Trans Rights Readathon 2025 has wrapped!
Because I am cursed to be a mood reader, I did not get through my TRR TBR. However!! I read 5 books total:
Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas (Library)
5 Stars
I sobbed so! Much! When I finished this one. Thomas manages to destroy me every time. I read The Sunbearer Trials for TRR last year and this duology just means so much to me. Reading trans stories means so much to me, and this series has incredible representation PLUS some of the most unique worldbuilding I’ve encountered lately.
Lovely Dark and Deep by Elisa A. Bonnin (NetGalley)
4 Stars
This was a gripping YA dark academia/fantasy novel with a fun magic system. I tore through this in one sitting, unable to stop once I picked it up! This is the kind of YA book I would have been *obsessed* with as a teen. Thank you to Feiwel & Friends for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame by Neon Yang (NetGalley)
4 Stars
This was the perfect ARC to add to my TRR stack! I was so excited when I was approved for this novella. I love queer women and dragons!! Thank you to TorDotCom and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Deep by Rivers Solomon (Audiobook on Libro.FM)
5 Stars
The philosophy behind this novella’s creation is SO interesting. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, narrated by Daveed Diggs of clipping., and then listening to the song “The Deep” by clipping.
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto (Library)
? Stars
Okay, so I haven’t *quite* finished this one yet but I’m less than 100 pages away from finishing so I’m counting it. This book is a BLAST: a queer Ocean’s Eleven meets Blade Runner written by an indigenous Hawai’ian author. I’m really loving all the Hawai’ian words I’m learning from this book!
So my 5 books takes my donation total to $25, but my book club read 16 books as well, taking the total to $105! My friend Hannah and I both agreed to match donations up to $150, and we decided to stick to our max even though our book club didn’t quite hit the reading goal. That means we’ll be donating $300 cumulatively, split between Trans Lifeline and Tranzmission!
I read books by and about trans/genderqueer people year-round, but I love Trans Rights Readathon because it’s amazing to see everyone come together and focus on trans stories for a week+ leading up to Trans Day of Visibility.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how visibility without protection is a trap – that making ourselves visible when we lack the rights to protect ourselves can result in harm. Lifting up trans voices and stories and giving support to trans authors is good allyship and shows the trans people in your life that you care about them, their experiences, and their right to live their lives as themselves. The next step is to keep fighting for trans rights - by voting, marching, protesting, calling your reps, and standing up against transphobia. This is a scary time for trans people and we need your support.
I’m not out as non-binary to my family, for a lot of reasons – but the biggest is that I just can’t trust them with that part of myself. But I am out in other parts of my life: with my friends, my partner’s family and select extended family members, online, professionally. Living true to myself has brought an immense amount of joy and love to my life. I’m so much happier than I was before I came out. I’ve learned to embrace the beauty of change and fluidity, to celebrate difference, to practice empathy for experiences I don’t relate to. It’s made me a better person.
Nothing is more freeing than being able to live honestly as who you are. If you participated in TRR this year, thank you. Leave a comment below with what you read!
If you didn’t, I hope you’ll consider adding one of the many books lifted up during this time to your TBR. There are some incredible graphic novels, novellas, audiobooks, and novels in all genres out there, just waiting to be read.
XOXO,
Rae
