Sixteen Souls – The Bookish Mutant

♿️ The Bookish Mutant’s Books for Disability Pride Month (2025 Edition) ♿️

Posted on July 2, 2025 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles!

Here in the U.S., July is Disability Pride Month! This July, we find ourselves in a situation that’s far from celebratory. Both the U.S. and the U.K. are on the verge of passing legislation that would make cuts to the healthcare programs and benefits that many disabled people rely on. It’s clearer than ever that the people in power see disabled people as disposable and not deserving of respect. In the years since I’ve started making these posts, visibility for disabled people (and this pride month) has seen a small increase (in my experience) yet continues to be left behind in feminism. And I’m still on the hunt for any kind of media that accurately represents my own disability (sensory processing disorder), and I know many disabled people have had similar experiences. But that’s no reason to give up. It’s no reason to stop writing, to stop reading, and to stop listening to the lived experiences of disabled people. We cannot be erased with legislation—we will always be here, and we’re sticking around no matter what.

So here is another list of some of the best books with disabled representation that I’ve read in the past year! I’ve included books from all age ranges (middle grade to adult) and genres that represent a multitude of disabilities.

NOTE: my memory (and the internet) is imperfect, so if I’ve misrepresented/mislabeled any of the specific rep in these books, don’t hesitate to let me know!

KEY FOR TERMS IN THIS POST:

MC: Main character
LI: Love interest
SC: Side character

For my previous lists, click below:

Let’s begin, shall we?

♿️THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S BOOKS FOR DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH (2024 EDITION)♿️

FANTASY:

When the Tides Held the Moon – Venessa Vida Kelley | Adult | MC with asthma, little person SC, SC with gigantism | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sixteen Souls – Rosie Talbot | YA | MC with prosthetic limbs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Maid and the Crocodile – Jordan Ifueko | YA | MC with vitiligo and crooked foot (cane user) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Brooms – Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall | MG | Deaf MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
To a Darker Shore – Leanne Schwartz | YA | Autistic MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Lightfall: The Girl & The Galdurian – Tim Probert | MG | MC with anxiety disorder | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SCIENCE FICTION:

Goldilocks – Laura Lam | Adult | MC with PCOS | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dust – Alison Stine | YA | Deaf MC and SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Stardust Grail – Yume Kitasei | Adult | MC with chronic migraines | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection – edited by Madeline Dyer * | YA | various disabilities throughout (anthology) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Accessing the Future: A Disability-Themed Anthology of Speculative Fiction – edited by Kathryn Allan and Djibril Al-Ayad | Adult | various disabilities throughout (anthology) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Finna – Nino Cipri | Adult | MC with depression | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Time and Time Again – Chatham Greenfield | YA | MC with IBS and anxiety, LI with oligoarthritis | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
The Vela – Becky Chambers, S.L. Huang, Yoon Ha Lee, and Rivers Solomon | Adult | Deaf MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A People’s Future of the United States – edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams | Adult | various disabilities throughout (anthology) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

*I’ve arbitrarily included Being Ace in the science fiction section, but it includes several genres, many of which fall under sci-fi/fantasy. It could theoretically go in all three fiction categories in this post.

REALISTIC FICTION:

Roll for Love – M.K. England | YA | MC with anxiety disorder | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Love Letters from Joy – Melissa See | YA | MC with cerebral palsy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Death of the Author – Nnedi Okorafor | Adult | wheelchair-using MC/later uses prosthetic limbs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Navigating With You – Jeremy Whitley and Cassio Ribeiro | YA | MC with cerebral palsy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stars in Their Eyes – Jessica Walton and Aśka | YA | MC with prosthetic leg, LI with anxiety disorder | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Joined at the Joints – Marissa Eller | YA | MC, LI, and SCs with juvenile arthritis, SC with celiac disease | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Afrotistic – Kala Allen Omeiza | YA | Autistic MC, SCs with autism and cerebral palsy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Life Hacks for a Little Alien – Alice Franklin | Adult | Autistic MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

NONFICTION (or “Oops! All Alice Wong”):

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century – edited by Alice Wong | Adult | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life – Alice Wong | Adult | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Invisible: How Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just Fine – Michele Lent Hirsch | Adult | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Strong Female Character – Fern Brady | Adult | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mean Little Deaf Queer: A Memoir – Terry Galloway | Adult | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire – edited by Alice Wong | Adult | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Have you read any of these books, and if so, did you enjoy them? What are some of your favorite books with disability rep? Let me know in the comments!

Today’s song:

That’s it for this recommendations list! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Books

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈The Bookish Mutant’s Books for Pride Month (2025 Edition)🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Posted on June 2, 2025June 6, 2025 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles!

