#Beating Heart Baby

[transbookoftheday]

🍂 Trans Books To Read If You Love "Heartstopper" 🍂

Here are some trans books you should read if you love "Heartstopper":

Book titles:

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier

Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta

Out of the Blue by Jason June

Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min

The Borrow a Boyfriend Club by Page Powars (comes out September 14, 2023)

[aroaessidhe]

faves reads of 2023: YA contemporary

Beating Heart Baby

Wren Martin Ruins It All

You Don’t Have a Shot

Wild and Crooked

The Dos and Donuts of Love

Six Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did)

Ander and Santi Were Here

Friday I’m In Love

We Deserve Monuments

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: May 21, 2024

Picture Books The Rainbow Parade by Shane Jordan & Rick Hendrix (text) and Jieting Chen (illustration) Join the celebration at the Rainbow Parade and witness a heartwarming story of acceptance and friendship. In this joyful picture book, LGBTQ+ advocates Shane Jordan and Rick Hendrix take young readers on a colorful journey of self-expression and acceptance. Set at a stormy pride parade, the…

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Review: Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min Rating: 4/5

An intricately woven and dynamic story about two teenage boys (one trans) falling in and out of love to a background of beautiful music and difficult home lives. This is the kind of emotional YA novel that I have always loved but have difficulty finding these days so I'm glad I borrowed this from the library on a whim. A beautiful book whose heart beats loud.

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[queer-book-society]

Title: Beating Heart Baby

Author(s): Lio Min

Description: When artistic and sensitive Santi arrives at his new high school, everyone in the wildly talented marching band welcomes him with open arms. Everyone except for the prickly, proud musical prodigy Suwa, who doesn’t think Santi has what it takes to be in the band. But Santi and Suwa share painful pasts, and when they open up to each other, a tentative friendship begins. And soon, that friendship turns into something more...

[sunstoner]

beating heart baby spoilers, be warned

so, new book, beating heart baby. im obsessed. literally fucking immersed in this world, and it did not take the turn i thought it would and i love it for that. suwa and santi are my favorite fucking people ever i swear and literally emo ocean (emoocean? emocean?) is my favorite thing, i wish i could actually listed to his music. also memo is the cutest nickname ever i will absolutely be making this my entire personality for the next idk how long. BUT YEA SANTI AND SUWA ARE LIKE. REALISTIC? idkidk but i love them so fucking much.

[stardustedstudio]

"And then Suwa starts to sing. Two verses in, I fidget, knowing what's to come, but it still bowls me over when the song tilts and pushes into the chorus. I see it so clearly, the visual sequence attached to the moment. Of Marigold free-falling, but the perspective of the camera is flipped so that it looks like she and the leaning clouds are scrolling across the screen instead. Streaks of gossamer glitches gliding down the frame, blooming into iridescent halftones.

...Afterward he beams, his eyes crinkling like new butterfly wings. It feels so natural and so, so right to watch him onstage. He's cast a spell over the entire venue."

— Beating Heart Baby, Lio Min (2022)

[transbookoftheday]

Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min

Lio Min’s Beating Heart Baby is a devastatingly romantic love story between two boys, and a love letter to internet friendships, anime, and indie rock

When artistic and sensitive Santi arrives at his new high school, everyone in the wildly talented marching band welcomes him with open arms. Everyone except for the prickly, proud musical prodigy Suwa, who doesn’t think Santi has what it takes to be in the band.

But Santi and Suwa share painful pasts, and when they open up to each other, a tentative friendship begins. And soon, that friendship turns into something more. . . .

Will their fresh start rip at the seams as Suwa seeks out a solo spotlight, and both boys come to terms with what it'll take, and what they'll have to let go, to realize their dreams?

[stardustandrockets]

What are you listening to these days?

For someone with a music degree, I don't listen to a lot of music. 🙈 It's not that I don't like music, I just often don't have the bandwidth for lyrics and most instrumental stuff I like I analyze too much. It's a real problem.

That said, I have found that I like Celtic and Germanic metal? Stuff not necessarily in English that I can listen to but don't get stuck on the words. Could I give you a band? Nope. Sorry.

I recently read Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min, but that was after I took this photo. When I do my review post on it, I'll actually have a photo a little more relevant than just the sheet music for Mozart's Bassoon Concerto from my senior recital in college. Really enjoyed it, though!

[queer-and-dear-books]

Title: Beating Heart Baby

Author: Lio Min

Genre: YA Fiction | Romance | Friendship | Music | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: Transphobia | Homophobia | Mentioned Abuse

Overall Rating: 9.9/10

Personal Opinion: There is so much to love in this book. The diverse cast, the chosen families, and the sweet romance of reconnecting with someone you had once lost. If you don’t fall in love with this book then there’s something wrong with you. Although it can be hard to keep up with and differentiate the friends at times because there are so many of them. But overall, I really enjoyed this book.

