Happy Pride, besties! I read queer books all year (you should too), but June deserves an entire dedicated list devoted to blasting the binaries into a black hole and beaming ourselves into some of the queerest corners of the galaxy (that alliteration took me and a thesaurus a WHILE, you're welcome.) This is not white cishet savior sci-fi—this is gender-smashing space lit.

Below are some queer sci-fi books I’ve read and loved—that represents the entire alphabet mafia—and a few extra deep space gays for good measure. From nonbinary patricidal rebels to two-spirit reincarnated gods to bisexual concubines in zero-G, these books aren’t just inclusive. They are radically queer and deeply human (even when no humans are involved).

Lesbian

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir
Necromancers, sword lesbians, deeply unreliable narration, and skeleton horror in a locked-planet space mystery that makes Inception look like Blue’s Clues. If you want a book that emotionally destroys you and makes you thank the author, this is the one. If my list ever doesn't include this series, know that it's not me, it's an alien that has taken over my body.

Gay

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Slow burn space found family with a gay alien romance that’ll make you cry into your recycled protein paste. This book feels like sitting in a sunbeam, if the sunbeam were made of ethics, respect, and lovingly queer character arcs. This is more of an anthropological study of what society could be. It's hopeful. You need that rn.

Bisexual

The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis
What if Red Rising was queer, sexy, anti-capitalist, and let women and nonbinary people actually do shit? The First Sister can’t speak—but her voice will roar through a revolution. Bisexual and nonbinary rep, political intrigue, and feminine rage. This series is a MUST READ and I actually need to do a reread so if anyone is interested in a buddy read, hit me up.

Trans Man

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
What if the end of the world was transmasc? And the apocalypse monster was you? This book is a body horror dystopian apocalypse where a trans boy escapes a world ending Christian cult, mutates into an angel of queer vengeance, and kisses a boy while melting into bioengineered hellspawn. It’s not subtle. It’s not soft. And it’s exactly what some of us needed at 17. Or 40. Body horror not your jam? Give Andrew Joseph White a chance anyway, I did and now he's on my auto-buy list.

Trans Woman

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Trans girl violinist makes a Faustian bargain with a demon while running from abuse and finding a queer family with a donut-shop-owning alien refugee. This book is queer joy with a cosmic glaze and a sprinkle of trauma healing. Why the donut analogy? It's so sweet it will make your teeth hurt and you'll still want another. I cannot even describe how beautifully it's written, you'll have to experience it for yourself.

Nonbinary

The Last Hero by Linden A. Lewis
Admittedly I am including the first and third book of a series in this list, and if it seems like breaking some kind of rule IDGAF!!! Why? Because the third book in this series breaks my top 10 favorite books of all time. I love it, I adore it, and I desperately need you to read it and then come slide into my DM's.

Asexual

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (again, because it hits so many categories)
Yes, we’re double-dipping. This crew includes a nonbinary tech genius, an asexual romance, and enough interpersonal healing to fill a galaxy. Cozy queer space is the new frontier.

Two-Spirit

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon
Transmasc. Nonbinary. Two-spirit. Magic. Rage. A queer teen discovers that not only are they the town's queer awakening guru hiding anxiety like trying to contain a malfunctioning warp core with duct tape and a smile, but they are also, apparently, a reincarnated god. And not a benevolent one. And while you're reading H.E. Edgmon make sure to check out The Witch King about a trans teen who was engaged to the prince, the dream, but because of the systems of oppression in place, he ran from his true love. Admittedly Fantasy and not Sci-fi, but if you have any recommendations throw them my way!!!

Intersex

The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
A sweeping, saga style terraforming epic with literally every kind of queer rep you could want—including intersex, poly, ace, and aromantic characters. Urban planning, ecological ethics, and futuristic poop transportation have never been so gay. But also, an important overarching point - every act every day that every person makes is inherently political. In a book with no politicians, this book is RADICAL.

Queerness in sci-fi isn’t window dressing. It is the future—or at least, the one worth fighting for. These books prove that diverse gender, sexual, and cultural identities aren’t side quests—they’re the whole damn story.

So whether you're a trans god of death or an aromantic city planner with a robotic moose, just know: space is gay, the future is weird, and the future is for all of us.

The Every Library Institute recently release a report titled The Censorship Acceleration - An Analysis of Book Ban Trends After 2020. What was in this report was deeply disturbing to me and speaks to the authoritarian control the United States is goose-stepping rapidly toward.

