SAYFTEE

Reviewer: Taite (she/they) was an e-bunk counselor for the first time this summer with Camp Aranu'tiq! Taite is nonbinary and gay. They are finishing up college and planning to go to grad school to be a teacher. They hope to teach middle and high school.

With a lot of stories about queer and trans kids, the narrative is when they're struggling to come out and navigating that. One thing I really liked about this book is it starts when Felix already comes out as trans, had top surgery, and is living comfortably in his identity, but he goes through an additional examination of his gender identity (I don't want to give anything away). I liked it because it shows that we can continue to explore gender and it doesn't ever have to be a fixed thing, and that there's always room for change, growth, and exploration.

Content Warning: Death of a parent, Anti-Islamic hate attacks

Suggested by: Haeden Peaslee, LMHC (They/Them)

This book follows the storylines of Nadir, a Syrian-American Trans young adult and Laila, a Syrian artist. Zeyn Joukhadar does an amazing job of weaving together Nadir, his mother’s life work, and his queer and trans ancestors through these two storylines and some magical realism

Reviewer: Nic Wildes (they/them), LMHC and Co-director of SAYFTEE

Tobia gives the reader a first hand account of their experiences as a genderqueer person growing up in the 90s in North Carolina. Their story helps illustrate the painful ways binary ideas about gender and sexuality impact us all. “Sissy guarantees that you’ll never think about gender-both other people’s and your own-the same way again.”

Content warning: physical violence and abuse, substance use, racism, sexism, homophobia, grief.

Recommended by: Sarah Eley, LICSW (she/her/hers)

Far from the Tree, by Robin Benway envelopes the stories of three siblings by birth, who meet as teenagers. Their’s are honest stories of teens less told; exploring three different experiences of adoption, birth, adoptive and chosen family relationships. Each character has a different and bold personality. Each story weaves into the next, not always so seemingly, but adding a bit of mystery to keep you turning the page. The book normalizes being queer, normalizes interracial relationships, and blended families, and also paints a truthful picture of the challenges faced amidst the warmth and connection.

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee, LMHC (they/them)

Why: A whimsical exploration of “Alphabet Soup Land”! Tab is a comic artist who has been writing stories about lgbtq+ folks for quite some time and Minority Monsters is a great intro to many identities with a related mythical creature, facts, a comic, and myths for each identity. It also looks into some of the history of lgbtq+ identities and gender non-conformance. Many of the comics can be accessed here and the book expands on those!

Content warning: sexual harassment, colorism, racism, sexism, homophobia, grief.

Recommended by: Sarah Eley, LICSW (she/her/hers)

Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo explores the relationships between two sisters who meet in their teens and over their experience of their father’s death. The book shares the stories told from the perspective of each young woman and how they each relate to their father’s secrets, chapter to chapter. The story is one which explores the multi-layered feelings of grief; including shock, sadness, anger, depression, and acceptance. The pages are chalked full of meaningful expression about family relationships, queerness, race and differences across culture, issues related to immigration, new found family, and also explores what it can look like to lean into discomfort. This story is a true “both, and;” it allows space and a welcoming for feeling the feels of sadness and anger, and everything between. And, also holds space for hope and healing.

Reviewer: Helen Staab, LICSW (she/her/hers), SAYFTEE Clinician

“American Hippo” is a collection of novellas and short stories by Sarah Gailey. The stories take the formula of old Westerns and replace cows with hippos - which is at once as silly and as terrifying as you might imagine. Obviously this kind of speculative fiction isn’t going to be for everyone, but if the concept sparks your interest I highly recommend it.

I love “American Hippo” for the unique story but also for the way that the author seamlessly weaves queer, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming characters into the story. It may be the best demonstration of allowing characters to be more than just their identity that I’ve encountered. I particularly appreciated having a well developed non binary character who is never made to explain their identity or talk about the gender they were assigned at birth.

Reviewer: Jessica Kant (she/her/hers), LICSW and SAYFTEE Clinician

It is true that coming out and starting transition is often the loneliest time. It certainly was for me. At a time where the future feels unclear and the payoff feels uncertain. Craggs’ anthology contains over 80 letters from trans women and transfemme people around the world written in a variety of styles, aimed at speaking directly to trans people starting their journeys. Part love letter, part diary, each letter is from a different famous voice such as Isis King, Shea Diamond and Juno Dawson. Each are designed to remind you that you are not alone.

Fun fact: ever used the trans flag emoji? Thank Charlie Craggs.

Content Warning:
Anti-Asian racism, homophobia, transphobia, grief, sex, substance use; explicit scenes.

Reccomended by: Sayftee clinician Sarah Eley, LICSW (she/her)

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is not your typical romance story. It has a bit of mystery and investigation attached to the plot that keeps you sucked in. I like the way it represents the power of friendship, chosen family, portrays very real and varied experiences of queerness across time, culture, music and generation, uses humor, emphasizes the five senses, and has sexiness woven into the story, unabashedly.

There’s something about Queer Young and, in this case, New Adult Fiction that fills a “could’ve been” nostalgia. And One Last Stop hit the spot. Where were these books when I was growing up!? It was so good, my dog couldn’t even put it down!

