LGBTQ+ – Libraime Lifestyle

book review: “laura dean keeps breaking up with me”

Recently, on my GoodReads feed, I have been seeing this one graphic novel pop up here, there, EVERYWHERE! People have been voting for it in GoodReads’ Annual Choice Awards 2019 (link to the contest), it’s been recommended to me by friends, everything! I read GoodReads’ summary of it, and it seemed like a good read, so I added it to my To-Read list. And by a miracle, somehow, my supervisor at the library I work at for school managed to get a copy of it! So, I indulged myself and read it all in one sitting yesterday. And let me tell you: I am in love with this book!

Essentially, this graphic novel is a romantic, LGBTQ+ book about a girl named Frederica “Freddy” Riley. Freddy is dating Laura Dean, the most popular girl in school. And Freddy is hopelessly “in love” with Laura Dean. The problem is: Laura Dean keeps cheating and continuously breaking up with Freddy, and then proceeding to sneak her way back into Freddy’s life. Thus, it’s an off-and-on-again relationship. (You can read the full book summary here)

When Laura Dean cheats and breaks up with Freddy for what seems like the 100th time, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces our beloved main character to the Seek-Her, a mysterious psychic medium lady who leaves Freddy with some cryptic, confusing advice: “break up with Laura Dean.”

From this point on in the story, Freddy struggles to keep moving forward as Laura Dean repeatedly enters and exits Freddy’s life, Doodle grows distant, Freddy meets a cute girl, and more! Our adorable main character learns new lessons as the story progresses, and she evolves as a character with each new revelation. And you all might remember that I am obsessed with character development!

The characters are extremely realistic, cute, and relatable! My favorites are Freddy, Doodle, and the girl that Freddy meets! I love Freddy’s confusion, as it is super realistic to those who believe they’re in love (but are truly in a toxic relationship)!

The plot draws you in and keeps you intoxicated! It’s super interesting, and I love the whole idea of it! Also, cute lil lesbian MC (MC = Main Character) is a huge plus!! ❤ ❤ ❤

It’s a superb, super cute, adorkable story that I have officially fallen in love with! I highly recommend it! For all you hopeless (and struggling) romantics, LGBTQ+ community members, and dreamers, you will adore this cute lil story! Overall, I rank it 5 out of 5 stars!

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young adult/romance book suggestions

Greetings & salutations! ‘Tis I, Minah, also known as Libraime! Do you enjoy novels of the young adult and/or romance genres? If so, then this is the post for you! Here are a few book suggestions!

#Famous by Jilly Gagnon: The whole plot of this novel is girl likes boy, girl takes photo of boy, girl posts photo of boy, boy accidentally becomes an internet sensation, boy becomes famous, while girl still has a crush on him but lalalalala fairy-tale romance!
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: This novel is set in a college setting, with the main character (Cath) being a huge nerd. She develops a crush on the boy who can’t seem to ever leave her dorm room, and she struggles to stay sane in college away from her dad.
Simon vs. The Homo Sapien’s Agenda by Becky Albertalli: I’m sure you’ve heard of this thanks to the movie adaptation Love Simon, but this story is about Simon, a closeted gay teen in high school. He struggles to throughout high school in trying to remain closeted, but that fails when someone attempts to blackmail him with his secret.
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon: The main character (Maddy) is sick with a rare disease that prevents her from ever leaving her very sterilized house. New boy moves in next door, and bada bing bada boom they fall in love.
The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West: Main character Gia’s boyfriend dumps her in the parking lot at prom, she is desperate. When she sees a cute stranger nearby, dropping someone off, she makes a quick desperate decision. The task is to pretend to be her boyfriend for two hours, zero commitment. However, problems occur afterwards, when she can’t seem to get mystery dude out of her mind.
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green: The main character of this story is a boy who has a type: girls named Katherine. When Katherine 19 dumps him, the one he thought was “the one,” his best friend drags him on a road trip to “discover the world.” On the way, they meet a girl and her group of friends. The thing is, the girl isn’t named Katherine, and that’s unknown territory to the MC. Read as he stumbles along in this story, trying to figure out his life.
I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn: Kimi Nakamura loves a good fashion statement, her favorite activity is turning everyday objects into gorgeous outfits for her friends. However, her mother thinks of this hobby as a distraction from her studies, and bothers Kimi about it, day after day after day. So, when Kimi receives an invite to Kyoto, Japan from her estranged grandparents, she springs at the opportunity, without a second thought. While in Japan, Kimi gets lost in the wonderful culture and meets a potential love interest! As she lives in Japan, she also finds out about the mother she left behind.
Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan: Kristi (the main character) hates everything about her life. Her hippie high school, her workaholic mother, her father who left, her supposed “friend” Jacob, her body, her bullies, and more. But that won’t stop her from having a crush on one of the most popular guys in the school. But with her mind-reading abilities, Kristi is sure that he will never like her back. With bombshells being dropped constantly, Kristi struggles to remain sane in her crazy life.

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nanowrimo 2019 starts tomorrow

Greetings & salutations! It is I, Minah, also known as Libraime! As you can tell from the title, tomorrow is the start of NaNoWriMo 2019! Yay!!! If you’re wondering what NaNoWriMo is, let me explain!