What the Report Reveals

Since 2020, book bans have surged—no longer the result of one pearl-clutching parent flipping out over two penguin dads in a picture book, but instead a coordinated campaign cooked up in the back rooms of political and religious PACs with too much money and not enough reading comprehension.

These bans are directly tied to school privatization efforts and attacks on DEI, pushed by well-funded lobbying hydras like Moms for Liberty and civic campaigns like Project 2025.
(Subscribe now to read an exclusive deep dive into how Moms for Liberty went from school board busybodies to quoting actual Nazis like it’s just another Tuesday.)

And yet—resistance is growing. Student-led movements and Right-to-Read statutes are fighting back.

Why Should This Matter to You?

Book bans aren’t just cranky PTA moms with too much time and a grudge against Toni Morrison—they’re a strategic assault on public education, marginalized voices, and the democratic idea that knowledge should be, you know, accessible.

They’re framed as “concerned parent” actions, but when you scrape off that performative respectability, what you get is a targeted hit list of books that center queer stories, Black history, immigrant narratives, and basically anyone who isn’t a cishet white dude with access to someone in the Big 5 (the 5 publishers who own almost every imprint in the country.)

Don't forget that the same people who want to ban books about two gay penguins also believe that smut in books is pornography and should also be banned. Yes, that's right, if you read romance, they're coming for you next.

These campaigns don’t just limit access to information—they erase identity, criminalize empathy, and sterilize classrooms into echo chambers for the dominant narrative.

PEN America has the stats:

“Disproportionate to publishing rates ... books in this (banned) prominent subset overwhelmingly include books with people and characters of color (44%) and books with LGBTQ+ people and characters (39%). ”

Translation: They’re banning the books that tell the truth about our country—especially the parts that make the privileged uncomfortable.

And when school boards start yanking books about racism, gender identity, consent, or historical violence, they’re not “protecting children.” They’re protecting power. Suddenly, teachers are under surveillance, libraries are political warzones, and the First Amendment is apparently optional.

EveryLibrary puts it bluntly:

“This report uncovers a sophisticated and interconnected political strategy intended to reshape our educational and cultural landscape.” — John Chrastka, executive director

This isn’t alarmism. It’s happening. Now. In your county. In your kid’s school.

Project 2025 even spells out their plan: defund libraries, criminalize educators, and scapegoat librarians—because apparently, the biggest threat to America is Ms. Martin reading Stamped in the media center.

Action Items for Readers

At the Local Level

• Attend and speak at school board meetings if you have a child at those schools. Yes, you might have to listen to someone quote Leviticus at a 4th-grade reading list, but your voice matters. Bring printed stats from the report—facts still scare them.

• Join or form a Friends of the Library group. They’re like the PTA but cooler and with fewer bake sales. These grassroots groups are the antidote to censorship panic mobs—and they’re probably already on Facebook.

• Host a "Read-In" event! Reclaim public space by reading banned books out loud. Bonus points if it’s outside a courthouse or school board office. Philadelphia is doing it on June 27. Iconic.

• Circulate a petition or letter-writing campaign. Whether it’s to reinstate diverse books or protect funding to your city's library, these small acts pile up fast.

At the State and National Level

1. Support Right-to-Read legislation. Call your state reps. Harass them politely and repeatedly. USE FACTS. Demand bills that make it harder to ban books without due process.

2. Defend IMLS funding. Write to Congress. Project 2025 wants to bulldoze the Institute of Museum and Library Services—because libraries are apparently too woke and not enough broke.

3. Donate to EveryLibrary and PEN America. These are the grown-ups in the room—filing lawsuits, organizing rapid responses, and pushing back with strategy and receipts.

4. Use your vote!!! Look up every single local election. School board, library board, county commissioner. If they have the power to remove books, they have the power to rot your whole community’s access to truth. Don't forget that every politician has to start somewhere. Make sure your local reps represent YOU.

Why This Works

• It connects the dots between your local school board drama and the national agenda trying to rewrite history (literally).

• It leans on credible orgs, real data, and movement wins—so we’re not just rage-posting into the void. COMMUNITY ACTION WORKS.

Every censored book is a silenced voice. Every silenced voice is a story we don’t get to learn from. By speaking up locally, supporting legislation nationally, and showing up with your wallet, you are exercising your voice, and your vote, to defend a future where education is a basic human right—not a battleground for power.

