Disability, Disney and Discussing Empathy- Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

Hello! Today I will be doing something a little different as I will be hosting a guest post from another blogger! Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow is a brand new YA contemporary that focuses on empathy, so Walker Books came up with the brilliant idea of sharing each others personal stories on our blogs to try to encourage empathy between us.

This post is from Pippa (Life of Pippa) and focuses on how living with an invisible illness affects her day to day life. 


My name is Pippa, and I’m a lifestyle blogger from Yorkshire. I became chronically ill at the age of 15, and began to use mobility aids at the age of twenty. Today, I’d like to talk about invisible illness, empathy, and the place that really drove it home for me… Disneyland Paris.

Something I often consider is at what point an invisible illness becomes visible ‘enough’ to ‘earn’ the empathy of others. Why? Because despite using an extremely visible mobility aid, many non-disabled people are still inclined to question whether I actually look unwell enough to need a wheelchair. I’ve talked many a time about people’s perceptions of my invisible condition, and what it’s like to be an invisibly ill wheelchair user, however it was my recent experience at Disneyland Paris that was a particular eye-opener for me.

For those who don’t know, Disney operates a Green Access Card system: a majestic little piece of paper that allows people with specific conditions to jump to the front of ride queues, skip the lines for meet and greets, and even bag the best viewing spots for all the shows. However, with using such an awesome system came unwanted attention that really highlighted just how stigmatised invisible conditions still continue to be.

In Disneyland, you enter rides from the exit, so that all those poor people who’ve queued relentlessly for hours to get on their favourite rides have to watch you glide past and hop on and off the attraction before they’ve even edged forward an inch. This is where things got slightly uncomfortable. Each time I approached a ride, I knew that all eyes were on me as I calmly stood up from my wheelchair and carefully made my way to my seat on the attraction. Sometimes, the intense attention could simply be attributed to people’s curiosity or sheer boredom from waiting in line. Other times, you could detect the scorned looks from a distance: people wondering what was actually ‘wrong’ with this person who looked and walked exactly like them, and why they were getting this special treatment.

Each time I made this small journey, I couldn't help but wonder whether there was anything I could do to give this attentive audience just the slightest insight into the numerous hidden symptoms I experience on a daily basis. My friends and I often joke about how people might be more accepting if I dramatically face-planted out of my wheelchair onto the ground and proceeded to let them drag me across the floor from A to B, and whilst that is clearly something I’d never do (for one, I’ve seen what people throw on those floors when they think nobody is looking…), you can’t help but wonder whether people’s perceptions would change at an outright display of suffering.

At what point does a condition become visible ‘enough’ to meet the general public’s satisfaction? And why am I questioning how to make my illness more visible, when really I should be questioning why my condition has to be visible to warrant empathy from others?

To an extent, I can understand. Many of Disneyland Paris’ visitors are British, and if there’s one thing us Brits like, it’s a good orderly queue system. To have waited for such a long time and then witness somebody appearing out of nowhere, then seemingly abandoning the mobility aid that got them there in the first place? Before I got ill, who’s to say I wouldn’t have made assumptions too?

However, this is what I’d like them to know. Not only is my illness invisible, so is my condition management. My

holiday wasn’t spent waltzing between attractions from dawn until dusk. On a typical Disney day, I had a few hours outdoors, followed by solid bedrest, a heck of a lot of medication and usually extreme coercion from my carer before I could face venturing outside again. I live with constant chronic pain and fatigue; to have to queue for just one attraction, even in my wheelchair, would leave me suffering for the rest of the day. And if you made me choose between spending my diminishing energy waiting in a queue for a ride I might be too poorly to get on by the time I reached the front, or pacing myself and making sure I’m well enough for cuddles with Mickey Mouse, I’m sure it’s a no-brainer which one I’m going to choose. You might wish for my magical Access card, but trust me, you can have it if you take my chronic illness too. Maybe I don’t look ill ‘enough’ to satisfy your curiosity or avoid your assumptions, but that doesn’t make my illness experience any less valid.

In the future, I hope that Disney continue to develop their wonderful accessibility practices, that the general public’s awareness of and empathy towards chronic invisible conditions continues to increase, and perhaps most importantly, that I get to go on It’s A Small World some time again in the near future. That ride is seriously adorable.

If you’ve had similar experiences to me, I’d love to hear them. How do you think we can remove the prejudice surrounding invisible illness?

