#Molly Knox Ostertag

[ineffablejackass]

I just got done reading The Deep Dark and I couldn't agree more, I absolutely adore Molly Knox Ostertag's style of storytelling and this book made me love it even more than I already did. Anyone who hasn't read any of m.k.o's stuff should absolutely check her out!

I have always loved Molly Knox Ostertag's work, in particular the really cute, heartwarming tact of the Witch Boy trilogy's trans allegory and the way it feels so well built to walk that fine line of appropriately nuanced but still perfectly digestible for its intended teen audience.

Well The Deep Dark is more of precisely that style of writing and it blows me away just as much now as Witch Boy did the first time I read it. It's exactly the kind of book I wish I'd had as a kid, and the sort of thing that lights a little hopeful flame in the jaded dark corners of my heart. It's the sort of thing that helps me feel optimistic about a generation of kids who will grow up with this kind of story as their formative personal mythos.

I know I don't usually do reviews or recommendation on this blog so I dunno who this is for really, and it certainly won't have any particular reach, but if you find yourself with the chance to, I really can't recommend The Deep Dark enough. And of course everything else Molly Knox Ostertag has had a hand in, even the one's she's not been the sole author on.

[karmelarts]

Molly Knox ostertag and Nate Stevenson in chilshi cosplay😭😭😭😭😭

[a-candle-for-sherlock]

@contact-guy I got my copy of the Sketchbook and it’s gorgeous! It’s so lovely to read it from the casually sketched-out beginnings through to the love letter it becomes. And how that mirrors their relationship! The early lighthearted testing and teasing out information about each other, and then the sudden slide into deep devotion. I’m so glad to have it.

The Sketchbook preorder is not yet sold out!

[traeumenvonbuechern]

🦉 Books To Read If You Love "The Owl House" 🦉

Here are some books you should read if you love "The Owl House":

Book titles:

Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega

Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith

Deadendia by Hamish Steele

Hotel Dare by Terry Blas and Claudia Aguirre

The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

Magical Boy by The Kao

Euphoria Kids by Alison Evans

[peopleingishard]

!!!!!

It shipped so quickly?? I was expecting a longer wait but look!! It’s here!!! I read it all in one sitting I love this comic so much can’t wait for book two

if you aren’t aware, this is @contact-guy’s awesome doodle-collection-turned-webcomic series that’s basically a retelling of the original ACD Sherlock Holmes stories from a more queer perspective. It’s so well written and so funny-go read it right now!!

[ireadyabooks]

Summer Full of Shivers ☀️☠️🩸

Summer scaries have arrived! This time of year is for spooky stories around the campfire and spine-tingling books that you maybe shouldn’t save for right before you go to bed. But hey, that’s part of the fun, right! We can never get enough horror in our lives and have some chilling reads for you to sink your teeth into in the summer heat! Check out some of our recent favorites below, and don’t forget to keep an extra light on at night! Or don’t . . . we leave that up to you . . .

The Getaway by Lamar Giles

Jay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world's most famous resorts. He's got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property's main theme park. Life isn't so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it's to get away from all that.

As things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff. First, Jay's friend Connie and her family disappear in the middle of the night and no one will talk about it. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving, only... they aren't leaving. Unknown to the employees, the resort has been selling shares in an end-of-the-world oasis. The best of the best at the end of days. And in order to deliver the top-notch customer service the wealthy clientele paid for, the employees will be at their total beck and call.

Whether they like it or not.

Yet Karloff Country didn't count on Jay and his crew -- and just how far they'll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what's more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls?

Start reading The Getaway now!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Boys, the haunting and original supernatural romance returns in a new edition

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Start reading Shiver now!

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag

From Molly Knox Ostertag, writer-illustrator of the New York Times and ABA Indie bestselling The Witch Boy trilogy and The Girl from the Sea, comes a darkly beautiful story of identity, family, love, loss, and magic.

Everyone has secrets. Mags’s has teeth.

Magdalena Herrera is about to graduate high school, but she already feels like an adult with serious responsibilities: caring for her ailing grandmother; working a part-time job; clandestine makeouts with a girl who has a boyfriend. And then there’s her secret, which pulls her into the basement each night, drains her of energy, and leaves her bleeding. A secret that could hurt and even kill if it ever got out -- like it did once before.

So Mags keeps her head down, isolated in her small desert community. That is, until her childhood friend Nessa comes back to town, bringing vivid memories of the past, an intoxicating glimpse of the future, and a secret of her own. Mags won’t get attached, of course. She’s always been strong enough to survive without anyone’s help.

But when the darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to drag her secret into the daylight, and choose between risking everything . . . or having nothing left to lose.

Start reading The Deep Dark now!

A Darker Mischief by Derek Milman

The Honeys meets The Secret History in a work of dark academia like no other -- a boarding school thriller about a queer teen from Mississippi who finds himself swept into a world of old money, privilege, and the secret society at the heart of it all.

When Cal Ware wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding school, he's thrilled to leave his past behind. Back home in Mississippi, he was the poor, queer kid who never fit in. But at Essex Academy, he'll be able to reinvent himself. Or so he hopes . . .

But at Essex, Cal's classmates only see his cheap clothes and old iPhone. They mock his accent, and can't believe he's never left the country, or heard of The Hamptons. Cal, at his breaking point, is about to give up and return to Mississippi when he learns about a secret society on campus -- the key to becoming Essex royalty.

