Happy Pride from all of us at Page Two!
As publishing professionals and book lovers, we’re honoring the occasion the best way we know how: with a curated list of reading recommendations. Read on for some tender, hard-hitting, and revolutionary books beloved by the Page Two team, with a special focus on outstanding Young Adult fiction.
Jesse Finkelstein, Co-Founder
My recommendation comes from my 14-year-old daughter. She’s been reading Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, a playful romance that imagines what would happen if the son of the US President fell in love with the Prince of Wales. She loves that it’s epic in scope and totally entertaining. I’m so impressed with the amazing range of young adult novels on the market today featuring LGBTQ2+ themes. There is a lot of great work to choose from, and it inspires excellent and important discussions for us at home.
Meghan O’Neill, Marketing Strategist
The Heartstopper graphic novel series by Alice Oseman. It was so refreshing to encounter a story where being queer wasn’t used as a doomsday plot device! Instead, it provides a delightful ending without diminishing the struggle of not only being LGBTQ2+, but also being a teen in the throes of high school. All the feels!
Maddie Taylor, Publicity and Content Marketing Associate
Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule. This book is a queer trailblazer for a reason: it doesn’t bury its gays! Set in dusty, rural 1950s Nevada, the book follows the stories of two women living at a boarding house who fall deeply in love. It was, not surprisingly, a contentious book when it was released in 1964—in fact, the author was a lecturer at the University of British Columbia at the time, and her job was threatened when her colleagues realized that the book she had published was in fact a (gasp!) sapphic romance. The book was also adapted into a quietly beautiful film called Desert Hearts, which is available through the Criterion Collection.
Leonni Antono, Digital Marketer
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman. In a nutshell, it’s a riveting, all-encompassing romance between Elio and Oliver, at once beautiful and intoxicatingly sad—a love story coupled with Aciman’s poetic language that’ll tug at your heart strings. I also watched the film a few years ago and it’s a cinematic gem. You’re definitely in for a ride with this one, especially in the feels department!