Man o’ War by Cory McCarthy

“Not all trans people started out feeling like a different gender trapped in their skin. Some find themself a little at a time, a door inside that unlocks and reveals new doors, and new doors after that, and so on.”
― Cory McCarthy, Man o’ War

Living in a small landlocked Midwestern town, McIntyre, a seventeen year old Arab American swimmer struggles to figure out who they are in Cory McCarthy’s 2023 Stonewall Honor Book, Man o’ WarMcIntyre isn’t happy. As the inconsistently best swimmer on their high school team, they have always had swimming to fall back on, but their family and friends’ situation is something else entirely. Their relationship with their mom is rocky, their dad is present but quiet, but their brother is close by to help, although he’s dealing with his own issues. Their best friend is off and on again because McIntyre doesn’t always pick the best partners, relationship wise.

While on the annual class field trip to SeaPlanet, McIntyre runs into Indigo ‘Indy’ Watts, someone they used to go to elementary school with. Indy, an affirmed queer person, sparks something in McIntyre, leading them out of the closet and on a journey of self-discovery that spans years chronicled throughout this book. Follow McIntyre over a few years as they work to see who they are and, most importantly, who they want to become. McIntyre must also learn how to be true to themselves in spaces where other people don’t perceive them the way they view themself.

Interested in this book? Man o’ War is the September 2025 See YA Book Club selection. We will be discussing this book on Wednesday, September 3rd at 6:30pm at our Eastern Avenue branch. For more information about future See YA book picks, visit our website.

See YA Book Club

Join our adult book club with a teen book twist. See why so many teen books are being turned into movies and are taking over the best seller lists.

Registration is not required. Books are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Eastern Avenue library. We meet the first Wednesday of the month at Eastern at 6:30pm. Stop by the service desk for more information.

September 3 – Man O’War by Cory McCarthy

October 1 – A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

November 5 – Rez Ball by Byron Graves

December 3 – Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Better Living Through Birding by Chrisitan Cooper

In Better Living Through Birding, Christian Cooper uses his platform from the infamous “Central Park birdwatching incident” to shift focus on the joys of living life outside of stereotypes. 

In May 2020, Christian Cooper recorded a confrontation between himself and a white woman in New York’s Central Park where he asked her to leash her dog and she made a false police report saying he threatened her. The video went viral, partly because it happened around the same time George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. “The Incident” became part of a larger conversation about institutional racism. Details are covered in one chapter of this memoir. Cooper acknowledges a handful of times that “The Incident” is probably the reason you are reading the book, but Cooper uses the notoriety of “The Incident” to invite you into a much larger and more fulfilling part of his life: birdwatching.

It was no accident that Cooper was in Central Park that day. This wasn’t a “I need to get out of the house” Covid walk. This day was one among a string a days that Cooper had spent enjoying peak bird migration through the area. Cooper is a dedicated birdwatcher who has traveled the world for his hobby but calls New York home. He has built a community of friends with others who can identify sparrows, warblers, and finches by their song.

There are some other things you should know about Cooper. He has been a nerd since childhood, with Star Trek and Marvel comics being two of his obsessions. He attended Harvard and in the book describes how he came out to his dormmates and then became a gay activist. Protesting and being arrested are part of his activist journey. His relationship with his parents, especially his father, is complicated. He worked for Marvel and wrote the first lesbian character.

Through it all, even in his childhood, has been birding. He wants the readers of his book to be just as excited about being outdoors as he is. In spaces where he has been an outsider, he invites you to be part of the community, to find joy in spotting a bird under the cover of foliage or being able to identify it by its call.

While I listened to this audiobook, and there were a few bird calls between chapters that were a nice touch, I don’t think the audiobook experience is a must. As of the publication of this blog post, Better Living Through Birding by Chrisitan Cooper is available in regular print, large print and eAudiobook on Bridges through the Libby app.

And if Christian Cooper’s memoir inspires you to take up birding, remember the Davenport Public Library has many resources to get you started, including field guides and birding backpacks with all the tools you need.

Social Work Spotlight: Clock Inc.

Embracing Community and Inclusivity with Clock Inc.

In our ongoing efforts to highlight community resources, we focus on one of the few local organizations supporting the LGBTQ+ population. Resources and services targeting this community are scarce, making the services provided by Clock, Inc. invaluable in promoting inclusivity and acceptance.

