Book Review: ‘La Bastarda’ An Unapologetic African Queer Tale by Trifonia Melibea Obono

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La-Bastarda

Title – La Bastarda

Author – Trifonia Melibea Obono

Translator – Lawrence Schimel

Publication – August 2018.

Publisher – Modjaji Books

Genre – African LGBT+ Literary Fiction

The first novel by an Equatorial Guinean woman to be translated into English, La Bastarda is the story of the orphaned teen Okomo, who lives under the watchful eye of her grandmother and dreams of finding her father. Forbidden from seeking him out, she enlists the help of other village outcasts: her gay uncle and a gang of “mysterious” girls reveling in their so-called indecency. Drawn into their illicit trysts, Okomo finds herself falling in love with their leader and rebelling against the rigid norms of Fang culture.

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Book Review: The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven

Lara T. Kareem4 Comments
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Title – The Exact Opposite of Okay

Series – Izzy O’Niel

Author – Laura Steven

Publication – March 8th, 2018.

Publisher – Electric Monkey

Genre – Contemporary, Feminism & Young Adult Fiction

Izzy O’Neill is an aspiring comic, an impoverished orphan, and a Slut Extraordinaire. Or at least, that’s what the malicious website flying round the school says. Izzy can try all she wants to laugh it off – after all, her sex life, her terms – but when pictures emerge of her doing the dirty with a politician’s son, her life suddenly becomes the centre of a national scandal. Izzy’s never been ashamed of herself before, and she’s not going to start now. But keeping her head up will take everything she has…

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