#trr24 — Public Fediverse posts

“Light from Uncommon Stars” Review

Written by Ryka Aoki
Published by Tor Books, September 2021
372 pages
Completed March 29, 2024

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka’s ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She’s found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn’t have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan’s kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul’s worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

This was a very cool and very strange story. Other reviews have said it felt like multiple stories being told at once and that’s sort of true. But really it feels like multiple lives intersecting in a time and place in various complicated ways and we’re just going along for the ride. Which is how life works. Books usually focus on one story but this one was a bit more realistic to life with multiple people and their stories connecting. It’s also multi-genre in that it’s a bit science fiction and a bit fantasy and a bit coming of age general fiction for one of the characters. And I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters – even Shizuka Satomi and her complicated history. Some would say she’s evil but it feels more complicated than that. There’s a couple places where I think things could have been explained a little more bot overall everything was great about the book. Hopefully all continues to go well for everyone!

#Bookstodon #Fantasy #LGBTQIA_ #ScienceFiction #TransRightsReadathon #TRR24

https://stardustrohrig.com/?p=640

“Real Sugar is Hard to Find” Review

Written by Sim Kern
Published by Android Press, August 2022
206 Pages
Completed March 25, 2024

A collection of short stories by Sim Kern, REAL SUGAR IS HARD TO FIND explores intersections of climate change, reproductive justice, queer identities, and family trauma. Whether fantasy, science fiction, or terrifyingly close-to-home, the worlds of these stories are inhabited by flawed characters whose lives are profoundly impacted by climate change and environmental degradation.

Arranged in a progression from dystopian to utopian worlds, the stories chart a path from climate despair towards resilience and revolutionary optimism. Even in the bleakest of futures, however, Kern offers reasons to hope, connect, and keep fighting for a better world.

This was a great collection of stories! I enjoyed all of them though there were a couple I did want to know more about what was going to happen next. That said most of them did feel complete and even the ones that didn’t ended in a way that made sense for what was being told. As the description says even with the darker stories there was always a sense of possibility and hope. I’d read anything by Sim Kern at this point.

#Bookstodon #Dystopian #LGBTQIA_ #ScienceFiction #TransRightsReadathon #TRR24

https://stardustrohrig.com/?p=634

“Breakout” Review

Full Title “Breakout: The Altayih Chronicles 1”
Written by Alek L. Cristea
Self published, February 2023
324 pages
Completed March 24, 2024

Malek dreams of owning his own ship and escaping the prison he’s been unjustly held in. When his escape plan collides with the agenda of a Shinarian girl, he must choose between trusting her and going alone. Trystan, on the radical colony Eden One, discovers his father’s involvement in a terrible project and must decide whether to act despite risking everything. Làhn, a skilled thief, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and must piece together his past to clear his name. Together, they must confront Berik Corp, a powerful entity threatening the galaxy’s stability.

This was a fun and exciting read. I really liked that along with the Trans / Queer representations there were various disability and mental health representations as well. The characters are great and I really enjoyed learning about them. Each of the three main characters has their own group of friends that are going along for the journey which makes things more exciting. The book ends in a way that makes it feel like a pilot episode for a tv show with a long story arc but will have standalone episodes along the way to completing the arc. Definitly a lot of story possibilities! I’m looking forward to reading the next book.

#Bookstodon #LGBTQIA_ #ScienceFiction #TransRightsReadathon #TRR24

https://stardustrohrig.com/?p=627

“This Arab Is Queer” Review

Full Title: This Arab Is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers
Edited by Elias Jahshan
Published by Saqi Books, January 2022
216 pages
Completed March 23,2024

This ground-breaking anthology features the compelling and courageous memoirs of eighteen queer Arab writers — some international bestselling, others using pseudonyms. Here, we find heart-warming connections and moments of celebration alongside essays exploring the challenges of being LGBTQ+ and Arab.

From a military base in the Gulf to loving whispers caught between bedsheets; and from touring overseas as a drag queen to a concern in Cairo where the rainbow flag was raised to a crowd of thousands, this collection celebrates the true colours of a vibrant Arab queer experience.

This was a great collection of stories. Each one felt important to read and understand as the individuals told their stories. As the introduction explains being Arab and Queer can be difficult for a number of reasons and each person has had to deal with a lot because of where they come from. There are also other issues they have to deal with as well. There was a range of different queer topics that were good and informative. Some stories were harder to read than others – with different issues happening to the individuals. I’m glad I read this book and I’ve already looked up the authors to learn more about them.

#Bookstodon #LGBTQIA_ #ShortStories #TransRightsReadathon #TRR24

https://stardustrohrig.com/?p=621

2024 Trans Rights Read-a-Thon

The 2024 Trans Rights Read-a-Thon has begun and this year I am fundraising for OUT MetroWest located in Framingham, Massachusetts!