My Thoughts

I found it quite easy to empathise with Pippa, as although I don't have an invisible physical illness,I have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Like Pippa, people assume that just because I look fine that I am fine, but what they don't see is what's going on inside my head, the constant anxiety I experience from being out in public, and how difficult it is for me to do a simple task such as going up to a cashier to pay for something.

I wrote a post on my struggles with social anxiety which you can find over on Alice's blog, so be sure to check that out!

I'd like to say a big thank you to Pippa for sharing her story!

Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow is now available to purchase, and I will be sharing my thoughts on the book very soon!

Review on The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

When Monty's father offers him a chance to go on a tour of Europe, he jumps at the chance. What could be better than touring the continent with his best friend Percy? However, Monty's idea of drinking and gambling are soon shot down when he learns that a guide will be joining them, and to make matters worse, his younger sister Felicity will be coming along too. Things go from bad to worse when the group is attacked by highwaymen, causing them to lose their guide and become stranded in a foreign country with no money. Monty soon realises there is more to the highwaymen than stealing from random travelers. They want something that Monty has taken, and they won't stop chasing him all over the country until they have it. Monty's tour ultimately turns into a manhunt, putting the lives of himself and the two people he loves the most in danger.

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!

I could probably just end my review right here if I didn't have to scribble down my thoughts on why I adored this book. I just want to shout from the rooftops about how much I love it, but as that isn't socially acceptable, that is what my blog is for!

I honestly have no idea where to start talking about this book, so I'll start with the setting. I adore historical fiction, but it seems to be difficult to find historical YA books unless they involve time travel. Gentleman's Guide is set in Europe during the 1700's. Apart from books that focus on slavery, I haven't read any fiction set in this time period, so I was excited to read about these characters. I adored the imagery that we were given through Monty's tour, from the descriptions of the palace of Versailles to the beauty of Venice. I loved how we saw everything for the first time through Monty's eyes, and as this is probably the closest I'm going to get to my own tour of Europe, I loved how the imagery was so vivid and easy to imagine.

So I should probably talk about the plot, which I honestly just want to go on a huge rant about, but will refrain so that I don't give away spoilers. I loved that there was plenty of humor this book, and some of the situations Monty managed to get himself in had me laughing out loud. However, there are also some pretty dark themes, including slavery, racism and physical abuse. Monty being physically abused by his father was completely heartbreaking, and it was clear throughout the novel that it had a long-term effect on him. It was horrible seeing how badly he flinched when anyone he didn't know touched him, and how he thought he was overreacting and should just let himself be hit, as it was what his father had taught him to do. This was the most upsetting part of the book for me, but although Monty suffers because of his father, I loved that he slowly realised his father was a terrible person and was able to distance himself from all the awful things he had said to him.

So the characters, OH MY GOD THE CHARACTERS. I've talked about Monty a little already, but I've not even scratched the surface on how much I adore him. His dimples, his hair, his cocky personality, JUST EVERYTHING! Honestly if Monty doesn't make you swoon I don't know what will. Like all good characters, Monty has his problems, but one thing that made him so excellent was the character development he went through. He was initially pretty selfish, and although Percy was the one who was sick, Monty still made it about himself, and decided what they would do so that he could keep Percy. He never actually listened to what Percy wanted, and this is something that completely changed towards the end of the book. I felt as if what Monty's fate could have been was shown perfectly through another character, and Monty caring more for what Percy wanted was one of the big changes to his character.

Now bare with me as I'm about to rant about the actual love of my life Percy Newton. Honestly, I can't even decide if I love Monty or Percy the most they're both so perfect. Like Monty, Percy had his own problems to deal with, including having epilepsy. I was honestly almost in tears over the initial reveal, as he had kept it a secret from Monty so that he wouldn't worry about him. I felt as if Percy was the opposite of Monty in that he constantly put others before himself, and although he rarely defended himself, he was fiercely loyal to Monty. Being mixed race in high society was a rare occurrence in the 1700's, and although Percy came from a wealthy family, he was often looked down on for the colour of his skin. It was horrible seeing him allowing himself to be talked down to and seen as “other,” as if he felt he had no choice but to accept it. Percy is such a kind, gentle and sweet character, and I honestly wanted to hug him and protect him from all the people who were cruel to him. It was horrible that he felt like he was a burden to Monty, and instead of being angry that they weren't allowed on a boat because they wouldn't allow any black people who weren't slaves aboard, he apologised to Monty. I feel as if my reaction would have been similar to Monty's despite Percy not wanting to cause conflict.

