The first book is one I read a while ago; “Symptoms of Being Human” by Jeff Garvin is about a gender-fluid teen named Riley who struggles with coming out to their parents as well as the people around them. Since they have just moved schools. What I liked most about this book is how Garvin never revealed Riley’s assigned gender, which really gives them more depth as a character as well as heightening their fluidity even more. Regardless of how Riley identifies, I thought it was great being able to experience being a part of the LGBTQ community through someone who is LGBTQ. This book deals with various topics that transgender youth experience today, which did make me cry at one point. A warning for some readers: This book does have themes of suicide and harassment toward the main character.

The next book is more informational and nonfiction than the last one. It is called “Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis” by Alexis Coe which is a story about Alice Mitchell and Freda Ward. They were two women from 1892 who fell in love and planned to get married in private. When their plans falter and Freda breaks contact with Alice, she murders Freda. The one thing I loved about this book is that it told the story from multiple points of views, making the narrator unbiased. The author also provided lots of information on how the two interacted before the murder as well as how the trial went on afterwards. I recommend this book for anyone interested in true crime, as well as people interested in the evolution of treatment towards LGBTQ individuals. There is another warning for this book, considering there is a murder.

One of the most recent stories that I have read is “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out” by Susan Kuklin. This book is a collection of stories told by transgender teens about how they found their identities and how they have dealt with obstacles along the way. The author was also respectful toward people who did not want their photograph taken, since it shows imagery of the people telling their story, which I felt was a huge sign of respect as the author still kept their story despite those changes. I loved how it did not just interview female-to-male or male-to-female individuals but also explored the intersex and the non-binary side of the spectrum. Another thing I loved about this book was how the author did not tell their stories for them, Kuklin only offered some phrasing for context or told the reader who the person they were writing about was. This book is a good choice for anyone who has a friend or family member that is transitioning and may not understand what they are going through or how they explored their gender. Warning for those wanting to read this book, keep in mind that one of the people talk about self-harm in their story.

The last book, which may stick out from the rest, is “I am Jazz” by Jazz Jennings. This is a children’s book that follows the story of a young Jazz, a transgender girl, who does everything a normal little girl would do, except she was born in a male body. Throughout the story she explains to the reader how her friends treat her normally while some other kids call her names, as the story progresses, it ends with a nice message about just telling the reader that they should be whoever they feel is right and nobody should stop them from doing so. I think this is a lovely story for anyone who likes a short read or has a younger sibling that does not understand what being transgender means, or is transgender.

It is important to read these books not only for yourself, but to also understand others around you. The LGBTQ community is ever changing and so are the people within it. All of these books are worth the read and you get a more in-depth understanding from them in return.