In My Mailbox: Halfway Through October Edition

It's been an eventful couple of weeks, to put it lightly, and looks like an eventful few to come, which is why you won't be seeing me around the internetz very much. I couldn't resist sharing a few reads I'm excited for, though!

In My Mailbox is a meme for sharing books bought, borrowed, or otherwise (legally) received hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren.

E-galleys for review:

Skeleton Lake by Angela Kulig (Goodreads)

Unsure if she's drowning or being saved, all Marlow wants to do is run away. Ensnared in a haunting love triangle, she realizes both boys have holes in their hearts; gaping spaces she can never hope to fill.
Scars from loving the same girl, a girl who managed to stay dead.
Now she is being hunted, for what she has become and what she never asked to be. Even as a Skeleton Marlow isn’t the worst thing in the night—she isn’t even close.

Not at all sure about this one, but I was in the mood for something new. Looks like it will either be horrible or amazing. Stay tuned!

From the library:

Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances (anthology) (Goodreads)

Dark, urban fantasies come to life in the newest collection of Steampunk stories, Corsets & Clockwork. Young heroes and heroines battle evils with the help of supernatural or super-technological powers, each individual story perfectly balancing historical and fantastical elements. Throw in epic romances that transcend time, and this trendy, engrossing anthology is sure to become another hit for the fast-growing Steampunk genre!
This collection features some of the hottest writers in the teen genre, including: Ann Aguirre, Jaclyn Dolamore, Tessa Gratton, Frewin Jones, Caitlin Kittredge, Adrienne Kress, Lesley Livingston, Dru Pagliassotti, Dia Reeves, Michael Scott, Maria V. Snyder, Tiffany Trent, and Kiersten White.

 I'm of a very mixed mind about most YA short fiction, and especially of YA anthologies, and I have no idea why. Maybe it's because I love literary short fiction so much - I find it far more enjoyable and readable than literary novels - and YA is so vastly different. Maybe it's because it's just very hard to find a single moment in a teen's life to write about when a teen's life feels inherently so big and messy. So I came in to this one (I'm about halfway through) with pretty low expectations, and some of the stories have indeed been terrible. Most of them are sweet, funny, and thought-provoking, though, and when I saw the authors included, I couldn't pass it up. Review to come!

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.
Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously - and at great risk - documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

Picked this one up casually from the YA section when I was studying in the library and finished it in one sitting. There are no words. Well, actually, I'm sure I will find words when the time comes, as I did have a few gripes with the writing; the story, on the other hand, was one of the most powerful I've ever read and I still can't get it out of my head. I know I'm pretty much the last one to read this, but if you haven't, YOU MUST. My heart still pounds when I think about it!

So that's my mailbox of the past couple of weeks; how about yours? Feel free to leave links and titles in the comments!

My favorite LGBTQ books for National Coming Out Day!

Hey, everybody! The Human Rights Commission in my county was just disbanded despite my very vehement argument in its favor to the board of commissioners. Forgive me while I go cry in the corner sigh heavily and get down to the nuts and bolts of this post, which is actually pretty exciting, because hey: it's National Coming Out Day!

This year has been a spectacular identity crisis for me from start to finish, from going to college for the first time to now facing the prospect of graduating from my alma mater with an A.A. degree this spring, to dropping my reasonably comfortable suburban life to go live on a farm in the middle of nowhere (both of which being pretty wonderful transitions, if you ask me), but one crisis in particular stands out: the queer thing, and whether or not I am

The gory, personal, and painful details on that are a post for another day (or probably never), but suffice to say that I have reached the conclusion that if by "queer," or "bi," or "freak," people mean that I love people for who they are and not their genitalia, then I am proud to identify as any of those things. Born this way and proud!

And now that my personal out is out of the way, I'd also like to "out" some of my favorite LGBTQ YA of all time! This is by no means a conclusive list because I am sadly, sadly under-read in this area, so please feel free to out your own in the comments!

Ash and Huntress by Malinda Lo

Okay, okay, so these are obvious picks as they've gone the most mainstream of any LGBTQ YA I know (with the exception of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which I haven't read). They've gone mainstream because they are completely and totally freaking beautiful. Trust me on this one. A fabulous high fantasy style meets a literary voice meets a wonderfully fresh world, and if you haven't read them (or Lo's terrific blog), then you're missing out! 

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

The T (transsexual) in LGBTQ is probably the least represented of any part of the spectrum, so I was delighted to read such an honest portrayal here. Of course, I was also delighted by Hyde's incredible storytelling and wonderful characters and by the fact that she made me cry (numerous times). And the cover. Also by how fabulous she is on Twitter. And really, just by ALL THE THINGS about this book. Read it!

The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer

It's short and sweet with writing somewhat in the vein of Malinda Lo's, but also in a style entirely its own. With the exception of the Percy Jackson series, it's far and away the best of the Greek mythology trend: plus, what's not to love about a lesbian twist?

Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey

Read this one so recently that the link goes to the Goodreads page instead of to my review, but it's easily launched its way onto this favorites list. I described it to John at Dreaming in Books (aka one of the most fabulous book bloggers you will ever meet) as Beautiful Creatures but more my thing, and I can't think of a better way to describe it. Witches! Magic! Family secrets! A mysterious and swoony romance (between two guys!) that never takes away from all the action. It's really just a wonderful book, and I think you should read it, okay? Okay. Now that we're clear.

So what are your favorite LGBTQ reads? Any coming out stories (of any kind) to share? Leave them in the comments, folks! (And, for the love of YA, if you are under 35, get involved in county politics so that I am not the youngest person at meetings by, at minimum, twenty years. Please?)