#wlwoc rep

The Abyss Surrounds Us & The Edge of the Abyss by Emily Skrutskie

Love story: 💖💖💖💖💕 (4.5/5)

Writing: 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ (4.5/5)

Happy ending? Yes

Is it about coming out? No

wlw books, sci fi, pirates, East Asian wlw protagonist, hate-to-love romance, interracial relationship

Summary: On an Earth where the seas have risen from global warming, humankind has adapted to life on water instead of land. Now the NeoPacific is infested with pirates, and the Republic has created genetically engineered sea monsters - Reckoners - to defend their ships. Cas is a Reckoner trainer on her first solo mission when she is kidnapped by the pirate Santa Elena and forced to train a stolen Reckoner pup.

In book 2, Cas has pledged her allegiance to Santa Elena and lost any chance of returning home to the Republic. The crew discovers that dozens of Reckoners stolen by pirates have escaped their new owners and are living in the wild, threatening to destroy the entire ecosystem of the Neopacific. Santa Elena's crew leads the charge to battle the Hellbeasts and save the Neopacific, and Cas has no choice but to be on the front lines of the battle.

Thoughts: “Lesbian pirates and sea monsters” is really all it takes to get me to read a book, and this duology did not disappoint. The books have complex characters, a hate-to-love romance, an original action-packed plot, and a creative take on a dystopian future Earth. 

The relationship between Cas and Swift is complicated from the beginning - they have an undeniable chemistry, but Cas is a prisoner and Swift has power over her. It isn't until they are "on equal footing" that anything happens between them. Their romance is a hate-to-love story, but handled in a healthy way. At the end of book 1, Cas discovers a heartbreaking secret that might permanently destroy her relationship with Swift. In book 2 they must contend with the lies and betrayal and decide if their relationship is worth salvaging. The love story doesn’t shy away from the complexity of their relationship, and you’ll finish book 2 wanting to know what happens with them next.

Read it for the lesbians, read it for the pirates, read it for the dystopian sci-fi lesbian sea monster pirates -- just read it.

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

Love story: 💖💖💖💖💖 (5/5)

Writing: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5/5)

Happy ending? Yes

Is it about coming out? No

wlw books, contemporary fiction, grief and loss, biracial (black/white) main character, interracial relationship

Summary: All seventeen year-old Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn't have to scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid. Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.

Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls, both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a connection with Maggie. As Grace's mother spirals downward, both girls must figure out how to love and how to move on.

Thoughts:  Grace and Eva are two girls who have a connection on the deepest levels: both with absent fathers and lost mothers, accepting their feelings for other girls, on the cusp of adolescence and adulthood with no idea what they want from their rest of their life.

I can't express how much it means to me to read a love story between two girls caught in trauma and grief. Their love is not a bandage or a solution, but they are able to find peace, understanding, and safety in each other. They know that healing is a long, slow journey that they are just beginning, but they are beginning it together. My struggles look nothing like Grace and Eva’s, but this book showed me that I can fall in love with a girl who will love all of me, and we won’t have to hide our painful pasts from each other.

“A beautiful story about love's paradoxical ability to be the most difficult yet most effortless thing in the world. Ashley Herring Blake breaks your heart for these girls and then stitches it back together with starlit magic.” - Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights

Warnings: 

Death of mother

Absent fathers - one dead, one never met

Alcoholism and child neglect

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Love story: 💖💖💖💖💖 (5/5)

Writing: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5/5)

Happy ending? Yes

Is it about coming out? Yes

Available as audiobook ✔️

wlw books, contemporary fiction, chubby Puerto Rican lesbian protagonist with asthma, wlw of color love interest and many qwoc minor characters, interracial relationship between two women of color

Summary: Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that’s going to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. She’s interning with the author of her favorite book: Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women’s bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff. 

Will Juliet be able to figure out her life over the course of one magical summer? Is that even possible? Or is she running away from all the problems that seem too big to handle? 

With more questions than answers, Juliet takes on Portland, Harlowe, and most importantly, herself.

Thoughts: This is a character-driven book that follows Juliet’s journey as a lesbian Latina leaving the Bronx and navigating the white feminist world of Portland. If you are new to the world of feminism, queer activism, and intersectionality, this book is a great introduction - that also serves as a critique of the whiteness and cissexism in these communities. This book is a love letter to queer women of color, who so rarely see themselves authentically represented in media. If you are a white queer woman like me, this book is a must-read to reflect on our privilege and understand the importance of QPOC-only spaces.

If I haven’t already convinced you, there is also an adorable romance with a cute girl who works at the library and rides a motorcycle. Read this book!

Warnings: 

Sexual harassment

Homophobia from family

Racist and transphobic microaggressions from white feminists (that are critiqued)

A chapter on menstruation

Discussion of sexual assault and trauma

It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura

Love story: 💖💖💖💖 (4/5)

Writing: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5)

Happy ending? Yes

Is it about coming out? Yes

Available as audiobook ✔️

wlw books, contemporary fiction, high school romance, Japanese lesbian protagonist, Mexican lesbian main character, interracial relationship between two woc

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like that fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.

When Sana and her family move to California she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana’s new friends don’t trust Jamie’s crowd; Jamie’s friends clearly don’t want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad’s affair is becoming too obvious to ignore anymore.

Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy… what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.

Thoughts: This book touches on the unique experiences of a daughter of Japanese immigrants living in a very white Wisconsin and then moving to California where she is no longer the minority. Surrounded by students of color, Sana finds friends who also have Asian immigrant parents, and she meets Jamie, a cute Latina girl who just might have a crush on her too. But she's finally found a place where she feels normal, and can she really give all that up by admitting that she likes girls?

The diversity in this book is A+. It touches on racist microaggressions from white students, unequal treatment from teachers and police officers, and racism between people of color. The plot was... okay. It was typical cheating-and-breakups high school drama, which was boring and disappointing. But it resolves with a happy ending for Sana and Jamie, so I can forgive it.

Warnings: 

Sana's dad has an affair

References to alcohol and marijuana use

Cheating plotline

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Love story: 💖💖💖💖💕 (4.5/5)

Writing: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5)

Happy ending? Yes

Is it about coming out? No

wlw books, sci fi, urban fantasy, superheroes, Chinese-Vietnamese bi girl protagonist, transmasculine main character

Summary: Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.

Thoughts: If you're looking for a cute, diverse superhero story with an adorable wlw romance, this book is for you. The sequel comes out in October 2017 and will focus on Bells, Jess’ transmasculine best friend whose hair is a different color every day.

Ash by Malinda Lo

Love story: 💖💖💖💖💖 (5/5)

Writing: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 (4.5/5)

Happy ending? Yes

Is it about coming out? No

Available as audiobook ✔️

fairytale, fantasy adventure, wlw books, author of color, wlwoc main character

A lesbian retelling of Cinderella

Summary: In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Huntress by Malinda Lo

Love story: 💖💖💖💖 (4/5)

Writing: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5)

Happy ending? Mostly*

Is it about coming out? No

Available as audiobook ✔️

wlw books, fantasy adventure, wlwoc protagonist, wlwoc main character, author of color

Summary: With nature out of balance and their kingdom on the brink of war, Kaede and Taisin must go on a dangerous journey to the city of the Fairy Queen to save the human and fairy worlds. The two girls’ destinies intertwine and they begin to fall in love.

A prequel to Ash (but makes sense as a standalone).

Warnings: Some violence and gore (*details/spoilers below)