#Justine Pucella Winans

[lgbtqreads]

Happy Bi Visibility Day 2024!

Happy Bi Visibility Day! We’re celebrating as we do, with great books helmed by bisexual main characters! With absolutely no consistency, I’ve bolded the names of some of the bi MCs who aren’t called out as such in the copy. For even more recs, check out past years’ posts! Middle Grade Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors by Gail D. Villanueva Lulu Sinagtala can’t wait for a fun…

[the-final-sentence]

Sometimes, though, we might just surprise you.

Justine Pucella Winans, from One Killer Problem

[transbookoftheday]

The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans

The Otherwoods is calling. And it won't be ignored.

Some would call River Rydell a 'chosen one': born with the ability to see monsters and travel to a terrifying spirit world called The Otherwoods, they have all the makings of a hero. But River just calls themself unlucky. After all, it's not like anyone actually believes River can see these things-or that anyone even believes monsters exist in the first place. So the way River sees it, it's better to keep their head down and ignore anything Otherwoods related.

But The Otherwoods won't be ignored any longer.

When River's only friend (and crush) Avery is kidnapped and dragged into The Otherwoods by monsters, River has no choice but to confront the world they've seen only in their nightmares-but reality turns out be more horrifying than they could have ever imagined. With only their cat for protection and a wayward teen spirit as their guide, River must face the monsters of The Otherwoods and their own fears to save Avery and become the hero they were (unfortunately) destined to be.

[elizmanderson]

2022 wrap-up, part 2

click here for part 1 | click here for part 3

aaaaaaand we're back for more of a look at this year. today's topic is reading, which is considerably less sparkling than writing for the reasons below.

top reads in 2022

woof I did so little reading in 2022. I really thought I'd do more once grad school was done, but by then I was doing amm and working on book things for my debut, so it just kinda. didn't happen. I read 14 new books, and 4 of them didn't happen until I was at my parents' house for the holidays.

so maybe it doesn't mean a ton since I read so little, but here are my top reads this year, in no particular order:

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

as you know if you followed me when I actually read this book: obsessed. I wrote so many posts like OH MY GOD THIS BOOK until ofmd distracted me. I read this book twice in one month, in one sitting each time, and posted nonstop bullshit on twitter about it, too. super short, excellent forest vibes, folkloric, gay, what's not to love

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

cozy fantasy, sapphic, not too long, exactly what I need from my fiction, and broke a reading slump that lasted most of my year thank god (no literally I read Silver in the Wood twice in march and then kinda cycled between books without finishing any of them until I read this in probably october)

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Sangu Mandanna

new comfort read, ahoy! again a cozy fantasy, chock full of found family, so goddamn SOFT and again exactly what I need from my fiction, made me cry but mostly in a good way

The Mutantsitters Club by SJ Whitby

finally, a standalone in the Cute Mutants universe!! all the things you know & love about SJ's works, but softer, sweeter, and bite-sized, which is exactly what I need in my old age and also bc I'm a coward who hasn't even finished the original series yet bc I'm so scared of the many ways SJ might break my heart

the Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert (reread)

obviously fantastic bc I reread at least one of them every year and this year went for all three. heartwarming & heartbreaking and digs into various mental health issues as well as neurodivergence (implicitly with Dani Brown, explicitly with Eve Brown) and chronic illness (Chloe Brown)

upcoming books I'm looking forward to

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

YA contemporary, debut author

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans

YA mystery, debut author

Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

cottagecore fantasy romance

The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah

epic fantasy, sequel to The Stardust Thief

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans

goodreads

Murder most fowl? In this sardonic and campy YA thriller, an anxious, introverted nonbinary teen birder somehow finds themself solving a murder mystery with their neighbor/fellow anime lover, all while falling for a cute girl from their birding group . . . and trying not to get murdered. Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, like Fear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders from the birds to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbor’s life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choice—succumb to their long list of fears (including #3: Murder and #55: Breaking into a Dead Guy’s Apartment) or investigate what happened. Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Bianca’s crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13: Beautiful People, #11: Parents Discovering They’re A Raging Lesbian), the trio uncovers a conspiracy much larger—and weirder—than imagined. But when the killer catches wind of the investigation, Bianca’s #1 fear of public speaking doesn’t sound so bad compared to the threat of being silenced for good. In this absurdist, bizarrely comical YA thriller that is at turns a deceptively deep exploration of anxiety and identity, perhaps the real murder investigation is the friends we make along the way.