Clock, Inc. was established in 2018 with a mission to provide a non-judgmental, secure, and dependable community center for the LGBTQ+ community. The organization is dedicated to reducing feelings of isolation among LGBT+ individuals and creating a community where everyone can feel comfortable being their authentic selves.

Since its inception, Clock Inc. has been a catalyst for change, serving over 2,000 LGBTQ+ individuals in the Quad cities. Its services and reach continue to expand, leaving an indelible mark on the LGBTQ+ community, inspiring hope and transformation.

Clock Inc. provides various community-accessible resources. These resources include free chest binders for transitioning individuals, mentoring for youths and adults facing challenges, and ensuring vital transgender clothing is available for those in need. The organization is pivotal in ensuring LGBTQ+ individuals feel supported, safe, and included in their lives and community engagement. In addition, Clock Inc. focuses on raising awareness and enhancing knowledge about LGBTQ+ issues, promoting inclusive language in all settings through partnerships with human services organizations and corporate entities.

Some of the valuable services provided by the Clock Inc. to support and uplift the LGBT+ community include:

Groups: Clock Inc. provides regular meetings that offer peer support and a sense of belonging.

Counseling: Professional mental health services tailored to the needs of LGBT+ individuals.

Training: Educational programs aimed at fostering understanding and inclusivity.

Workshops: Clock Inc. provides skill-building sessions on various topics relevant to the community.

Mentorship: Guidance and support from experienced members of the community.

Safe Space: A welcoming environment where individuals can feel secure and accepted.

Computer Lab: Access to technology for education, job searches, and more.

Binder Program: Providing chest binders for trans and gender-diverse individuals through its partnership with GC2B, the gender-affirming apparel company.

To learn more about Clock Inc. and LGBTQ+ resources in the Quad Cities, please visit their website at www.clockinc.org or call 309-558-0956.

If you or anyone you know needs help, call or text 988.

Transitions: A Mother’s Journey by Élodie Durand; translated by Evan McGorray

“I thought I was open-minded… The news of my child’s gender change hit me like a tidal wave, sweeping away all my certainties. Sweeping away the comfort of my tidy little life.” – Anne Marbot, Transitions: A Mother’s Journey

Élodie Durand has created an informative story about understanding identities in their new book, Transitions: A Mother’s Journey, translated by Evan McGorray. When Anne Marbot learns that her 19-year-old child is a transgender man named Alex, she is shocked and overwhelmed. What happened to the child she raised as ‘Lucie’? She has so many questions, wondering if she has failed as a parent and if Alex has thought this life-changing decision through. Initially Anne puts her feelings, thoughts, and emotions ahead of Alex’s, not caring what he thinks or feels. Anne’s journey to self-discovery is long and chaotic, full of tears and anger and strong emotions. Alex and Anne’s relationship goes through rough patches, but through it all Alex stays strong for himself, not letting Anne push him around, while offering resources for Anne to learn more about gender, sexuality, and trans people. After some time, Anne goes through a transformation of her own. Watching her change into a stronger mother and ally was hard yet meaningful, especially seeing how Anne thought she was well-meaning in her initial reaction, but was instead hurting Alex and destroying their relationship.

This story is a must-read for families and friends who are struggling to reconcile their old assumptions about gender identities with new truths. Élodie Durand has taken Anne and Alex’s stories and shown them to readers with grace and sensitivity. They take care to include research and to draw as much as possible from personal experience. There is a list of resources at the end of the book, plus ample footnotes and resources mentioned throughout.

Flung Out of Space by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer

This is a story I believe is worth telling. That being said, I want to be clear: The protagonist of this story is not a good person. In fact, Patricia Highsmith was an appalling person. – Grace Ellis, author’s note in the beginning of Flung Out of Space

Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith by Grace Ellis and illustrated by Hannah Templer was a book that had my feelings twisted multiple directions. Patricia Highsmith is problematic. She was a comic book writer and a lesbian during a time when those things were very much frowned upon and seen of as wrong and immoral. Pat’s own feelings towards herself are not positive – she goes through conversion therapy during the book. She is portrayed more as an antihero that readers aren’t sure how they should feel towards. Throughout this book, she is portrayed as bitter, caustic, and lashes out to anyone who gets too close. Pat is deeply flawed. This graphic novel is full of casual sexism, a male-dominated hierarchy, antisemitism, and prejudice against homosexuality. The swirling issues surrounding homosexuality are never really called attention to, but instead are present in Pat’s intense self-loathing of herself amongst other things. Hence my twisty feelings.