So before I start on a rant about the romance in the book, (It's a positive rant!) I have to talk about how much of a bamf Felicity is. Felicity, who is only fifteen years old but stitches her own wounds while the boys almost faint. Felicity, who would rather attend a medical lecture than a ball, and who has no time for boys. She was such a positive role model, and I honestly wish more books had characters like her. I am absolutely ecstatic that Mackenzie is going to be writing a sequel focused on her!

OKAY SO THE ROMANCE. So one thing that I always adore is the friends to lovers trope. Honestly it's so cliché, but it's a rare occurrence when it happens and I don't find it adorable. The romance between Monty and Percy was completely adorable, and I honestly couldn't cope with how shy they were when it came to admitting they had feelings for each other. There were some really sweet moments between them, and I honestly wanted to shout at Monty that Percy liked him back. It was so frustrating thinking they were finally going to get together, only for Monty to somehow ruin it. Honestly, I really can't cope with this boy sometimes! I found it ironic that Monty had said Percy must be stupid if he didn't know that he had romantic feelings for him when he had no clue about Percy's feelings for him. I also have to point out that Monty is bisexual, which I was completely over the moon about! I find that there are so few bisexual characters in YA, so I adored this about Monty. Another thing I loved was the way consent was handled. Although they don't go as far as having sex, it's mentioned a few times, and both Monty and Percy don't shy away from the subject. A lot of YA books seem to tiptoe around sex, giving little hints that it was going to happen, and then skipping to the next day. Although I'm not the type of person who enjoys reading detailed smutty scenes, the fact is that teenagers have sex, and it's something that should be talked about rather than implied. Although the boys don't have sex, things do get a little heated between them on a couple of occasions, and I loved that Percy always asked Monty if he was okay with it.

I realise I haven't talked about the plot enough, but this review is getting far too long! If you want to read a wonderfully diverse book about pirates, highwaymen, alchemy, and boys with dimples falling in love with other boys, this book is for you!

  | Amazon | Book Depository

Review on Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

When Simon Spier's classmate reads his emails, his whole world comes crashing down. Simon has been anonymously emailing Blue, a boy who is also hiding his identity. Simon knows that Blue goes to his school and is in his year, but has no way of discovering his identity. However, Simon shares a secret with Blue, something they have never shared with anyone else, which is they are both gay. Simon finds himself falling for Blue, and wanting to know his real identity, but will Simon feel the same way about Blue when he discovers who he really is?

OKAY I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING!! You're thinking this book should be right up my alley, why on earth haven't I read it sooner? I have no answer other than I'm a terrible person who procrastinates a lot. Honestly the only reason I read it when I did was because I was going to see Love,Simon, and refused to be one of those people who see the movie without reading the book. I'm also writing this review right before I see Love, Simon, so I don't get book details confused with movie details! Anyway, on with the review!

So if you've been living under a rock, the book is about a boy called Simon who has been emailing a boy from his school who he knows only as Blue. Both Simon and Blue are gay and in the closet, and find comfort in talking to each other about things they can't tell their friends or family. However, Simon's secret is in danger of being revealed when his classmate Martin reads his emails, and blackmails Simon into trying to get his friend Abby to go out with him. This review is just going to be me gushing about how much I love this book. I'm a pretty slow reader, but I read this in two days, and honestly didn't want it to end! My only regret is that I didn't read it sooner, as I have really been missing out on having Simon in my life.

One of the many things I loved about this book was the theme of friendship. Simon has a tight knit group of friends who he does everything with, and I was actually quite envious of this! True friendships are difficult to come by, and I hate to agree with Martin, but Simon was lucky to have such great friends who accepted him no matter what. I loved that the group wasn't perfect, and Simon argued with them all at some point, but what I loved was that although they fell out and disagreed, they always came back together. I felt that this was a sign of a strong friendship, as it's so easy to fall out with a friend and never speak to them again. I also loved that Abby was a part of their group, as she was a new addition. I feel as if it's difficult to get into a group of friends who have been friends for years without feeling like an outsider, so I loved how Simon seemed just as close with her as he was with Nick and Leah.

