Rio de Janeiro mayor bans comic book over gay kiss
Last week, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella, called for the removal of the Marvel comic book “Avengers: The Children’s Crusade” from the city’s biennial book fair. he book features male superheroes Wiccan and Hulkling, who are in a committed relationship, kissing. When officials arrived to confiscate copies, the book had already sold out.
“The Book of Unknown Americans” reviewed by an unknown American
BY GABRIELLE RODRIGUEZ ’22
Mount Holyoke’s 2018 common read, “The Book of Unknown Americans” by Cristina Henríquez, is a novel full of complex and validating representations of immigrant communities. Literary systems must be critiqued to be bettered, and while Henríquez does a great job crafting an enticing story with great representation, I will continue to push for stories with Latinx casts that do not hinge on trauma.
Women of color still missing, even as publishers strive for inclusivity
BY GABRIELLE RODRIGUEZ ’22
LGBTQ+ romance is notoriously hard to find. Romance involving LGBTQ+ women is even more scarce. Whether it be in the romance genre itself or in the growing ranks of LGBTQ+ mainstream novels, the question of which stories are told and how to tell them is one that arises with every new publication.