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We've Always Been Queer

The podcast is Books That Burn because the original idea was "books that burn you", discussing fictional depictions of trauma. It's also an intentional reminder of the pile of burning books, you know the photo I mean, the one from WWII. It's a pile of books about queerness, gender, and sexuality. Just in case you don't know, the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Science) was headed by Magnus Hirschfeld.  It was a resource for gay, intersex, and transgender people, both of knowledge and medical help. It also helped the community with addiction treatment and contraception. It wasn't perfect and some of the ideas they had seem out of date now, the ones we know about anyway. But they were trying to make queer people's lives better, and they were a community resource at a time when people really needed it. Which is all the time, we always need these accesses. And the Nazis burned the whole library. It took days, they had to drag the books ou...
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Beneath The Citadel by Destiny Soria

Beneath The Citadel plays with identity and memory to tell a riveting story of intrigue, revolution, and desperation. It's unapologetically queer in a way that feels like finally breathing, blending sweetness and exasperation to make an amazing ride.

I'm so happy this book exists, and I hope to read many more like it. The characters have complex relationships with each other that are informed by their queerness but not wholly defined by it. I only mentioned it so much because it feels amazing to read a story which doesn't treat straightness as a default. Another thing I haven't seen before is a teen friendship between former lovers where there's no jealousy about one of them moving on to exploring new relationships. I'm always looking at how YA books handle relationship triangles, and I like how this kind of dodges that entire premise while also keeping some of what makes that dynamic fascinating as a trope. As for the flow of the book, there's a really good mix of figuring out the tumult and constant stress of the main action, while also having quiet intimate moments where everyone gets a moment to breath and reassess.

I love the book, I love the premise, I love heist stories... I wish this were a series, but I also feel like it would be a betrayal of the conclusion of the book to try and have a related story in this space. It would be interesting to read more things in this world, but due to its nature as a portrayal of the last gasp of a dying and defunct societal paradigm, it's probably for the best that it's standalone.

CW for panic attacks, violence, child abuse, suicide, child death, major character death, death.


An enormous golden skull with a spiral staircase for a jaw sits between several pillars






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