So I’ve recently been tagged in Nevillegirl’s post, “The Rainbow Book Tag,” (Hey look, we both used the same title!) and I was very excited to do it. The subject is LGBTQ+ YA books, a topic I’m not too savvy about, but I’m going to write about it anyway because I don’t think I’ve ever had. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve never written an LGBTQ+ related post on this blog. If someone were to only gain all their knowledge from this blog and this blog only, they’d probably think a homosexual was some sort of exotic fruit, or something.

But that’s not right. LGTBQ+ rights is an important issue, one that I have very strong investment in, so I should probably mention the subject every once in a while. Hence, this post:

RED
The color of passion and desire

If you could own only one LGBTQ+ YA story for the rest of your life, which book would you choose and why? What makes you desire that particular book so much that you just have to have it on your shelf – characters, plot, author, cover, et cetera?

Well this one’s obvious. The Miseducation of Cameron Post, by Emily M. Danforth, and not just because it’s one of the few LGTBQ+ YA books I’ve read.

If I had to pick my top ten books of all time, this one would be on it, somewhere. And if I had to make a list of top ten books everyone should read, no matter who they are or where they live, this book would be number one. Because the world would be a much better place if that happened.

ORANGE
The color of creativity

If you were to create your perfect LGBTQ+ YA book in your mind, what would it look like? Romance? Non-romance? Fantasy? Sci fi? Contemporary? Historical fiction? Some other genre/genre mix? Novel? Short story? What about the characters – lesbian, gay, bi, trans, intersex, queer, questioning, asexual? Who would you want to write this novel? Would it have a happy or sad ending? Where would it be set? Is it a series or a standalone?

It would be an urban fantasy/thriller written by Maggie Stiefvater. The main character is a lesbian drag car racer with a sentient car. I say this because according this one post I read months ago on Stiefvater’s’ tumblr, she’s apparently planning to write a book featuring a female drag racer of some sort, so if anyone were to write this book, she’d be the best one for the job.

YELLOW
The color of sunshine and sand

Let’s talk beach books! Imagine you are going to the beach with a friend, who is looking for some YA LGBTQ+ books to read there. Which book(s) would you recommend?

Does The Dream Thieves count as an LGTBQ+ book? I hope so, because I’m picking it. It takes place during the summer, it’s a quick read and it’s surprisingly violent, compared to the books preceding it. (Oh yeah, forgot to mention. This is the second book in a four part series, “The Raven Cycle.” It’s one of those rare book series where each book is more gripping than the last.

GREEN
The color of money

If you could get any five YA LGBTQ+ books for free,
which five would you choose?

Well, the first would be Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli, because I’ve heard good things about it, and the synopsis is lit.*

The second would be The Miseducation of Cameron Post, because I’d like to read that again.

Then there’s Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, because who could say no to a retelling of Cinderella that features Cyborgs?

[Edit: I’ve been informed via helpful commenters that Cinder doesn’t actually have any LGTBQ+ themes, and that I had mistaken it for Ash, by Malindo Lo. Twas an honest mistake, I swear!]

Four would be Fans of the Impossible Life, by Kate Scelsa: “the story of a girl, her gay best friend, and the boy in love with both of them.” Well that can’t possibly end well. I’m intrigued.

And the last would be The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde. I have no idea what its about, but I recognize the author’s name and it’s tagged under LGBTQ+ on Goodreads. So Oscar Wilde wrote a book featuring homosexuality in the slightly homophobic nineteenth century? That’s pretty ballsy, I gotta say.

Indigo
The color of intuition

An LGBTQ+ YA book that you haven’t had the chance to read (yet) but have a really good feeling about.

Uh. . . Cinder, probably, because I haven’t heard a bad thing about it yet.

VIOLET
The color of dreams

You are hosting a tea party and can invite one LGBTQ+ YA author, two LGBTQ+ YA characters, and three non-LGBTQ+ characters (from any YA book) to any restaurant/place – real or fictional – you like. Who would you invite? Where would your party take place?

I’d pick Loras Tyrell from ASOIAF and Ronan Lynch from The Dream Thieves as my two LGBTQ+ characters, if only because I have literally no idea what would happen if they found themselves in the same room together. I can see their first meeting being either a) a complete disaster or b) the start of something wonderful.