This graphic novel begins with Pat working as a writer of low-brow comics. She knows she can do better, but doesn’t do so. She drinks, smokes, and generally goes about life with an immensely surly attitude. As she goes about her day to day, Pat is consumed with thoughts of the novel she should be writing, which will eventually become Strangers on a Train, which will then be adapted into a film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951.

While she works to write Strangers on a Train, Pat is consumed with self-hatred as she battles the fact that she is a lesbian. She tries conversion therapy, which instead provides her with more women to love and leave. One of those encounters plants the seed of another book in Pat’s head: a story of homosexual love that would give the lesbian protagonists a happy ending – a first! (this would eventually become the book, The Price of Salt).

As I talking about before, this title gave me conflicting emotions. Pat became an unintentional queer icon, but also held incredibly problematic views on multiple topics which made her legacy controversial. It’s a good read, but please read with care.

Pride Month Reading Recommendations

LGBTQ+ Pride Month is upon us! Celebrate all June long with these books featuring Queer voices and stories. We will also be posting reading recommendations all month long on our Facebook and Instagram, as well as on our library podcast, Checked In!

Check out some of these titles and log them on Beanstack for our Summer Reading Challenge, too.

Fiction

You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

“On a hot day in Bethlehem, a twelve-year-old Palestinian-American girl is yelled at by a group of men outside the Church of the Nativity. She has exposed her legs in a biblical city, an act they deem forbidden, and their judgement will echo on through her adolescence. When our narrator finally admits to her mother that she is queer, her mother’s response only intensifies a sense of shame: ‘You exist too much,’ she tells her daughter. Told in vignettes that flash between the U.S. and the Middle East–from New York to Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine–Zaina Arafat’s debut novel traces her protagonist’s progress from blushing teen to sought-after DJ and aspiring writer.” – Dust jacket flap

A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt

“A debut novel from a rising literary star that brings the modern queer and Indigenous experience into sharp relief. In Northern Alberta, a queer Indigenous doctoral student steps away from his dissertation to write a novel. He is adrift, caught between his childhood on the reservation and this new life of the urban intelligentsia. Billy-Ray Belcourt’s unnamed narrator chronicles a series of encounters: a heart-to-heart with fellow doctoral student River over the mounting pressure placed on marginalized scholars; a meeting with Michael, a closeted adult from his hometown whose vulnerability and loneliness punctuate the realities of queer life on the fringe. Amid these conversations, the narrator is haunted by memories of Jack, a cousin caught in the cycle of police violence, drugs, and survival. Jack’s life parallels the narrator’s own; the possibilities of escape and imprisonment are left to chance with colonialism stacking the odds. A Minor Chorus introduces the dazzling literary voice of a Lambda Literary Award winner and Canadian #1 national best-selling poet to the United States, shining much-needed light on the realities of Indigenous survival.” – Publisher

Body Grammar by Jules Ohman 

“To her own dismay, Lou is a natural model: tall, thin, captivatingly androgynous, and with a striking look. Out of nowhere, every agent in the Portland area wants to represent her. But Lou doesn’t care for fashion, nor does she wish to be seen. Fresh out of high school, Lou’s plan is to spend the summer taking photographs and hoping to catch the attention of Ivy, her close friend and secret crush. But when an afternoon hiking trip ends in a tragic accident, Lou finds herself lost, ridden with guilt, and unsure how to connect with her friends. Determined to find a purpose, Lou steps into the dizzying world of modeling auditions, commercial shoots, shockingly expensive haute couture, and runways in New York, Paris, and Milan. It’s a whirlwind of learning how to walk, how to command her body and its movements, and how to manage her newfound fame. But in the dazzling flash of the camera and the thrill of seeing her face giant-size on billboards, Lou begins to worry that she’s losing her identity-as a person, as an artist, and as a young woman still in love with the girl she left behind. A sharply observed and intimate story of grief and healing, doubt and self-acceptance set against the intense hyper-image-conscious industry of modeling and high fashion, Body Grammar shines with the anxieties of growing up and the often heartbreaking beauty of pursing love.” – Publisher

