lisa /

Title: Stay Another Day

Author: Juno Dawson

Pages: 352 Pages

Publisher: Hachette Children’s Group

The Blurb

When three very different siblings, Fern, Rowan and Willow, go home for a Christmas reunion at their family home in Edinburgh, it’s not long before some VERY BIG SECRETS threaten their cosy holiday …

The McAllister house on Arboretum Road has seen 120 Christmases since its completion. 

This year, FERN is bringing her gorgeous boyfriend home and she wants everything to be perfect.

But her twin brother ROWAN would rather go on the pull than pull crackers with the family.

And their younger sister WILLOW is terrified of Christmas Day.

With FOUR sleeps till Christmas,

THREE secretive siblings,

TWO hot houseguests,

And ONE juicy secret …

This Christmas, there will be some BIG surprises under the tree.

Sometimes at Christmas, you don’t get what you want, you get what you need…

Family secrets, chance encounters and festive traditions collide in this juicy Christmas treat from Juno Dawson.

The Review

Drama, scandal and a Christmas turkey. Stay Another Day is the novel that has it all.

The McAllister family love Christmas. It is the one day of the year they all come together and forget the drama of the rest of the year. Having had to miss Christmas the previous year due to the youngest McAllister’s battle with anorexia, older sister Fern is determined to make this Christmas one to remember. And boy does she get her wish.

Juno Dawson has crafted an absolute corker of a novel about family dynamics, relationships and mental health. All packaged with a Christmas setting – a time of year bound to get your hackles up – you really feel like you are a member of the family watching the drama explode around you. There are moments that are so very awkward that you genuinely feel uncomfortable and forget for a moment that you are reading fiction.

Another absolute corker from the mighty Juno Dawson.

Stay Another Day by Juno Dawson is available now.

For more information regarding Juno Dawson (@junodawson) please visit www.junodawson.com.

For more information regarding Hachette Children’s Group (@HachetteUK) please visit www.hachette.co.uk.

lisa /

Title: What’s the T?

Author: Juno Dawson

Pages: 304 Pages

Publisher: Wren & Rook

The Blurb

Discover what it means to be a young transgender and/or non-binary person in the twenty-first century in this frank and funny guide for 14+ teens, from the author of This Book is Gay. In What’s the T?, Stonewall ambassador, bestselling trans author and former PSHE teacher Juno Dawson defines a myriad of labels and identities and offers uncensored advice on coming out, sex and relationships with her trademark humour and lightness of touch. Juno has also invited her trans and/or non-binary friends to make contributions, ensuring this inclusive book reflects as many experiences as possible, and features the likes of Travis Alabanza and Jay Hulme. 

The companion title to the This Book Is Gay, What’s the T? tackles the complex realities of growing up trans with honesty and humour, and is joyfully illustrated by gender non-conforming artist Soofiya.

The Review

Something I always worry about is whether or not I say something that could offend someone. If I do, it is a genuine mistake and never intentional. However, with so many marginalised people in society it is such an easy thing to do. And here is why: there just isn’t enough education out there. That is why I am so grateful for the non-fiction books that Juno Dawson has written. The Gender Games, Mind Your Head and This Book is Gay have widened my knowledge about topics that I don’t have the lived experience of. It is the same with her fantastic new release What’s the T?.

We are seeing more and more people – young people – realising that they can be their true selves and that there is help available for them to achieve that – both medical help and help for their mental health when dealing with huge life changes. What’s the T? is essential reading for anyone who works with children or teenagers for many reasons some basic ones being that they know what terms to use, what terminology is unacceptable and how to help and support someone who is questioning their gender.

In her inimitable no-nonesense style, Juno Dawson tells you straight how to be an ally and if you aren’t being an ally then you really are just a weenie (a term I personally feel we need to bring back into fashion.

What’s the T? by Juno Dawson is available now.

For more information regarding Juno Dawson (@junodawson) please visit www.junodawson.com.

For more information regarding Wren & Rook (@wrenandrookbook) please visit their Twitter page.

lisa /

Title: The Gender Games – The Problem with Men and Women, From Someone Who Has Been Both

Author: Juno Dawson

Pages: 368 Pages

Publisher: Two Roads

The Blurb

‘It’s a boy!’ or ‘It’s a girl!’ are the first words almost all of us hear when we enter the world. Before our names, before we have likes and dislikes – before we, or anyone else, has any idea who we are. And two years ago, as Juno Dawson went to tell her mother she was (and actually, always had been) a woman, she started to realise just how wrong we’ve been getting it.

Gender isn’t just screwing over trans people, it’s messing with everyone. From little girls who think they can’t be doctors to teenagers who come to expect street harassment. From exclusionist feminists to ‘alt-right’ young men. From men who can’t cry to the women who think they shouldn’t. As her body gets in line with her mind, Juno tells not only her own story, but the story of everyone who is shaped by society’s expectations of gender – and what we can do about it.

Featuring insights from well-known gender, feminist and trans activists including Rebecca Root, Laura Bates, Gemma Cairney, Anthony Anaxagorou, Hannah Witton, Alaska Thunderfuck and many more, The Gender Games is a frank, witty and powerful manifesto for a world in which everyone can truly be themselves.

