Alpha Recs: A

Yesterday, the wonderful Dahlia Adler did a thread on Twitter where she recommended 5 good books for each letter in the alphabet. She suggested I might do a similar set of recs, and that sounded like a lot of fun to me, so I have decided to do a weekly series of alphabet-based book recommendations. (I’m going to do six, because it formats better in a post that way.) For this, I’m going to strive to rec across many genres, and rec old faves alongside newer ones, with a focus on backlist.

Six Good Books That Begin with A

• Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live by Sacha Lamb is one of my most treasured trans YA reads, and I am so very glad it exists. I adore how Jewish it is, and how it feels very much like it was written by and for trans folks. It manages to explore things like bullying and suicidality in trans youth in a way that still feels like Avi is supported and has hope.
• Acting on Impulse by Mia Sosa is an utterly delightful m/f romantic comedy with meet cute and hate to love tropes, and it’s on my go-to comfort reread list. It’s funny and full of heart, gorgeously paced and with characters I really fell for who have truly scorching chemistry.
• The Alchemy of Race and Rights by Patricia J. Williams is a book of essays about race and the law that I return to again and again. It is one of the books I carry with me, that has shaped my thinking and is a touchstone for what I know.
• The Art of Three by Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae is one of the best polyamorous romances I’ve ever read. It’s lovely and complicated and it’s really wonderful to read a polyamorous love story that is not erotic romance, as they are so rare.

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst is one of my most favorite picture books of all time. It’s full of the grumps, has a very strong voice, and when I read it aloud, I get to fully sink into my stompy anger about the unfairness of things. It’s exactly what I need sometimes on days where everything goes wrong.
• Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi is one of my most favorite sci fi romances ever. It’s got a polyamorous f/f/f V, and is a wonderful space opera with really resonant depiction of chronic pain, an intense and fraught sibling relationship and a wonderful chosen family. I adore the way Alana falls so hard for the ship.