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta 

“Inspired by Nigeria’s folktales and its war, Under the Udala Trees is a deeply searching, powerful debut about the dangers of living and loving openly. Ijeoma comes of age as her nation does; born before independence, she is eleven when civil war breaks out in the young republic of Nigeria. Sent away to safety, she meets another displaced child and they, star-crossed, fall in love. They are from different ethnic communities. They are also both girls. When their love is discovered, Ijeoma learns that she will have to hide this part of herself. But there is a cost to living inside a lie. As Edwidge Danticat has made personal the legacy of Haiti’s political coming of age, Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees uses one woman’s lifetime to examine the ways in which Nigerians continue to struggle toward selfhood. Even as their nation contends with and recovers from the effects of war and division, Nigerian lives are also wrecked and lost from taboo and prejudice. This story offers a glimmer of hope — a future where a woman might just be able to shape her life around truth and love.” – Publisher

Nonfiction

Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest To Track Down The Last Remaining Lesbian Bars In America by Krista Burton

“Lesbian bars have always been treasured safe spaces for their customers, providing not only a good time but a shelter from societal alienation and outright persecution. In 1987, there were 206 of them in America. Today, only a couple dozen remain. How and why did this happen? What has been lost—or possibly gained—by such a decline? What transpires when marginalized communities become more accepted and mainstream?

In Moby Dyke, Krista Burton attempts to answer these questions firsthand, venturing on an epic cross-country pilgrimage to the last few remaining dyke bars. Her pilgrimage includes taking in her first drag show since the onset of the pandemic at The Back Door in Bloomington, Indiana; competing in dildo races at Houston’s Pearl Bar; and, despite her deep-seated hatred of karaoke, joining a group serenade at Nashville’s Lipstick Lounge and enjoying the dreaded pastime for the first time in her life. While Burton sets out on the excursion to assess the current state of lesbian bars, she also winds up examining her own personal journey, from coming out to her Mormon parents to recently marrying her husband, a trans man whose presence on the trip underscores the important conversation about who precisely is welcome in certain queer spaces—and how they and their occupants continue to evolve.” – Publisher

This Body I Wore: A Memoir by Diana Goetsch

“Long before Laverne Cox appeared on the cover of Time, far removed from drag and ballroom culture, there were countless trans women living and dying as men, most of whom didn’t even know they were trans. Diana Goetsch’s This Body I Wore chronicles one woman’s long journey to coming out, a path that runs parallel to the emergence of the trans community over the past several decades.

‘How can you spend your life face-to-face with an essential truth about yourself and still not see it?’ This is a question often asked of trans people, and a question that Goetsch, an award-winning poet and essayist, addresses with the power and complexity of lived reality. She brings us into her childhood, her time as a dynamic and beloved teacher at Stuyvesant High School, and her plunge into the crossdressing subculture of New York in the 1980s and ’90s. Under cover of night, crossdressers risked their jobs and their safety to give expression to urges they could neither control nor understand. Many of them would become late transitioners, the Cinderellas of the trans community largely ignored by history.” – Publisher

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

“When fourteen-year-old Lamya H realizes she has a crush on her teacher–her female teacher–she covers up her attraction, an attraction she can’t yet name, by playing up her roles as overachiever and class clown. Born in South Asia, she moved to the Middle East at a young age and has spent years feeling out of place, like her own desires and dreams don’t matter, and it’s easier to hide in plain sight. To disappear. But one day in Quran class, she reads a passage about Maryam that changes everything: when Maryam learned that she was pregnant, she insisted no man had touched her. Could Maryam, uninterested in men, be . . . like Lamya?

