Hello Readers! I missed giving you a recommenda5on last month. I have no idea what was going on with me as the deadline passed me right on by, but it seems that 2021 has kicked off with a bang. Did you see me in 585 Magazine talking about how all reading counts and that people should be encouraged to read whatever they want? Well, here I am too5ng that same horn with two offthe-beaten-path recommenda5ons for you. Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen (Graphic Novel)
I read this graphic novel as a part of a challenge I gave myself to read one book by every other present at the Greater Rochester Teen Book Fes5val (TBF). Magic Fish is Le Nguyen’s debut novel about a boy name Tien who wants to come out as gay to his parents. However, they are first genera5on Vietnamese immigrants and he is not sure that he knows how to convey everything to them effec5vely because his first language is English. The family shares a love of fairy tales and storytelling. The book weaves together Tien’s present experiences, his mothers move to the United States, and the stories they read together about princesses and their princes. The illustra5ons are beau5ful and the story is touching and relatable. A benefit of a virtual TBF this year is that Le Nguyen’s TBF panel appearances are s5ll available with registra5on to the fes5val. His panel topics included Wri5ng Graphic Novels and Wri5ng Authen5c LGBTQ+
Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead (Realis@c Fic@on)
Johnnu is a young two-spirit/indigiqueer (also how the author iden5fied) who, a`er moving off the reserva5on, becomes a cybersex worker. He has learned to give the men who pay him what they want. He hasn’t been home in years and now his stepfather is dying. He knows his mother needs him and he has to raise money to get back to the “rez” Over the course of a week, Jonny takes us on several trips down memory lane as he recalls his life as a young queer na5ve, personal and collec5ve trauma, his beloved grandmother, and the rela5onship he has with a friend he’s known all his life. This books is a 5ny thing but it packs an emo5onal roller coaster.
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