Two Different Worlds I've Lived in: The True Story of Being Intersex

Written by: Wilma Swartz

First line: What happened to me I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Why you should read this book: Born intersex and assigned male at birth, Wilma grew up in in a maelstrom of trauma from every direction: at home, at school, and at work, people sensed something off in her performance of masculinity and punished her relentlessly, in a time when gay people had little standing in society and trans people had no rights whatsoever. Despite doing her best to maintain a heteronormative facade, her marriage fails and subsequently she loses all rights to visitation with her son when she realizes that gender reassignment surgery is her only hope of ever living happily and authentically. Although she finds love and success as a woman, the heartbreak and scars of the past and her resonant anger still mar her memories, which she recalls in often excruciating detail, bringing her pain to light and providing a window to a little-known chapter of history.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's badly edited, often disjointed or vague, and includes some commentary that might be upsetting to secular and gender nonconforming readers, as well as graphic, sometimes violent depictions of homophobia and transphobia. 

Everything Is OK

Written by: Debbi Tung

First line: I feel so lost and overwhelmed.

Why you should read this book: In this candid and understated graphic memoir, the author describes a difficult period of her life, some relevant backstory, her journey through her mental health problems, and the world she encounters on the other side. The first half of the book is primarily a painfully accurate description of living with an undiagnosed anxiety disorder while also coping with known depression and also trying to balance a relationship and a career. The second half is more or less a catalog of the kinds of things you learn in therapy, presented in such a way that you actually might believe that everything is, in fact, OK, or that it might be, if you just keep pushing through. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I can see how the first half might be kind of upsetting to someone who was not handling their own anxiety and depression very well. 

The Way Home

Written by: Peter S. Beagle

First line: My brother, Wilfrid, keeps saying it's not fair that it should all have happened to me.

Why you should read this book: It comprises two novellas, set in the universe of Beagle's perennial classic, The Last Unicorn, the first of which features some characters from that book, but both of which center around the experiences of a young protagonist named Sooz. In the first story, "Two Hearts," nine-year-old Sooz runs away to the palace to implore King Lir to personally come to her village and slaughter a griffin that has been eating her friends. In the second, "Sooz," seventeen-year-old Sooz undertakes a much more difficult journey to a fairy realm to rescue the sister she never knew she had. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Once again, I have managed to read a series out of order, and must go back to read another book called The Lost Journey that takes place in between The Last Unicorn and The Way home, so if you haven't read those books, you should get on that before reading this one. 

The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle

Written by: Shawn K. Stout

First line: The birds were following me. 

Why you should read this book: Cutie Grackle is having a hard time of life, what with her parents gone physically and her uncle gone mentally and the one adult who cares for her going out of town for two weeks and the constant food insecurity, but she is well aware, having been told many times, that this is because her family is cursed. That's when the ravens start following her, even though everyone says that birds don't follow people, and these birds definitely have a message for her, possibly about why she's cursed and what she can do about it. With her uncle under the power of his absolutely terrible friend Charlie, Cutie joins forces with Galen, who's spending the summer camping with his archaeologist father as punishment for a school prank, and together they have just a very few hours to decode the raven's cryptic communications and end the curse. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You have no clue how to break your curse. 

Sulwe

Written by: Lupita Nyong'o and Vashti Harrison

First line: Sulwe was born the color of midnight.

Why you should read this book: While I'm typically skeptical of children's literature written by famous actors, this gorgeous story about colorism and how it impacts self-image is beautifully written as well as illustrated. Sulwe is darker than the rest of her family and succumbs to internalized racism until one night a star takes her on a magical journey and tells her an allegorical myth about Night and Day, and how they are equally important. Sulwe learns that her color is beautiful and feels great about herself.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're ugly on the inside. 

The Girl from the Sea

Written by: Molly Knox Ostertag

First line: It's true, you know.

Why you should read this book: Morgan is just trying to get through high school without drawing too much attention to herself and her deep, dark secret, but all her plans go astray the night she hits her head, falls into the ocean, is rescued by a cute girl, and has her first kiss. Confronting her sexuality and the community's response to it is hard enough, but Morgan's new girlfriend, Keltie, isn't even human: she's a selkie who loves Morgan, but also wants her help averting an ecological crisis that would destroy her seal family. Morgan must own her own fears and desires, conquer her anxiety about her friends and family, and open herself up to the love being offered from all directions.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I guess there are people who want to read queer teen contemporary fantasy romance and people who don't want to read queer teen contemporary fantasy romance. 

The Bye Bye Man

Written by: Robert Damon Schneck

First line: In 1692, while the Devil was leading an assault on the fractious inhabitants of Salem Village, French and Indian raiders were menacing the seaport of Gloucester fifteen miles away.

Why you should read this book: Originally titled The President's Vampire, this book was rebranded after one of the chapters (the least strange and the least true one, in my opinion) was made into a horror film. Otherwise it's a collection of unusual occurrences throughout US history, most of which appear to be simple stories of hoaxes and cons based on some people's inclination to believe in the occult, along with a couple unsolved mysteries. That said, it contains numerous citations, appendixes, and an index, as if it's a real historical work, and, apart from the titular chapter, appears to catalog things that actually happened, reporting both what the gullible believe to have happened and what research suggests realistically could have taken place. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It doesn't quite cohere; there's not an internal consistency to the chapters, although they are each amusing, standalone anecdotes (except for the last one, which is just silly and made up). 

If UR Stabby

Written by: Kaz Windness

First line: Once upon a time, there was a murderous unicorn...

Why you should read this book: If you are angry teen who also likes rainbows, or if you simply have the mentality of an angry teen who likes rainbows, you may enjoy this eclectic collection of 1- and 2-page comics about a murderous unicorn. Stabby lampoons various cultural touchstones including numerous tarot cards, and experiences disappointment in interpersonal interactions. Kind of goth, kind of emo, kind of fun. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I was hoping for a bit more of a cohesive narrative. 

Other Words for Home

Written by: Jasmine Warga

First line: It's almost summer and everywhere smells like fish,/except for right down by the sea/where if you hold your nose just right/you can small the sprawling jasmine and the salt water/instead.

Why you should read this book: Jude is a little girl who loves her home and her friends and silly movies, but when her older brother becomes a freedom fighter and her mother finds out she is pregnant again, Jude and her mother must leave Syria to immigrate to America. Suddenly she finds herself in an alien world where her English isn't good enough and she doesn't belong or even recognize much of her new environment. With intention and persistence, Jude begins to win over the people around her, and her new home begins to win her over as well.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've had to leave loved ones behind, with no idea what's become of them. 

Mr. Jimmy from around the Way

Written by: Jeffrey Blount

First line: She and her quiet sorrow were the beginning of his giving, nudging him quietly yet powerfully from his youthful preoccupations and awakening a long-forgotten oath.

Why you should read this book: James Ferguson, the wealthiest Black man in America, is a deeply ethical and honorable man, who keenly feels the disgrace of having the single (understandable) indiscretion he's committed in his entire life broadcast across social media. Fleeing to the poorest corner of Mississippi with his tail between his legs, he seeks to do penance for his sins by living in isolation like a hermit monk, until he happens to notice that the occupants of the other twenty-two houses on his street are afflicted with the most abject poverty imaginable in America. Then he uses his stellar work ethic and massive fortune to help his new neighbors while battling racists, classists, and his own demons. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's kind of hard to suspend disbelief; Mr. Jimmy is preternaturally saintly, his enemies are comically evil, and his solutions are all kind of magical.