Celebrate Pride 2025
The first Pride marches were held in June 1970, one year after the riots at the Stonewall Inn. The original marches had two goals. First, to commemorate the Stonewall riots. Second, to remind people that LGBTQIA+ communities existed. It was several decades later, that June was declared LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. To celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, we’ve put together a list of books for Pride 2025. All of the physical books, can be found on the second floor of the library across from the Ask Us Desk.
NonFiction
Queering the Midwest: Forging LGBT Community by Clare Forstie
Physical Book
Clare Forstie explores the mixed experiences of LGBTQ people in a small Midwestern city. Using interviews, ethnographic research, and friendship mapping, Forstie shows how community spaces are both vanishing and forming and how LGBTQ individuals feel both safe and overlooked.
“We are everywhere- even in small post-industrial cities in “flyover country.” -Clare Forstie from Queering the Midwest
Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City by Elyssa Maxx Goodman
Physical Book
“[…]The evolution of drag in the city, as an art form, a community and a mode of liberation, has never before been fully chronicled. Now, for the first time, journalist and drag historian Elyssa Maxx Goodman unearths the dramatic, provocative untold story of drag in New York City in all its glistening glory.” -Provided by Publisher
Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H
Ebook
“Lamya makes sense of her struggles and triumphs by comparing her experiences with some of the most famous stories in the Quran. She juxtaposes her coming out with Musa liberating his people from the pharaoh; asks if Allah, who is neither male nor female, might instead be nonbinary; and, drawing on the faith and hope Nuh needed to construct his ark, begins to build a life of her own—ultimately finding that the answer to her lifelong quest for community and belonging lies in owning her identity as a queer, devout Muslim immigrant.” – Provided by Publisher
Fiction
Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian
Physical Book
“[…]Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of inter-generational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.” Provided by Publisher
“History is a quilt. You pull one thread and everything changes. I’m here. Your father is here. You’re here. We can’t change that. But we can be honest with each other.” – Abdi Nazemian from Only This Beautiful Moment
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
Physical Book
“The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. […]
Mark Bailey is NOT a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. […] Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. […] It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.” -Provided by Publisher, Page 4 of cover
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
AudioBook
“First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. International socialite duties do have downsides — namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. […] Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him. As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations.” -Provided from Publisher
“Straight people, he thinks, probably don’t spend this much time convincing themselves that they’re straight.” – Casey McQuiston from Red, White, and Royal Blue
Graphic Novels
Cross My Heart and Never Lie by Nora Dåsnes
Translated by Matt Bagguley
Physical Book
“Twelve-year-old Tuva struggles with how to become a teenager, friendship, and falling in love with another girl in this graphic novel set in Norway.” -Provided from Publisher
The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
Physical Book
“Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She’s desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends…who don’t understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan’s biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl. Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. But Keltie has some secrets of her own.” – Provided from Publisher, Page 4 of cover
Across a Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti
Physical Book
“When they were kids, Fassen’s fighter spaceship crash-landed on a planet that Lu’s survey force was exploring. Lu and Fassen are from different worlds and separate solar systems. But their friendship keeps them in each other’s orbit as they grow up. They stay in contact in secret as their communities are increasingly threatened by the omnipresent, ever-expanding empire. As the empire begins a new attack against Fassen’s people-and discovers Lu’s in the process-the two of them have the chance to reunite at last. They finally are able to be together…but at what cost? This beautifully illustrated graphic novel is an epic science fiction romance between two non-binary characters as they find one another through time, distance, and war.” Provided from Publisher
“If there was nobody in your way telling you what you had to do- to be safe, to be fed, to have a place to sleep at night- who would you be?” – Blue Delliquanti from Across a Field of Starlight
Children’s Books
One of a Kind, Like Me/ Unico como yo by Laurin Mayeno,
Illustrated by Robert Liu-Trujilo
Physical Book
“Tomorrow is the school parade, and Danny knows exactly what he will be: a princess. Mommy supports him 100%, and they race to the thrift store to find his costume. It s almost closing time will Danny find the costume of his dreams in time? One of A Kind, Like Me / Unico como yo is a sweet story about unconditional love and the beauty of individuality. It s a unique book that lifts up children who don’t fit gender stereotypes, and reflects the power of a loving and supportive community.” – Provided from publisher
Marley’s Pride by Joëlle Retener
Illustrated by DeAnn Wiley
Physical Book
“Marley is a little nonbinary kid with big anxieties. Crowds? Pass. Loud noises? No, thanks. When their Zaza is up for an award at Pride, they want to go to the parade for the first time with their beloved grandparent. But can Marley overcome their fears? This story highlights the joyful experiences of a queer family of color finding community at Pride.”-Provided from publisher
“Every year when June comes around Zaza starts raving about the parade. And I find a reason not to go…” – Joëlle Retener from Marley’s Pride
Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman
Illustrated by Eda Kaban
Physical Book
Pink Is for Boys invites and encourages all children to enjoy colors in everything they love to do, whether it’s racing cars and playing baseball, or loving unicorns and dressing up. Vibrant illustrations help children learn and identify the colors that surround them every day, from the orange of a popsicle, to the green of a grassy field, all the way up to the wonder of a multicolored rainbow.” – Provided from publisher
