profiterole_reads: (Nightrunner - Seregil and Alec)
profiterole_reads ([personal profile] profiterole_reads) wrote2024-10-24 09:39 pm

This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed

This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed was awesome! When Noor Khan's family moves to Bayberry, Illinois, she discovers that hundreds of books, mostly by queer and POC authors, have been banned from the school library. She starts to fight back.

This is a very timely book. It's sad to see that the increase in book bans in the US has been going on for long enough that a novel has been traditionally published about it. (In case some of you don't know, traditional publishing takes a lot more time than indie and self-publishing.)

The story shows how important activism is, but doesn't shy away from the possible retaliations of the fascist side. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't protest, but that you should do it while being aware of the dangers and taking all necessary precautions.

Noor is a Muslim Indian American. Her school friends are a Muslim Desi American and a lesbian (who finds a girlfriend among the other protestors). Her younger sister is probably aroace. A couple of minor characters are casually designated with they/them pronouns.

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I asked this question on Tumblr a couple of months ago, to no avail, and I'm thinking about it again, so I'm asking it here now. Do you guys have recs for novels (I'm not looking for non-fiction books) about activism? Preferably with some LGBT rep, but the activism can be on any topic, as our fights are intersectional.

So far, I've read [French] Tant qu'il le faudra by Cordélia, [French] Nos elles déployées by Jessie Magana, My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson and the aforementioned This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed.
elisheva_m: a water colour rainbow on a water colour sky with the word hope (Default)

[personal profile] elisheva_m 2024-10-25 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
I know you don't have much time for series but if you can manage to find 10.5 hours, Not Me asks and explores questions about activism for which there aren't clear answers. Not just in terms of possible/likely retaliation but also effectiveness and ramifications of actions on others. It's very well done but not an easy watch, there is violence and a lot of tension. Representation you'd be interested in includes M-M romances. The director is a trans woman (and maybe a character with a similar name? I can't remember if it's said).
It's primarily about corruption in Thailand and there isn't a lot of time to explore intersectionality but it does incorporate disability, marriage equality, Pride, and challenges conventions around beauty.