10 Queer Books You Need To Read in March

This haunting debut is a beautiful but unflinching look at trauma, the lingering effects of injury, and complicated sibling relationships. It unfolds in two timelines. In the past, teenage Justin sets off on a road trip with his first boyfriend that turns into a nightmare. In the present, Justin arrives at his sister’s house desperate to repair their fractured relationship — and find himself again after experiencing devastating violence.

Women’s history is trans history, so what better way to celebrate Women’s History month than with a memoir about trans activism? In this memoir, Indian trans activist A. Revathi shares personal stories about her life and insights into her many years working for trans rights, both as the director of a large NGO and independently. Recent history is just as important as older history, and this book shines a light on trans lives and communities in India.

Janet Mock’s birthday is on March 10 (happy birthday, Janet!), and if you haven’t read her memoir yet, it is time to change that. She writes with humor, compassion, vulnerability, and fiery passion about her life as a trans woman, growing up in Hawaii, activism, sex work, becoming a writer, self-love, and so much more. And if you’re already read this one, don’t worry — you can pick up her equally wonderful second memoir, Surpassing Certainty.

I can’t think of a better escape from the March doldrums than a romance novel about a very long trip! If you’re feeling stuck in your house and you’d rather be anywhere else, hop on the Pacific Crest Trail with Alexi and Ben as they hike across glaciers and through a desert, encounter all sorts of wildlife, listen to bird songs, and, oh yeah, fall in love! This is a beautiful, vivid, heartwarming story about two men who are both running from past pain and heartache, and the gentle way they help each other find their way back to themselves.

Maybe you live in California, or the Pacific Crest Trail just isn’t far enough away, or you’re not into romance. If you’re looking for a book that will truly jettison you out of orbit, this is the one for you. It’s set in a future in where humanity has abandoned earth, and now live inside giant space beasts that they use as ships. Yes, you read that right: they live inside giant living creatures! This book gets weird, but it’s not just weird: there’s political intrigue, a sapphic romance, family secrets, a fascinating matrilineal society, and…did I mention the giant space beasts?

If the month of March — in-between winter and spring, a little bit boring, feels like it lasts forever — had an opposite in book form, it would be this book. This book is wild. It begins when a volcano suddenly appears in Central Park, and it only gets stranger from there. It unfolds in a dizzying array of short chapters, following characters on every continent as the world around them becomes more and more unhinged. There’s time travel, shape-shifting, weird bees, ancient mythology, and more. It’s a revelatory and surprisingly moving novel about living through impossible times.