Mod opinion: I've read and mostly enjoyed this YA thriller. The build up is really incredible and I enjoyed getting to know Bianca Torre :)

[libraryleopard]

Young adult murder mystery

When a teenager birder witnesses their neighbor murdered, they embark on attempt to track down his killer with the help of their friends and end up uncovering a larger conspiracy

Absurdist & entertaining

Nonbinary lesbian main character with anxiety

[middlegradeeveryday]

The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans

Summary: The Otherwoods is calling. And it won't be ignored. Some would call River Rydell a 'chosen one': born with the ability to see monsters and travel to a terrifying spirit world called The Otherwoods, they have all the makings of a hero. But River just calls themself unlucky. After all, it's not like anyone actually believes River can see these things-or that anyone even believes monsters exist in the first place. So the way River sees it, it's better to keep their head down and ignore anything Otherwoods related. But The Otherwoods won't be ignored any longer.  When River's only friend (and crush) Avery is kidnapped and dragged into The Otherwoods by monsters, River has no choice but to confront the world they've seen only in their nightmares-but reality turns out be more horrifying than they could have ever imagined. With only their cat for protection and a wayward teen spirit as their guide, River must face the monsters of The Otherwoods and their own fears to save Avery and become the hero they were (unfortunately) destined to be.

Genre: Fantasy

Book Type: Novel

[livingfictionsystem]

[ilikereadingactually]

The Otherwoods

The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans

i think this one will be a satisfying read for the middle grade age group! it struck me as neither transcendent nor unpleasant, but somewhere in the middle. it's got many of the usual components of a scary fantasy adventure: reluctant magical protagonist, someone who needs rescuing, an animal companion, monsters and a frightening other world to traverse, and guides along the way whose motives are uncertain, and a few twists toward the end that are not mind-blowing to an adult, but definitely less predictable to younger readers with less experience of narrative structure. and the ending satisfies, so all in all it does what it needs to do!

the big highlight for me is the protagonist, River, who's nonbinary. it still feels pretty rare to get trans and nonbinary main characters in middle grade books, and i think the clarity with which River's identity is presented and explored is just about right for the target age--validating for the trans kids reading, and encouraging empathy and understanding in cis readers. this is definitely a good one for school libraries and middle grade rec lists trying to get more nonbinary representation!

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley from NetGalley. sadly the actual file was physically a little hard to read, it kept giving me trouble, so it took me longer than usual, but i powered through!

try this if you: dig spoopy books, have a lot of feelings about cats (the cat makes it through just fine dw), like a straightforward adventure and a sweet chaste crush, loved Monsters, Inc. but wanted it to be scarier, or know a kid who is into any of the above and/or would like a queer story!

a line i really liked: regarding my fave character, Charles, the monster under River's bed

Charles kept looking into River's eyes for a while, probably too long. It made River's skin crawl, but they managed not to tear away from his gaze. Finally, Charles pointed one sharp limb in the direction of Pancakes. "I should take Pancakes?" River asked. It was possible the monster was asking permission to eat Pancakes, but River thought they could be an optimist this once.

pub date: September 12, 2023!

[the-bi-library]

Happy trans awareness week! Allow me to make you aware of these trans bisexuals

Books listed:

Hugged by Verity Ritchie

Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao

Minuet by A.M. Leibowitz

The Anonymous Letters of C Forestier by Felicia Davin

Foxhunt (Foxhunt, #1) by Rem Wigmore

The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard

Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton and Becca Podos

How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans

[thedisabilitybookarchive]

Disability in Books: Disabled Lesbian MCs

[ID: A poster. Large black text reading "Disabled Lesbian MCs" is in the centre. Above it, to the left, smaller black text reading "Disability in Books". The background is a straight diagonal version of the Disability Pride flag. In the upper right corner, the logo for the Disability Book Archive. In the lower left corner, the Lesbian Pride flag. /end]

