My Heartstopper hyperfixation continues—which is not a surprise, because the final book and movie come out in a couple of weeks. To be honest, my reading has been mostly in the fanfiction arena lately, but my obsession did lead me to pick up a few books in June.
First up was I Was Born for This, the only Alice Oseman book I hadn’t already read. I loved this one: it’s an exploration of fandom and celebrity with alternating POVs between a die-hard fangirl (who is implied to be aro/ace) and a queer, trans boyband member struggling with his mental health. It was a real page turner.
Then, I picked up some graphic novels that looked like good Heartstopper readalikes: Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu, Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, and Bloom by Kevin Panetta. My favourite was Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms, which is sapphic and has a trans girl main character. It’s very short, but the characterization is strong, and I liked the dynamic between the love interests.
As an update to last month, I finished Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King, which won the 2026 International Booker Prize and the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature. This was more accessible than I expected, and I was fascinated by the complicated dynamic between Chizuko and Chizuru. I recommended it to my book club, and I can’t wait to discuss it with them.
Speaking of book club, I read the sapphic YA fantasy Crier’s War by Nina Varela for our June meeting. I’ve heard amazing things about this one, but I wasn’t a fan. So much depends on the romance, and I didn’t buy the chemistry between them.
I also picked up The Unbeatable Sonya Ballantyne by Sonya Ballantyne, which is a short YA graphic memoir about a bisexual Indigenous author. This felt a bit disjointed to me.
As for my July reading plans, nothing is set in stone. I’m still planning on reading The Way Disabled People Love Each Other by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha—and hopefully soon, because my library hold is overdue…
My next book club pick is How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler, which I’ve already read, but I might reread it. I especially recommend the audiobook for this one. As a queer person who has had a lifelong fascination with the deep sea, I couldn’t resist this memoir in essays.
Speaking of ocean animals, I also want to read The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang, which is a sapphic novel that is also about a giant jellyfish terrorizing an island community. Sold.
Also high on my list is Queer and How We Got Here: A (Personal) History by Hazel Newlevant, which is a graphic nonfiction book that weaves together queer history and memoir.
What about you? What are you reading in July, and what did you finish in June?