Here in the U.S., June is Pride Month! I usually start off these posts with something about how the world is slowly getting kinder to queer people, but that, as always, the shadows of homophobia and transphobia loom large. Well…Christ, it sure is looming larger than ever. Misinformed voters have decided that they’re perfectly content to return us to an administration that has already required passports to revert to the carrier’s assigned gender at birth and has been emboldened to toy with the idea of repealing the right to same-sex marriage. Of course, here I am sitting on my comfy couch in my comfy blue state of Colorado that thankfully has a) a gay governor (shoutout to Jared Polis), and b) enshrined the right to same-sex marriage in the constitution, but that doesn’t mean that my heart doesn’t constantly ache. All of us in the queer community are deeply interconnected. What hurts one of us hurts all of us.

Book banning across the country has disproportionately targeted queer books, deeming the presence of such subjects in children’s, middle grade, and YA literature as pornography and grooming. And god forbid that a drag queen commits the incredibly sexual and predatory act of…[checks notes] reading picture books to kids at libraries. Republicans have their priorities twisted. That’s old, old news by now. Books and libraries were never meant to be war zones, but fascists have made it their mission, then and now, to declare the right to information and new ideas as the most dangerous threat to their power. This goes for books both queer and non-queer. But the power of queer books can’t be overstated. Even I, who grew up in an incredibly supportive, accepting environment (biggest thank you imaginable to my wonderful family for being that way), was enlightened and comforted when, in the short period when I was closeted, I found bisexual characters in books that reflected my story and my feelings. Queer literature is revelatory, and it saves lives. For queer people, it gives them the comfort that they aren’t alone. For others, it gives them a glimpse into perspectives that they might not have otherwise considered, and compels them to empathize with people who are different than them.

So this pride month, and all year round (as always), when you think of what you can do to support the LGBTQ+ community, consider picking up a book. Support queer authors. Buy from queer-owned bookstores, because they tend to be pretty cool places. Support your local library (because they need it now more than ever)—checking out queer books shows them that they’re in demand, and that encourages librarians to keep on shelving them. For us book bloggers and other social media-oriented folks: keep on reviewing and shouting out books. And for all of us: no president, no government, and no legislation can take away your queerness. No one has that power but you. Your queerness is revolutionary and beautiful. Keep on being queer.

So here is my annual list of great LGBTQ+ reads from all sorts of genres, backgrounds, and identities. If I’ve mistakenly identified something about a book’s representation, please let me know! I’ve mixed YA and Adult books here, and I’ve also added a nonfiction section for the first time, as I’ve done with my other recommendation lists.

A refresher on my key:

MC: Main character

LI: Love interest

SC: Side character(s)

For my posts from previous years, click below:

Let’s begin, shall we?

🌈THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S BOOKS FOR PRIDE MONTH (2025 EDITION)🌈

FANTASY:

Includes paranormal, magical realism, horror, and genre fusion(s)

The River Has Roots – Amal El-Mohtar | Adult | queer MC, gender nonconforming LI | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Water Outlaws – S.L. Huang | Adult | sapphic MC, gender nonconforming MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Library of the Unwritten – A.J. Hackwith | Adult | pansexual MC, bisexual SC, sapphic SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Nightward – R.S.A. Garcia | Adult | Queer MC, queer and trans SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lost Story – Meg Shaffer | Adult | bisexual MC (x2), asexual MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Someone You Can Build a Nest In – John Wiswell | Adult | sapphic/asexual MC, sapphic LI | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Freshwater – Akwaeke Emezi | Adult | gender nonconforming/sapphic MC |⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
To a Darker Shore – Leanne Schwartz | YA | demisexual MC, lesbian SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Sun and the Void – Gabriela Romero Lacruz | Adult | sapphic MCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Girl, The Ring, & The Baseball Bat – Camille Gomera-Tavarez | YA | bisexual MCs (x2), asexual MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Death’s Country – R.M. Romero | YA | polyamorous MCs (f/f/m), bisexual SCs |⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Sixteen Souls – Rosie Talbot | YA | gay MC, trans LI, several queer SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Gwen & Art are Not in Love – Lex Croucher | YA | bisexual MC, gay MC, gay & sapphic SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Patricia Wants to Cuddle – Samantha Allen | Adult | bisexual MC, lesbian SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SCIENCE FICTION:

Includes dystopia, speculative fiction, & genre fusion(s)