The state shouldn’t get to decide what your kid reads. You should. And if Moms for Liberty thinks they can scare us off with Nazi quotes and Facebook rants, they better be ready for a plot twist.

Because we’ve read the book—and the resistance always wins in the end.

Imagine waking up, grabbing your morning coffee, and cracking open your local parental rights newsletter only to be greeted with a quote from Adolf freaking Hitler. That’s not speculative dystopia—it’s just Moms for Liberty being... well, themselves.

In July 2023, the Hamilton County, Indiana chapter of Moms for Liberty published a newsletter with the line:

“He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future.” — Adolf Hitler

Right there on the front page. In large print. With no context. No disclaimer. Just Hitler, front and center like it’s a damn parenting tip.

This Wasn’t a Mistake, It Was a Messaging Strategy

After they were caught red-handed quoting history’s most notorious fascist like he was a PTA icon, Moms for Liberty didn’t immediately apologize. No, first they doubled down, claiming the quote was meant to "warn" readers about government control over education.

Sure, Susan.

Then they edited the newsletter to include a line after the quote saying, essentially, “Oh wait, this was a cautionary tale, not an endorsement,” like that makes the Nazi citation okay. Eventually, after national outrage and coverage from AP News, VICE, and even MSNBC, they issued an apology. Sort of. It read like the PR equivalent of "I’m sorry you were offended."

But Why Hitler? (Like seriously, why not literally ANYONE ELSE)

Here’s the thing: quoting Hitler isn’t just tone-deaf, it’s textbook far-right radical signaling. The original quote came from a 1935 Nazi rally about controlling education and indoctrinating youth into fascism. So when you slap that on the masthead of a newsletter supposedly about "parental rights," you're not just making a historical oopsie. You're invoking authoritarian propaganda to fuel your campaign.

Let’s not pretend this group is subtle. Moms for Liberty has been labeled an extremist organization by the SPLC, and they’ve made a name for themselves by:

• Calling for book bans that target LGBTQ+ authors and authors of color

• Harassing teachers and librarians (where their children DO NOT EVEN ATTEND) over inclusive curricula

• Demanding school boards erase DEI initiatives

• Trying to dismantle public education by any means necessary (because lots of them pay for private schooling - that's right, this is also a school voucher group.)

The Pattern is the Point

If you think this was a one-time gaffe, think again. Quoting Hitler was just the mask slipping. Their entire platform hinges on authoritarian control: who gets to speak, who gets to learn, and whose stories get told. And spoiler alert—if it’s not straight, white, and Christian, it’s on the chopping block. And if you think it was the only time this group has invoked Hitler, wrong again.

Clean Up Alabama, a local chapter of MFL, did the exact same thing a month later, AFTER the backlash! Proving this is absolutely positively no accident.

Don’t let the “Mom” branding fool you. This isn’t about bake sales and PTA meetings. It’s about power. And they’re using fear, censorship, and historical revisionism to get it.

What You Can Do (Besides Screaming Into the Void)

• Show up to your kids' school board meetings. Loudly. Bring your facts. Bring your banned books. Write a script in advance so you're not unprepared.

• Expose them locally. Share these links. Demand your schools and libraries cut ties with any group quoting genocidal dictators.

• Support orgs that fight this nonsense. PEN America and EveryLibrary are doing the real work to protect our right to read.

• Vote like your library depends on it. Because it does.

If this sounds alarmist, that’s because it is. You should be alarmed. If quoting Hitler is on brand for a group that wants control over what your kid reads, maybe—just maybe—they shouldn’t have that control. And even if they didn't, isn't the point of a parental rights group...parental rights? So then why are they trying to take away your right to choose what your child can read by removing it from the shelf altogether?

The scariest part? This isn’t history class—it’s current events. And if we don’t stop it, we’re all going to end up living in the sequel nobody asked for. Spoiler: it’s not a happy ending.

Here’s a list of science fiction books by AANHPI authors to celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month—across subgenres, tones, and themes. I'm pretty pissed that they absulutely destroyed the cultural Hawaiian representation in the new Lilo & Stitch, so let me console myself with some well written sci-fi from AANHPI authors. Whether you love space operas, dystopias, or speculative fiction, there’s something here for you:

Adult Sci-Fi

1. The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
Annalee Newitz is an American science fiction author and journalist of mixed European and Asian descent—they are part Filipino, on their mother’s side. The Terraformers is a queer eco-sci-fi epic about terraforming planets, corporate greed, and resistance—featuring sentient animals and poop-transport drones. This is on my shelf and I'm picking it up...right now. IF I SAY IT OUT LOUD I WILL DO IT. (I hope)

2. The Red (The Red Trilogy, Book 1) by Linda Nagata
Linda Nagata is a Native Hawaiian author who writes military science fiction with sharp social commentary. The Red features a soldier linked to a mysterious, possibly sentient AI-like force known only as “the Red.” If you liked the movie Edge of Tomorrow, this is for you.

3. The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
Liu is a master of speculative short fiction. This collection blends Chinese folklore, AI, historical fiction, and heartache.

4. The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
A lyrical space opera with found family, time dilation, and a beautiful queer romance. I almost never see this one talked about, but it popped up when I was making this list, so I grabbed it on Libro.fm.

5. Flux by Jinwoo Chong
Cyberpunk meets corporate dystopia and glitching timelines. Flux follows Bo, a Korean American man who, after a traumatic incident, is recruited by a shady tech company that’s developing a mysterious device capable of manipulating time. Think Black Mirror crossed with Mr. Robot, but with Asian American identity and grief at its core.

YA Sci-Fi

6. Want by Cindy Pon
Set in a futuristic, smog-choked Taipei where the wealthy live in domes and the poor suffer. A techno-thriller with class warfare and body horror perfect for fans of Gattaca.

7. The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman
A Japanese American teen dies and wakes up in a sci-fi afterlife ruled by an AI tyrant. It's a little bit Selection and a lot Ex Machina. The end of the second book made me absolutely SALIVATE for the third.

8. Steelstriker duology by Marie Lu
Dystopian action with elite soldiers, tech-enhanced powers, and commentary on nationalism and loyalty. Marie Lu, born in China, brings it big with the worldbuilding. And I've read just about everything by Marie Lu, she can't miss.

TLDR - Short Stories

9. Exhalation by Ted Chiang
While Chiang is best known for Arrival (originally “Story of Your Life”), this collection explores time travel, digital consciousness, and ethics of free will. Big brain but big heart too.

10. Linghun by Ai Jiang
A speculative horror novella about grief and ghosts in a dystopian housing market. Scarlett Court is home to a disturbing real estate trend: grieving families rent homes where their loved ones died, hoping their ghosts will return. These homes are wildly unaffordable, but people pay anyway—sinking into debt, madness, or obsession. Jiang is Chinese Canadian and her work hits hard with class and cultural themes.

What else would you recommend?

The Republican administration wants to defund our museums and libraries. Oppressive regimes like Nazi Germany, the USSR, and even the Babylonians and the Romans during their conquests understood that controlling access to information was key to controlling the population. One of their first acts was to ban and burn books, shut down independent libraries, and replace museum exhibits with propaganda. Free public libraries and museums are the opposite of that—they ensure that knowledge, culture, and truth remain accessible to everyone, not just the powerful. Defunding them opens the door to censorship, revisionist history, and the silencing of marginalized voices. And if you don't care about that, why are you here? You're a book nerd, this directly affects you!

Here's the list, all are quick and easy!

1. Sign all of the petitions on the American Library Association's website
   https://action.everylibrary.org/petitions

2. Judges blocked Trump's defunding of the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) for this year, but what about 2026? Ask Congress to fund the IMLS in 2026:
   https://www.ala.org/advocacy/fund-libraries

3. Find your attorney general and ask them to join the IMLS lawsuit.
   https://www.naag.org/find-my-ag/
   Here's a quick template:
   Subject: Request to Join Lawsuit Defending the Independence of IMLS

   Dear Attorney General [Last Name],

   I am writing as a concerned resident of [Your City], [Your State] to urge your office to join the federal lawsuit defending the independence and apolitical mission of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

   The recent attempts to politicize IMLS funding threaten not only libraries and museums nationwide, but also our First Amendment rights and the free flow of information in our communities. Our public libraries serve as safe havens for learning, exploration, and equal access. Undermining their funding for political reasons puts all of that at risk.

   Several states have already taken action to challenge this dangerous overreach. I call on you to join them in protecting both the integrity of IMLS and the educational and cultural resources that we rely on every day.

   Thank you for your service to our state and for considering this request.

