Tracy, Tom. Scoochie & Skiddles: Scoochie’s adoption story. Illustrated by Dustin James. Scoochie & Skiddles LLC. 2022. $12.99. 33p. PB. 9798985624403. Scoochie’s Adoption Story gets so much right that other adoption books don’t come close to. It opens with a dedication to the author’s children’s birth moms, showing kids that birth mothers should be revered ..read more

Harrison, Da’Shaun L. Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness. 2021. $14.95 144p. PB. 9781623175979. In this concise and engaging work of theory and societal commentary, Harrison goes beyond making a call to action towards body positivity and fatphobia. He makes the case for the reader to completely divest from, and eventually eradicate ..read more

Mendez, Paul. Rainbow Milk. Doubleday. 2021. $26.95. 316p. HC. 9780385547062. Jesse McCarthy is a 19-year-old Jehovah’s Witness of Jamaican heritage living in West Bromwich, England, recently disfellowshipped from his congregation when word spread that, while smoking pot and drinking beer, he made a pass at another boy. Rainbow Milk, by Paul Mendez, follows Jesse as ..read more

Allen, Samantha. Patricia Wants to Cuddle. Zando. June 2022. 256 pgs. $27.00. HC. 9781638930044. The final four contestants in a bachelor-like reality show called The Catch arrive at the penultimate shooting location – a remote and cold island where they will be glamping until two of the women are eliminated. When a shadow begins looming ..read more

Mohabir, Rajiv. Antiman: A Hybrid Memoir. Restless Books. 2021. $27. 335p. HC. 9781632062802. Rajiv Mohabir’s Antiman, finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary Award in the category of Gay Memoir/Biography, is a hybrid memoir that addresses a confluence of identities – Indian, Indian-American, immigrant, gay man, and poet – in a world that ever reminds him ..read more

Simmons, William. Queer Formalism: The Return. Floating Opera Press. 2021. $18.00. 88p. PB. 978-3982389400.  Simmons’ Queer Formalism: The Return is academic prose punctuated with a transparency not often found in scholarly works. Within this relatively short read is a thoughtful analysis of work by queer and “queered” artists, through which Simmons explores the elusive definition ..read more

Vo, Nghi. Siren Queen. TorDotCom. 2022. $26.99. HC. 288 p. 9781250788832. Luli Wei knows what girls that look like her end up doing in the movies, and she’s determined to be none of those things – she’s going to be a star. But becoming a star in a world that survives on the currency of ..read more

McQuiston, Casey. I Kissed Shara Wheeler. St. Martin’s Press. 2022. $19.99. HC. 320 p. 9781250244451. It starts with a kiss. Three kisses actually – one for each of them. All from Shara Wheeler. And then she disappears, leaving behind a series of notes and clues to draw Chloe, Smith, and Rory into finding her. Smith ..read more

Reiter, Jendi. Made Man. Little Red Tree Publishing. March 2022. $29.50. 130p. PB. 9781935656661. A mix of somber moments and charming wit, Reiter’s collection makes space for humor in the maelstrom of navigating gendered experiences. Their poems synthesize recent historical moments and deeply personal anecdotes to create commentary that dares you to question binaries and ..read more