Ocean’s Godori – Elaine U. Cho | Adult | queer MC, queer, polyamorous SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last Gifts of the Universe – Riley August | Adult | nonbinary MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
You Sexy Thing – Cat Rambo | Adult | queer MC, nonbinary LI, various queer SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Seep – Chana Porter | trans woman/lesbian MC, several sapphic & queer side characters | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
The Stardust Grail – Yume Kitasei | Adult | nonbinary MC, asexual SC, polyamorous SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Vela – Becky Chambers, Yoon Ha Lee, S.L. Huang, and Rivers Solomon | Adult | trans woman/lesbian MC, nonbinary MC, sapphic SCs, nonbinary SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Floating Hotel – Grace Curtis | Adult | nonbinary MC, lesbian SC, bisexual SC, pansexual SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Stars Too Fondly – Emily Hamilton | Adult | bisexual MC, lesbian LI, trans woman SC, nonbinary SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology – edited by Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova | YA | various queer/trans MCs and SCs (anthology) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Countess – Suzan Palumbo | Adult | lesbian MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Catherine House – Elisabeth Thomas | Adult | bisexual MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
A People’s Future of the United States – edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams | Adult | various queer/trans MCs and SCs (anthology) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Finna – Nino Cipri | Adult | queer MC, nonbinary MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Hammajang Luck – Makana Yamamoto | Adult | agender lesbian MC, lesbian LI, trans man SC, trans woman/lesbian SC, lesbian SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Time and Time Again – Chatham Greenfield | YA | lesbian MC, nonbinary lesbian LI, several queer SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

REALISTIC FICTION

Roll for Love – M.K. England | YA | bisexual MC, lesbian LI, asexual SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Desert Echoes – Abdi Nazemian | YA | gay MC, gay LI, several queer SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love Letters for Joy – Melissa See | YA | panromantic asexual MC, pansexual LI, bisexual, lesbian, and gay SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
If You Still Recognize Me – Cynthia So | YA | bisexual MC, lesbian, sapphic, bisexual, gay, and nonbinary SCs
Ander & Santi Were Here – Jonny Garza Villa | YA | nonbinary MC, queer LI, bisexual, grey-ace, and lesbian SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Can’t Take That Away – Steven Salvatore | YA | genderqueer MC, bisexual LI, gay, lesbian, and pansexual SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Some Girls Do – Jennifer Dugan | YA | bisexual MC, lesbian MC, trans, pansexual, and gay SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Stars in Their Eyes – Jessica Walton and Aśka | YA | bisexual MC, nonbinary LI | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Navigating With You – Jeremy Whitley and Cassio Ribeiro | YA | lesbian MC, bisexual MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oye – Melissa Mogollon | YA | lesbian MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Between Perfect & Real – Ray Stoeve | YA | transmasc MC, lesbian, bisexual, gay, trans, and nonbinary SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Bánh Mì for Two – Trinity Nguyen | YA | bisexual MC, sapphic LI | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

NONFICTION:

All Boys Aren’t Blue – George M. Johnson | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches – Audre Lorde | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Stonewall Reader – edited by the New York Public Library | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure – Lewis Hancox | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality – Julia Shaw | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gender Queer: A Memoir – Maia Kobabe | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic – Alison Bechdel | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Strong Female Character – Fern Brady | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures – N.D. Stevenson | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Have you read any of these books, and if so, what did you think of them? What are some of your favorite queer books that you’ve read recently? Let me know in the comments!

Today’s song:

lindsey…please tell me this is a sign that you’re cooking something…

That’s it for this year’s pride recommendations! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Monthly Wrap-Ups

July 2024 Wrap-Up 🌤

Posted on July 31, 2024 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles!

Somehow July’s already over…it felt awfully fast, yet the heat made the evenings so slow…time, huh?

Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

July for sure had its ups and downs; I was getting hit with the election anxiety big time at the beginning of the month…so naturally, I was overjoyed at the prospect that Biden had dropped out of the election. Comforting that my options aren’t just “old white man with dementia” and “old white man with dementia who also happens to be a felon.” (Still. No excuse to vote for the felon, folks. Harris 2024!). So my faith has been restored on that front, and I’ve ended the month on a much more hopeful note, thankfully. America remains a dumpster fire, but least there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.

I was able to read a good amount this month, though! As is with every year, I was scrambling to find more and more books with disability rep for Disability Pride Month (there’s a solid amount out there, but it’s still fairly scarce), but I ended up reading some excellent books as a result! Summer has confined me to the house for the most part, what with the miserable heat (listen, I like summer, but not 90 degree heat, let me be clear), but it’s given me plenty of time to read—and to write! I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo this month, and as of today, I reached my goal of 50,000 words a day early! I had no idea that I’d be able to pull it off a day early—I had my ups and downs as far as motivation goes, but now, I’m a little over halfway through my first draft of this novel! I’ve also had fun with my blogging this month, and I feel like I’ve written some productive reviews.

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, playing guitar, drinking a ton of tea, watching Succession (nearly finished with season 2!), watching and re-watching several Studio Ghibli movies (technically, I saw Ponyo when I was 5, but it felt like a fever dream back then…MUCH more beautiful now!), and doing everything I can to get out of this heat.

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 18 books this month! As with every month, there were some hits (nearly 5 stars) and misses (an unfortunate DNF…), but I especially had fun reading books for this year’s Disability Pride Month!

1 – 1.75 stars: