Pulp

September 15, 2018
Two Washington, D.C., lesbian teens, 62 years apart, each discover classic lesbian pulp fiction--late midcentury paperbacks depicting a shadowy world of forbidden love. For 18-year-old Janet Jones in 1955, A Love So Strange is a revelation: She had no idea "other girls might feel the way she did." Janet and her friend Marie, who are both assumed white, tentatively explore their growing attraction but face warnings from an African-American lesbian couple that Marie's government job and reputation are in danger. For high school senior Abby Zimet in 2017, the world is different. She has been out to her accepting white Jewish family since ninth grade. Nursing a broken heart from the breakup with her bisexual classmate Linh, a Vietnamese-American girl, Abby turns to reading pulp novels and researching gay and lesbian life in midcentury D.C. Talley (Our Own Private Universe, 2017, etc.) adds complexity by tying Janet's and Abby's storylines together: Both girls write their own pulp novels, creating two additional plotlines. The books within a book are cleverly written to mimic pulp styles, and the superlative pacing will hook readers. The acknowledgments describe the author's meticulous research and the actual historical events (e.g. the persecution of queer government employees during the Lavender Scare of the 1950s) and literature upon which the book is based. Readers familiar with D.C. may find the liberties taken with geography distracting.Suspenseful parallel lesbian love stories deftly illuminate important events in LGBTQ history. (bibliography) (Fiction. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 8, 2018
In 1955, aspiring author Janet, a sheltered teen living in Washington, D.C., has no words for what she feels for her best friend, Marie, and she’s living through the Lavender Scare that forced LGBTQ people out of government jobs. When she finds a lesbian novel at a bus station, she’s inspired to write one herself. Sixty-two years later, high school senior Abby lives in the same city; her love life is hard because her girlfriend dumped her, not because anyone disapproves. Abby has long written fan fiction, and when she discovers lesbian pulp novels from the 1950s and early ’60s, she’s enthralled and sets out to examine the genre. The books are rule-bound—the women must straighten out or die tragically—but one tells a love story that Abby can’t stop thinking about, particularly because she’s trying to understand whether love can last. Talley (Our Own Private Universe) toggles effectively between excerpts from Janet’s book, the two women’s lives, and Abby’s research as the stories draw together. Though secondary characters feel underdrawn, the tale is original and delivers some interesting LGBTQ history, and the tone of the novels within it is pleasantly pulpy. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret.

September 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 Not many YA novels contain one lesbian romance, let alone four, but Talley's newest pulls it off, while creatively spanning time and genre. In the present day, Abby Zimet is out and proud, despite chaffing against the just friends label newly instituted by her ex. Breakup stress is compounded by her parents' crumbling marriage, and Abby finds escape in an unlikely place: vintage lesbian pulp fiction. So much so that researching the genre and writing her own pulp novel becomes her senior project. The book that starts her obsession is Women of the Twilight Realm, by Marian Love, passages of which intercut Abby's narrative, along with 18-year-old Janet Jones' story line, set in 1955. Janet's own discovery of lesbian lit holds many parallels to Abby's, but her closeted life offers a dramatic contrast. Talley pulls pre-Stonewall history, such as the lavender scare, the gay bar scene, and actual lesbian pulp authors, into this fun but substantive read. As Abby loses herself to her project, she eventually finds firmer footing in her own life and identity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from September 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-Senior Abby returns from summer break in the hopes that the hiatus she and ex-girlfriend Linh took in the spring will end and they can be a couple again. That, combined with her parents' estrangement, prompt Abby to immerse herself in her senior year assignment: 1950s lesbian fiction. Abby discovers a book written by "Marian Love" that speaks to her conception of love. In alternating chapters, we meet the work's real author, Janet Jones, a recent graduate who herself has stumbled upon lesbian fiction validating her feelings for her friend Marie. But Marie works for the federal government in the midst of the Lavender Scare-an extension of the Red Scare that sought to root out LGBTQ employees-complicating their budding relationship. Abby's quest to find the author under the auspices of her assignment allows her to avoid confronting her changing relationship with Linh. Talley, already accomplished at weaving historical detail into engaging narratives, pulls off an expansive story encompassing a host of characters, including the fictional characters within Janet's books. She skillfully illustrates the fear and isolation of being a lesbian teen in unforgiving times, making the larger historical context relatable and the intimate aspects visceral. Her modern characters by contrast are out LGBTQ+ teens. Abby's sexuality is a given, she's free to live her relationships and explore her issues. VERDICT A sweeping, engrossing drama full of important moments. Recommended for all library collections.-Hillary St. George, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.