[ID: The same poster. The flag and logo have shrunken slightly in size. The title has been removed, replaced with three book covers and some text. The first cover is "10 Things I Can See From Here" by Carrie Mac down the left hand side. Black text listed next to it reads "Anxiety", "Addiction (SC)", "Contemporary", "Romance", "Canada", "Bisexual SCs" and "Young Adult". The second cover is "Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything" by Justine Pucella Winans and is in the upper right corner. Black text listed next to it reads "Anxiety", "Contemporary", "Myster", "Transgender SCs", "Non-Binary SCs", and "Young Adult". The third cover is "The Degenerates" by J. Albert Mann and is in the lower left corner. Black text listed next to it reads "Club Foot", "Down Syndrome", "Historical", "1920s USA", "Young Adult" and "Multiple POV". /end]

[ID: The same poster. The book covers and text have changed. The first cover is "The Faithless" by C. L. Clark. Black text listed next to it reads "Adult", "Cane User", "Chronic Pain", "PTSD", "High Fantasy", "Series" and "2nd Bisexual MC". The second cover is "Harrow the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir. Black text listed next to it reads "Adult", "Schizophrenia", "Science Fiction Fantasy", "Horror", "Series" and "Necromancy". The third cover is "Honey Girl" by Morgan Rogers. Black text listed next to it reads "Adult", "Anxiety", "Depression", "Biracial MC", "Japanese-American LI" and "Romance". /end]

[ID: The same poster. The book covers and text have changed. The first cover is "The No-Girlfriend Rule" by Christen Randall. Black text listed next to it reads "Young Adult", "Anxiety", "ADHD (SC)", "Romance", "Contemporary", "Comedy" and "Fat MC". The second cover is "Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl" by Brianna R. Shrum. Black text listed next to it reads "Young Adult", "Autism", "ADHD", "Romance", "Contemporary" and "Jewish Characters". The third cover is "The Second Mango" by Shira Glassman. Black text listed next to it reads "Young Adult", "Severe Food Intolerances", "Fantasy", "Romance", "Series", "POC MC" and "Magic". /end]

[ID: The same poster. The book covers and text have changed. The first cover is "The Outside" by Ada Hoffman. Black text listed next to it reads "Adult", "Autism", "ADHD (SC)", "Science Fiction", "Horror", "Space Opera", "Series", "Asexual SC" and "Genderfluid SC". The second cover is "Everyone in this Room Will Some Day Be Dead" by Emily Augustin. Black text listed next to it reads "Anxiety", "Addiction (SC), "Depression", "Contemporary", "Canada" and "Transgender SC". The third cover is "How to Become A Planet" by Nicole Melleby. Black text listed next to it reads "Middle-Grade/Young Adult", "Anxiety", "Depression", "OCD (SC)", "Non-Binary Questioning LI", "Contemporary", and "Astronomy". /end]

❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷 ❤️

[22 heart emojis, alternating between red, white and pink]

A short collection of books featuring disabled lesbian MCs!

I missed lesbian visibility week, and I wanted to post this on Saturday but my internet decided to die a fiery death over the weekend so I am very very late on everything. Hopefully this begins to makes up for it!

Books on this list:

❤️ "10 Things I Can See From Here"- Mac, Carrie

🤍 "Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything"- Winans, Justine Pucella

🩷 "The Degenerates"- Mann, J. Albert

❤️ "The Faithless"- Clark, C. L.

🤍 "Harrow the Ninth"- Muir, Tamsyn

🩷 "Honey Girl"- Rogers, Morgan

❤️ "The No-Girlfriend Rule"- Randall, Christen

🤍 "Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl"- Shrum, Brianna R.

🩷 "The Second Mango"- Glassman, Shira

❤️ "The Outside"- Hoffman, Ada

🤍 "Everyone in this Room Will Some Day Be Dead"- Augstin, Emily

🩷 "How to Become A Planet"- Melleby, Nicole

Every book on this list and more can be found in the disability book archive!

Happy Browsing!

[lgbtqreads]

Inside an Anthology: The House Where Death Lives ed. by Alex Brown

Today on the site we’re taking a peek inside The House Where Death Lives ed. by Alex Brown, a Speculative YA Fiction anthology that just released yesterday from Page Street! Here’s the gist:  A dance to the death. A girl who’s just as monstrous as H.H. Holmes. A hallway that’s constantly changing―and hungry. All of these stories exist in the same place―within the frame of a particular house that…

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💖 Sapphic Books Coming Out June 2024

🩷 There's something especially sweet about a sapphic romance. Here are only a few of the amazing sapphic books hitting shelves in June 2024. Which ones are you adding to your ever-growing TBR?