Do I Own This Book? No.

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- Diversity win! Pretty much the entire cast is in some way a person of color, queer, or both. We have Black kids, brown kids, Asian kids, trans kids, gay kids, non-binary kids, and so many more. But best of all, they are all thriving. We have Cola Carter, a Black lesbian who is a top star and creating new stars that are queer and POC like her. Aya is Latina and queer too and she gets to live her dream making music and even inheriting Cap’s legacy of leading the Sunshowers. Suwa and Santi are both gay Asians and they are in love. Suwa is a rising star making music that matters to him and Santi is just living his best life painting and teaching art to kids. Everyone is thriving and I love that for them.

- Found/chosen family is just so important in this story. Santi and Aya are not blood related but they care about each other very deeply. Aya is so cool too, giving Santi enough freedom to explore while also being heavy-handed enough to discipline him when he needs it. Suwa, on the other hand, lives with Cap, who took him in when home became unsafe for Suwa. He even refers to Cap as “Dad” sometimes and that is so cute to me. Cap is honestly the best, he really cares for all his students and wants the best for them. Even after retiring, he still wants to give students a love of music. I love that.

- But we also have so many friends! Every single one of them are so kindhearted and cool. Mira, Octavian, Ari, Reva, Feli, and I’m likely forgetting someone but they’re all good people. They care for Santi and Suwa and the way they plot to get them together was hilarious. But I just love how easily they accept Santi into their group and how easy it is for them to forgive Suwa for leaving them for a year and a half. They’re ride-or-dies, really good friends.

- The scene where Suwa goes (to his dad’s) home after that interview just makes me tear up. Especially when he went into his old room to get the hanbok his dad gave him. It was just so precious to see his relationship with his dad mending. Even though it’s far from perfect and his dad was abusive in the past, I love seeing them both grow.

- Mira was absolutely right, Santi is a hunk. He’s clearly athletic and he’s covered in tattoos so that already makes him physically hot. But then he’s also an artist and a chef! A perfect package! Not but seriously, when Suwa messed up in the kitchen and Santi jumped in to help him, I felt my heart grow three sizes. The love was still there! The care was still there! The domestic tenderness was still there!

- Suwa being Memo was not at all surprising but it was also enough of a twist to really have an impact. By which, I mean, I was also rationalizing to myself like “No, it can’t be.” But when it was confirmed, I was like, “I fucking knew it!” It’s good, like a loose end being fixed.

- I also love all the references in this book. Mainly the Agumon bobblehead. Digimon is one of my favorite animes so of course I was going to love that. But also, Mugen Glider. The way they describe it in so much detail made it sound like an early, Showa-era Ghibli-esque show. I genuinely thought it was real! But it’s not! But it sounded so real and that’s what I like about it. I just wish I could watch it.

Dislikes:

- One thing I don’t like? Suwa abandoning his life in LA for Japan for a year and a half after dumping Santi. Bruh. I just, it was so bad. Suwa was acting so toxic too when he came back, reeling Santi in while also keeping him at arm’s length like Santi was the poisonous one. But at least Suwa apologized for his behavior. Because otherwise, I would not have wanted them to stay together. And I hope he does get serious about therapy again like he said he would.

[sous-le-signe-de-la-lune]

Beating Hear Baby is a story full of poetry: it's a love letter to art, to queerness, to found family, to the magic connection you can form on the internet and learning how to be the best version of yourself for yourself and for others. It made me yearn and made my heart ache because I wanted them to be happy and find closure, but also support. It was raw but perfect in its imperfection.

If you want a book about a pan Filipino-Latino and a gay trans Japanese-Korean boy, and their wonderful found family, this is for you. It’s not overly heartbreaking because there is so much love and it was everything I wanted and needed at that time. 

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread    

Beating Heart Baby

YA contemporary about the complicated relationship between two boys, through end of high school and after graduation

switches POV half way through

grief, internet friendship, art, marching band, anime, and the music industry

[eightypercentjack-blog]

Every so often, like today, I remember that this exists and is one of the sexiest videos of all time.

The song itself, the way Daryl says 'arms', his hair, his dimples, his energy, that entire suit situation, the sweaty little club vibe... j'adore.

Plus it makes me go listen to Please, Please, Please.... 👀

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min

goodreads

When artistic and sensitive Santi arrives at his new high school, everyone in the wildly talented marching band welcomes him with open arms. Everyone except for the prickly, proud musical prodigy Suwa, who doesn’t think Santi has what it takes to be in the band.But Santi and Suwa share painful pasts, and when they open up to each other, a tentative friendship begins. And soon, that friendship turns into something more. . . . Will their fresh start rip at the seams as Suwa seeks out a solo spotlight, and both boys come to terms with what it'll take, and what they'll have to let go, to realize their dreams?

Mod opinion: I've seen this book around, but it's never really piqued my interest. It sounds like a cute romance though.