Welcome to Litsy!

Turquoise - Magic 🩵 #PrideRec2025 @PuddleJumper
The top two series are favorites, with interesting magical systems and lovely romances at the heart. Then there are FT Luken's books, which aren't a series, but all have different magical aspects. Spell Bound is my favorite but they're all great in different ways ✨

Pen America “Banned In the USA“

Just looked through Pen America‘s “Banned in the USA” report and it's astounding how many books are being pulled, without any real process. Of course, many of the titles deal with identity, race, and queerness. It's not just bans but the quiet removals too. Makes you think about who gets to decide what stories are appropriate and what voices do or don't matter in schools.

This year for #PrideMonth I wanted to challenge myself to read all of the letters in the Pride spectrum (well the most common at least - LGBTQAI)

I found that Intersex, Asexual, and Queer were the most difficult books to find.

Q- while queer is often used as a catchall category I was really looking for authors who specifically called themselves Queer, and it turned out harder then I had first thought.

These are the books I read.

A lyrical YA story about a boy trained as an art their and the boy he falls in love with that changes everything. Very Greek with Icarus and Helio as our main guys! I thought there were a few unusual and interesting ideas in this story, and I overall enjoyed the writing, even if some of the elements were a bit too fantastic.

“‘While the meaning of a book may be informed by the author‘s intentions, it isn‘t defined by them” (of 67).
This is a wow statement that I think is important to remember as readers take on a book. It‘s how we interpret and understand books that make them what they are to us, the author does not define everything in it so that the reader is left to their own devices. Students should know and learn that early in their learning journey.

“You learn more about the story and you also learn more about yourself as a reader…” (pg 32).
This is the part where the students are told they‘re going to read Harriet the Spy, some of them had already read it and this is what the teacher had to say about reading books over again. I thought it was such a good takeaway to remember even for us in college, reading books over again can be important and teach you even more than you can imagine

I really loved Answers in the Pages and how it addresses book banning in a way that feels authentic and relatable for middle school ages. Levithan shows how assumptions about a story can cause issues, especially when it involves characters of different identity groups. It‘s a perfect reminder of why it‘s so important for kids to see themselves in books and have the freedom to read what matters to them. This helps them really grow as individuals.

I really felt for Donovan. He didn‘t think twice about the book until his mom freaked out, and suddenly he‘s in the middle of this huge mess. I loved most how the book had three different stories: Donovan, The Adventurers, and then the one about Gideon and Roberto. At first it was a little confusing, but once I saw how they all came together, it hit harder. I liked the subtle way the book talks about romantic and friends' love.

A group of bandits takes in a nun and gets more than they bargained for... This was a fast-paced story with interesting characters. I would have liked to read more of their adventures by the end, the world had a fascinating history. And the writing was funnier than I expected
#14Books14Weeks @Liz_M #QueerBC @PuddleJumper

Low pick, mostly because of the aforementioned #undramaticirony. It did get revealed in the next chapter. I also felt that all the conflicts were resolved too easily. However, I loved all the characters and found the main three all relatable in different ways, which was nice. The poly and queer rep felt very true to life, and I just loved the endings (it felt like the last two chapters and the epilogue were all different endings)!