💖 Which ones are you adding to your TBR?

Contemporary 💖 But How Are You, Really - Ella Dawson 💖 Hot Summer - Elle Everhart 💖 Pony Dakota - Nat Burns 💖 Wish You Weren't Here - Erin Baldwin 💖 Something to be Proud Of - Anna Zoe Quirke 💖 London on My Mind - Clara Alves, Nina Perrotta (translator) 💖 Please Stop Trying to Leave Me - Alana Saab 💖 Looking for a Sign - Susie Dumond 💖 Triple Sec - T.J. Alexander 💖 Pages from the Book of Broken Dreams - Kat Jackson 💖 Director's Cut - Carlyn Greenwald 💖 Furious - Jamie Pacton, Rebecca Podos 💖 Cicada Summer - Erica McKeen 💖 Tehrangeles - Porochista Khakpour 💖 Women - Chloe Caldwell 💖 Experienced - Kate Young 💖 Liddy-Jean Marketing Queen and the Matchmaking Scheme - Mari SanGiovanni

Paranormal/Horror 💖 The Pecan Children - Quinn Connor 💖 Private Rites - Julia Armfield 💖 The Deep Dark - Molly Knox Ostertag 💖 The Science of Ghosts - Lilah Sturges, El Garing (ill.), Alitha Martinez (contrib.) 💖 Wolfpitch - Balazs Lorinczi

Fantasy 💖 Mirrored Heavens - Rebecca Roanhorse 💖 The Fire Within Them - Matthew Ward 💖 Digging for Destiny - Jenna Jarvis 💖 Saints of Storm and Sorrow - Gabriella Buba 💖 Markless - C.G. Malburi 💖 Sleep Like Death - Kalynn Bayron 💖 The Afterlife of Mal Caldera - Nadi Reed Perez 💖 The Pale Queen - Ethan M. Aldridge 💖 The Unrelenting Earth - Kritika H. Rao 💖 Ballad for Jasmine Town - Molly Ringle 💖 Six of Sorrow - Amanda Linsmeier

Historical 💖 A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence - Jess Everlee 💖 A Divine Fury - D.V. Bishop 💖 The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye - Briony Cameron 💖 Hall of Mirrors - John Copenhaver

Mystery/Thriller 💖 One Killer Problem - Justine Pucella Winans 💖 The Last Note of Warning - Katharine Schellman 💖 Shanghai Murder - Jessie Chandler 💖 And Then There Was One - Michele Castleman

Sci-Fi 💖 Lady Eve's Last Con - Rebecca Fraimow 💖 The Stars Too Fondly - Emily Hamilton 💖 Moonstorm - Yoon Ha Lee 💖 You're Safe Here - Leslie Stephens

[transbookoftheday]

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, like Fear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbor’s life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choice—succumb to their long list of fears (including #3 Murder and #55 Breaking into a Dead Guy’s Apartment), or investigate what happened. 

Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Bianca’s crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13 Beautiful People, #11 Parents Discovering They’re a Raging Lesbian), the trio uncover a conspiracy much larger—and weirder—than imagined. And when the killer catches wind of the investigation, suddenly Bianca’s #1 fear of public speaking doesn’t sound so bad compared to the threat of being silenced for good.

[bookaddict24-7]

NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES! (JUNE 4TH, 2024)

___

HAVE I MISSED ANY NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TBR? LET ME KNOW!

