Series 5

The girls' first book of Series 5 on LGBTQ+ authors is Rita Mae Brown's bestselling "Rubyfruit Jungle". In discussing (arguably) the first lesbian protagonist in popular culture, the girls talk:- The effect of a shining superhero lead character in tackling oppression
- How that makes us feel as gals that love a bit of emotional struggle and nuance
- Interestingly, how Molly's self-belief trips our (super-Irish) "Notions" alarm, and how that's just very uncomfortable
- Plus Chloe Cullen in her best dramatic performance to date!...

The girls' second book of Series 5 on LGBTQ+ authors is Ilana Masad's stunning "All My Mothers Lovers".In discussing possibly our most divisive main character to date, the girls talk:
- Said divisive main character - is Maggie super selfish or just grieving the loss of her mother in her own way?
- How the grieving process can have you come to terms with your parents' humanity, often too late
- the reality of desire - and how we can be boxed in by what qualities are "acceptable" to be attracted to....

The girls' third book of Series 5 on LGBTQ+ authors is Gabby Rivera's joyous "Juliet Takes a Breath".
While fangirling over, quite possibly the most lovable main character we have ever come across, the girls talk:
- First and foremost, how we CANNOT HANDLE how much we love Juliet. Seriously. Why is she fictional? We need to hang out with her IMMEDIATELY
- Juliet's journey after she comes out, and how her foundation of love with her family makes it even more affecting
- How Juliet's tendency to get overwhelmed, freak out, but then do the thing anyway makes her our actual hero, move over Beyoncé
- How through doing that, Juliet identifies and creates her own relationship with feminism...

The girls discuss #TheSubtweet, our first novel by a trans author - #VivekShraya (@vivekshraya – follow her for fierceness, hair goals, and playsuit game that has forced us to address our preconceptions on what's required to achieve "femininity". I swear, it turns out we have this archaic checklist of things you're not supposed to display in order to appear "feminine". What the hell like!)
The Subtweet is a warm, moving and upsettingly accurate depiction of friendship between women and the havoc the ‘Likes=Acceptance’ Algorithm™ can wreak on it....

Well, it's been aaaages (due to LC having to do a hell of a lot of late nights for her day job - don't ask) but we're back with Episode 5 of our series on LGBTQ+ authors, this time on Leslie Feinberg's acclaimed "Stone Butch Blues".

In discussing our most affecting examination of the LGBTQ+ experience, the girls get into:

Stone Butch Blues being, straight up, a critical novel in our learning about the historical experience of gay women when living a gay lifestyle or presenting as gender nonbinary was straight up illegal
Trigger warning: This episode discusses physical abuse and rape – a lot. Because it happened a lot to these characters we loved. That’s why we need to talk about it and show it in the way it’s shown in the book.....

Gang! We are finally back with our sixth and final episode in our LGBTQ+ series – this time with Ciara Smyth’s warm and affecting “The Falling In Love Montage”

This is just the way we wanted to finish our toughest series yet – with a strawberry sorbet of sexual tension, class one-liners and a chewy centre of aniseed flavoured existential angst (I think we can all agree that is exactly how angst tastes, fight me in the carpark later if you disagree). In discussing said flavour bomb of romantic same-sex awesome, the girls get into:

How refreshing it is (See? Strawberry sorbet!) after all the tough and US dominated reads we’ve had over the last few months, to have a current Irish love story based around someone that is the same age as the girls with the same concerns we have. Except maybe her super-hot summer girlfriend. We don’t have that... Unfortunately...