From that moment on, Lamya makes sense of her struggles and triumphs by comparing her experiences with some of the most famous stories in the Quran. She juxtaposes her coming out with Musa liberating his people from the pharoah; asks if Allah, who is neither male nor female, might instead be nonbinary; and, drawing on the faith and hope Nuh needed to construct his ark, begins to build a life of her own–ultimately finding that the answer to her lifelong quest for community and belonging lies in owning her identity as a queer, devout Muslim immigrant.” – Publisher

Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero

“As a young femme in 1990s Manila, Geena Rocero heard, “Bakla, bakla!,” a taunt aimed at her feminine sway, whenever she left the tiny universe of her eskinita. Eventually, she found her place in trans pageants, the Philippines’ informal national sport. When her competitors mocked her as a “horse Barbie” due to her statuesque physique, tumbling hair, long neck, and dark skin, she leaned into the epithet. By seventeen, she was the Philippines’ highest-earning trans pageant queen.

A year later, Geena moved to the United States where she could change her name and gender marker on her documents. But legal recognition didn’t mean safety. In order to survive, Geena went stealth and hid her trans identity, gaining one type of freedom at the expense of another. For a while, it worked. She became an in-demand model. But as her star rose, her sense of self eroded. She craved acceptance as her authentic self yet had to remain vigilant in order to protect her dream career. The high-stakes double life finally forced Geena to decide herself if she wanted to reclaim the power of Horse Barbie once and for radiant, head held high, and unabashedly herself.” – Publisher

Young Adult

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

“Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but shes got the Worlds Greatest Ally title locked down. She’s never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There’s Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen’s biases in check. And then there’s Lili–newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends. Imogen’s thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she’s finally visiting Lili on campus, she’s bringing her ally A game. . . Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she’s told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero–not even Lilis best friend, Tessa. Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with…” – Publisher

Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans

“Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, like Fear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbor’s life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choice–succumb to their long list of fears (including #3 Murder and #55 Breaking into a Dead Guy’s Apartment), or investigate what happened.

Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Bianca’s crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13 Beautiful People, #11 Parents Discovering They’re a Raging Lesbian), the trio uncover a conspiracy much larger–and weirder–than imagined. And when the killer catches wind of the investigation, suddenly Bianca’s #1 fear of public speaking doesn’t sound so bad compared to the threat of being silenced for good.” – Publisher

Our Colors by Gengoroh Tagame 

“Set in contemporary suburban Japan, Our Colors is the story of Sora Itoda: a sixteen-year-old aspiring painter who experiences his world in synaesthetic hues of blues and reds, and is governed by the emotional turbulence of being a teenager. He wants to live honestly as a young gay man in high school, but that is still not acceptable in Japanese society. His best friend and childhood confidante Nao, a young woman whom everyone thinks is (or should be) his girlfriend; and it would be the easiest thing to play along-she knows he is gay but knows, too, how difficult it is to live one’s truth in his situation.

Sora’s world changes forever when he meets Mr. Amamiya, a middle-aged gentleman who is the owner and proprietor of a local coffee shop, and who is completely, unapologetically out as a gay man. A mentorship and platonic friendship ensues, as Sora comes out to him and agrees to paint a mural in the shop, and Mr. Amamiya counsels him about how to deal with who he is. But it won’t be easy. Mr. Amamiya paid a high price for his freedom of identity, and when a figure from his past suddenly appears, the situation becomes a vivid example of just how complicated life can be.” – Publisher


Tegan and Sara: Junior High by Tegan Quin, Sara Quin; Illustrated by Tillie Walden

“Before the indie-pop duo Tegan and Sara took the world by storm, Tegan and Sara Quin were identical twins trying to find their place in a new home and new school. Tegan and Sara: Junior High tells their story. From first crushes to the perils of puberty, surviving junior high is something the sisters plan to face side by side, just like they’ve always faced things. But growing up also means growing apart, as Tegan and Sara make different friends and take separate paths to understanding their queerness. For the first time ever, they ask who one sister is without the other.

Set in the present day, this inspiring, lightly fictionalized autobiography offers a glimpse at Tegan and Sara before they became icons, exploring their shifting sisterhood, their own experiences coming out, and the first steps of their musical journey.” – Publisher

Children’s

Bodies Are Cool  by Tyler Feder

“This cheerful love-your-body picture book for preschoolers is an exuberant read-aloud with bright and friendly illustrations to pore over.

