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I only just started to keep a digital junk journal, which is something I’ve been meaning to do forever. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s basically a place to record different writings and visuals. Mine is very bare bones and not much to look at at the moment, but it still serves its purpose, which is for me to capture a variety of memories in one place for me to look back on later.
So far, I’ve been collecting interesting articles, some random thoughts, and posters of movies I’ve seen recently. It’s always interesting for me to look back on what I was doing at a particular time and realize how different of a head space I was in, or even how much I’ve grown. I wanted to do the Book Riot writer equivalent of that, which means looking back at what I’ve written about in the past and seeing how I feel about it now.
All the way back in January, I wrote about queer BIPOC books coming out in 2024 that I was most excited for in our newsletter In Reading Color. Turns out, past me has great taste, because I think the list is full of books to make sure you read before the year ends. It also serves as a “books you may have missed from earlier this year” list, since it favors spring 2024 releases (because, let’s be real, there are 50-11 books coming out every month, and it was hard to look past one season).
Below, there’s a time-traveling, timeless love; a traveling, decolonial memoir; 19th-century freedom-fighting women spies, and lots more.
Queer Adult BIPOC Books to Read by the End of 2024
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Akbar’s protagonist, Cyrus Shams, mirrors himself — for one, both are poets who have struggled with alcoholism. For Cyrus, his obsession with martyrs leads him down a path of familial discovery. He learns of an uncle who dressed as an angel of death on Iranian battlefields, and of his mother, who may not have been who he thought she was.
This is also a National Book Award finalist.
Dead in Long Beach, California by Venita Blackburn
Poet Saeed Jones said this one snatches wigs, which is the best endorsement a book (or anything?) can have. Here, Coral is the author of a bestselling dystopian novel titled “Wildfire.” She’s also the person who discovers the body of her brother, Jay, who died by suicide. Her grief causes her to take his phone and start texting as him. After a week of such carrying on, Coral’s grip on reality slips, and she finds her world overlapping with that of her novel’s.
How We Named the Stars by Andrés N. Ordorica
Daniel de La Luna starts his tenure as a scholarship student at a prestigious East Coast college with the weight of the world on his shoulders — his family’s hopes and expectations are heavy, as are the shoes of his late uncle, whose name he shares. But his roommate Sam changes everything. In Sam, he finds a comforting friendship, but then something more. Their relationship isn’t able to fully take off just yet, though, because of Sam’s hesitation as well as a tragedy that changes Daniel’s worldview. When he returns to his ancestral home in México, he’ll finally have a chance to reconcile all that’s changed and what’s to come.
How To Live Free In a Dangerous World: A Decolonial Memoir by Shayla Lawson
Award-nominated poet and journalist Lawson journeys all over the world — from a traditional theater in Japan to a hula hoop contest in Jamaica to Venetian canals — bringing insight to loving and living and being free, even when the world is against you.
The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Ady is a young girl enslaved right alongside her mother, Sanite, to a Frenchman in New Orleans. The two spend as much time together as possible daydreaming and walking along the river, often while Sanite tells Ady of the fierceness of their ancestors. When the two become separated, Ady is lost. But then she meets Lenore, a free Black woman, in an inn, and learns of a secret society of spies called The Daughters. With stories of her ancestors fortifying her spirit, Ady joins The Daughters to fight for freedom.
Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura
There are some who might say that the breezy, peaceful life Tatum Vega has cultivated with her partner Vera in Chile was overdue after her experience with the talented author M. Domínguez. But Tatum herself wouldn’t…at least not yet. But when U.S. reporters start calling her for interviews after Domínguez gets accused of assault by yet another woman, Tatum starts to reconsider what their relationship really was all those years ago.
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
Across multiple timelines and lives — a young emperor gets seduced by a courtier in 4 BCE, an innkeeper helps a mysterious visitor in 1740, and a college student meets an intriguing stranger in modern-day L.A. — two men are reborn, each life proving to them the eternity of love.
Queer YA BIPOC Books to Read by the End of 2024
The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha
This graphic novel houses an epic fantasy that reimagines a Korean legend. Kai’s father, commander of the Royal Legion, gives her martial arts training, even though society would never let her realize her dream of becoming a warrior. Especially since there are rumors surrounding her that say she’s the granddaughter of Gumiho, a nine-tailed fox spirit that was killed by her father. But then Kai learns the truth of her mother’s past, and realizes she must forge her own path ahead.
The Breakup Lists by Adib Khorram
Jackson Ghasnavi just minds his business as a theater stage manager and has no interest in romance, having been privy to his parents’ terrible divorce, and his sister Jasmine’s tumultuous heartbreaks. But when swim captain Liam auditions for a show, both Jackson and his sister develop a crush on him. Jackson figures Liam is definitely, probably straight — but then why is he suddenly learning sign language to be able to better communicate with Jackson…
Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta
Another retelling! This time it’s an extra spicy and queer rendition of Alice in Wonderland. Young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to Wonderland, a dark forest full of monsters, for a crime they didn’t commit. To get out, they both were willing to risk it all, including each other. Now, Icca is dead set on getting revenge for Caro’s betrayal. And while Caro lives a somewhat privileged life as a royal monster killer, she doesn’t know of the secrets the Queen holds about the monsters, nor the plans she has for Icca and Caro.
