At the beginning of 2022 I made two lists in my notes app: “Books I Read This Year” and “2SLGBTQIA+ Books I’ve Read.” I decided it was only necessary that I review the gay books and give each of them a rating out of ten. Note: these are not ranked in any order of favorites, they’re in the order I read them (I am way too indecisive for that). 

Boyfriend Material – Alexis Hall

8.5/10

This book was the classic fake dating to real dating trope, which honestly, can be very overdone and cringe. However, this was not the case. To be completely honest, when I first tried to read this book I put it down, read some other books, before I eventually picked it back up to restart it. The author is from the UK and the big vocabulary plus the British terms threw me off, but once I kept reading I realized how wrong I was for putting it down. It was super entertaining and funny.  It definitely made you wait for the sappy gay love story because you were busy being annoyed at the protagonist. A sequel was recently released, and it’s currently sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. 

What If It’s Us – Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

8/10

A very cute wholesome gay book. You know they’re gonna be happy and the universe will bring them together. It’s one of those stories that’s an easy read and you feel happy reading it. I’m currently reading the sequel.

Melissa (first published as George)  – Alex Gino

7/10

I wanted to read this because it was on a list of banned books. Thanks transphobes. It was a cute coming of age story about a trans girl at a middle school appropriate reading level. A cute, wholesome read. I do wish the ending was a bit longer, and we got to see more of Melissa being her true self. 

Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex – Angela Chen

10/10

This book was so interesting. Even as a pretty educated ace person myself, I learned lots by reading this and felt incredibly validated. If you’re interested in learning more about asexuality then this is the book for you! Also I think it would be really interesting for allos to read to understand the complexity of attraction and begin to understand more about one’s own attraction in a more in depth way. 

The Upside of Unrequited – Becky Albertalli

7/10

Honestly, I was expecting more from Becky. I really liked Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and was expecting another great book, but this one was just good. I did enjoy the ending where our main character finally gets the person she’s after, but I definitely had to wait a while to get there. 

I Wish You All The Best – Mason Deaver 

7.5/10

I don’t remember loving this one, but it was definitely good! There was great non-binary and queer representation, but it is really sad, which is something I usually don’t dip my toes into because I don’t need that kind of brutal homophobic sadness in my life. However that is very real and prevalent, so this book illustrated the reality of coming out and not having a supportive family. 

She Drives Me Crazy – Kelly Quindlen

6/10

BookTok recommended this and they disappointed me. 

The writing was really juvenile, which is something I am very quick to judge because it really irritates me. I throw that word around a lot with novels I read because I find it incredibly annoying. Sometimes I’m left thinking “They just let anybody publish a book nowadays, huh?” This book wasn’t bad, it just hyped up a lot so I was expecting great things and got disappointed. 

Kate In Waiting – Becky Albertalli

6/10

Another one I wanted to be a lot better. This was about our straight main character and her gay best friend crushing on the same guy. Maybe our straight main character threw me off…once again…expecting more from Becky.

Loveless – Alice Oseman

10/10 

ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER. I WANT TO RE-READ IT IMMEDIATELY. THE AROACE REP IS UNMATCHED. SO MUCH QUEER AND ACE REP!!!

she is the poem – june bates 

8.5/10

A super cute poetry book about the queer experience and sapphic love. Some of the poems made me cry which is very rare for my reading experience. These poems really just hit a spot of sensitivity and relatability in my little gay heart. 

I Kissed Shara Wheeler – Casey McQuiston

7/10

I adore Casey McQuiston books but this one was my least favorite of their books I’ve read. In 2021 I read Red, White & Royal Blue and loved  it. It was super witty and romantic, but this one wasn’t giving everything I wanted it to give. 

Heartstopper – Alice Oseman

10/10 

SO CUTE AND WHOLESOME. This was the only graphic novel I read this year and I fell so in love with Nick and Charlie. Plus it got turned into a TV show that I am OBSESSED with and have re-watched many, many times. 

The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller

9/10

Beautiful. So well written. I adored this take on Greek mythology. Super unique plot. I honestly don’t have a lot to say because the plot and the writing speaks for itself. One of the best, if not the best written book I read last year. 

Fan Art – Sarah Tregay

5/10 (and that’s just me rating the story, not accounting for the problematic bits)

I needed a gay book to read and got this one for $3 at a local bookstore. This did the trick but was nothing to write home about. There were a few lines that were incredibly cliche, plus I never loved the main character. He was a bit of a push-over and I thought it seemed like a gay book written by a straight person, although I don’t know the author’s sexuality. It was cute, and I was entertained for what it was: a coming of age/falling in love with your best friend novel. I don’t know if this was the author’s first book…but it definitely seemed like it was…

People on GoodReads however had very different opinions and hated this book. I didn’t really pick up on the fetishazation/biphobia some people mentioned during my first read, but now looking back the main character was worried that his best friend was straight and not gay, which completely left out many other sexualities. There are more than two sexualities!! I will say again, it really seems like it was written by a straight person, and straight people should never try to write about the queer experience!! 

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