One of the main plot points is Simon trying to guess Blue's identity, and I was surprised that I correctly guessed who Blue was about halfway through the book. I'm not sure if it was obvious or if I'm the next Sherlock Holmes, but I seemed to be picking up on clues that Simon wasn't. I thought that Simon would have figured it out before meeting Blue, but I have to admit that their first meeting was completely adorable.

With the exception of Martin I adored all the characters, and I especially loved how the typical American high school cliques weren't a thing. Simon was friends with both the football players and the theatre geeks, and I loved how certain stereotypes were broken, such as the lead in the theatre group being nice instead of being bitchy, and the jocks being smart. I particularly loved Leah, and the fact that she loved anime and shipped Drarry made me wish she was a real person so I could be friends with her! I did feel sorry for Leah at times, especially when her friends went out somewhere without inviting her. It's horrible feeling as if your friends don't want you around, so I related to how horrible it made Leah feel.

Just in case anyone hasn't read the book or watched the movie I won't reveal Blue's identity, but I have to talk about the romance as it was completely adorable. I'm all for including sexy times in YA, but the fact that there wasn't any of that didn't bother me, as the romance was just so pure and adorable! My heart couldn't cope with the cute, and Blue was the purest cinnamon roll who instantly clicked with Simon when they met. They were both so cute and shy around each other and honestly I think I have a new OTP!

I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie which I will have seen by the time this review goes up. (Update from me in the future: IT WAS AMAZING!) and I think I am now officially a Becky fan!

  | Amazon | Book Depository

Blog Tour- A Bad Boy Stole My Bra

Hellllooooo, welcome to my stop on the A Bad Boy Stole My Bra blog tour. I thought I'd share my thoughts on the book with you all with a good ole fashion review.

When Alec Wilde moves in next door, the last thing Riley expects is to find him in her room in the middle of the night holding her bra! When Alec refuses to give it back (it was a dare after all) Riley decides to get her revenge with a series of pranks. Riley soon discovers that Alec isn't just the bad boy everyone thinks he is, and there may be a reason as to why he acts that way. However, Riley has her own secret, something so terrible that she hasn't even told her best friend. Riley must decide between revealing her secret to her friends or cutting herself off from them, but which will she choose?

So the cover of this book is eye-catching to say the least! The title of this book is brilliant, and it immediately reminded me of the Georgia Nicolson books. I love reading funny books, so I was excited to read this one.

The book follows Riley, a girl who wakes up in the middle of the night to find her attractive new neighbour in her room stealing her bra! After trying and failing to get it back, Riley decides to get him back by pranking him. I loved the pranks and how Riley got herself into some hilariously awkward situations. The pranks often backfired on her and I loved the playful relationship she had with Alec. The lighthearted funny moments were exactly what I had expected from this book!

I usually love a good plot twist, but I didn't really enjoy the subplot involving Riley's cousin. I felt as if it made the story too dark, and this wasn't hinted at in the summary, and definitely didn't fit in with the bright yellow cover! I feel as if people who read this book wanting a funny, cheesy romance probably won't enjoy this part, as to me it just didn't fit in with the rest of the book.

Apart from Riley and Alec, the rest of the characters were pretty two dimensional, especially Alec's friends who were practically interchangeable. The majority of the side characters lacked personality, and even the physical descriptions of the boys were identical. I wish fictional teenage boys would stop being described as having “chiseled abs”, as I'm pretty sure not one boy in my school had abs. Teenage boys usually don't have the time or money to hit the gym every day.

Riley was a likable character, and was easy to sympathise with. I loved that she was a geek and was obsessed with horror movies, and how she was constantly getting herself into awkward situations. I felt as if her mental health problems needed more research, as although she is described as having anxiety, to me it looked a lot more like PTSD, something that isn't brought up as often in YA. Riley's anxiety and panic attacks are always triggered by memories of a certain traumatic event from her past, but the fact that what she has is actually PTSD is never brought up. Something else that I didn't like was how Riley constantly described herself as being a loner and an outsider, which obviously isn't the case, as she is invited to house parties and is friends with some of the most popular boys in her school. As someone who went through school being constantly bullied and having one or two friends, I don't think Riley truly understood what being an outsider was.