For the straight characters, I’d pick Arya Stark, Sansa Stark, and Jon Snow, if only because I want at least three of the Starks to reunite at some point and I’m beginning to lose hope of that ever happening. It’ll be a tearjerker, I’m sure.

As for the LGBTQ+ YA author, I’d choose Emily M. Danforth, so I can ask her some questions I have about what happens to Cam after that final chapter of TMoCP. I need to know!

And, that’s all for today! Feel free to do your own post with this tag, if you want. Or you could answer the questions in the comments below. Or you could go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, unless of course you live in a place whether the weather isn’t so great right now, but based off the map on my stats page, I’d say there’s a good chance you don’t. That’s right, I did my research.

*I’m using the tem “lit” now. Get used to it.

So you may have noticed, I’ve been absent lately. I hope it didn’t bother you.

Oh, who am I kidding. I hope you panicked and spent every single minute of every single day refreshing my blog’s homepage, because that shows that you care and I love it when people care about me, especially if they do so in an unhealthy obsessive way.

As to why I’ve been absent? Well, it’s a funny story, really. It wasn’t funny at the time, but now that it’s all over I can let you in on it, and hopefully we’ll all laugh at it whilst sharing a nice cup of coffee together, just us.

So, you know that AP English class I signed up for back in June? Well, last week my teacher had us all do eight minute presentations in front of the class, talking about a theme shown in the non-fiction books we read over the summer.

Well, after several recommendations from wonderful commenters, I chose Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama. (You may have heard of him.) And I’m going to let you all in on a little secret, but before I tell you it, I’m going to need you to lean in close to the screen so no one else hears.

A little closer…

Just a bit more…

Good. Well, here it goes:

I didn’t actually read the book.

Wait! Please don’t click the unfollow button! At least let me explain first. You see, I am a very lazy individual, who isn’t great at managing his time. I only started reading Dreams From My Father two days before the school year started, read six chapters, and realized there was no way I was going to finish the book in time before school started. So I only did the assignment, where I just had to select twelve quotes from the novel and write about why I liked them, which was so much easier than actually finishing the book. I told myself I was going to finish the book as soon as possible, but never got around to it. When an entire month went by and my teacher still hadn’t even mentioned the nonfiction books, I figured we would never have to do anything involving them anyway.

I figured wrong.

But that’s not the worst part. You see, the teacher allowed the students to pair up with anyone else who happened to have read the same book, yet out of all the kids in my class and the limited amount of books to choose from, I was the only one who picked Dreams from my Father, which meant I’d have to do the entire presentation instead of just a part of it.

So basically, I was all alone, having to give an eight minute presentation on a book I never actually read.

Thanks, Obama.

So now that I was involuntarily a lone wolf, I took matters into my own hands and spent the next few days reading the entire book, even staying home sick, just to catch up. And I was sick, by the way. With a, um, a headache. A really bad headache, that lasted two days and only went away when I was at work.

*wink*

The good news: I got it done, was able to give an awkward presentation in class, and ended up getting a decent grade.

The bad news: I fell behind in all my other classes. I missed three tests, a physics lab, and worst of all, a game of school jeopardy where the winners were awarded candy.

Anyhoo, I stayed after school for today and last Friday in order to make up everything, and on Saturday I had to go to my grandparents house to move furniture around and later that night I had to go to a Halloween party that did not, in any way, involve underage drinking, because that is illegal, and teenagers always follow the law.

And on Sunday, I was reading The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which is one of those books that are really hard to stop reading. I realize this might not be a good excuse, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me in about two paragraphs. Moving on…

I also bought a laptop, using the money I made from working at McDonald’s, which means that I won’t have to share a computer with four other family members all the time. Also, I’ll presumably have more time to post, meaning. . .

I’ll be attempting NaBloPoMo again this November! Mostly because I feel like I need to redeem myself from the massive failure that was my last attempt at it, back in May. Wish me luck.

To end this post, I shall ask all the Walking Dead fans currently reading this: What did you think of last night’s episode? I need to discuss it with someone.

Oh, and American Horror Story fans: Is that show any good?