Review: Pulp by Robin Talley (Spoiler Free)

Title: Pulp

Author: Robin Talley

Genre: YA LGBT Historical Fiction/Contemporary

Publication Date: November 13, 2018

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.

In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. It’s not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself—and Marie—to a danger all too real.

Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can’t stop thinking about her senior project and its subject—classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby’s own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires and tragedies of the characters she’s reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity.

In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we’ve come and how much farther we have to go.

Standout LGBT Books

Hey guys!

In case you weren’t aware, today, June 26, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled to legalize same sex marriage in all 50 states. In honor of this momentous decision, I thought I’d share some LGBT (and one book about an intersex girl) books that I loved, along with some that I haven’t gotten to, but they’ve been highly praised throughout the community. Like always, covers will be linked to Goodreads unless I happen to have a review up.

Now, this book doesn’t deal with same sex couples. However, None of the Above is a heart breaking tale of Kristin, who finds out that she is intersex. NOTA was one of the most eye opening books that I’ve ever read, and I felt like it deserved a spot on this list.

If you love your protagonists on the sassy side, Simon is the book for you. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda follows a teenage boy, Simon, and his journey through high school as a not so openly gay teenager. Simon tackles what it’s like to come out to friends and family. This is a five star read with an adorable love story and lots of heart warming family dynamics.

Shamefully, I haven’t been able to read this book yet. However, the YA community has been singing it praises. According to most, this is the heart wrenching story of Aaron, who falls in love with another boy, Thomas, in a neighborhood where homosexuality isn’t exactly the most accepted thing. Aaron must decide if he wants to turn to the Leteo Institute, which offers a memory relief procedure that could not only make Aaron forget Thomas, but forget himself entirely.

This is another title that I haven’t read, but have only ever heard good things about. Under the Lights follows a lesbian romance in show business. Everyone I have talked to praises Dahlia Adler’s writing and her ability to craft awesome characters and stories.

This book is currently sitting on my “to read soon” shelf. Everything Leads To You is another lesbian romance that deals with show business (I see a theme developing here..) that I’ve heard some stellar reviews on. I hope to be getting to it soon.

I’ll round out this list with a title that I haven’t completed yet, but I have started. When I received this ARC in the mail, I knew I’d really enjoy it. So far, I was right. What We Left Behind is the story of two girls, Toni and Gretchen, who have been in a committed relationship with each other since high school. They’ve always been the golden couple that all of their friends aspire to be. When the girls go to two different colleges, they begin facing issues. For one, Toni, who identifies as genderqueer, begins hanging out with a group of transgender classmates and they immediately hit it off. Toni begins to wonder if Gretchen could ever really understand this part of her life, and Gretchen begins to feel left behind and excluded. This book tackles the topic of gender identity, and what happens when someone’s gender identity begins to shift. The publication date on this title is October 2015.

Those are some standout titles in YA LGBT literature today. Ranging from hilarious and heart warming to poignant and heartbreaking, LGBT lit is beginning to become more and more common in YA today. So, what are some of your favorite LGBT titles? Have you read any of the books on my list?