Bookish Thoughts: My Experience with LGBT YA
My Experience with LGBT YA
I want to talk about my experience with LGBT YA. Not including the two books I have read for LGBT April, I would say I have read seven YA books that contain LGBT characters.
Now, I’m actually happy with this number. Seven may not seem like a lot (and it isn’t), but originally I could only think of one LGBT YA book that I had read: If You Could Be Mine. Why is it I could remember that book and none of the others when thinking about this topic? Because the main reason I read that book in the first place is because it had a LGBT focus. It’s the only book I’ve ever gone out of my way to pick up because it included LGBT characters (otherwise I would have likely never read it because contemps aren’t my thing). The other books drew me in for other reasons.
More Than This is a book I read because it’s written by my favorite author ever, Mr. Patrick Ness. (If you haven’t read his work yet, WHY?! I CAN’T BE YOUR FRIEND UNTIL YOU DO!) The main character of the story is gay, but it’s not the focus on the book. It’s actually just sort of mentioned as a side thought, and I have to admit – I really appreciated that. I actually liked that a book could include a LGBT character but not make a big deal out of it. Sometimes it seems like LGBT can only exist in YA if it’s the plot of the story.
Zombies v. Unicorns, according to Goodreads and some other sources, is a LGBT YA book because one of the short stories inside (or maybe more than one) contains LGBT characters. But I honest doesn’t remember that at all.
Both of those books I bought because they were interesting, and only realized there was an LGBT element after the fact. Did I enjoy them any more because of the LGBT element? Doubt it. Did I enjoy them any less? Nope. Would knowing about the LGBT characters have impacted my purchasing of the book? Probably not. I bought them for the stories, and ended up appreciating them for the diversity.
The other four books that I’ve read that contain LGBT characters? Ellen Hopkin’s books: Perfect, Tilt, Impulse, and Tricks. Again, I have to admit I don’t really recall these characters being LGBT. And I never pick up her books for that reason. I pick up her books because I love the format, I love the dark topics that are usually inside, and I love how thick they are.
I guess what’s interesting to me when looking at my experience with LGBT YA is that for the most part, it’s sort of been unrealized. I have had experience with LGBT characters, but I don’t remember them any different than straight characters. I remember these books, and I like or dislike these books, for the story and my ability to empathize with these characters.
In a way I think that’s both a good thing and a bad thing. I think in a way it’s good that I can see all these books as the same, that I can treat them with the same respect whether the characters are straight or not. But, in a way, I guess it can be sort of bad because they’re not all the same. Those LGBT books are few and far between, and need whatever love and support they can get in order to help future LGBT books to be published.
That’s what’s great about events like LGBT April. It makes me actively seek these books and give them a chance, whereas I might otherwise not ever pay attention to them.
Your Turn
What’s your experience with LGBT YA? Do you usually know if the books you’re reading contain LGBT characters beforehand? If so, does that affect whether or not you choose to pick them up? Let me know what your experience has been like!
