Queerily Ever After

Welcome back! Today is our second part of our two part series on Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe! Here is a summary of the book: In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity--what it means and how to think about it--for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere. CW: homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, graphic discussions of sex, masturbation, bodily fluids, body parts and genitals, discussions of medical procedures and equipment. You can find us and all of our socials and information at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com! Email us at [email protected]!

Welcome back! Today is our first part of our two part series on Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe! Here is a summary of the book: In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity--what it means and how to think about it--for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere. CW: homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, graphic discussions of sex, masturbation, bodily fluids, body parts and genitals, discussions of medical procedures and equipment. You can find us and all of our socials and information at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com! Email us at [email protected]!

Welcome back everyone! Today we're discussing They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, with our guest host Alex! Here's a summary: Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day. On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day. CW: death, including from car crash, fire, bombing, and drowning, gun violence, acts of terrorism, mentions of suicide, and some alcohol use. Apologies in advance for the wind in the background the whole time. This was recorded during Hurricane Henri. You can find Alex @alexxpaol on Twitter. You can find us at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com where you can find all of our socials.

Welcome back everyone! Today we're discussing I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver. Here's a summary: When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school. But Ben's attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life. At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity. CW: Homophobia, Transphobia, Child abuse by a parent including physical and emotional abuse, misgendering, and some drug and alcohol use. You can find us at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com where you can find all of our socials.

Welcome back, everyone! Today we're discussing the book Memory of Light by Ruth Vanita. Here's a summary: Preparations for King George the Third's fiftieth birthday gala are in full swing in Lucknow. As poets and performers vie to be part of the show, Chapla Bai, a dazzling courtesan from Kashi, briefly enters this competitive world, and sweeps the poet Nafis Bai off her feet. An irresistible passion takes root, expanding and contracting like a wave of light. Over two summers, aided by Nafis's friends, the poets Insha and Rangin, and Sharad, himself in love with a man, they exchange letters and verses, feeding each other the heady fruit of desire. When Chapla leaves for home, they part with the dream of building a life together. Can their relationship survive the distances? Narrated in the voice of Nafis, Memory of Light weaves an exquisite web of conversations, songs, reminiscences around a life-changing love. CW: colourism, fatphobia, British colonisation of India, mentions of violence including beheadings, death in a pandemic, death due to disease, alcoholism, mentions of drug use, mentions of suicide, death. You can find us at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com where you can find all of our socials.

Welcome back, everyone! Today we're discussing Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo! Here is the summary: Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. CW: racism, homophobia, slight transphobia, suggestions of an underage relationship, underage drinking, alcohol and drug use, mentions of the Korean War, war trauma, and PTSD, discussions of immigration and deportation, use of racial slurs, use of the word "dyke", mentions of Nazis and the KKK You can find us at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com where you can find all of our socials.

Welcome back to episode 4, where we read Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender! Here is a summary of the book: Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after. When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle.... But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself. Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve. Warning for Supernatural spoilers! CW: explicit transphobia and deadnaming You can find us at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com where you can find all of our socials.

Today we are discussing the book The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid!  Here is a summary of the book: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways. CW: sexual assault and rape, child abuse, adult/minor relationships, spousal/domestic abuse, alcoholism, death from drunk driving, discussions of sex, general misogyny, homophobia, biphobia, homophobic slurs, discussions of suicide, cancer, and a short discussion of the AIDS epidemic. You can find us at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com where you can find all of our socials.

Welcome back! Today we are discussing All Boys Aren't Blue by George M Johnson. Here is a summary of the book: In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys. Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren't Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson's emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults. CW: incest, sexual content, sexual assault, drug use (specifically marijuana), cancer, death, homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, racism, and use of the n-word and f-slur. You can find us at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com where you can find all of our socials.

Welcome to our podcast! Today we are discussing the book The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon!  Here is a summary of the book: A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens. The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep. CW: incest, miscarriage, coerced sex, religious persecution, violence, poisoning, and bodily mutilation. You can find us at queerilyeverafterpodcast.weebly.com where you can find all of our socials.