Category: Hinduism

The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal

By E.K. Weaver

Amal’s life has been thrown into chaos, and he needs to get to his sisters graduation in Providence. Tj just needs to get out of dodge. Together they road trip 3,500 miles across the US and they learn truths about themselves and each other. Graphic sex.

Publisher’s Description:

In the span of a single day, Amal calls off his arranged marriage, comes out to his conservative parents, promptly gets disowned, goes on a bender… and wakes up the next morning to find TJ, a lanky, dreadlocked vagrant, frying eggs and singing Paul Simon in his kitchen.

TJ claims that the two have made a drunken pact to drive all the way from Berkeley to Providence. As it happens, Amal promised his sister he’d be there for her graduation from Brown University. And TJ, well… TJ has his own reasons.

The agreement is simple: Amal does the driving; TJ pays the way – but a 3500 mile journey leaves plenty of time for things to get complicated.

Genre: Road trip

Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Tj, Amal

Sexuality:
Gay: Amal
Bisexual: Tj,

Romantic Orientation:
Not mentioned in the book.

Race/Ethnicity:
White: TJ
Indian: Amal

Religion:
Hinduism: Amal

Location: United States

Trigger Warnings: Explicit sex, some unsafe sex practices, drugs (marijuana), alcohol (characters are over 21), mentions of sex work, homophobia

Additional Notes: Available in Print and free online http://tjandamal.com/

 

Novae

By KaiJu

Raziol is a Indian student studying astronomy is 16th century England when he meets the mysterious Sulvain. After a night under the stars their relationship slowly begins. However when a fellow astronomy student is murdered, Raziol will learn the secrets that Sulvain has been hiding.

Publisher’s Description:

Novae chronicles the adventures of Sulvain, a sweet tempered necromancer and Raziol, a passionate 17th century astronomer. While studying the stars together, a connection forms between them and their relationship blooms. However, when the body of a fellow astronomer is found on the steps of the Academy of Sciences, their lives are entangled in ways they could never foresee.

Genre: Historical Fantasy, Comic

Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Raziol, Sulvain

Sexuality:
Pansexual: Raziol
Demisexual: Sulvain

Romantic Orientation:
Panromantic: Raziol, Sulvain

Race/Ethnicity:
Indian: Raziol
White: Sulvain

Religion:
Hinduism: Raziol

Disability: Sulvain is mute.

Location: 1600’s England

Trigger Warnings: Racism, death.

Additional Notes: This is an ongoing webcomic, read it here: http://www.novaecomic.com/comic/novae-test/

Ending: Comic is ongoing.

Babyji

By Abha Dawesar

Sixteen year old Anamika is in her final year of school in Delhi and is applying for university to study physics while coming into her sexuality. She has relationships with a girl of her own caste, a girl of a lower caste, and a much older woman

Publisher’s Description

Sexy, surprising, and subversively wise, Babyji is the story of Anamika Sharma, a spirited student growing up in Delhi. At school she is an ace at quantum physics. At home she sneaks off to her parents’ scooter garage to read the Kamasutra. Before long she has seduced an elegant older divorcée and the family servant, and has caught the eye of a classmate coveted by all the boys.

With the world of adulthood dancing before her, Anamika confronts questions that would test someone twice her age. Ebullient, unfettered, and introducing one of the most charming heroines in contemporary fiction, Babyji is irresistible.

Genre: Historical

Representation:
Gender:
Cis girls: Anamika

Sexual  Orientation:
Lesbian/Queer/Bisexual: Anamika

Romantic Orientation:
Biromantic or homoromantic: Anamika

Race/Ethnicity:
South Asian: Anamika

Religion:
Hinduism

Trigger warnings: Sexual assault/rape

Own voices

 

Miss Timmins’ School for Girls

By Nayana Currimbhoy

Set in 1970s India, Charu is a 21-year-old Brahmin girl starting to teach at a British boarding school. She meets a white lesbian teacher, but their romance is disturbed by a sudden murder at the school.

Publisher’s Description:

A murder at a British boarding school in the hills of western India launches a young teacher on the journey of a lifetime

In 1974, three weeks before her twenty-first birthday, Charulata Apte arrives at Miss Timmins’ School for Girls in Panchgani. Shy, sheltered, and running from a scandal that disgraced her Brahmin family, Charu finds herself teaching Shakespeare to rich Indian girls in a boarding school still run like an outpost of the British Empire. In this small, foreign universe, Charu is drawn to the charismatic teacher Moira Prince, who introduces her to pot-smoking hippies, rock ‘n’ roll, and freedoms she never knew existed.

