The Novel Queers

TNQ 31 | Fred: An Unbecoming Woman

Listen to us babble our way through our very first memoir - Fred: An Unbecoming Woman by Annie Krabbenschmidt! Out today, June 3rd! Go get yourself a copy! This debut book is half essay, half memoir, and wholey authentic. Annie Krabbenschmidt explores compulsory heterosexuality, womanhood, and perfection with astonishing wit and insight. Fred discusses coming of age in a time where Marriage Equality seemed like a distant fantasy, casual homophobia was extremely casual, and Twilight had everyone convinced stalking was the height of romance. Spoiler: It kinda sucked, but we got through it. Sweetness:Bittersweet Citrus: Lime (but very academic) Gore: A Bone Gets Broken Trigger Warning for… homophobia, sexism, capitalism, transphobia, self harm, eating disorder, diet culture, unhealthy relationship dynamics, poor sexual education, dieting, eating disorder, thigh gap, pandemic, covid-19, extreme loneliness, and sports injury Mentions of… food, alcohol, drugs, rivers, drowning, memoir-typical second-hand embarrassment, Twilight, unsanitary bodily functions, stalking, drugging, eye virginity, 101 Dalmatians, skinning, Jim Jones, cults, kink, bdsm, vibrators, and sex

TNQ 30 | Manga (Dick Fight Island)

Hold onto your butts - we're going to Dick Fight Island by Reibun Ike! Eight warriors gather every four years to decide who will lead their people! None of them are wearing pants, and all of them are ready to fight to the climax. But one of the warriors, Hart, has a secret technique and a secret boyfriend not-boyfriend that could turn this competition on its head. Ahem. Also known as the one where your hosts say the word dick about a million times. (Also if you know us IRL, no you don't.) Sweetness: Piña colada (and not getting caught in the rain) Citrus: Grapefruit, see TW Gore: Tiny bit of blood, for ritual purposes Trigger Warning for... significantly more profanity than usual, sex-based combat, butts, dicks, taints, balls, consensual dub con, drugs, knife play, sharp things near sensitive areas, foot fetish, culturally appropriate public nudity, discussion of age of consent, and barely any female characters in sight Mention of... food, alcohol, drugs, gun, time travel incest, thotty colonel sanders, put an eye out jokes, unsuitable fanfic lube jokes, penis bee sting jokes, crossdressing, school girl uniform, blood, and funerals

TNQ 29 | How to Build a Home for the End of the World

It's the end of the world as we know it, and we feel fine! And that's because we're going on an apocalypse road trip with our advance copy of Keely Shinners' How to Build a Home at the End of the World. (And all our favorite listeners, of course. Pass the AUX.) Finding her home of Fox Lake has run dry, Mary-Beth Sorensen sets out on a road trip from Chicago to LA to save the girl she loves. Accompanied by her father, Donny, she struggles to find her place in a world that is always, and has always been, ending. How does one build a home at the end of the world? Sweetness: Water (sweet when you need it to be) Citrus: Lemon, but barely Gore: Profound, check TW pls Trigger Warning: dystopia typical awfulness, violence, abuse, anarchy, attempted suicide, suicide by doctor, forced medical procedures, body horror, death, death of parent, death of grandparent, corpse, funeral, burial, chronic illness, forced work camp, slavery, whipping, US politics, guns, robbery, armed robbery, hallucinations, infection, amateur amputation, mental decline of a parent, severe mental illness, severe physical illness, lack of medical care, advanced liver disease, parental separation, cults, politics, and lack of sanitation Mentions of food, alcohol, drugs, vomit, cancer, eating unpleasant things, Jonestown, mouth horror, missing tooth, eye horror, a living morgue, and uncertainty

TNQ 28 | Manga (Our Dining Table & I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents up)

Guess who's back! We're back! Yay! We realized that manga counts as a novel, and we crammed two of them into this episode to make up for the long absence. Please also look forward to our next episode coming soon based on an advance copy of Keely Shinners' How to Build a Home at the End of the World. Which is amazing and we hope you'll buy up every copy of it. I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up by Kodama Naoko Morimoto Machi wants her parents to stop trying to marry her off to eligible bachelors, her best friend, Hana, has a plan that involves a domestic partnership and the culmination of years of longing. Sweetness: Mochi, lightly sweet and quite a bit to chew on Citrus: Lime Gore: None TW: alcohol, food, homophobia, parental estrangement, sexism, Japanese specific sexism, almost but not quite predatory lesbian trope, fake marriage, shoujo manga typical confusion and argument, and brief suspicion of infidelity Our Dining Table by Mita Ori Yutaka finds it difficult to eat around people until he meets brothers Minoru and Tane, who is four. They grow into a family as Yutaka teaches Minoru to cook, and Minoru teaches Yutaka how to eat again. Sweetness: Candy, almost too sweet Citrus: Orange Gore: None TW: food, alcohol, death parents and grandparents, past childhood sibling abuse, familial estrangement, eating disorder, unsanitary food, minor illness, fear of death, and coping with bereavement M: food, alcohol, poop, hypothetical questions about eating poop, bombs, and old gay movies from blockbuster about people dying in shootouts

TNQ 27 | Cemetery Boys (Ch 13 - Epilogue)

Enjoy part two of our coverage of  Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas before you turn back into a pumpkin at midnight! Yadriel, Maritza, and Julian are no closer to figuring out this murder mystery plot than when they started, but Día de Muertos is fast approaching. Between school, sorting out feelings, and copious amounts of family drama - will they ever manage to solve this murder? They have to... right? Citrus: Orange Sweetness: Bittersweet Gore: Injury, Blood, Burns, Death Trigger: blood, injury, murder, ritual murder, stabbing, getting jumped, major character deaths, explorations of death, ghosts, homeless teens, misgendering, dead naming, complicated familial interactions relating to trans teen, betrayal, getting kicked out due to trans status, gang violence, burns, burning off tattoos, lack of health insurance leading to infection, cults, deportation, and police Mentions of food, alcohol, animal blood, butchers, veganism, hospitalization, and inappropriate removal of an IV needle