(AMAZON BLURB)

The Review

Continuing with my reading of non-fiction about LGBT history and issues, I decided to read Juno Dawson’s The Gender Games.

The whole world of LGBT is diverse and multilayered that I do sympathise with both sides of the sexuality spectrum. The first is most obviously with the people who are in the LGBT community. They are still – 50 years after the Stonewall Riots – are having to fight for their rights. This is all kinds of wrong. Equally, I do sympathise with those who aren’t too familiar with the LGBT community. It can be difficult when you aren’t aware of correct labels and pronouns and I will admit to being scared of getting things wrong. However, what I have taken from reading The Gender Games is that it is ok to ask if you are confused.

It has also furthered my belief that LGBT history should be part of the curriculum. It will give people a safe space to ask questions and learn. Without this education, we are encouraging ignorance.

Part memoir – part advice guide, Juno Dawson gives harsh, beautiful, and realistic views of life living as a trans woman. Dawson’s ability to get to the nitty-gritty of the matter without making you, the reader, feel bad for not knowing everything (yet) is what makes The Gender Games so enjoyable t read.

The Gender Games – The Problem with Men and Women, From Someone Who Has Been Both by Juno Dawson is available now.

For more information regarding Juno Dawson (@junodawson) please visit www.junodawson.com.

For more information regarding Two Roads Books (@TwoRoadsBooks) please visit www.tworoadsbooks.com.

lisa /

Title: This Book is Gay

Author: Juno Dawson (as James Dawson)

Pages: 271 Pages

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

The Blurb

Lesbian. Bisexual. Queer. Transgender. Straight. Curious. This book is for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference. This book is for anyone who’s ever dared to wonder. This book is for YOU.

There’s a long-running joke that, after “coming out,” a lesbian, gay guy, bisexual, or trans person should receive a membership card and instruction manual. THIS IS THAT INSTRUCTION MANUAL. You’re welcome.

Inside you’ll find the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask: from sex to politics, hooking up to stereotypes, coming out and more. This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it’s like to grow up LGBT also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention hilarious illustrations.

You will be entertained. You will be informed. But most importantly, you will know that however you identify (or don’t) and whomever you love, you are exceptional. You matter. And so does this book.

The Review

This Book is Gay is the first book that I have ever seen that is marketed for teenagers to address LGBTQ+ issues that hasn’t been patronising or written by someone well meaning but clueless about what it is to live as an LGBTQ+ person. Juno Dawson, however, offers honest, witty, and entertaining information within her book This Book is Gay – those who are aware of Juno Dawson (if you haven’t then, seriously, where have you been?) you will know that she has a bit of experience living as an LGBTQ+ woman.

She discusses the often unavailable information about living in this community to an audience who have very limited experience. Those who are either taking tentative steps to understand their part in the LGBTQ+ community or friends and family who also have limited knowledge and want to be supportive.

Juno Dawson addresses the inadequacies in the school system – why is heteronormative sex the only thing taught in schools; she looks at dating and how difficult it can be. She also talks to people who are LGBTQ+ so we don’t feel that her writing is preachy. She is and has lived it and she knows what she is talking about but you don’t feel talked AT.

I firmly believe that This Book is Gay should be issued to schools. Young students who are struggling to find their place would find this book so comforting and feel that there is somewhere that they can feel included. That someone out there, beyond the microcosm of their small world knows what it feels like.

I was genuinely in awe of this book.

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson is available now.

For more information regarding Juno Dawson (@junodawson) please visit www.junodawson.com.

For more information regarding Sourcebooks Fire (@SourcebooksFire) please visit www.firereads.com.

lisa /

Title: Proud

Author: Juno Dawson

Pages: 320 Pages

Publisher: Stripes Publishing

The Blurb

A stirring, bold and moving anthology of stories and poetry by top LGBTQ+ YA authors and new talent, giving their unique responses to the broad theme of pride. Each story has an illustration by an artist identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Compiled by Juno Dawson, author of THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN.

A celebration of LGBTQ+ talent, PROUD is a thought-provoking, funny, emotional read.

Contributors: Steve Antony, Dean Atta, Kate Alizadeh, Fox Benwell, Alex Bertie, Caroline Bird, Fatti Burke, Tanya Byrne, Moïra Fowley-Doyle, Frank Duffy, Simon James Green, Leo Greenfield, Saffa Khan, Karen Lawler, David Levithan, Priyanka Meenakshi, Alice Oseman, Michael Lee Richardson, David Roberts, Cynthia So, Kay Staples, Jessica Vallance, Kristen Van Dam and Kameron White.

Following A CHANGE IS GONNA COME, winner of the YA BOOK PRIZE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2018

The Review

I love a collection of themed short stories. I find it completely captivating when several authors can hook a reader with their take on a contentious topic and completely engage the reader. Proud did this for me.

I came across writers that I have previously read works by and also some brand new authors; now I have the desire to read more of their work. Each unique story showed the struggles and the triumphs of the LGBTQIA+ community. Proud really is a collection that should be shared and spread far and wide.

Proud by Juno Dawson is available now.

For more information regarding Juno Dawson (@junodawson) please visit www.junodawson.com.

For more information regarding Stripes Publishing (@StripesBooks) please visit www.littletiger.co.uk.