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Lessons in Magic and Disaster
by Charlie Jane Anders
A young witch teaches her mother how to do magic--with very unexpected results--in this relatable, resonant novel about family, identity, and the power of love.
Please see here for more information about the March 9th discussion.
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The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
by Rob Osler
Chicago, 1898. In the midst of the Progressive Era, twenty-one-year-old junior detective Harriet Morrow is determined to prove she's more than a lucky hire as the Prescott Agency's first woman operative. But her latest challenge--a murder case steeped in scandal--could become a deadly setback ... Harriet must somehow blend in as an 'unremarkable' young woman--one who feels confident in skirts, not men's clothing--on a quest to infiltrate the immigrant community at the center of the grisly crime. The mystery has more twists and turns than her morning bike commute, with a muckraker found murdered in a southside tenement building after obtaining evidence of a powerful politician's corruption. While Harriet gains the trust of the tenement's women residents to gather clues, the undercover mission reveals an innocent mother might have been framed for the crime--and exposes ties to another violent death--
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Crux
by Gabriel Tallent
In this story of intense friendship and grit, two down-and-out teens escape the hopelessness of their lives and chase a different future through rock climbing.
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Hemlock
by Melissa Faliveno
Town & Country's Must Read Books of Winter 2026 Most Anticipated in Autostraddle, Literary Hub, and Debutiful Book Riot's Best Queer Books of January 2026 A woman haunted by a dark inheritance returns to the woods where her mother vanished, in this queer Gothic novel. Sam, finally sober and stable with a cat and a long-term boyfriend in Brooklyn, returns alone to Hemlock, her family's deteriorating cabin deep in the Wisconsin Northwoods. But a quick, practical trip takes a turn for the worse when the rot and creak of the forest starts to creep in around the edges of Sam's mind. It starts, as it always does, with a beer. As Sam dips back into the murky waters of dependency, the inexplicable begins to arrive at her door and her body takes on a strange new shape. As the borders of reality begin to blur, she senses she is battling something sinister--whether nested in the woods or within herself. Hemlock is a carnal coming-of-addiction, a dark sparkler about rapture, desire, transformation, and transcendence in many forms. What lives at the heart of fear--animal, monster, or man? How can we reject our own inheritance, the psychic storm that's been coming for generations, and rebuild a new home for ourselves? In the tradition of Han Kang's The Vegetarian, Hemlock is a butch Black Swan and a novel of singular style, with all the edginess of a survival story and a simmering menace that glints from the very periphery of the page.
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Nightshade and Oak
by Molly O'Neill
An Iron Age goddess must grapple with becoming human in this delightful historical fantasy of myth and magic from the author of the instant hit Greenteeth. Yet another excellent story rooted in the folklore of the British isles, this one charged with queer love. - Booklist (starred review) When Malt, the goddess of death, is accidentally turned human by a wayward spell, she finds she's ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life. After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire? Unable to fend for herself, she teams up with warrior Bellis on a perilous journey to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. Frustrated by her frail human body and beset with blisters, Malt might not make the best travelling companion. But as animosity slowly turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.
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Chicken Heart
by Morgan Boecher
One standup comedian goes on a journey of self-discovery and explores the pitfalls and power of choosing one's own queer narrative. Jackie Locklear is a stand-up comedian who is trans and doesn't know how to confront that part of himself. His Aunt Sheila's death spurs Jackie to take a trip to the refuge Sheila built for trans folks, the Chicken Heart Love Commune. The people there represent a range of backgrounds, in contrast with the world where Jackie was raised. But as a city kid still coming to terms with his trans identity, and struggling to process his grief, the bucolic place and its residents don't make him feel like he fits in. Through the power of humor and acceptance, Jackie is able to make space for himself.An emotional, powerful story about finding one's heart and opening up to people who are willing and able to love.