Also recommended: #ReadwithCindy youtube review of this book!

Content Warnings: All myths and tales are based off of the originals and some do have sensitive themes. Each individual story has a content warning if it is needed

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee (they/them/theirs), LMHC at SAYFTEE

I was really excited to get these books and see how the author had interpreted different myths, tales, and fairy tales! Each story has some background from the author and her point of view of how asexuality fits within the tale. I sometimes wished for more overt re-tellings but overall really appreciated these books. Mythology has wonderful ways of helping us tell our stories and these collections are a great addition for asexual representation and story telling.

Content Warnings: Sexual assault, slurs, homophobia, racism, and anti-blackness

Reviewer: Nic Wildes (they/them/theirs), LMHC and Co-director of SAYFTEE

Johnson gives the reader an intimate look into his experience growing up as a Black queer man, and his journey to understanding that “there was a version of manhood, a version of ‘manly’ that looked like me...I wanted to become the person that future Black queer folks could look to and know that their masculinity could be defined on their own terms.”

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee (they/them/theirs), LMHC at SAYFTEE

I was introduced to Ivan when a client asked me to read the short story “Imagine a Pair of Boots,” a story that is included in this book and provides a striking metaphor for pronouns. This was my first time reading a full collection of Ivan’s stories and I can’t wait to read more! Ivan is a wonderful storyteller and this book shares many of Ivan’s earlier memories as well as stories as a person travelling to speak at different high schools as an adult.

Content Warnings: Murder of young child

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee (they/them/theirs), LMHC at SAYFTEE

Why: One of my favorite fantasy series I have read in my adult life, this is the first in a trilogy following the main characters through the end of their world after a significant loss. N.K. Jemisin does a wonderful job of weaving in lgbtq+ characters throughout the story (there is at least one trans character as well as lgb characters and polyamory).

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee (they/them/theirs), Clinician at SAYFTEE

This is a wonderful graphic novel/memoir about the author Maia Kobabe’s experiences around gender and sexuality development as a genderqueer and asexual individual. I really appreciate the author capturing and sharing through this graphic novel the many stages of identity development e experienced throughout eir early childhood to adulthood.

Reviewer: Helen Staab (she/her/hers), LICSW at SAYFTEE

Every Heart a Doorway is the first in the ongoing ‘Wayward Children’ series. The basic premise of the series follows children who find their ways into other worlds through magic doorways, a la Narnia through the wardrobe. In Every Heart a Doorway, we are introduced to a school where these children live after returning to this world - and often pine for the magical worlds they left behind.

The stories are clever and complex and center around the theme of belonging. In this initial book, the protagonist is asexual and main supporting characters are gay and trans. This level of representation persists throughout the series, where new characters are introduced and some characters repeat. The Wayward Children series will be a delightful romp for any YA Fantasy fan, and are also great audiobooks.

Content Warnings: Homophobia, transphobia, suicide⠀

Reviewer: Nic Wildes (they/them/theirs), LMHC and co-director at SAYFTEE

I appreciated how this easy to read book offers snapshots of 23 LGBTQ+ people in history. It feels so grounding to be reminded of those that came before and learn about their roles in history. I have deep gratitude for all of our queer ancestors known and unknown.

Reviewer: Joel Newsome (he/they), Program Manager at OUT MetroWest

Meet Cute Diary tells the story of Noah, a queer trans sixteen year-old who is spending the summer with his brother in Colorado while his parents prepare to relocate the family to California for the coming fall. Noah is obsessed with two things: Starbucks vanilla lattes and his blog, Meet Cute Diary. Filled with stories of transgender people meeting their true loves in adorable settings, Noah sees his blog as an inspiration to transgender people hoping that they’ll experience a life changing meet cute as well. There’s only one problem: all the blog’s stories are made up and Noah’s followers are starting to catch on. In an effort to save the blog’s reputation Noah sets out to document his own (sort of real) relationship as evidence of an authentic meet cute couple. Romantic hijinks ensue as Noah learns the value of friendship, family and transparency in this YA romp.

Hani and Ishu are two Bengali-Irish teenagers in a primarily white private school in Dublin navigating how to fit in without compromising their sense of identity. This is an enjoyable book that covers a number of themes without feeling crowded or contrived. There are many opportunities for readers to see their own experiences reflected in the text, and also to learn more about identities and cultures other than their own.

I appreciate the ways in which this book is a lighter read with a trans protagonist. It’s a coming of age novel about coming out as trans and notably Grady’s family is supportive right away. This book also holds a space near and dear to my heart as the book I gave to my grandmother when coming out to give her something to read about trans experiences. It also feels important to mention that some of the specific language around identity doesn’t hold up 16 years later.

Continuum by Chella Man, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky.

Target audience: Teens and up
Content Warnings: Navigating gender with family as a young child, stigma against being Deaf and being bi-racial, cissexism, some of the contour drawing illustrations are nude

Clinician Haeden Peaslee, LMHC (they/them) shares "This essay by Chella Man follows his identities and experiences as a Deaf, transgender, genderqueer, jewish, bi-racial and chinese individual and his growth as he has sought community and explored ways he wants to affirm his gender."