Beulah Land

This was a very difficult read--I might describe it as "Winter's Bone for lesbians"--but I think an important one as well. Although it depicts deep poverty and the struggle of its gay protagonist to not just survive, but find a life worth living despite the repressive norms of her community, it is not a story without hope. The poor, rural community is depicted with compassion and nuance, not painted as a backwards caricature. Characters who initially appear unsympathetic are allowed their touches of humanity, and the story ends with a hopeful note for the future. I was pleasantly surprised by this hopefulness. It is unfortunately common for non-LGBT authors to write about homophobia and cissexism in graphic detail without providing their protagonists sufficient relief: I thought that Stewart handled the balance between struggle and comfort nicely.