going to end well, but you’re still thoroughly invested in Avery sorting out her relationships in the time she has left.

In between her family’s attempts to stockpile food and prepare a basement bunker in the hope of surviving the fallout, we see through flashbacks how Avery’s friendship with Cass unfolded over the years, as well as Avery’s struggles with her mental health. 

Avery is someone who has always succeeded at anything she has tried, but her success is a brittle veneer over the depression that has haunted her for her whole life. When she goes away to college and struggles to keep up with the work, she fears that she has the same deep sadness inside herself as her aunt who walked into the sea to her death, on the day Avery was born. 

I have some pupils who are big fans of ‘All That’s Left in the World’ so I’ll definitely be recommending this to them. It also reminded me of ‘The Forevers’ by Chris Whitaker.

This book is definitely about emotional resolution more than death-by-asteroid resolution, so if you’re expecting a high-stakes dystopian thriller, this is not that book. It is, however, a beautifully rendered picture of a friendship developing into a romantic relationship as well as a sensitive and nuanced exploration of depression. I thoroughly enjoyed this – a heartbreaking and yet surprisingly hopeful read.

‘Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts’ by William Hussey

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

After Jesse Spark dramatically collapses at prom, the doctors discover that he has a life-threatening condition that requires open-heart surgery. Jesse decides there are two things he wants to do before his surgery at the end of the summer. He wants to finish shooting the zombie film he has written with his friends. And he wants to fall in love before his body is disfigured by a horrific scar down the centre of his chest – because who will want him after that? 

There are some obstacles to Jesse’s plan. His best friends, Caspar and Morgan, are being weird with each other, but they won’t tell him what’s going on, he has no budget for his film, and where is he going to find a boyfriend within the next month? Fortunately, Jesse’s friends rally together and ‘Zombie Honeymoon’ starts filming. And even better, Casper’s attractive, gay cousin arrives for the summer, keen to be involved in the film. 

Jesse himself is a charmingly verbose and dynamic character, although he is painfully insecure and terrified that no one will ever love him after his surgery. The negative body image theme comes through strongly throughout the book. Jesse’s friend Morgan is a brilliant actor, but her confidence is destroyed when she is shot down by a casting agent for not being thin or stereotypically attractive enough. And of course, Jesse does find a boyfriend, but more importantly, he learns to accept and love himself. 

The film-centred plot reminded me a little of ‘Me, Earl and the Dying Girl’ but Jesse is a much more endearing character. I particularly enjoyed the song titles – a lovely tribute to UK MG & YA LGBTQ+ books and authors. The medical aspects of the story feel particularly authentic, as the author was writing from his own experience. 

‘Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts’ is a hilarious and heart-healing story about friendship, love, body positivity and zombies. I adored every second of this cosy warm hug of a book. Highly recommended!