Reviewing a Queer Young Adult Novel.

Chosen Activity:

The activity that was chosen for this blog post was to review a young adult novel that focuses on diversity. Because diversity can be a broad subject, I believe it to beneficial to narrow the scope down to only focus on young adult novels that portray characters of the LGBTQ+ community. After narrowing down the scope, I search the local library OPAC for Queer young adult novels that could be appealing to teenagers. After searching Moreton Bay Regional Council Library OPAC I found a Queer young adult romance fantasy novel called ‘Spell Bound’ by F.T. Lukens. While searching for a novel was an important step in the selection process the majority of time was spent reading the novel, highlighting key moments, major plot points, and character development. By taking this approach I was able to write a book review that gave a reader a detailed description of the novel.

What was Learnt:

Authors of the 2018 article ‘Don’t Talk About the Gay Character: Barriers to Queer Young Adult Fiction and Authors in School and Libraries’ Emily Booth and Bhuva Narayan, discuss the lack of diversity within the young adult genre concerning queer representation and the challenges that are faced when getting queer young adult books into libraries and schools. These challenges come in the form of the school curriculum not supporting the use of LGBTQ+ fiction in the classroom and gatekeeping by staff. While it is interesting to learn about the gatekeeping that is still thriving within educational and community spaces; it was surprising to learn that within Australia young adult novels that focus on a diverse cast of characters within the LGBTQ+ community are published less and as a nation we are behind America and the United Kingdom when it comes to publishing LGBTQ+ books, Emily and Bhuva state that in 2017 only eight LGBTQ+ young adult novels were published within Australia. This is compared to the 123 heterosexual novels published in the same year (Booth & Narayan, 2018, p. 3).

While we do have organizations that are pushing for more diverse books within the publishing, education, and library industry; one of these organizations pointed out within the article is Diversebooks.org (WNDB) which provide access to information and resources about how we can increase more diverse books within spaces (Booth & Narayan, 2018, p. 4).

Is it relevant to the library industry:

Reviewing books is an effective tool that librarians can use to gain insight into the interests of patrons. Librarians will be able to build and maintain collections that will assist with attracting new patrons that will encourage engagement and meet the needs of existing users.

Because of this benefit to libraries and patrons, reviewing novels that embrace diversity; can increase awareness of young adult novels that feature LGBTQ+ characters, librarians will then be able to provide access to information, books, and resources where they feel represented or included.

References:

Booth, E., & Narayan, B. (2018). 'Don't Talk about the Gay Character': Barriers to Queer Young Adult Fiction and Authors in Schools and Libraries. English in Australia, 53(2), pp. 40- 49

Schechter, S. (2023). Spell Bound[Book Cover]. Simone & Schuster. https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Spell-Bound/F-T-Lukens/9781398521476

Artemis, N. (2022). Gay LGBTQ flag[Pride Flag]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/vectors/gay-lgbt-flag-homosexual-intersex-7258750/