Why am I passionate about this?

When I was growing up, there were no stories for me. A queer kid in a very conservative Catholic household, I knew I was different, but I had no way to articulate that difference, and no way to imagine a horizon of happiness, of dignity, or of joy. In the worlds people imagined for young people, we were simply written out. I have since spent a lifetime studying and telling stories – as an English professor, as a bartender at a queer bookstore and drag bar, and now as a writer. And what matters to me most is seeing queer lives lived in abundance. These are the stories I wish I had.


My project is

The Devil's Party Podcast

Follow along in readings of Milton's Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, the Gospel of Mark, and now the Gospel of John, each reading with a companion book-club style analysis meant to help first-timers and experts alike in catching the weird magic of these important and influential texts!

If you're familiar with my stuff on Twitter, you know what kind of work I do: a queer scholar, analyzing and remixing pop culture, politics, and literature. I want to tell and magnify queer stories that carve out space for us in genres and belief systems that have sought to push us out. Funding my work will help me transition into longer-form pieces that aren't reliant on turnaround for-hire pay.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Magic Fish

Anthony Oliveira Why did I love this book?

“They’re only stories. They’ll change when they need to.” A beautiful, lyrical, and visually staggering coming-of-age story as a young gay child and his immigrant mother come to understand each other through the telling and retelling of classic fairy tales – each illustrated with Nguyen’s poignant elegance and inflected by the dreams, fears, and cultural influences of their respective teller. This graphic novel made me weep at its beauty – both that of its incomparable art and the careful, sweet kindness of its story. A treasure and a work of art.

By Trung Le Nguyen,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Magic Fish as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tiến loves his family and his friends…but Tiến has a secret he's been keeping from them, and it might change everything. An amazing YA graphic novel that deals with the complexity of family and how stories can bring us together.

Real life isn't a fairytale.

But Tiến still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tiến, he doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word…


Book cover of The Prince and the Dressmaker

Anthony Oliveira Why did I love this book?

When a seamstress’s outré dress design causes a scandal among the Parisian aristocracy, she loses her job – and gains a mysterious new patron, who hires her to deploy her avant-garde taste to spectacular effect and with an unlimited budget for dress after dress that sets France’s society set on fire with gossip and envy. But as “Lady Crystallia’s” notoriety escalates to a fever pitch, how long can this blossoming friendship keep its secrets? Wang’s fairytale setting is wedded to a visual sensibility full of charming characters and beautiful settings – and, above all, spectacular costume design, as the reader delights along with the crowd at every dress debut. It feels like the children’s film from an animation renaissance that never was – compassionate and thrilling, heartfelt and sincere. I thought it was a marvel.

By Jen Wang,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Prince and the Dressmaker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

A fairy tale for any age, Jen Wang's The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.

Paris, at the dawn of the modern age:

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride—or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia—the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!

Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances—one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears…


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Book cover of Love and War in the Jewish Quarter

Love and War in the Jewish Quarter By Dora Levy Mossanen,

A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter.

Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the…

Book cover of The Witch Boy

Anthony Oliveira Why did I love this book?

Boys are one way; girls are another; that’s the way it has always been. But when Aster finds himself ineluctably drawn to the magic that should only be the province of the women in his family, he begins to realize some rules are not only antiquated, they can do material harm to the soul. Ostertag deftly uses the supernatural as a simple and elegant metaphor for the thousand indignities we can heap upon the queer and gender nonconforming, with an art style that simultaneously insists upon and celebrates the multiplicity of bodies and expressions that are our lived experience and belie these closed and closeting norms. An ingenious allegory, smartly and briskly told with charm and generosity.

By Molly Knox Ostertag,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Witch Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

From the illustrator of the web comic Strong Female Protagonist comes a debut middle-grade graphic novel about family, identity, courage -- and magic.

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…


Book cover of Heartstopper: A Graphic Novel: Volume 1

Anthony Oliveira Why did I love this book?

A tender love story between a shy, anxious wallflower and the ebullient jock he thinks is impossibly beyond his reach – until, all at once, he isn’t. Gently and tranquilly observed, Oseman’s eye for emotional detail also informs an art and lettering style that feels as fragile and transitory as a math class doodle – moments come, and they are gone, and we feel as though they are captured as quickly and desperately as the first furtive adolescent love they depict. It reminded me of that sweet and tentative joy of young love both exactly as it was, and exactly as it was never allowed to be.

By Alice Oseman,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Heartstopper as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

*Now an acclaimed live-action Netflix series!* Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between.

'Absolutely delightful. Sweet, romantic, kind. Beautifully paced. I loved this book.' RAINBOW ROWELL, author of Carry On

Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they've never met ... until one day when they're made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more…


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Book cover of Serendipity

Serendipity By Maria de Fátima Santos,

Serendipity is a magical story told by a grandmother to a granddaughter, introducing us to the traditional way of living of the Scottish Travellers and their Cant language.

A fantasy tale for children of 8 years old and older inspired by three real places in Scotland. Serendipity takes us to…

Book cover of The Breakaways

Anthony Oliveira Why did I love this book?

A rough-and-tumble gaggle of middle-schoolers on the C-string girl's soccer team navigate first crushes, coming out, queer identity, and relationships – and being really, really bad at soccer. Johnson’s perfect ear for tween voices is matched by a frenetic art style that pops with crisp energy and a delirious, bouncy pace that rebounds around its panoply of League Of Their Own-esque characters like a soccer ball zig-zagging across its field. All the cheers, all the skinned knees, all the dizzying emotions and close friendships of the tween years come rushing back. 

By Cathy G. Johnson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Breakaways as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

Faith, an introverted fifth grader with a vivid imagination, starts middle school worrying about how she will fit in. To her surprise, Amanda, a popular eighth grader, convinces her to join the school soccer team, the Bloodhounds. Having never played soccer in her life, Faith ends up on the C team, a ragtag group with a tendency for drama over teamwork. Despite their losing streak, Faith and her fellow teammates form strong bonds both on and off the soccer field, which challenge their notions of loyalty, identity, friendship, and unity.

The Breakaways is a positive exploration of the complexity of…


Explore my project 😀

My project is

The Devil's Party Podcast

Follow along in readings of Milton's Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, the Gospel of Mark, and now the Gospel of John, each reading with a companion book-club style analysis meant to help first-timers and experts alike in catching the weird magic of these important and influential texts!

If you're familiar with my stuff on Twitter, you know what kind of work I do: a queer scholar, analyzing and remixing pop culture, politics, and literature. I want to tell and magnify queer stories that carve out space for us in genres and belief systems that have sought to push us out. Funding my work will help me transition into longer-form pieces that aren't reliant on turnaround for-hire pay.

Book cover of The Magic Fish
Book cover of The Prince and the Dressmaker
Book cover of The Witch Boy

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Identity 123 books
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