JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile
Stephanie Cannon narrates this audiobook, which moves between 1955 and 2017. Amid the 1950s Lavender Scare, when mass firings of gays from government jobs took place, Janet discovers a lesbian pulp fiction novel, and it opens up new worlds for her. Sixty-two years later, Abby is an out-and-proud lesbian coping with her parents’ imploding marriage. The juxtaposition of these intertwining stories highlights the incredible changes lesbian communities have undergone in 60-plus years. Cannon gives both teens a subtle mid-Atlantic accent, reflecting their shared home of Washington, DC. Other characters have distinct voices, though, interestingly, Janet’s and Abby’s love interests are both given a similar high-pitched voice. Talley’s storytelling elevates what could have felt like a history lesson. Cannon’s engaging narration ensures that listeners will dive right into these teens’ intertwining stories and not want them to end. S.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
10/08/2018
In 1955, aspiring author Janet, a sheltered teen living in Washington, D.C., has no words for what she feels for her best friend, Marie, and she’s living through the Lavender Scare that forced LGBTQ people out of government jobs. When she finds a lesbian novel at a bus station, she’s inspired to write one herself. Sixty-two years later, high school senior Abby lives in the same city; her love life is hard because her girlfriend dumped her, not because anyone disapproves. Abby has long written fan fiction, and when she discovers lesbian pulp novels from the 1950s and early ’60s, she’s enthralled and sets out to examine the genre. The books are rule-bound—the women must straighten out or die tragically—but one tells a love story that Abby can’t stop thinking about, particularly because she’s trying to understand whether love can last. Talley (Our Own Private Universe) toggles effectively between excerpts from Janet’s book, the two women’s lives, and Abby’s research as the stories draw together. Though secondary characters feel underdrawn, the tale is original and delivers some interesting LGBTQ history, and the tone of the novels within it is pleasantly pulpy. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"Skillfully illustrates the fear and isolation of being a lesbian teen in unforgiving times...A sweeping, engrossing drama full of important moments." –School Library Journal, Starred Review
"Fun but substantive.... creatively spanning time and genre." -Booklist
"Pulp pops off the page, and Talley is at her best as she explores first loves and first heartbreaks as queer girls, both today and in 1955. As the two storylines combine, readers can only marvel at Talley's deft hand and delicate characterization. PULP is a humdinger of a read. I defy anyone to put it down until the end!" -Saundra Mitchell, editor of All Out and author of The Vespertine series.
"A moving chronicle of a challenging time and a lively portrait of today...A delightful love story on many levels." -Ann Bannon, author of the legendary lesbian pulp series The Beebo Brinker Chronicles
"[A] wonderfully ambitious and incredibly creative exploration of queer literary history." - Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights
"Cleverly written...superlative pacing...Suspenseful parallel lesbian love stories deftly illuminate important events in LGBTQ history." –Kirkus Reviews
"Quite moving... Pulp...offers a pointed reminder that history is never that far behind us."
-BookPage
School Library Journal
★ 09/01/2018
Gr 8 Up—Senior Abby returns from summer break in the hopes that the hiatus she and ex-girlfriend Linh took in the spring will end and they can be a couple again. That, combined with her parents' estrangement, prompt Abby to immerse herself in her senior year assignment: 1950s lesbian fiction. Abby discovers a book written by "Marian Love" that speaks to her conception of love. In alternating chapters, we meet the work's real author, Janet Jones, a recent graduate who herself has stumbled upon lesbian fiction validating her feelings for her friend Marie. But Marie works for the federal government in the midst of the Lavender Scare—an extension of the Red Scare that sought to root out LGBTQ employees—complicating their budding relationship. Abby's quest to find the author under the auspices of her assignment allows her to avoid confronting her changing relationship with Linh. Talley, already accomplished at weaving historical detail into engaging narratives, pulls off an expansive story encompassing a host of characters, including the fictional characters within Janet's books. She skillfully illustrates the fear and isolation of being a lesbian teen in unforgiving times, making the larger historical context relatable and the intimate aspects visceral. Her modern characters by contrast are out LGBTQ+ teens. Abby's sexuality is a given, she's free to live her relationships and explore her issues. VERDICT A sweeping, engrossing drama full of important moments. Recommended for all library collections.—Hillary St. George, Los Angeles Public Library
JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile
Stephanie Cannon narrates this audiobook, which moves between 1955 and 2017. Amid the 1950s Lavender Scare, when mass firings of gays from government jobs took place, Janet discovers a lesbian pulp fiction novel, and it opens up new worlds for her. Sixty-two years later, Abby is an out-and-proud lesbian coping with her parents’ imploding marriage. The juxtaposition of these intertwining stories highlights the incredible changes lesbian communities have undergone in 60-plus years. Cannon gives both teens a subtle mid-Atlantic accent, reflecting their shared home of Washington, DC. Other characters have distinct voices, though, interestingly, Janet’s and Abby’s love interests are both given a similar high-pitched voice. Talley’s storytelling elevates what could have felt like a history lesson. Cannon’s engaging narration ensures that listeners will dive right into these teens’ intertwining stories and not want them to end. S.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-08-20
Two Washington, D.C., lesbian teens, 62 years apart, each discover classic lesbian pulp fiction—late midcentury paperbacks depicting a shadowy world of forbidden love.
For 18-year-old Janet Jones in 1955, A Love So Strange is a revelation: She had no idea "other girls might feel the way she did." Janet and her friend Marie, who are both assumed white, tentatively explore their growing attraction but face warnings from an African-American lesbian couple that Marie's government job and reputation are in danger. For high school senior Abby Zimet in 2017, the world is different. She has been out to her accepting white Jewish family since ninth grade. Nursing a broken heart from the breakup with her bisexual classmate Linh, a Vietnamese-American girl, Abby turns to reading pulp novels and researching gay and lesbian life in midcentury D.C. Talley (Our Own Private Universe, 2017, etc.) adds complexity by tying Janet's and Abby's storylines together: Both girls write their own pulp novels, creating two additional plotlines. The books within a book are cleverly written to mimic pulp styles, and the superlative pacing will hook readers. The acknowledgments describe the author's meticulous research and the actual historical events (e.g. the persecution of queer government employees during the Lavender Scare of the 1950s) and literature upon which the book is based. Readers familiar with D.C. may find the liberties taken with geography distracting.
Suspenseful parallel lesbian love stories deftly illuminate important events in LGBTQ history. (bibliography) (Fiction. 13-18)