Then one monsoon night, a body is found at the bottom of a cliff, and the ordered worlds of school and town are thrown into chaos. When Charu is implicated in the murder—a case three intrepid schoolgirls take it upon themselves to solve—Charu’s real education begins.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Representation:
Gender:
Cis girls: Charu, Moira

Sexual Orientation:
Bisexual: Charu (note: Charu never uses the word bisexual to describe her sexuality but describes “being attracted to both sexes.”
Lesbian/Queer:Moira

Romantic Orientation:
Not explicitly addressed.

Race/Ethnicity:
Indian: Charu
White: Moira

Religion:
Hindu: Charu

Trigger Warnings:
Murder, dead queer

Additional Notes: Describes British colonialism.

Ownvoices: Indian

Afterworlds

By Scott Westerfeld

Seventeen year old Darcy’s paranormal romance (written during NaNoWriMo) just got a huge publishing deal. She moves to New York City and edits her novel while entering the world of publishing. The chapters alternate between the text of her book– a paranormal romance starring a Hindu psychopomp– and her own experience as she navigates NYC and falls for a fellow writer.

Publisher’s Description: 

“BELIEVING IS DANGEROUS…

Darcy Patel is afraid to believe all the hype. But it’s really happening – her teen novel is getting published. Instead of heading to college, she’s living in New York City, where she’s welcomed into the dazzling world of YA publishing. That means book tours, parties with her favorite authors, and finding a place to live that won’t leave her penniless. It means sleepless nights rewriting her first draft and struggling to find the perfect ending… all while dealing with the intoxicating, terrifying experience of falling in love – with another writer.

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy’s novel, the thrilling story of Lizzie, who wills her way into the afterworld to survive a deadly terrorist attack. With survival comes the responsibility to guide the restless spirits that walk our world, including one ghost with whom she shares a surprising personal connection. But Lizzie’s not alone in her new calling – she has counsel from a fellow spirit guide, a very desirable one, who is torn between wanting Lizzie and warning her that…

BELIEVING IS DANGEROUS.

In a brilliant high-wire act of weaving two epic narratives – and two unforgettable heroines – into one novel, Scott Westerfeld’s latest work is a triumph of storytelling.”

Genre: Science Fiction

Representation:
Gender:
Cis girls: Darcy

Sexual and Romantic Orientation:
Darcy is demisexual and queer

Romantic Orientation:
Darcy is demiromantic and homoromantic.

Race/Ethnicity:
Darcy is Indian-American

Additional Notes:
Darcy is never labelled as demisexual on the page but Scott Westerfeld confirmed it in a tweet.

Born Confused

By Tanuja Desai Hidier

Dimple Lala is Jersey born to her Indian immigrant parents and can’t live up to their expectations. They want her to meet a suitable boy and ground her for life when she has a drink with some friends. Caught between, Dimple has to discover who she is, whatever that is. Queer cousin.

Publisher’s Description

Tanuja Desai Hidier’s fantastically acclaimed cross-cultural debut comes to PUSH!

Dimple Lala doesn’t know what to think. Her parents are from India, and she’s spent her whole life resisting their traditions. Then suddenly she gets to high school and everything Indian is trendy. To make matters worse, her parents arrange for her to meet a “suitable boy.” Of course it doesn’t go well — until Dimple goes to a club and finds him spinning a magical web . Suddenly the suitable boy is suitable because of his sheer unsuitability. Complications ensue. This is a funny, thoughtful story about finding your heart, finding your culture, and finding your place in America.

Genre: Contemporary

Representation:
Gender:
Cis girls:  Kavita

Sexual  Orientation:
Lesbian/Queer: Kavita

Romantic Orientation:
Homoromantic: Kavita

Race/Ethnicity:
South Asian: Dimple, Kavita

Religion
Hinduism

A Secret Edge

By Robin Reardon

The only place that makes Jason comfortable is the track when he runs. He seems to have a normal life, but at night he dreams of David Bowie, and he knows he’s gay. When secrets start to get out, his sanctuary is no longer as safe as it once was.