I have mixed feelings about Alec. I found him to be sweet, kind and funny at times, and I particularly enjoyed his terrible pickup lines. However, he was also quite possessive and got angry and jealous whenever a boy showed interest in Riley despite Riley not being his girlfriend. Instead of admitting he had feelings for Riley, he acted as if he didn't care about her, which I felt was quite a childish reaction. To me, his reactions seemed too aggressive, as he even got angry when one of his friends was interested in Riley. There were times when I really wanted Riley to call him out for his behaviour, but she was quite passive.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the laugh out loud book I thought it was going to be, and although it started out promising, it soon took a more serious turn. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had just stuck to being a funny, lighthearted book, as sometimes I just want to read something happy without the characters going through life-changing trauma. I loved the pranks, the banter, the bad pick up lines and the chemistry between Riley and Alec, but unfortunately, everything else fell a little flat for me.

Floored Blog Tour

So I have something a little different for you today. As you may know, Floored is a collaborative novel written by seven amazing authors! MyKindaBook came up with the awesome idea of seven bloggers collaborating to create seven different posts in whatever format we want, as long as it celebrates the release of Floored. We were each given a line from one of the first seven chapters to focus on and base our post around, and my chapter 's first line was “The woman on the reception desk knew.” This chapter was narrated by Kaitlyn, but it made me wonder what would have happened if this first line had been another character! I noticed that Kaitlyn doesn't properly interact with Hugo until they are inside the lift, so I thought it would be interesting to write a fanfiction on what I think might have happened if they had talked sooner. This is of course completely my take on things, and has nothing to do with the actual canon of the story (which is far better than my fanfiction of course!) Even though Hugo was an awful person at this point, I actually found it really fun writing a fic from his point of view!

The woman on the reception desk knew. I could tell she was trying to be subtle, trying to act as if I was just another nobody kid here for work experience, but the way she looked at me gave her away. How did she know? It's not like my face is plastered all over the front page of the tabloids like my father. Maybe mother has been talking about me? She works here, so of course the woman would know her. Everyone knows her. She probably saw the name “Delaney” and instantly knew who I was. I mean it's not exactly a common name, not a name that people around here would have. I wanted to see the look of surprise on her face when I told her that mother was actually Margot Delaney, but no, she ruined that by looking up my damn name before I could even get the words out, then stuttered something about having to do some stupid health and safety thing on the ninth floor. She didn't even tell me where the lifts were! Maybe I should tell mother about how she is clearly inadequate at her job, I'm sure she could get her fired.

The lobby looks like a zoo. People are mingling around the lifts, watching as the numbers slowly come down to the ground floor. The thought of being stuck in one of those boxes with these sweaty morons for nine floors is making me feel ill, but climbing up nine floors in this heat doesn't seem like a much better option. Someone suddenly barges into me from behind, making me stumble into the woman in front who looks at me as if I just kicked her dog.
“Don't blame me. Blame the moron who walked into me.” I turn around to see who the hell it was, and see a girl with a blue streak in her hair like some sort of crackhead smurf. Seriously, how does she think that looks good? If people from around here actually do shit like that, the north is even worse off than I thought. She hasn't even apologised for nearly knocking me over, honestly the nerve of some people.
“Oi!” I say, waving my hand in front of her face. “You blind or something?”
“Yes, actually,” she says before looking horrified. “I mean no! I'm not blind, you were just in my way.”
Oh no, this chick is actually blind. I'm officially the worst person in the world. I'm not going to apologize though, that's not what I do.
“Well you need to watch where you're going,” I say, trying to keep my voice harsh. What am I even doing? I'm yelling at a blind person. But is she really blind? She's glaring at me, her eyes practically boring into my soul. Honestly if looks could kill.
“I'm sorry your highness,” she says, the sarcasm practically dripping off her. “I'll look where I'm going next time.”
Who the hell does she think she is? I swear she better not be here for work experience too. I don't think I can cope with a week in her company. Will everyone be like her? God, I hope not or I might just have to hurl myself out of the 9th story window.
The girl smirks, obviously thinking she's got the better of me.
“You here for work experience?” I ask, hoping to god the answer is no.
“Not that it has anything to do with you, but yes,” she answers. Of fucking course. “I assume I'll have the pleasure of your company for a week.”
“Unfortunately for me, yes.” Why am I even still talking to her? Normally I wouldn't give someone like her the time of day. I mean she's pretty enough I guess, but I can't look away from that stupid blue streak for long enough to find out if I'm actually attracted to her. My guess would be no, I mean I do have standards after all.
“Dawson Sharman is here,” she blurts out before immediately looking as if she regrets it.
“Who the hell is that?”
“From Dedman High. Sorry I just, he's a bit of a dickhead actually.”
“Dawson Sha-” I trail off as I finally recognise the name. “You're fucking kidding me, the guy who had the unfortunate incident with his face?” That's what he's famous for now, the child actor who got fucked over by puberty. Honestly I thought puberty was meant to make you more attractive, but Dawson looks like he got beaten with the ugly stick. “Where is he?” I stand on my toes to try to get a better view over the lift crowd.
“Talking to the guy with the bleached teeth,” smurf girl replies.
“Ah! I see him.” I immeditetly get my phone out to snap some pictures. God, he really is hideous. I'm pretty sure he looks even worse in real life. David is going to love this.
“Do you think he's on the work experience with us?”
“Doubt it,” smurf girl replies. I should really get her name if we're going to be working together for a week. Not that it matters, after Sunday I'll never see her or her stupid hair ever again, but I guess it wouldn't be too bad to have someone to talk to.
“I'm Hugo by the way,” I say as one of the lifts finally arrives. Thank god.
“Kaitlyn,” she replies. “Nice to meet you.



