6 books to read during pride month
By Daphnée St-Jean
Forget me not, Alyson Derrick (romance/YA)
If you like a well written amnesia trope, romance and a character coming to term with her sexual orientation, this book is for you. After an accident, Stevie has no memories of the last two year. She does not remember her girlfriend Nora and doesn’t even know she is a lesbian. Throughout the book, we follow Stevie trying to collect stories about these last two years and figure out who she is, while falling again for Nora. Now I don’t want to spoil anything but let me tell you this book had me crying ugly tears up until the very last page.
Unsent letters, Julia Gerbasi (poetry)
Julia Gerbasi is a Montreal based Italian, and late blooming queer. Her poetry centers around her journey to coming out and is written in forms of letters. Her writing is beautiful, relatable and illustrates beautifully the challenges and joys of coming out.
Rainbow History Class: Your Guide Through Queer and Trans History, Hannah McElhinney
If your goal this pride month is to learn more about queer and trans history, look no further. Rainbow History Class is a comprehensive, easy to read guide through history, that highlights all key moments for queer and trans people. (Pssst: They also have a tiktok account @rainbowhistoryclass)
Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Malinda Lo (historical fiction/YA)
Set in San Francisco in the 1950s, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is my personal favorite historical fiction. Lily, the teenage daughter of Chinese immigrants, is coming to terms with her sexuality while navigating the cultural complexities in a politically unstable time. The book is incredibly well written and Malinda Lo clearly did her research on the political and cultural context of the time.
Malice, Heather Walter (fantasy)
Malice is a queer retelling of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast, where the sorceress and princess fall in love. Need I say more..? Beautifully written and full of magic, love and challenges, this book had me hooked. And if, like me, you get to the last page and don’t want it to end, don’t worry, there is a second book: Misrule.
Delilah Green doesn’t care, Ashley Herring Blake (romance)
If you don’t relate to YA or prefer stories that don’t center around coming out, Delilah Green doesn’t care is for you! Delilah is an out and proud lesbian who moved to New York to pursue her dream of being a photographer. When she has to go back to her hometown to be the photographer at her stepsister’s wedding, all the complex family issues resurface. All Delilah wants is to get out of there as fast as possible, but then she falls for Claire, her stepsister’s best friend.
BONUS FRANCO:
11 brefs essais queer, Marie-Ève Kingsley, Maisie-Nour Symon Henry, Maël Maréchal et al.
11 brefs essais queer est une compilation d’essais francophones sur la réalité des personnes queer et trans. Chaque auteur.trice dépeint à merveille sa propre réalité, des fois de façon crue, d’autres fois par des métaphores et images. De la joie queer, des défis, l’oppression, mais surtout une grande volonté d’être soi ; c’est ce qui se ressent dans ces essais.