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The Demon of Beausoleil
by Mari Costa
A humorous yet poignant queer romance in a fantasy-period setting. Just the thing for grown-up fans of Alice Oseman's Heartstopper, Kevin Panetta's Bloom, or Jarrett Melendez's Chef's Kiss who are intrigued by the occult. --Library Journal, starred review A half-demon socialite-turned-exorcist and his disgruntled bodyguard have no trouble facing down the hordes of darkness--but facing their feelings for each other? Well now, that's a whole different story . . . Helianthes is a Cambion--a child born touched by demons. Horned, clawed, and tailed, Helianthes--Hell for short--is a devil-may-care exorcist whose devil-may-care attitude has succeeded in alienating those closest to him--all save for his long-suffering bodyguard, Elias, who sees him as less a strange, mythical being and more just a . . . nuisance. Together, the two venture into the streets of this psuedo-remix of Victorian London to exorcise demons (and maybe cause a little mischief on the way). But as Hell becomes increasingly drawn to his enigmatic bodyguard--and as Elias becomes increasingly aware of his feelings for his trouble of a charge--the two find themselves faced with a growing, chaotic dark that might threaten everything they've been working toward . . . A world of half-demons and the boys who love them await in this epic queer romance by writer/artist Mari Costa
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A Black Queer History of the United States
by C. Riley Snorton
The first-ever Black history to center queer voices, this landmark study traces the lives of LGBTQ+ Black Americans from slavery to present day Gender and sexual expression have always been part of the Black freedom struggle In this latest book in Beacon's award-winning ReVisioning History series, Professors C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost unearth the often overlooked history of the Black queer community in the United States. Arguing that both gender and sexual expression have been an intimate and intricate part of Black freedom struggle, Snorton and Bost present historical contributions of Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming Americans from slavery to the present day to highlight how the fight against racial injustice has always been linked to that of sexual and gender justice. Interweaving stories of queer and trans figures such as: Private William Cathay/Cathay Williams, born female but enlisted in the Army as a man in the mid-1860sJosephine Baker, internationally known dancer and entertainer of the early 20th century who was also openly bisexualBayard Rustin, prominent Civil Rights activist whose well known homosexuality was viewed as a potential threat to the movementAmanda Milan, a black trans woman whose murder in 2000 unified the trans people of color community, this book includes a deep dive into the marginalization, unjust criminalization, and government legislation of Black queer and trans existence. It also shows how Black Americans have played an integral role in the modern LGBTQ rights movement, countering narratives that have predominantly focused on white Americans. Through storytelling and other narratives, Snorton and Bost show how the Black queer community has always existed, regardless of the attempts to stamp it out, and how those in it continue to fight for their rightful place in the world.
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The Bronze Arms: Poems
by Richie Hofmann
Following his captivating and popular A Hundred Lovers, Hofmann's new collection is a queer coming-of-age, tinged with myth: poems that bring us into a fever dream of antiquity and desire at its limits Recognizing the fragility of the body and soul in a world of threat, these startling poems stem from a central boyhood memory--the author's near-drowning in a swimming pool on Crete. The observant child was troubled that none of the statues he saw had arms--and then it was his father's arms lifting him from the water, saving his life. Hofmann balances elegance and brutality as he explores the fables of that childhood as well as the contours of sex and relationships in modern cities, in order to write his own personal history of love and survival: Masculine arms lifted me. / Masculine arms held me while I slept. The poems navigate risks, abandonments, and rescues, moving through a series of mazes that become a labyrinth of erotic awakening, with quick turns and dangerous diversions. In poems that alternately sear and crush delicately, we wander the ruins where the self is lost and broken and ultimately reclaimed: at the dark center, in the heart of the past. A triumphant follow-up to the fetching catalog of lovers in Hofmann's last book, this collection thrills with its archaeology of self, its notes of austerity and decadence.
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The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram: The Man Who Stared Down World War II in the Name of Love
by Ethelene Whitmire
The dramatic and heartrending true story of one remarkable young man's account of love in the time of war, by a celebrated historian of untold Black stories On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond. Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram, she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him.
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What Mattered Most: A Memoir
by Ty Herndon
An intimate, often hilarious but always sincere memoir from country legend Ty Herndon on his struggles with addiction, mental health, his career, relationships, and being the first openly gay male country superstar.Ty Herndon may be most known for his beautiful country songs, but behind the music Herndon's own life could be the subject of a classic country ballad. His career began as a member of the band The Tennessee River Boys--the band that would later become Diamond Rio. He found solo success after signing to Epic Records and releasing the number-one hit What Mattered Most, launching a decades-long career as one of country music's leading legends.But behind the fame, Herndon struggled with addiction, mental health issues, and his sexuality--the latter of which had no place in mainstream country in the 90's, 2000's and arguably through today. Facing a series of setbacks including an arrest, lawsuits and a drug relapse, all while struggling to maintain his secret, his spiral ultimately led to a suicide attempt. His subsequent successful stay in rehab led to the inspiration for his song God or the Gun.Now, Herndon brings that song to life telling his full story for the first time. With profound introspection, brutal honesty, occasional humor and a lot of heart, Herndon shares how he fought against his demons and ultimately chose God over the gun.
