“It’s a story where no one is only the jock, or the popular girl, or the nerd, or the goth. “My goal with The Breakaways was to create a book where kids could recognize themselves, while also seeing inside the lives of others,” says Johnson. Johnson’s The Breakaways (First Second, March 2019) centers on a third-string girls’ soccer team that is more focused on friendships than athletic skills. Today we tend to believe that LGBTQ acceptance is something entirely ‘new,’ but it might be that the past was a lot more accepting than you’d think.”įor younger readers seeking good middle-school drama, Cathy G. Most of them had spouses, partners, family, and friends-the people around them often knew about their LGBTQ identity, and for the most part, didn’t care. “There were LGBTQ laundresses and restaurant owners and farmers and soldiers and outlaws. “The thing that amazed me most was how normal-and often downright mundane-their lives were,” Gillman says. While dark-and-depressing isn’t always a bad thing, that shouldn’t be the only representation LGBTQ youth can find on a bookshelf-because what sort of message does that send to young people wondering what their future might look like?” In researching the book, Gillman found plenty of evidence of LGBTQ people in the Old West. “LGBTQ YA has made huge strides in the past few years, but a lot of it still veers toward dark and depressing subject matter. “I wanted to make a Western for young queer and trans folks,” says Gillman. In Stage Dreams, set in New Mexico in 1861, a trans woman who ran away to avoid being drafted into the Confederate Army teams up with a female outlaw for a daring heist. It’s hard to overstate how important that is.” “These stories have the power to give comfort and guidance, and to keep people going, even through dark times in their lives.

“Every LGBTQ kids’ book that manages to make its way onto a bookstore or library shelf is a life raft,” says Melanie Gillman, creator of As the Crow Flies (Iron Circus, 2018) and Stage Dreams (Graphic Universe, Sept. I talked to a number of authors about their books and what they hope readers will gain from them.

Growing up in 2019, it’s often a struggle for those contending with their identity and orientation.įortunately, graphic novels can help by letting readers know they aren’t alone and shining a light on hardships as well as loving friendships and relationships. The political fight for equal rights continues, while many young LGBTQIA+ people combat bias at home, school, and in their communities. On this 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, there’s a lot to be joyful about. June is Pride Month, a time of celebration for the LGBTQIA+ community.

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