I don’t know about you but I look forward to book releases like a football fan looks forward to every single game. We know March is the month where we all get pinched if we aren’t wearing green. It’s packed full with International Women’s Day, Sun-Earth Day, religious holidays, and, of course, the Vernal Equinox. You know… the first day of Spring!
But what about the little things in life such as, say, books? This March, I am making it all about books, particularly stories centered around subjects that make people squirm. I’m going to celebrate characters that cross the gender barriers, experiences that make the world question our very definition of sexuality, and plots that might – hopefully – alter our perceptions of the world we live in today. These are all stories I intend to read and I hope you will too.
Let the March Madness begin!
The Pants Project by Cat Clarke release date March 7th, 2017
Liv, a transgender individual, has made the transition from girl to boy. When he begins to attend a new school, he is made aware that the school’s dress code policy prohibits him from wearing pants because he was born a girl. Determined to not only change the dress code but his life and that of others in similar shoes, he launches the Pants Project.
This middle-grade book is complete at 272 pages. It explores the world of LGBTQ+ and introduces more than a “controversial” topic to its audiences – it explores the very heart of Gender orientation through the eyes of a young protagonist.
Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry release date March 14th, 2017
Calliope June has Tourette Syndrome and when she begins attending a new school, she attempts to hide it as best she can. Eventually, the other kids in her class become aware of her ‘quirks’, including the kid next door, a boy who is class President and might be her first friend. Just as she begins to make friends and accept herself, this stability is threatened by her mother’s new relationship and the possibility that they might move away again.
Forget Me Not in a story of self-acceptance, identity, and is written in a unique, almost poetic, structure.
The Polygamist’s Daughter by Anna LeBaron & Leslie Wilson release date March 21st, 2017
A memoir written by the daughter of Ervil LeBaron, murderer and infamous Polygamist, The Polygamist’s Daughter follows the childhood of Anna LeBaron. In her memoir, she recounts life inside her father’s cult – a radical branch of Mormonism – as they fled from the FBI.
Within it’s pages, The Polygamist’s Daughter sheds light on life within an extreme community, where anyone who dares to leave is killed. Based on true events, LeBaron pulls back the curtains of her child self – on being fatherless, faithless, and an insatiable hunger to know more than the life she had. This story shadows her path towards love, understanding, faith, and home.
Things I Should Have Known by Claire LaZebnik release date March 28th, 2017
Chloe Mitchell, a girl from Los Angeles, is on an adventure to find love for her autistic sister, Ivy. When a boy from Ivy’s class, Ethan, seems to be a great match, the only unfortunate detail is Chloe doesn’t get along with Ethan’s older brother, David. This is a lovely, funny story about first love, sisters, and autism – and how it’s OKAY to be different.
It Happens All The Time by Amy Hatvany release date March 28th, 2017
It Happens All The Time is a a story about two long-time friends, Amber and Tyler, whose lives are altered by a drunken kiss. Through the point-of-view of both of them, it’s revealed that while Amber viewed their relationship as platonic and friendly, Tyler’s feelings for her were much deeper. Engaged to her college sweetheart and returning home for the summer following graduation, flirting begins between the two friends, leading to the night of the drunken kiss that would alter everything they ever knew.
As the blurb on the book’s Goodreads page says, this story “examines the complexity of sexual dynamics between men and women and offers an incisive exploration of gender roles, expectations, and the ever-timely issue of consent.”