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Better the Devil
by Erik J. Brown
A harrowing, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about a queer homeless teen who, in a bid for safety, assumes the identity of a boy who went missing ten years ago...only to find that his new home is anything but a safe haven--from All That's Left in the World author Erik J. Brown! Perfect for fans of Karen McManus, Holly Jackson, and Ryan La Sala.When a runaway teen is arrested for shoplifting, he's desperate not to be sent back to the hyper-religious parents he knows will never accept him. While at the police station, he notices a resemblance to the aged-up photos of Nate Beaumont, a child who went missing ten years ago--and, in a moment of desperation, he takes Nate's identity in hopes that it will help him make a quick getaway. Before he can run again, Nate's family arrives and welcomes him home to a life he never had. As Nate watches and waits for his chance to escape, he finds that the Beaumonts are nurturing and loving, very different from his own parents.But soon unsettling things start to happen--vandalism, alarms going off in the middle of the night--and it becomes clear that someone knows Nate isn't who he says he is...and that the real Nate wasn't kidnapped, but murdered.As he starts to unravel the mystery, he gets ever closer to the devil he may know--and learns he might be their next victim.
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The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay
by Ryan Douglass
A gripping and tender reimagining of The Great Gatsby about the pursuit of happiness—and love—in a society built on cruelty and secrets. Seventeen-year-old Nick Carrington wants nothing more than to leave Greenwood, Oklahoma, behind and make a name for himself in the papers. But when tragedy strikes, dreams turn into a twisted reality. Forced to start anew in Harlem, only a letter of acceptance from the prestigious West Egg Academy is able to pull him back into the world. But the supposedly integrated private boys’ school is more of a catchy headline than a fact, with the same prejudices Nick left behind back home. And his secret but growing feelings for the founder’s wickedly charismatic son, Jay Gatsby Jr.— who dances past society’s conventions with practiced ease—only add more complications. When Nick’s cutting pen exposes dangerous truths about West Egg and leads to perilous consequences, he and Jay must decide whether to spend a lifetime outrunning trouble or be the ones to light the match. Can they not only fight back but triumph? Or will the powers that be win yet again
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Love Makes Mochi
by Stefany Valentine
Seventeen-year-old goth fashion designer Lilyn travels to Tokyo to study under a legendary tailor, but as she struggles to blend her dark aesthetic with traditional Japanese style, she finds both inspiration and unexpected romance with Yua, her mentors rebellious, rainbow-haired daughter.
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To the Death
by Andrea Tang
Two teens are pitted against each other in a magical duel for revenge, but they'll have to fight their growing attraction first, in this YA fantasy thriller from the author of These Deadly Prophecies. Eighteen-year-old Samantha Chan wants only one thing: revenge for her brother's death in an illegal magical duel. Ever since that terrible day, she's been quietly working with legitimate dueling champion Lysander Rook and biding her time until she can take down her brother's killer: Mateus Blackwood. Tamsin Blackwood is trapped. She wants to make a name for herself in the magical dueling circuit, but she can't get away from the legacy of her father--and coach--Mateus Blackwood. When she receives a challenge from the undefeated Lysander and his assistant Sam, she jumps at the chance to earn enough fame and glory to finally escape her father's influence. Tamsin has no idea about Sam's scheming, and Sam plans to keep it that way. Despite herself, though, she can't help liking Tamsin, and the two girls quickly grow closer to each other than anyone else in their lives. But Sam won't let anything get in the way of her revenge--not even her heart.
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Lovely Recipe: (A Graphic Novel)
by Myra Rose Nino
Two girls in their senior year of high school, who are opposites in personality, start to develop romantic feelings for each other as one teaches the other how to cook.
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