Archive – Page 27

Book Review: Fighting Kudzu by Mystic Thompson

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:20-05:00December 22nd, 2014|Categories: Archive, Book Review|Tags: Historical, lesbian, Queer Girls, Realistic|

In 1972 on a hot, late spring day in Georgia, five-year-old Noble Thorvald plays contentedly, alone in her suburban backyard. Her only companions...an imaginary professional football team. As she plays in her world of wonder and adventure, Noble is unaware of the challenges life will hurl in her direction-challenges that will redefine her more than once. Fighting Kudzu is the lyrical saga that traces Noble's life as she emerges into adulthood and discovers herself. The plot synopsis given on the back cover, and given above, of Fighting Kudzu by Mystic Thompson comes nowhere near the actual depth [...]

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Author Interview: Mystic Thompson

By Nadia|2020-03-28T13:42:20-05:00December 21st, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Interview|Tags: Queer Girls, Realistic|

Author Shannon LC Cate was nice enough to share with us an interview she had with Mystic Thompson, about her novel "Fighting Kudzu". Let's read what Mystic had to say about it! Fighting Kudzu (Strategic Book Publishing, 2009) FIGHTING KUDZU by MYSTIC THOMPSON. In 1972 on a hot, late spring day in Georgia, five-year-old Noble Thorvald plays contentedly, alone in her suburban backyard. Her only companions...an imaginary professional football team. As she plays in her world of wonder and adventure, Noble is unaware of the challenges life will hurl in her direction-challenges that will redefine [...]

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On Queer Characters of Color

By Shelly|2020-03-28T13:42:20-05:00December 17th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Guest Blogs, Teen Voices|Tags: Black, Intersectionality, PoC, Representation|

Black Lives Matter Series: Day 3 – Previous Posts: Black Lives Matter, But Where Are We? - I Was Made To Believe There Was Something Wrong With Me – Introduction to Black Lives Matter Series by Aleah Things have grown and changed drastically in the literary world over the years, leading authors to write characters with more racial and sexual freedom. As a straight African-American young woman in support of Gay Rights, I love to see YA novels featuring intertwined sexual and racial diversity. Sadly, while the publication of LGBTQ books is constantly on the rise, those featuring teens of color are few. (When [...]

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Black Lives Matter But Where Are We?

By Shelly|2020-03-28T13:42:20-05:00December 15th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Guest Blogs|

Black Lives Matter Series: Day 2 - Previous Posts: I Was Made To Believe There Was Something Wrong With Me – Introduction to Black Lives Matter Series by Aliya As a black girl, when I was younger I rarely saw myself. Whether it was in books, on TV, or in movies, I noticed that girls like me were always the sidekick, the supporting character, or the antagonist. I felt like they were all the same character just in a different story line, that they were two-dimensional characters that were loud but never really had much to say. Whenever I did [...]

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I Was Made to Believe There’s Something Wrong With Me: Why #BlackLivesMatter in YA Lit

By Shelly|2020-03-28T13:42:20-05:00December 14th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Guest Blogs|Tags: Black, Intersectionality, PoC, Queer Girls, Representation, Trans|

Black Lives Matter Series: Day 1 - Previous Posts: Introduction to Black Lives Matter Series by Nakiya I’ve been reading LGBTQ YA fiction for almost five years and I’ve never read a book focused on a black LGBTQ woman. When I was in elementary school, one of my favorite books was Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. In middle school two of my favorite series were The Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin and Animorphs by K. A. Applegate, both of which had a central black female character. I grew up in a town that [...]

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Introduction to Black Lives Matter Series

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:20-05:00December 14th, 2014|Categories: Archive|Tags: Black, PoC|

As I set up this series, I had a number of people ask me “what made you think of connecting what’s happening to queer YA?” I want to address this question before we get into the actual posts. My intention with the Black Lives Matter series is not to connect police violence with queer YA—that would be impossible and inappropriate. Rather, I want to vocalize the Black Lives Matter phrase for our community. YA is extremely white, and queer YA is no exception. GayYA.org is a site that seeks to be a welcoming and inclusive space for everyone. Queer [...]

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GayYA Community Survey

By Vee|2016-05-24T14:50:35-05:00December 6th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Updates and Announcements|

Hey everyone! It's almost the end of 2014 (??!?!?!??!?!!!!!). We're looking ahead at the new year, and planning out what 2015 will look like. GayYA is driven by the community, and we want to go where your interests are. To do that, we need to get some basic info from ya'll, and feedback on things that are and are not working for you, and things that you'd like to see in the future. Go here and answer these 10 questions to help make 2015 an awesome year for GayYA! Also: if at any time you have have any comments, concerns, [...]

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The Question of Queering the Mainstream Novel: A Conversation with authors Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith

By Nadia|2020-03-28T13:42:21-05:00December 5th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog, Author Interview|Tags: Fantasy, gay, publishing, Queer Girls, Queer Guys, Representation, Speculative|

The story behind the story is sometimes, as they say, stranger than fiction. Stranger is the title of a Viking November release by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith and, if you read this book, as I did (when Rachel asked me, in my paranormal YA novelist persona Tate Hallaway, to blurb it,) you might not think much more beyond how awesome and captivating a story of superpowers and survival in a post-apocalyptic future it is. Stranger (Viking Juveline, 2014) This book, however, almost didn’t get published. Sure, okay, you’re thinking, lots of great books don’t get published, what’s [...]

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How Do I Love “Teeth”

By Nadia|2020-03-28T13:42:23-05:00December 4th, 2014|Categories: Archive|Tags: Fandom, Fantasy, Queer Guys|

by Chiara Teeth (Simon Pulse, 2013) How do I love Teeth? Let me count the ways. I love Teeth with the depth of the oceans, and the force of its waves. I love Teeth for the pain he took and the pleasure he gave. I love Teeth as the sun glints on scales. I love Teeth and his awful, ugly tail. I love Teeth with all his tortured innocence. I love Teeth and his voice’s dissonance. I love Teeth for all the pain in his eyes. I love Teeth because of how hard he tries. I [...]

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Call For Black Lives Matter Series Guest Bloggers

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:23-05:00November 28th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Updates and Announcements|

We are looking for up to seven guest bloggers to write posts for a Black Lives Matter series. Topics can range from what Black Lives Matter means to you in relation to queer YA, to fave queer Black characters to improving queer literary spaces to anything else you may be interested in or passionate about. Only caveat is that it must somehow be related to queer YA. Please email me (Vee) at victoria@gayya.org with a topic idea, and a little bit about yourself. Deadline for submissions is the 5th of December. We'd like to start the series on [...]

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