From the acclaimed creator of Dancing at the Pity Party and Roaring Softly, this picture book is a pure celebration of all the different human bodies that exist in the world. Highlighting the various skin tones, body shapes, and hair types is just the beginning in this truly inclusive book. With its joyful illustrations and encouraging refrain, it will instill body acceptance and confidence in the youngest of readers. ‘My body, your body, every different kind of body! All of them are good bodies! BODIES ARE COOL!'” – Publisher

A Family Is a Family Is a Family  by Sara O’Leary

“When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways — but the same in the one way that matters most of all. One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One is full of stepsiblings, and another has a new baby.

As one by one, her classmates describe who they live with and who loves them — family of every shape, size and every kind of relation — the child realizes that as long as her family is full of caring people, her family is special.

A warm and whimsical look at many types of families written by award-winning author Sara O’Leary, A Family is a Family is a Family springs to life with quirky and sweet illustrations by Qin Leng.” – Publisher

The Tea Dragon Society  by Kay O’Neill

“From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes The Tea Dragon Society, a charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons.

After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.” – Publisher

My Maddy  by Gayle E. Pitman

“A child celebrates her Maddy, who is neither mommy nor daddy but a little bit of both, like so many things in nature. Includes note to parents.” – Publisher

Music Selector’s Choice: Indie Pop Old and New

Many people of taste disdain mainstream, Top 40 pop music in favor of equally talented but less famous independent musicians. If that describes you, you may already know about the artists I’ll share here. But if you are like me, you may be delighted to discover them and their music – and hopefully it will open our horizons to seeking out other lesser-known artists. There’s no shame in enjoying top 40 hits, of course, but smaller creators deserve love too, especially (as you’ll read below) when their work plumbs a deep well of meaning.

Back in 2016, most everyone heard the song “HandClap” by Fitz and the Tantrums, and it may have been the first and last time they thought about the indie pop / neo soul band. It wasn’t the band’s first release, coming on their self-titled album after three previous albums (Songs for a Breakup vol. 1, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, and More Than Just A Dream). It was, however, their most notable hit. Me personally, I remember that song and “The Walker”, as well as “I Just Wanna Shine” from their next album All The Feels (this last because it was also on the soundtrack for delightful Netflix movie Yes Day). I confess I haven’t thought of them much, but I can now, because their latest release, Let Yourself Free, is out now. By all accounts it showcases what the band does best: upbeat tracks with strong hooks. If this is your thing (it definitely is mine) you’ll probably enjoy it, even though the content is strictly surface-level sentiments.

Obviously, the field of indie pop today is pretty wide and filled with talented performers, especially lately as TikTok helps with publicity. Through social media I’ve discovered talents like Gayle, Wet Leg, Against Me!, Brockhampton, and many more. One such talent is NoSo, whose debut release, Stay Proud of Me, is now on library shelves for your perusal. Interesting performer name, right? Well, apparently “NoSo is shorthand for North/South: A nod to their Korean heritage, and the inane origin question (“Which Korea are you from?”) that so many Korean Americans inevitably face at some point in their lives.” The same source also names the artist as LA-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Baek Hwong (pronouns he/they). “Their music grapples with the search for a sense of identity, overcoming imposter syndrome, and repressed memory” reports their record label – and NPR agrees, summing up the debut record as a “care package for someone in need –  their younger self.” Try this record if you want to support more queer artists, relate to the search for identity and acceptance, or enjoy “virtuosic, memorable guitar playing… cinematic synths and lush pop sounds…packaging heavy subject matter as a catchy hook or chorus without cheapening its sentiment” (NPR).

Share YOUR favorite indie musicians below!

No Romo – Books Featuring Aromantic Characters

So in the last year I finally read The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (see my love letter to Mackenzi Lee here). Aside from being an exciting adventure and a story of feminism and determination, it’s also a remarkable book because of the main character’s complete lack of interest in romantic relationships. She’s focused instead on her ambitions, her family, and her desire for true friends.

What that captures (that most other books don’t) is something called ‘aromanticism’, which is the lack of romantic attraction to anyone. It’s not extremely common, but it does exist, and is often lumped in with asexuality, the lack of sexual attraction to anyone. For a nonfiction treatment of this broader topic, try the excellent book Ace by Angela Chen.

There are some really great books featuring asexuality, including Let’s Talk About Love, Tash Hearts Tolstoy, and Beyond the Black Door, but in all these cases the main character still experiences romantic attraction. For similar characters who don’t have romantic attractions and/or don’t pursue romance, you’ll want to try these titles:

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

Tarnished Are The Stars by Rosiee Thor

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Hazel’s Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Also check out our Libguide of similar books: No Romo: Great Books Without Romance.

