NEHS wishes a very happy LGBTQIA+ Pride month to all its student and faculty members around the world! We hope that the NEHS community will take a moment during Pride month to recognize the strength that comes from the diversity within our local chapters and to reflect on the importance of continued education about, and support for, the LGBTQIA+ community.
Literature has long played an important role in helping readers understand experiences different from their own while providing opportunities for individuals to see themselves reflected in the stories they read. This Pride Month, we invite NEHS student members and Chapter Advisors to explore works by LGBTQIA+ authors and stories featuring LGBTQIA+ protagonists. A good starting point may be these texts, which include graphic novels, fantasy, drama, historical fiction, and contemporary Young Adult fiction. Though they highlight a variety of LGBTQIA+ experiences, we know that many more exist. If you would like us to include your favorite LGBTQIA+ book in our next recommendation list, please get in touch.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Readers who enjoy contemporary stories and graphic novels will find much to love in Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series. The story follows Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson, whose friendship gradually develops into a heartfelt romance. Throughout the series, readers see the joys and challenges of adolescence, first love, and self-discovery.
Heartstopper also addresses important topics such as mental health, bullying, identity, and the value of supportive friendships and communities. For NEHS members, Heartstopper offers an excellent example of how graphic novels can tell emotionally complex stories.
Purchase Heartstopper.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Part fantasy, part social commentary, TJ Klune’s novel follows Linus Baker, a rigid case worker told to evaluate a mysterious orphanage that houses magical children. What begins as a routine assignment soon becomes a transformative journey that challenges Linus’ beliefs about difference, belonging, and what it means to build a meaningful life.
Beneath its whimsical setting lies a powerful story about acceptance, prejudice, found family, and the courage to stand up against unjust systems. Readers who enjoy imaginative worlds, memorable characters, and stories that celebrate kindness and empathy will find lots to consider in this text.
Purchase The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Watch this spring’s webinar with TJ Klune.
Fat Ham by James Ijames
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, James Ijames’ Fat Ham offers a creative reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Set at a contemporary family gathering, the play centers on Juicy, a queer Black young man who finds himself confronting family expectations, questions of identity, and the lingering influence of the past.
Ijames combines comedy, tragedy, and cultural commentary to create a play that feels timeless and distinctly modern. Students familiar with Shakespeare may especially enjoy comparing Fat Ham to its source material and examining how Ijames transforms a canonical work into something entirely his own.
Purchase Fat Ham.
Watch last fall’s webinar with James Ijames.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Set in the American Southwest during the 1980s, Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s award-winning novel tells the story of Aristotle Mendoza and Dante Quintana, two Mexican American teenagers whose friendship gradually deepens as they navigate family, identity, and belonging.
The novel explores themes that may resonate with NEHS members, including self-acceptance, vulnerability, friendship, and love. Sáenz’s portrayal of family relationships is particularly interesting, highlighting the ways that support, understanding, and communication shape personal growth. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe demonstrates how powerful storytelling can illuminate both universal experiences and culturally specific perspectives.
Purchase Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Malinda Lo’s award-winning historical novel transports readers to 1950s San Francisco, where seventeen-year-old Lily Hi questions both her future and her sense of identity. As she explores the city’s underground lesbian community, Lily must navigate the challenges of coming of age during a period marked by political suspicion, discrimination, and limited opportunities.
The novel offers readers both a compelling personal story and a valuable window into LGBTQIA+ history. Lo weaves together themes of identity, family, cultural expectations, and courage. Readers interested in history, social justice, and character-driven fiction will find Last Night at the Telegraph Club particularly rewarding.
Purchase Last Night at the Telegraph Club.
Year of the Mer by L. D. Lewis
Set in a world where merfolk are far more complex than the creatures of popular folklore, L. D. Lewis’ Year of the Mer follows characters who must navigate questions of identity, belonging, power, and survival while confronting the expectations placed upon them by both society and tradition.
Lewis crafts a richly imagined setting populated by memorable characters whose journeys explore themes of self-discovery, community, and the courage required to embrace one’s authentic self. Through its blend of fantasy and social commentary, Year of the Mer invites readers to consider how stories shape our understanding of ourselves and others. Readers who appreciate immersive world-building and character-driven narratives will find this novel both engaging and thought-provoking.
Purchase Year of the Mer.
Support NEHS LGBTQIA+ programming this Pride Month with a “More Pride, Less Prejudice” T-Shirt, Crewneck, or sticker. All proceeds generated by the sale of this merchandise support NEHS LGBTQIA+ programming, including the Lambda Ampersand Award for LGBTQIA+ Writing.
National English Honor Society
The National English Honor Society (NEHS), founded and sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, is the only international organization exclusively for secondary students and faculty who, in the field of English, merit special note for past and current accomplishments. Individual secondary schools are invited to petition for a local chapter, through which individuals may be inducted into Society membership. Immediate benefits of affiliation include academic recognition, scholarship and award eligibility, and opportunities for networking with others who share enthusiasm for, and accomplishment in, the language arts.
America’s first honor society was founded in 1776, but high school students didn’t have access to such organizations for another 150 years. Since then, high school honor societies have been developed in leadership, drama, journalism, French, Spanish, mathematics, the sciences, and in various other fields, but not in English. In 2005, National English Honor Society launched and has been growing steadily since, becoming one of the largest academic societies for secondary schools.
As Joyce Carol Oates writes, “This is the time for which we have been waiting.” Or perhaps it was Shakespeare: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer . . .” we celebrate English studies through NEHS.
National English Honor Society accepts submissions to our blog, NEHS Museletter, from all membership categories (students, Advisors, and alumni). If you are interested in submitting a blog, please read the Suggested Guidelines on our website. Email any questions and all submissions to: submit@nehsmuseletter.us.