   Sincerely,
   [Your Full Name]
   [Your City], [Your State]

4. Download the 5 Calls app. You input your zip code, pick a cause you care about (in this case public libraries,) and it provides you a link to call your representative and a script to read. It's super easy and calling your reps is proven to be more effective than emailing!
   https://5calls.org/

5. If you haven't already, go get a library card. If you don't have access to drive to your local library, call them! Librarians are basically magicians, if there's a will, there's a way! And then use it to log into Libby or Hoopla. Remember lots of libraries have access to audio apps too! Make sure to USE the library card. Right now summer reading programs are starting, and my library even has one for adults!!! Here's a hierarchy of how and why I decide to get my books:

   1. Is the author independent? Buy the book. Like it? Request the library carry it.

   2. Have I never read the author? Library

   3. Is it a book I'll probably only read once? Library

   4. Audiobook? I always check the library app FIRST

   5. Think more people should read it? LIBRARY!

   6. Is it for my kids? Library

      
      Thanks for supporting reading. Sure, some of us have home libraries and adult money—but the mark of an advanced society is that it protects access for those who don’t. If that’s not you, cool. Be civilized anyway and stand up for their rights.

      
      

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE!

I have compiled a list of the book festivals all over the United States and UK for your use. If there are any I should add please let me know!

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19h0drMmNpaMkOtULYz8XkJmDpcm8omyBEXc6nDEBLaE/edit?usp=sharing

Harper Muse sent these to me and they are such pretty classics editions. While I don't think they limited the printing enough for these to become truly collectible, they are absolutely stunning editions to have on the shelf, and are sturdy enough for regular reading. There are books you collect to look at but DON'T TOUCH!, and those you collect to actually read, and these are the latter.

Spring 2022 Collection

Released May 24, 2022

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 978-1401604110

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 978-1401603915

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle 978-1401603977

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 978-1401603908

Fall 2022 Collection

Released November 8, 2022

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 978-0785294801

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 978-0785294788

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie 978-0785294740

Persuasion by Jane Austen 978-0785294771

Summer 2023 Collection

Released July 4, 2023

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 978-1400336166

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 978-1400336159

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 978-0785294801

Winnie-the-Pooh and Other Delightful Stories by A.A. Milne 978-1400336135

Paperbacks with Sprayed Edges

Released March 18, 2025

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 978-1400346578

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 978-1400346592

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 978-1400346561

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 978-1400346523

Before you scroll past thinking this is one of those “sorry I haven’t posted” guilt-trip TikToks—pause. It’s not that. I promise. (Unless you are mad at me… in which case… 😅 okay valid.)

Here’s the deal: my serotonin has gone poof. My social feed is 97% longform political doomsday content and the rest is Aaron Parnas saying “BREAKING NEWS” in a deceptively calm voice about things that should be behind a trigger warning but are actually just real life. I didn’t take a break from caring (still calling my reps, still donating, still fighting), but I did take a break from trying to make content when everything feels like it's on fire.

But here’s what I did do:
I read. A lot.
And not just for escapism—but for truth. For clarity. For change.

Because once you’ve read enough “hot fae assassin” fantasy and "funny AI ship" sci-fi, you start craving stories that say something. Books that don’t just entertain, but provoke. That make you stop, whisper “holy sh*t,” and stare at the ceiling for an hour, but you know, in a good way.

So below, I’ve paired fiction and nonfiction reads by theme—books I kept on my shelves, because I want my kids to read them one day and feel their brains light up like mine did. Read one, read both, read what works for your style.

Let’s go.

• SYSTEMIC RACISM

  • Fiction

    • Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, an Arthurian YA fantasy that has those magic school vibes, and taught me what microagressions FEEL like. But you've probably already read that so I'll also recommend

    • Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams, a book about a 17 year old child who finds his roots after removing himself and his brother from abusive foster parents. This tells of an organization of magical black people who have remained cloistered to keep safe, and very much has those Wakanda vibes.

  • Non-Fiction

    • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, written in the format of a letter to his son, Coates speaks in gorgeous prose about what it's like to be a black man in America. This book didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but it connected those things with these little electric sentences that made me FEEL the neurons in my brain connect and go "PING" like a little light bulb. Coates is a genius of our generation.

    • Letter from Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I know, seems obvious, but I don't see people talking about it much. He's writing to people who disagree with his methods, speaking of his willingness to sit in a jail cell to forward civil rights. Only 54 pages. Required reading. Especially for white folks who quote MLK without context.

• IMMIGRATION

  • Fiction

    • Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz is a sci-fi book about robots trying to start their own noodle shop. It tells a story of a post civil war California where robots have been given rights, but only some, only the ones that benefit capitalism. And it shows how different people react to them having those few rights. It's a beautiful story about creating your own community after you've lost everything.