 Be sure to check out the rest of the dates on the blog tour!!

Pride Reads

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH Y'ALL! 

The sun is shining, it's not dark when we wake up in the morning and everything is extra gay, honestly could life get any better? Well it's about to, as I'm going to recommend some of my favourite LGBT+ reads to you! 

If you haven't heard of this one then WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?Seriously bro do you even read? This book has been adapted
into a movie you might have heard of called Love, Simon,
and both the book and the movie are fantastic! We may have
a long way to go to achieve equality, but the fact that we have
a gay romcom showing in the cinema is a big deal, and I'm
honestly so proud. If you're reading my blog right now then
you probably already know all about this book, but I just had
to include it because I love it so much!

So this is the only book on this list that isn't YA, but the characters
are in University so are only a little older than your typical YA character. Every time I recommend this book, I do have to point
out how dark it is, as the characters suffer throughout the series,
and there are some horrible torture and rape scenes. This one
is definitely not suitable for younger readers, but it is a fantastic series with brilliantly diverse characters. Despite everything these
characters go through, the series does have a happy ending!

This one is a fantasy, but the main characters are LGBT and it's
one of my all time favourite books so of course I had to include
it! In short, this book is what Harry Potter would be like if Drarry
was canon. Along with the enemies to lovers trope, you get a gay vampire, a school of magic called Watford, and a dragon. Really
what more could you want? If you miss Harry Potter then honestly this is the next best thing.

OKAY SO THIS BOOK!!

Please read this book and appreciate my bisexual son Monty and

his gay boyfriend Percy. I adore everything about this book and

it's practically impossible to not fall in love with Monty. Monty makes some bad decisions which include stealing from the Palace of Versailles, getting chased across Europe by highwaymen and

drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

This book includes the friends to lovers trope WHICH IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVE. Honestly the romance in this book is the cutest  thing ever and you can personally complain to me if you don't love it.

OKAY SO THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVES! Honestly if
you don't laugh out loud at least once while reading this book
then you seriously lack a sense of humor. The book follows
Noah, a teenage boy who is having a terrible time at school.
Things go from bad to worse when his best friend Harry kisses
 him at a party, making their once simple friendship complicated.
This book was pretty much perfection, and I've recently finished
 the sequel which is equally hilarious! I find that a lot of LGBT+
books are either serious or sad,so these are perfect if you want
 a more light hearted read.

This is quite an old book now, but I only read it for the first time
last year. It follows George, a young transgender girl who is
desperate to play the role of Charlotte in her school production
of Charlotte's Web. However, everyone sees George as a boy,
and her teacher doesn't even allow her to audition for the part.
I was actually quite shocked when I found out this was a middle
grade book, as I had never come across a trans character in
middle grade before. I loved how positive the message in this
book was. The suicide rate for young trans people is outrageously high, and this book shows how it's important for parents and
teachers to respect the gender identity of children rather than
                                 trying to force them to accept the gender that was assigned to
                                them at birth.

Please let me know if you've read any of these as I would love to kno your thoughts! Also I'm always on the lookout for books with LGBT+ rep, so please reccomend me your favourites!