NaNoWriMo stands for National November Writing Month! For those who participate in NaNoWriMo, the goal is to write an entire novel in the timespan of the single month of November! You set a word goal (mine is 50K words) and proceed to start writing! It’s an amazing organization!

If you would like to join NaNoWriMo, you can join either the young writers’ version (link to young writers’ NaNoWriMo) or the adult writers’ version (link to adult writers’ NaNoWriMo)! If you enjoy writing, I highly suggest attempting to do NaNoWriMo! Even if you don’t succeed, it’s a ton of fun and an extremely eye-opening experience!

This will be my second year of doing NaNoWriMo! I did it last year, and I completed my goal (25K words)! But I’ll be honest with you, the main reason why I succeeded in my goal is because I just typed up the word “banana” over and over again, admittedly… Yeah, that was fun, lol!

Anyway, tomorrow is the start of NaNoWriMo, and I really hope some of you try it out! I have a really cool idea for my novel, and I’ll give you a little insight into my novel. It’s going to be a one-sided LGBTQ+ love story. There’s two main characters: Essie (who falls in love with one of her best friends, a girl named Sadie) and Aiyden (Essie and Sadie’s other best friend who’s struggling with family issues and is going in a downward spiral). That’s all I’m going to tell you, for now!

Anyway, I’m going to end this blog post here! I sincerely wish you all a spectacular day! This is Libraime, logging off!

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happy asexual awareness week

Greetings & salutations! As you can tell from the title, this post is celebrating Asexual Awareness Week! I’m kind of late to the party, so I apologize for that! But I wanted to make a post at least at some point!

If you’re wondering what asexuality is, it’s a sexual orientation (or it can be considered as a lack of sexual orientation) where you experience little to no sexual attraction to others. This does NOT mean that they’re not into relationships; everyone is different in their experiences/views.

There are many different forms of attraction (link to website), such as: romantic (desiring a romantic relationship), aesthetic (attracted to someone based on their appearance), sensual/physical (desiring physical touch, like cuddling or holding hands), platonic (wanting to be friends), emotional (desiring an emotional connection), and more. Every asexual is different, and it’s possible for them to experience all of these forms of attraction.

A common misconception of asexuality is that someone who is asexual does not enjoy sex. This is false, it just means that they don’t feel sexual attraction (as in they’re not attracted to someone sexually).

There is much more to asexuality that I don’t understand, and it’s always a spectacular experience learning more about the LGBTQ+ world! Personally, I am bisexual, which means I am attracted to both males and females!

I highly encourage you to learn more about asexuality! Knowledge is power and is very enriching to life!

I’m going to end this blog post here, but a HUGE shout-out to all my asexual readers out there! You’re beautiful, strong, and amazing! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! Have a fantastic day!

personal narrative: “my declaration”

Three weeks ago, on my usual car ride to school, I officially came out.

It was a morning ride, and in the car were my two best friends, my little sister, and a random sophomore friend. We were discussing some random shit, something that eludes my memory. But what I do remember is when the topic of the LGBTQ+ community came up. And in a bout of spontaneity, I burst out with a declaration.

“I am bisexual.”

There was a moment of silence; I remember feeling awkward and scared. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach like angry Japanese hornets and thoughts raced through my head a mile a millisecond, faster than my best friend Donny accelerating on a highway.

“What would they think of this?”

“Will they still want to be my friends?”

“Why the fuck did I decide to come out now?!”

“Staying in the closet would have been much preferred!”

I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut, but of course, I couldn’t due to being the driver. I felt like I was going to vomit all across my windshield, which would splatter like blobs of paint on a canvas. But in one huge shout, my sister broke the tension, screaming four words that will forever be seared into my memory.

“I FUCKING KNEW IT!”

That was the day that my little sister’s view of me was changed forever. My two best friends proceeded to drag me into the school, squeezing my arms between the two of them, as soon as I had parked. I was bombarded with questions left and right, and I felt overwhelmed. Overwhelmed, but… happy.

I didn’t have to hide it anymore. Those I cared deeply about knew now, and once we had entered the school, they proceeded to tell the exciting news to a large majority of our friends.

The only people who have yet to find out are my parents, my homophobic little brother, my extended family, and my church. Other than that, I have worn my bisexual, pink-purple-and-blue label with pride (literally).

But yes, I am scared. I am anxiously awaiting the day when I decide to come out to those around me, namely my family and my beloved church. It makes me anxious as all hell. But one day, I will do it. I’ll be able to confidently scream about my sexuality loud and proud one day to all of those around me.

But in the meantime? I think it’s pretty hilarious how my parents haven’t found out yet. Honestly, I am the GSA Club’s Historian and I went to Pride this year, and meanwhile, my parents just believe that I am “supporting the gays.” It’s quite hilarious, let me tell you. Because trust me, I’ve been told countless times how obvious I am.

But take some advice from an awkward, anxious, semi-closeted bisexual: if you’re questioning your sexuality, or are afraid to come out, know that there will always be people out there who will love and support you, no matter what. Maybe you haven’t met those people yet, but one day, you will. Maybe it’s that cute girl who saw at your work. Maybe it’s the sweet guy who sits behind you in English class. Maybe it’s your best friend. Maybe it’s your grandmother or your great aunt. I don’t know,because I can’t tell you who loves and supports you; it’s a part of your journey to find out. But you’ll find out, and it will be grand, it will be spectacular, it will be phenomenal, and you will thrive!