June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month, a time to recognize and highlight the LGBTQ community as well as reflect on the history of the movement. One way to do that is to read books about and written by LGBTQ voices. This month’s pop lit picks will highlight several such fiction and nonfiction books in FSU Libraries’ Pop Lit Collection which include everything from memoirs to romance to science fiction/fantasy. Enjoy these LGBTQ titles this June and all year round!
YA Fiction
Call Me by Your Name (Call Number F Aci)
A coming-of-age millennial classic that was made into a major motion picture in 2017. It’s the story of a teen on the cusp of adulthood who develops a powerful romance with his father’s intern over a summer along the Riviera that will change both their lives forever.
The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali (Call Number F Kha)
High school senior Rukhsana Ali has been carefully balancing pleasing her conservative Muslim parents with her life and desires outside of their expectations. However, it all comes crashing down when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend. Whisked away to Bangladesh, she’s thrown into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. She reads her grandmother’s old diary for perspective. Can she find the courage to fight for her love but without losing everyone and everything in her life?
Romance
Once Ghosted, Twice Shy (Call Number F COL)
This award-winning second-chance novella is a part of Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series. Likotsi, assistant to the crown prince of African nation Thesolo, was in New York City assisting him with wooing his long-lost betrothed when met, fell in love and suffered heartbreak after swiping right on a dating app. Back in the Big Apple to regain her lost heart, Fabiola enters her life by chance again. While exploring the city, the two rekindle their passion and wonder if they keep the flame going for good.
Just Juliet (Call Number F REA)
Charlotte Reagan’s Just Juliet is coming-of-age story about a teen whose comfortable life is about to get shaken up when a new girl moves in next door. Lena has a sweet life. Her boyfriend plays football and her best friend is a cheerleader which means high school life has been pretty plum. Juliet’s arrival brings new feelings, friends and adventures that makes Lena reevaluate her life and her future.
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Black Water Sister (Call Number F CHO)
Malaysian born Jessamyn Teoh is not only in the closet but also broke thus forcing a move back to her family’s homeland. Emerging from the voices of doubt and fear in her mind, comes one who claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. During her life, Ah Ma was the avatar of a god called the Black Water Sister. Drawn into the spiritual revenge quest amid a world of ghost, gods and family secrets, Jess must navigate it if she wants to get back control of her body and destiny.
Non Fiction
Whipping Girl (Call Number NF Ser)
Whipping Girl tells the powerful story of Julia Serano, a transsexual woman whose supremely intelligent writing reflects her diverse background as a lesbian transgender activist and professional biologist. Serano shares her experiences and observations—both pre- and post-transition— in a quest to bridge the gap between disparate biological and social perspectives on gender.
How We Fight for Our Lives (Call Number NF Jon)
This memoir won the Stonewall Book Award for Nonfiction in 2020, detailing the life and times of writer and poet Saeed Jones. Jones, a black gay man from the South, tells his story through a series of vignettes that goes across American society. He details his boyhood and adolescence going into adulthood painting a portrait of race and queerness to reveal his fight to become his own self.
Bonus PRIDE selections from staffers at Strozier & Dirac
These picks were selected with PRIDE by our invaluable part-time crew and are available in the Popular Literature, Juvenile, and General Collections at Strozier and Dirac Science Library. Click the title to see more information about the book or place a pick-up and hold request.
See the Scholar Support Desks (circulation desks) at either location for additional help findings these books.
| TITLE | AUTHOR | CALL NUMBER | LOCATION |
| One Last Stop | Casey McQuiston | F Mcq | Strozier POP LIT |
| The Magic Fish | Trung Le Nguyen | JUV PZ7.7.T79 Mag 2020 | Dirac Juvenile Collection |
| When We Rise: My Life in the Movement | Cleve Jones | HQ75.8 .J66 A3 2017 | Strozier General Collection |
| Living Out Islam: Voice of Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Muslims | Scott A. Kugle | BP188.14 .H65 K84 2013 | Strozier General Collection |
| Far From Xanadu | Julie Anne Peters | PZ7.P44158 Far 2005 | Dirac Juvenile Collection |
| Over the Top : A Raw Journey to Self Love | Jonathan Van Ness | NF Van | Strozier POP LIT |
| Beautiful Music for Ugly Children | Kirstin Cronn-Mills | PZ7.C88149 Be 2012 | Dirac Juvenile Collection |
| Red, White & Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston | F Mcq | Strozier POP LIT |
| The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue | Mackenzi Lee | F Lee | Strozier POP LIT |
| The House You Pass on the Way | Jacqueline Woodson | JUV PZ7 .W868 Ho 1997 | Dirac Juvenile Collection |
| No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America | Darnell L. Moore | NF Moo | Strozier POP LIT |
| Daddy’s Roommate | Michael Willhoite | JUV PZ7.W655485 Dad 1990 | Dirac Juvenile Collection (On Display |
Written by Shaundra Lee. Have suggestions for Pop Lit? Email lib-poplit@fsu.edu