Cal knows he's not exactly secret society material, but to his surprise, he finds an unlikely champion in the handsome, charismatic, and slightly dangerous Luke Kim. As they get swept up in the mystery and glamour of the Rush process, Cal finds himself falling in love for the first time.

But as the initiation rituals grow riskier -- and increasingly nefarious -- Cal must decide how far he's willing to go, and how much of himself he's willing to sacrifice, to save everything and everyone he cherishes most. Because nothing at Essex -- not even Cal's first love -- is quite what it seems.

Start reading A Darker Mischief now!

The Other Ones by Fran Hart

A beautiful and unputdownable story about love, friendship, and the ghosts that grief can leave behind, The Other Ones is a heartfelt, contemporary romance with a haunting twist . . .

Salem Amani is a world-weary sixteen-year-old living with his mother and older sister in a haunted house. But all Sal really wants is to be ordinary, which is hard to do when you live in a house full of ghosts. And when a strange boy arrives on his doorstep asking more questions than he’s at all comfortable with, Sal’s efforts to be ordinary are put under even greater strain. Until Pax makes his offer: “I could help you with the hauntings . . . I’m good with ghosts.”

But despite his initial dislike of Pax, Sal can’t help but find himself unexpectedly drawn to the boy. And as the two grow closer, and Pax offers to help Sal scare away his ghosts for good, Sal finds himself sinking deeper into a lie concealing the truth about his family.

When the true nature of the “hauntings” is revealed, Sal must confront reality – or risk losing Pax for good.

Start reading The Other Ones now!

[ur-fav-lesbo-nerd]

I have the memory of a goldfish apparently and forgot I ordered this lovely book (although it was the only thing I could think of the day it dropped), so it was a really nice surprise to come home to. Makes today a little more manageable. Thanks to Molly Knox Ostertag, you are single-handedly keeping me sane 🫡

[slaughter-books]

Day 5: JOMPBPC: Magic

[foolforshera]

New interview!

[bookcub]

Graphic Novel Rec

that have less than 100,000 ratings on Goodreads

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen- If you haven't read this book, please do it now, it is amazing! It is about a Vietnamese American family telling stories to each other alongside the events of their lives.

10/10, one of my favorite books of the year!

Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill- This series is so sweet and the epitome of cottagecore fantasy! Filled with little dragons, found family, and beautiful pictures!

10/10, a feel good book of mine

Sleepless by Sarah Vaughn, Leila del Duca, Alissa Sallah- Has anyone done bodyguard romance this well? No, they have not. A lovely romance at the center and lots with court intrigue.

9/10, a swoonworthy romance fantasy!

Fangs by Sarah Anderson- Who hasn't wanted a romance between a vampire and a werewolf? Low stakes and adorable.

8/10, a super quick ad satisfying read

Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection- A collection of short stories by various writers and artists about the many tricksters from the various cultures.

7.5/10 full of tricks and stories

The Old Guard by Greg Rucka- A little too gory for my taste, but as someone who loved the movie, I really enjoyed seeing the material it was adapted from!

7/10 action packed and emotional

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag- An adorable sapphic romance with a selkie as the love interest!! Super lovely!

7/10 a darling love story

[trekkie-polls]

Star Trek has had an amazing range of guest stars from astronauts to athletes to musicians to the king of Jordan. Eliminating other actors - who would you want to see next?

These are just a few I came up with in a morning of brainstorming, but this is a super open ended question and I would love to hear your ideas!

Also I just think it would be funny of George Lucas showed up, but realistically I don’t like him that much and think there are others who would make more interesting guests.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fantasy Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Last Binding trilogy (A Marvellous Light, A Restless Truth, A Power Unbound) by Freya Marske

Endorsement from submitter: A trilogy of books set in a magical Edwardian England, the Last Binding series focuses on three queer couples who come together in order to solve a conspiracy threatening all magic. It's a masterful blending of fantasy, historical fiction, and romance, with a splash of mystery and Wodehousian romp. Expect magical manor house parties with beautiful wallpaper, as well as explorations of power, trust, and what we owe the land.

The prose is absolutely gorgeous and evocative. The characters and their emotional arcs form the beating heart of the story, intertwined with beautifully crafted romance. The worldbuilding feels organic and deeply rooted within this hidden magical society. These books are thoughtful, tender, scorching, and fun all at once.

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He's struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents' excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what's been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he's always known. Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else. Robin's predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they've been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep. Fantasy, historical fiction, romance, adult, magic, Edwardian, series

The Witch Boy series (The Witch Boy, The Hidden Magic, The Midwinter Witch) by Molly Knox Ostertag

In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself. Graphic novel, middle grade, young adult, fantasy, series

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Review: The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag Rating: 4/5

Latinx butch! Trans girl of colour! In a fantasy/horror graphic novel set in Joshua Tree! That tackles the complexities of letting people see your real self and trusting people to see your emotional side! I loved it and while it didn't quite charm me the way Ostertag's other books have, I'm just so glad to see these particular identities getting such lovely representation.

[therefugeofbooks]

a very queer book haul for june 🌈

[outmaww]

someone HAS to know these gals someone please

if you do i might actually marry you

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

goodreads

In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself.

Mod opinion: I haven't heard of this book before, but it sounds sweet.