Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him–the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected…
Anyone who has ever fallen head over heels for their best friend can understand how painful that can be. Tack on the pressure of heading to UCLA and the impending doom of losing a job you cherish, and you’d be as stressed out as Wesley Hudson is. He’s been out of the closet for years…
In a town where supernatural beings are known to exist, human children are raised with the knowledge they need to protect themselves. Vampires plague the small town of Fulton Heights, Illinois but the residents know that so long as they stick to curfew and remain inside when the sun sets, they have a much better…
This past year, many of us have faced quarantine boredom and tried to combat it with puzzles, books, games, or television shows. While all of these are acceptable substitutes, sometimes the best way to drag our minds away from the monotony of the world we are currently living in is through films that leave us…
Epic tales of love are a theme that often wind their way through literature, inspiring future writers to craft romances that capture readers and allow them to join the characters on their journey. The epic Greek myth of Achilles and Patroclus is one that is often alluded to as a deep friendship between the son…
It’s October and it’s time to settle in for some spooky reads as the Halloween season kicks off and there’s no better way to start your season than with Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine. The first of a four-novel series, Stillhouse Lake follows Gina Royal, a woman forced to run from her past and reinvent…
As a young child I adored picture books. Now my niece, who has recently turned three has picked up an interest in reading. The books illustrated and written by Mo Willems have been among my favorites that I’ve come across while in my travels through the children’s room at the library. I have seen his…
Part of DC Comic’s Black Label, Batman: Damned written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Lee Bermejo comes a darker take on the original caped crusader. In volume one of this graphic novel, Azzarello reimagines Bruce Wayne’s origin story and twists it into something far darker. Fans of the classic Batman comics may be surprised…
Hear Us Out by Nancy Garden Nancy Garden, author of popular LGBTQ+ book Annie on My Mind set out in Hear Us Out! to bring life to the history and struggles behind the LGBTQ+ community. In this non-fiction book, Garden weaves together two tales, one from the 1950’s and one from the 2000’s, both of which…
Autoboyography by Christina Lauren Do you know what it’s like to be kept a secret? Do you know how it feels to hide part of your identity from the world? For Tanner Scott and Sebastian Brother, this is just part of their daily lives as they navigate the intricacies of living in Provo, Utah, a…
1983: a time of technological advances, great movies, music, and art. 1983: a time of terror, death, ignorance, and homophobia. For many, like Michael Bartolomeo and his best friend James, being gay means watching those around you die from AIDS while the world condemns you for who you love. Set in New York City, Helene…
Not many of us will ever experience the pressure that comes from being in the public eye. We won’t have to go through life wondering if the paparazzi is waiting around the corner to catch us buying something embarrassing, or waiting to snap a picture of something that might cause a scandal. For most, we…
Life doesn’t always give us what we want, but it often gives us what we need without our realization that what we need might be right in front of our faces. For Max that might mean Coq au Vinny, a failing food truck, run by Jordan and his melodramatic mother, Lydia. And Max might be…
I finished They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera four days ago, but the ending of this novel and the entire plot that surrounds the characters has been weighing heavily on my mind since then. When one decides to read a book with such an ominous sounding title, one might expect the ending…
There are some people who believe that the universe sets plans in motion for a reason, and some that are cynical enough to believe that the universe is against them. Arthur is only in NYC for the summer, so looking for love would be a waste of his time, right? Ben has been cheated on…
African American: Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome In this beautifully illustrated book, Lesa Cline-Ransome tells the inspiring life story of Harriet Tubman. The book reads in reverse-chronological order, starting with Harriet reflecting on her life now that she has grown older. This is a great book for anyone hoping to learn more about…
Picture this: you’re a shy high school student who suddenly receives an invitation to a 3 day long party on an island, hosted by your school’s most popular students. Things start out well enough but then slowly the people around you start dying in the most suspicious of ways. What a terrifying nightmare, right? Well…
Do you know what it’s like to be kept a secret? Do you know how it feels to hide part of your identity from the world? For Tanner Scott and Sebastian Brother, this is just part of their daily lives as they navigate the intricacies of living in Provo, Utah, a town comprised mainly of…
For anyone who has ever felt just slightly out of place in a world where society dictates how we must look, what we must like, and who we must love in order to fit in, The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli breaks the mold. For Albertalli’s protagonist, Molly Peskin-Suso, this is a life she is painfully…
Today’s society is one of avid movie-goers, Netflix bingers, and people who stay up all night for the midnight release of the next Star Wars film. So it makes sense that after inundating our lives with all forms of multimedia, that we have begun to take an interest in the variety of edibles displayed in…
Deep down, we like to believe that we’re safest when we’re tucked away inside of our homes with the doors and windows securely shut and locked and though this may be true for the reader, for Makani Young and her fellow students at Osborne High School this couldn’t be further from the truth. When the…
In many respects the world that my generation grew up in has changed for the better. Gone are the days of enforced segregation, slavery, and Jim Crow laws. And while the society we have created is not nearly close to perfect, it is a far cry from the social injustices that people of color have…