Queer Girls In Kids Books (Spoiler Free!)

Okay, so kids' books aren't really known for having a lot of LGBTQ+ stories. Many people, let's just call them what they are, homphobic people, claim that kids' media with queer characters is inappropriate and will "turn their kids gay". This enforces the stigma of LGBT topics. And, as Rowan Ellis said, "Every gay person was once a child." I could count the amount of kids' shows/books/movies I know with a good quality and quantity of LGBT+ characters on one hand. However, I did find some the P. S. I Miss You, which my aunt gave me, and it's left me wanting more. So, I've done some Late-Night Googling™, and found some which I'm excited to see or watch. So let's go!
NOTE: Queer has been used as a slur against people who aren't straight or cis, but many people in those communities have decided to reclaim it as an umbrella term for the community. In this context, it isn't being used as a slur or insult.

1. P. S. I Miss You

Okay, this is one of my favorite books last year. It had a lesbian main character who has a girlfriend, but the entire book isn't just about that. I really like the other story of Evie's sister, Cilla. Not to say that I didn't like the rest of the story. The love story, although I'm not a big fan of romance, is well built up and the characters are complex and have more personality traits than being queer. However, this is a sad queer story, and we don't have enough queer stories with happy endings, but I still really enjoy it. NOTE: This is the only book I've read out of these.

2. Star-Crossed

This is a kids book with a bisexual main character!! Let's get into how rare that is. LGBT representation: pretty low quantity/quality. Bisexual representation: Even worse quality and quantity. Children's LGBT representation: Extremely low quality and quantity! Kid's bisexual representation: Nonexistent or terrible! But I found a book with a main character who's bisexual! Apparently the word bisexual is never used in the book, which I don't really like, but I do like that Mattie knows that liking someone of the same gender doesn't make you gay. There are many lables that describe how people feel about liking multiple genders, but based on reviews, she seems to be bisexual. I'm not very into love stories, straight or otherwise, but it seems like something I would enjoy when I'm older.

3. Hurricane Child

First of all, this cover is beautiful! More importantly, it seems like a really good story. A lot of times, only white LGBT+ people are portrayed. My guess is because they don't want the characters to be "too diverse" because white, male, able-bodied, ect cetra, are the default that everyone can relate too, while books by characters who don't fit enough those are "too niche" or something. But guess what? I found a kids book about a queer woman of color.  Caroline is a girl from Water Island who faces issues of greif, family, racism, and homophobia. She and her crush go searching for her mother, who left the family. It seems dark, but still like a good story.

4. Drum Roll, Please

Why do all of these books have such beautiful covers! I love them so much! Anyway, this book is about a girl, Melly, who got into playing drums when her friend asked her to do it in the school band. She and her friend, Olivia, go to music camp together. Eventually she has family drama, Olivia leaves her, and she starts liking a girl, Adeline, at camp. This seems like a really interesting story about music and relationships with others.

5. Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World

I swear, whoever makes covers for books about queer girls around middle school age is gosh darn killing it. A 12 year old girl, Ivy, has her home destroyed and her family relocates. She feels ignored by her family and uncomfortable after the storm. And her book of drawings of girls holding hands gets lost. Someone starts putting the drawings back in her lockers with notes telling her to open up about her identity. She suspects that they're from the girl who she likes. Although it's a *sigh* love story, it does seem like a sweet story about a girl realizing that she likes girls.

6. Hot Dog Girl

I found out about this book because I saw a girl at school reading it. I saw it on a list of queer kids books. The main character is a girl named Lou who likes a guy who has a girlfriend. (She's bisexual.) This seems like another boring love story, but I think the rest of the book is really interesting. I don't really want to get too much into the plot. However, it does have the female bisexual stereotype of two women dating only for a guy's attention, which made me like the book a little less. It still seems like a valuable book.

All in all, I found six books about queer girls around my age, which are an absolute rarity. Unfortunately, most of them are white, but queer women of color are very uncommon in any books, especially childrens' books. (There should be more!) I made the summaries based off of Goodreads (a fantastic website), except P. S. I Miss You, which I've read twice. Anyway, I've been looking for books about lesbian, bisexual, or otherwise WLW (Woman who Loves Women) girls around my age, and I found them. Although I would like some that are about realizing it by hindsight instead of by falling in love, which I don't really care about. Happy 20-bi-teen!

Comment your favorites below!

Anne with an E Season Two: A few quick thoughts (Not a full review)

Let me start by saying, I love the Anne of Green Gables book series and the Anne with an E television show. The first season came out while I was on vacation, so I binged watched half it in my mom's friend's basement on the way home, and the rest on the plane and when we arrived. By the way, this is a series that's best watched one at a time, so you have time to digest it. But I still enjoy it.

First of all, I would like if they gave us a warning that it was going to be more of a story based on the characters with elements of the book, but I still love it. I think the writing style and events are consistent with the book, and the characters are still in character. This is an example of a story which stays true to the spirit of the original book while being a story in its own right.

This is a bit of a tangent, but I love the music. The sound really enhances the story. And the art on the opening credits screen is beautiful! Back to the main story.

And then there's the gay representation. I would really recommend checking out Rowan Ellis' video, she pretty much said everything I was thinking when I watched the parts of the show involving Aunt Josephine, Cole, and Mr. Phillips. It's embedded below. And if you like that video, I would really recommend checking out the rest of Rowan's channel. She makes really good queer feminist geek content.

You may be wondering where I am. I'll explain that in post soon.

Until then,
Anne

If the video doesn't work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMCSjZXQ2wg