___

NEW STANDALONES/FIRST IN A SERIES:

Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar

Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

Wish You Weren't Here by Erin Baldwin

Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine

One Killer Problem by Justine Pucella Winans

The Breakup Artists by Adriana Mather

Take All of Us by Natalie Leif

Louder Than Words by Ashley Woodfolk & Lexi Underwood

Tristan and Lancelot: A Tale of Two Knights by James Persichetti & L.S. Biehler (Illustrator)

Markless by C.G. Malburi

Furious by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos

An Outbreak of Witchcraft by Deborah Noyes & Melissa Duffy (Contributor)

Storm: Dawn of a Goddess by Tiffany D. Jackson

Now, Conjurers by Freddie Kölsch

Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell

Lady of Steel and Straw by Erica Ivy Rodgers

Spilled Ink by Nadia Hashimi

If You Can't Take the Heat by Michael Ruhlman

Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

London on My Mind by Clara Alves & Nina Perrotta (Translator)

What's Murder Between Friends by Meg Gatland-Veness

NEW SEQUELS:

Past Present Future (Rowan & Neil #2) by Rachel Lynn Solomon

___

Happy reading!

[disabled-dragoon]

Disability in Books: Spooky Edition! #1

[ID: A poster reading "Disability in Books: Spooky Edition" in black writing in the centre. A small, circular logo is in the top right corner. It is red with an open book in the middle, white leaves around the book, and the word "The Disability Archive" across the bottom. In the lower left corner, cartoonish clipart of a smiling Jack O Lantern, wearing a large pointy hat with a buckle. All of this is overlayed onto the disability pride flag. /end]

[ID: The same poster, edited. The writing has been removed and replaced by three book covers, with bulleted lists next to each. The images in both corners have been shrunken slightly. The book covers, from top to bottom, are:

"Bath Haus" by P. J. Vernon

The phrases "Addiction", "Adult", "Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary, Horror" and "LGBTQ+" are listed next to it in black writing.

"Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything" by Justine Pucella Winans

The phrases "Anxiety", "Young Adult", "Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary" and "LGBTQ+" are listed next to it in black.

"Deathless Divide" by Justina Ireland

The phrases "Amputee", "Young Adult", "Horror, Historical", "Zombies" and "LGBTQ+" are listed next to it in black. /end]

[ID: The same poster, with three different book covers. The book covers, from top to bottom, are:

"Defying Doomsday" edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench

The phrases "Numerous Disabilities", "Young Adult", "Science Fiction, Apocalyptic" and "Short Story Anthology" are listed next to it in black.

"Even If We Break" by Marieke Nijkamp

The phrases "Autism", "Young Adult", "Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary, Horror" and "LGBTQ+" are listed next to it in black.

"The Final Girl Support Group" by Grady Hendrix

The phrases "Wheelchair User", "Adult", "Horror" and "Horror Movies" are listed next to it in black. /end]

[ID: The same poster, with three different book covers. The book covers, from top to bottom, are:

"Gideon the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir

The phrases "Terminal Illness", "Adult", "Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction" and "LGBTQ+" are listed next to it in black.

"Highway Bodies" by Alison Evans

The phrases "Anxiety, Facial Scarring, Amputation", "Young Adult", "Horror, Dystopia", "Zombies" and "LGBTQ+" are listed next to it in black.

"Into the Drowning Deep" by Mira Grant

The phrases "Hearing Impairment, Autism, Physical Disability", "Adult", "Horror, Science Fiction", "Mermaids" and "LGBTQ+" are listed next to it in black. /end]

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 [10 Smiling Carved Pumpkin Emojis]

A collection of fiction books featuring disabled characters, across the horror, thriller, mystery and science fiction genres!

As it is Spooky Season, and the build-up to my favourite holiday of the year, I figured I'd do something to get into the spirit of it all.

(Get it? "Spirit". Hehehe)

Also, having read Gideon the Ninth myself, I can see why people might think the representation of terminal illness is a little iffy.

If you want more information on the disabilities in 'Defying Doomsday', check out @cannondisabledcharacters.

Book List:

'Bath Haus' by P. J. Vernon- Addiction

'Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything' by Justine Pucella Winans- Anxiety

'Deathless Divide' by Justina Ireland- Amputee

'Defying Doomsday' edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench- Numerous

'Even If We Break' by Marieke Nijkamp- Autism

'The Final Girl Support Group' by Grady Hendrix- Wheelchair User

'Gideon the Ninth' by Tamsyn Muir- Terminal Illness

'Highway Bodies' by Alison Evans- Anxiety, Facial Scarring, Amputation

'Into the Drowning Deep' by Mira Grant- Hearing Impairment, Autism, Physical Disability

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 [10 Smiling Carved Pumpkin Emojis]