Join me as I read to raise money & support for The Trevor Project next month! The Trevor Project is a non-profit organization that advocates & provides resources for LGBT+ youth. From a 24/7 crisis line to educational workshops for youth & adults to advocating for the LGBT+ community in legislative settings, The Trevor Project is a vital organization to our community.
I've decided to join The Trevor Project for their 2nd annual Back to School Reading Challenge! The rules for the challenge are easy: to read 25 minutes each day in September. I have created a fundraising page through Facebook for people who want to show support by donating (even $1!). You can find the link for it at the bottom of this post.
This is the first reading challenge I've done besides setting a goal for the year, so I'm super excited to get started. I decided it would be best for me to dedicate a couple books to read during this challenge just to keep me on track. I will also be using this as an excuse to read some queer books that have been sitting in my TBR pile.
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The first book I will be reading for this challenge is The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera. This book made its way to my physical bookshelf on accident. I thought I had picked up They Both Die at the End, but I'd actually grabbed the prequel. I didn't even realize there was a prequel, so I'm glad I made the mistake. I've been excited to read this series since it first came out, & I can't wait to start it!
Synopsis from Goodreads: "Orion Pagan has waited years for someone to tell him that he’s going to die. He has a serious heart condition, and he signed up for Death-Cast so he could know what’s coming.
Valentino Prince is restarting his life in New York. He has a long and promising future ahead and he only registered for Death-Cast after his twin sister nearly died in a car accident.
Orion and Valentino cross paths in Times Square and immediately feel a deep connection. But when the first round of End Day calls goes out, their lives are changed forever—one of them receives a call, and the other doesn’t. Though neither boy is certain how the day will end, they know they want to spend it together…even if that means their goodbye will be heartbreaking.
Told with acclaimed author Adam Silvera’s signature bittersweet touch, this story celebrates the lasting impact that people have on each other and proves that life is always worth living to the fullest."
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In case I finish The First to Die at the End early, I have picked out Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. This book has been a recent add to my TBR, but comes heavily recommended from booktok. I've picked Shuggie Bain up to start it several times since I bought it, but it's never been the right time for it. I'm hoping I get to at least start it during this challenge! Thatcher's policies have put husbands and sons out of work, and the city's notorious drugs epidemic is waiting in the wings. Shuggie's mother Agnes walks a wayward path: she is Shuggie's guiding light but a burden for him and his siblings. She dreams of a house with its own front door while she flicks through the pages of the Freemans catalogue, ordering a little happiness on credit, anything to brighten up her grey life.
Married to a philandering taxi-driver husband, Agnes keeps her pride by looking good--her beehive, make-up, and pearly-white false teeth offer a glamourous image of a Glaswegian Elizabeth Taylor. But under the surface, Agnes finds increasing solace in drink, and she drains away the lion's share of each week's benefits--all the family has to live on--on cans of extra-strong lager hidden in handbags and poured into tea mugs.
Agnes's older children find their own ways to get a safe distance from their mother, abandoning Shuggie to care for her as she swings between alcoholic binges and sobriety. Shuggie is meanwhile struggling to somehow become the normal boy he desperately longs to be, but everyone has realized that he is "no right," a boy with a secret that all but him can see. Agnes is supportive of her son, but her addiction has the power to eclipse everyone close to her--even her beloved Shuggie.
A heartbreaking story of addiction, sexuality, and love, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family that is rarely seen in fiction. Recalling the work of douard Louis, Alan Hollinghurst, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, it is a blistering debut by a brilliant novelist who has a powerful and important story to tell."
