MSB Book Club – June
The MSB book club are making some changes. More details and the clubs’ thoughts on their current read will follow.
In the meantime, the Book Club have some recommendations in honour of Pride Month:
Fiction
1. “Red, White and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston
About the book: What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales? When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius–his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse. Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colours shine through?
Red White and Royal Blue was a New York Times Bestseller upon its released and a film is due to be released 11 August 2023 on Amazon.
2. “They both die at the end” by Adam Silvera.
About the book: A love story with a difference – an unforgettable tale of life, loss and making each day count.
On September 5th, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: they’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: there’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure – to live a lifetime in a single day.
3. “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller
About the book: Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles’s mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
4. Heartstopper Collection by Alice Oseman.
About the Graphic Novels: 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 interested in Charlie than either of them realised.
Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small moments of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.
Alice authored several novels and novellas in the Heartstopper universe. She also adapted the graphic novels for Netflix and Heartstopper Season 2 is due to Premiere in August 2023!
5. “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo
About the Book: Winner of the Booker Prize 2019 This is Britain as you’ve never read it.
This is Britain as it has never been told.
From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the twentieth century to the teens of the twenty-first, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of twelve characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They’re each looking for something – a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope . . .
Non-fiction
- “How to survive a plague: the story of how activists and scientists tamed AIDS” by David France
- “Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World” by Sarah Pregar
- “We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir” by Samra Habib
- “The Transgender issue: An Argument for Justice” by Shon Faye.
- “Pride: The Unlikely Story of the True Heroes of the Miner’s Strike” by Tim Tate
Children’s books
- “And Tango makes 3” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Illustrated by Henry Cole (0-3).
- “Perfectly Norman” by Tom Percival (2-4).
- “Julian is a mermaid” by Jessica Love (4-8).
- “Prince and Knight” by Daniel Haack Illustrated by Stevie Lewis (4+)
- “Pride an inspirational history of the LGBTQ+ movement” by Stella Caldwell (10+).
Independent Bookshop
As well as making sure we read and share LGBTQ stories, it is also important to support LGBTQ businesses especially in the current climate when hate crimes and misinformation appear to be on the increase.
Queer Lit is an independent bookshop that originally started online, which saw rapid growth that led to them opening shop in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, where they now stock over 2,000 titles. Queer Lit believe in the importance of supporting LGBTQ+ stories and providing a place for those within the community to find stories that reflect their experience.
As part of this ethos, Queer Lit donate over 100+ books each month to schools across the UK as part of their “Free Books for Schools”.
Located at 39 Tib St, Manchester M4 1LX, Queer Lit is open from 9am to 6pm Monday-Saturday, and 10am-5pm on Sunday. You can also order online from their website!
Contact us, we are here to help
We’re here to help, so please pick up the phone or drop us an email and one of our dedicated team will help with your enquiry.