  • Non-Fiction

    • They Called Us Enemy by George Takei is a graphic novel memoir of Takei's firsthand account of the detention centers Roosevelt imprisoned Japanese Americans in in 1942. I plan to read this and discuss it with my kids this summer.

• COLONIZATION

  • Fiction

    • Cry, Voidbringer by Elaine Ho is a story of oppression from 2 POV's, one is a little girl who has been kidnapped into slavery, and the other is an older character who has been working her way up the ranks to the side of the queen, and tries to fight oppression from within a broken system.

    • This Place: 150 Years Retold is an indigenous graphic novel anthology of dystopian stories about surviving a post-apocalyptic world since Contact. It comes with an accompanying teacher guide with lesson plans, so this one is another I plan to read and study with my kids this summer.

  • NonFiction

    • Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States: A Graphic Interpretation by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is, well, what it says it is. I've never been a huge nonfic fan so graphic novels are a great way for me to get some nonfic reading in. This is a book you need on your shelf!

• LGBTQIA+ EXPERIENCE

  • Fiction

    • No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull is a sci-fi/fantasy X-men type story about the coming out of monsters (vampires, werewolves, etc,) the world's reaction, and the monsters fight for human rights. It's multi-POV that works because you get to see so many perspectives. I cannot WAIT for my hold to come in from Libby for the sequel.

    • Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White is a dystopian horror about a group of fanatic Christians causing the apocalypse to bring about the second coming of Christ. And their chosen is of course a closeted gay kid. I'm not a body horror person, but this book is INSANELY good and my preteen who loves horror is going to freaking love it when he finally gets off his Fortnite and reads it.

  • Nonfiction

    • A Little Queer Natural History by Josh L. Davis discusses biodiversity in nature and is essentially an entire book in response to the "male and female is basic biology" argument we sometimes hear from people with absolutely zero knowledge in the subject of biology. I love reading books that are a middle finger to bigots.

    • Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam chronicles expressions of trans experience that are often left out of the historical record. Trans people exist and HAVE existed for all of human history, and it's important to acknowledge that.

• PRISON ABOLITION (a note: this may be a controversial topic for many, but I truly think that if people truly understood the prison abolition movement's goals, they would agree with them, and I think that if we solved this issue, many many other social issues would be solved as a result. If you don't agree, I beg you to read these books.)

  • Fiction

    • Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, I know, I know, I won't shut up about this one, but it's for good reason! Everyone is off reading Silver Elite because of it's purported (but I have on good authority unfounded) Hunger Games vibes, when Chain-Gang All-Stars has been published since 2023! Take prisons and make them privatized. Someone gets a brilliant idea to put it on reality TV (it's already been done, see 60 Days In) and make them fight each other to the death for sport. That's this book.

  • Nonfiction

    • Abolitionist Intimacies by El Jones is written like an anthology, but by one person. Jones has been an advocate for years and tells the stories of people whom society has taken away their voice, taken away their humanity. This book doesn't discuss how to solve the problem, but I recommend starting here because to solve the problem, you first need to see prisoners as full human beings, and while you may think you already do, this will show you that no, you don't.

• DISABILITY

  • Fiction

    • Cinder by Marissa Meyer was assigned to my 7th grader for summer reading, so we listened to it together, and WOW! How did I sleep on this one? Cinder is a cyborg, a human who has had parts replaced and is considered now to be less than human because of it, including all of her rights being directed by her guardian, her stepmother. Not only did we get to discuss how society treats disabled people as less deserving of human rights, but we also got to see the Lunars, moon dwelling people who their society is hugely biased against, a great metaphor for xenophobia and racism. So many good topics in this book to discuss with your younger reader while still getting to enjoy a hella good book.

  • Nonfiction

    • Grievers by adrienne marie brown is admittedly not quite nonfiction, but adrienne marie brown is a nonfiction writer who delved into dystopian literature to further our understanding of the pandemic and how it affected and will continue to affect the world. It delves into the socioeconomics and inherent racism of the pandemic in such an insightful way. It has a sequel, thank adreinne, because the first one destroyed me.

For other recommendations sorted by social justice topic I highly recommend going to https://www.akpress.org/books.html an independent publishing house that specializes in radical books.

What other subjects would you like recommendations for? Feel free to leave me some recs in the comments too! I love a good read that cracks a brain open. Let’s build a shelf full of them.