These make for perfect summer reading
BY DIVA STAFF
Looking for some inspiration for your bookshelves? We’ve got you covered. Summer may almost be over, but there’s still plenty of time to pick up what might turn out to be your new fave LGBTQIA+ book. Here are some of our recommendations for you…
The Perfect Match by Adiba Jaigirdar
Move over Heated Rivalry, there’s a new queer sport sensation in town! And the best part? It’s wonderfully sapphic. Written by the award-winning author of Hani And Ishu’s Guide To Fake Dating, The Perfect Match follows 20-something Dina and Maya who fell for each other as teenagers. They had a very messy breakup and now coach rival football teams. Pick up a copy to see if they can get a second chance at first love!
Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
From the author of the mesmerising novel The Mercies comes this decades-planning slow burn love story. During her summer abroad, 18-year-old Erica meets an older French woman, Laure. The two women fall in and out of each other’s lives over the years. This is a story about queer love, chosen family and self-discovery. It also offers up vital queer history.
Long Island Girls by Gabrielle Korn
This author garnered much praise for her wonderfully queer climate fiction dystopian novels Yours For The Taking and The Shutouts. This latest offering is very different, but just as wonderful. Long Island Girls feels like a millennial time capsule. It’s full of “Indie Sleaze” and will make many of our Gen Y readers feel ever so seen. If you love stories about young love and queer belonging, you’ll want to pick this one up.
Fruit Fly by Josh Silver
This week, the US edition of this satirical novel was published by Crooked Lane Books. If you’ve not yet had the chance to read this masterfully told story, now’s the perfect chance to get yourself a copy. If you like your protagonists to be messy, unlikable and surprising, then you definitely want to pick this one up. Trust us, you’ll be thinking about it long after you close the book.
Herculine by Grace Byron
This must-read horror came out last year and offers readers a haunting reading experience. The story follows a young trans woman after she arrives at an all-trans girl commune – which happens to be founded by her toxic ex-girlfriend. She soon discovers that demons, both the literal and figurative kind, haunt her fellow comrades.
Heartstopper Volume 6 by Alice Oseman
If you haven’t yet read the graphic novel Heartstopper series, what are you waiting for? Earlier this year, the series concluded with a feature-length film, and Alice concluded the graphic novel series with a sixth volume. So if you’ve been putting off reading the original source material, there’s no better time to read this wholesome queer love story.
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