Publisher’s Description

I love the long distance run, when you feel like you’re about to die…and then you reach this place where you feel like there are no boundaries for you anywhere…In many ways, Jason Peele is like any other teenager. He hits the books, hangs with his friends, flirts with girls, and omits the full truth of his life from his Aunt Audrey and Uncle Steve, who have raised him since his parents died. But there’s one way that Jason Peele is very different: when he dreams at night, it isn’t about girls; it’s about David Bowie. At sixteen-years-old, Jason is just beginning to understand that he might be gay.

The one place Jason feels comfortable is on the track where he can run fast and hard. He loves the feel of the wind at his back, of his legs propelling him furiously around, the roar of the crowd in his ears. But now, even his sanctuary feels threatening. It isn’t just the jerks who call him “faggot” in the locker room. A new guy has joined the team, and everything about him will challenge the way Jason sees life. From late-night showings of “La Cage Aux Folles” to reading Gandhi, he’s running a new race on an uncertain course, and only one thing’s for sure–his senior year is going to be unforgettable…

With “A Secret Edge, “Robin Reardon delivers a sexy, sensitive coming-of-age novel about identity and courage, love and honor, anger and hope, and the many ways the truth can really set you free.

Genre: Contemporary

Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Jason, Raj, Nathan

Sexual Orientation:
Gay/Queer:Jason, Raj, Nathan

Romantic Orientation:
Homoromantic: Jason, Raj, Nathan

Race/Ethnicity:
White: Jason, Nathan
South Asian: Raj

Trigger Warnings:
Homophobia, Dead parents

 

Blue Boy

By Rakesh Satyal

Kiran is a 12 year old Indian boy growing up in the 90s in Cincinnati. Rejected by other Indian boys thanks to interest in ballet and playing with dolls, he struggles to be a good Indian boy for his parents, until one day, as he stares at the fabulous statue of blue skinned Krishna, he learns he’s more divine in origin than anyone knows.

Publisher’s Description

Meet Kiran Sharma: lover of music, dance, and all things sensual; son of immigrants, social outcast, spiritual seeker. A boy who doesn’t quite understand his lot–until he realizes he’s a god. . .

As an only son, Kiran has obligations–to excel in his studies, to honor the deities, to find a nice Indian girl, and, above all, to make his mother and father proud–standard stuff for a boy of his background. If only Kiran had anything in common with the other Indian kids besides the color of his skin. They reject him at every turn, and his cretinous public schoolmates are no better. Cincinnati in the early 1990s isn’t exactly a hotbed of cultural diversity, and Kiran’s not-so-well-kept secrets don’t endear him to any group. Playing with dolls, choosing ballet over basketball, taking the annual talent show way too seriously. . .the very things that make Kiran who he is also make him the star of his own personal freak show. . .

Surrounded by examples of upstanding Indian Americans–in his own home, in his temple, at the weekly parties given by his parents’ friends–Kiran nevertheless finds it impossible to get the knack of “”normalcy.”” And then one fateful day, a revelation: perhaps his desires aren’t too earthly, but too divine. Perhaps the solution to the mystery of his existence has been before him since birth. For Kiran Sharma, a long, strange trip is about to begin–a journey so sublime, so ridiculous, so painfully beautiful, that it can only lead to the truth. . .

Genre: Historical

Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Kiran

Sexual  Orientation:
Gay/Queer: Kiran

Romantic Orientation:
Homoromantic: Kiran

Race/Ethnicity:
South Asian: Kiran

Religion:
Hinduism

God Loves Hair

By Vivek Shraya

20 short stories explore what it’s like being an Indian kid coming of age in Canada. It talks about family, gender, politics, and sexuality.

Publisher’s Description

God Loves Hair is a collection of 20 short stories following a tender, intellectual, and curious child as he navigates complex realms of sexuality, gender, racial politics, religion, and belonging.

Told with the poignant insight and honesty that only the voice of a young mind can convey, each story is accompanied by a vivid illustration by Toronto artist Juliana Neufeld.

Genre: Contemporary, short stories

Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys, genderqueer

Sexual  Orientation:
Gay/Queer

Romantic Orientation:
Homoromantic: Kavita

Race/Ethnicity:
South Asian

Religion
Hinduism