“The Trans Rights Readathon is an annual call to action to readers and book lovers in support of Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) on March 31st.”

My Fundraiser for OUT MetroWest

More information about the Trans Rights Readathon

I will be reading the following books this year:

“This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers”
Edited by Elias Jahshan

“Real Sugar is Hard to Find” a collection of short stories by
Sim Kern

“Breakout” – first novel in new series by Alek Cristea, described as a “space-opera/cyberpunk adventure featuring queer teens in space fighting back against oppression.”

Previous books I’ve read with Trans characters or written by Trans individuals include:

“The Thirty Names of Night” by Zeyn Joukhadar

“Seeds for the Swarm” by Sim Kern

“Transcendent: The Year’s Best Transgender Speculative Fiction” by K.M. Szpara et al.

Other books written by or with Trans individuals

“Lakelore” by Anna-Marie McLemore

“Depart, Depart!” By Sim Kern

“Hell Followed With Us” by Andrew Joseph White

“We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir” by Samra Habib

“VenCo” by Cherie Dimaline

“The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester” by Maya MacGregor

“The Wicked Bargain” by Gabe Cole Novoa

“The Evolving Truth of Ever-Stronger Will” by Maya MacGregor

“The Free People’s Village” by Sim Kern

“The Gilded Ones” trilogy by Namina Forna

#TransRightsReadathon
#TRR24

#Bookstodon #GeneralFiction #LGBTQIA_ #ScienceFiction #ShortStories #TransRightsReadathon #TRR24

https://stardustrohrig.com/?p=616

The #TransRightsReadathon runs from 22nd to 29th March to help promote #TransBooks and other books by #trans+ authors as well as raise money for organisations supporting #TransRights. You can find more here: https://transrightsreadathon.carrd.co/?fbclid=PAAaYeG3j-etmrAEMMR92zX0IdeMUGnVT1CrQtTY46ahfg8HTJv0pGRW5BWe8

Are you looking for some inspiration on what to read? Here are a few trans books I’ve read over the past two years with a link to the short write-up I’ve posted on masto.

- An Unkindness of Ghosts (a generational ship based on strict religious class and racial lines) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/112010358429461206
- Before We Were Trans (nonfic expansive trans history) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111925434476580895
- Cemetary Boys (Día de Muertos) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111948153628086071
- Crosshairs (anti-fascist trans BIPOC resistance) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/109875405273577531
- Detransition, Baby (relationships, family and detransition) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110677635785865288
- Felix Ever After (transmasc art student faced with a forced outing) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110922336949457075
- Galaxy: The Prettiest Star (comic, alien princess has to live as a teen boy on Earth) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110713520336037920
- Genderqueer (graphic novel memoir of coming to terms with gender) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110197948473297597
- Grey Dawn (time travelling US civil war romance) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110905391999476446
- Her Majesty’s Royal Coven (secret witch covens and perils of transphobic white feminists) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110672387005252841
- Life From Uncommon Stars (Beautiful book about a violinist who made a deal with the devil. Plus alien refugees) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111857696212333355
- Manhunt (Zombies and TERFs) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111121132084300194
- Nevada (avoidance roadtrip and cracking eggs) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110156613359709154
- None of the Above (nonfic reflections on being non-binary and mixed race) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111358450476082261
- Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl (shapeshifting gender crisis) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/109881650190136280
- Peter Darling (transmasc Peter Pan) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111777906176975664
- Proud Pink Sky (alt-history gay "utopia") https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110876840593226540
- She Who Became The Sun (if Mulan became emperor) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/109859241361729201
- Stealing Fire (Fantasy hijra courtesan plus political intrigue) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110899878229609633
- Tell Me I'm Worthless (horror) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111818147713154134
- The Seep (Benevolent alien invasion creates a utopia where our thoughts can become reality) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110107963055496140
- Variations (short stories set throughout trans history) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111869456717299751
- World Running Town (post-apocalypse scavenging and AI romance) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111806794390327277
- Wrath Goddess Sing (transgender Achilles retelling) https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111127131850262409

#QueerLiterature #QueerBooks #Booktoot #Bookstodon #Books #Queer #LGBTQ #TRR24

The Trans Rights Readathon is almost here! The Trans Rights Readathon is a decentralized fundraiser for trans aid organizations. Check out Sim Kern's DEPART, DEPART! and SEEDS FOR THE SWARM and E.G. Condé's SORDIDEZ. Sim Kern was the creator of the readathon in 2023 and its amazing to see it continuing with so much enthusiasm this year.

#bookstodon #books #TransRightsReadathon #trr24 #transrights #lgbtq #lgbtqbooks #lgbtqauthor #ecofiction #climatefiction #clifi #sciencefiction