25+ Years of Tegan and Sara

Like most aging people I’m starting to realize just how long my favorite artists have been around. For example the iconic band Tegan and Sara have been making music since 1995, recording on cassette tapes. If you don’t know them, Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin have been vitally important to building a more mainstream LGBTQ music scene. Their music has the earworm elements of pop music and an unapologetically sapphic core – and recently they’ve grown more reflective about their public image.

Their early music, starting in about 2002, quickly gained popularity in Canada and with teen listeners, featuring albums The Con and Sainthood. Both albums were generally acclaimed as their sound both matured and experimented. It was the seventh album that was perhaps the most successful, and the one I know best: Heartthrob in 2013, followed by Love You to Death in 2016. This is where their indie pop sound really hit its stride with songs like Boyfriend and Closer, featuring danceable beats mixed with melancholy feelings. Incidentally this is also where I heard I’m Not Your Hero, whose hook will forever live in my head rent-free: “I’m not their hero / but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t brave”.

This is a band that doesn’t forget its past: in 2017 their big tour and promotion was celebrating 10 years since the release of The Con (including the creation of an album of other artists’ versions called The Con X: Covers) and in 2019 they released Hey I’m Just Like You, which shares recordings of songs they initially wrote as teenagers. The influence of rock and punk bands like Nirvana, Hole, or the Smashing Pumpkins is more apparent here, and the album as a whole reads more pop-punk than their more recent compositions. In the same spirit they made an all-acoustic version of their 2004 album, So Jealous, which was released as Still Jealous in February.

But the big news of recent years was the release of High School, a memoir about their experiences coming-of-age, which was adapted into a TV series on Amazon Freevee. Viewers are offered a glimpse into a teenager’s life in the early 2000s including the pains of exploring your sexuality and deciding who you want to be. This is definitely a band for you if you’re someone into memoir, legacy, and writing your own history. They’re also politically engaged, passionate activists for causes including cancer research and LGBTQ rights.

This year they released the all-new Crybaby with a new record label. Written during the pandemic, this is the album that nearly wasn’t: originally they were recording standalone singles I Can’t Grow Up and All I Wanted, but were inspired to spin the two into a whole album — luckily for all of us that need more T&S in our lives.

If you like indie music, are a longtime fan, or want exposure to more LGBTQ music artists, definitely listen to some Tegan and Sara today.

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

I recently read Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith, a modern classic of YA queer fiction, originally published in 2014. Delightfully, it reads like what would happen if Alice Oseman collaborated with Terry Pratchett on Alien fanfiction- authentic teenage confusion meets a dryly humorous take on apocalyptic mayhem. And as a nice bonus, it’s set in Iowa! Whether or not it’s a loving portrait of growing up in Iowa is something you’ll have to judge for yourself…

Grasshopper Jungle is the story of Austin, his girlfriend Shann, his best friend Robby, the interconnectedness of history, and how Austin’s bisexual awakening inadvertently leads to the end of the world via giant murderous insects. Austin narrates using mostly simple, declarative sentences stating the facts, because his ultimate passion is history – how it’s reported, how it’s preserved, how it continues to impact the present. The main history he has to relate is about his town’s legacy of secret science experiments, hidden bunkers, and dangerous plagues that produce 6-foot-tall, unstoppable, carnivorous insects. But while these secrets are being uncovered and the end of humanity draws closer and closer, Austin still can’t stop thinking about sex. He’s always known his best friend Robby is gay, and he’s also always known that he loves Shann Collins. So why can’t he stop thinking about kissing Robby? Is he gay too? How can he know? And how in the world is he going to get it figured out without hurting either of the two people he loves the most?

An accurate, awkward, ultimately endearing portrayal of what being a teenage boy is like, complete with lots of sexual thoughts, angst, and uniquely profound thoughts about family, history, and heritage, this is a good read for those who like coming-of-age stories, coming-out stories, or stories of terrible events ending the world as we know it (not a typical combination, but here it really works in balance).

And good news: its sequel, Exile from Eden, is also available in Rivershare.