Growing up, Kevin Tyler Norman lovedbooks. He struggled with fairytales, however, as they only ever depicted happily ever afters involving a prince and a princess — and never with two princes.
This, coupled with a lack of LGBTQ+ stories available during his formative years made him fearful that being queer meant he would never find love.
In the books he had access to, queer people were relegated to sidekicks, never getting to be the protagonist. And in real life, friends at his all-boys catholic school who were questioning their sexuality ‘refused to embrace it’ due to their religious upbringing.
Kevin, who identified as a Non-denominational Christian at the time, had been a part of his local church for several years, enjoying the sense of community it provided. But he knew he needed to step away from it in order to be true to himself.
It made for an incredibly lonely, and difficult time at the end of his teenage years, right as he was ready to come out.
‘I felt like no one understood me,’ the content creator from Los Angeles, California, told Metro.co.uk. ‘I was the only one of my friends that had grown tired of pretending and decided to accept [my sexuality].’
‘I had no one to talk to, but I’d always loved reading, so I started trying to find every gay book I could get my hands on, but at the time they weren’t very easy to find.
‘There was no section at the bookstore dedicated to queer fiction. I had to scour the internet. Google became my best friend.’
Kevin's LGBTQ+ book recommendations:
Metro.co.uk asked Kevin which books he’d recommend for anyone who might be struggling with their sexuality, or preparing to come out. These were his top picks:
Aristotle andDante Discoverthe Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
All Boy’s Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
And for anyone who is interested in reading queer literature more generally, Kevin recommends:
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
Rainbow History Class by Hannah McElhinney
Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans
He continued: ‘Most of the queer books back then were extremely traumatic and heartbreaking, like Giovanni’s Room.
‘I kept finding stories where the struggle was coming out, but I really wanted to read about queer people living their life, not struggling through it.’
Kevin, who was 20 when he came out, persevered with his search and eventually was able to find hope thanks to young adult novels like Openly Straight by Konigsberg, Hero by Perry Moore, and Simon vs the hom*o Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.
‘These books had a real impact on me because they were my first real introduction to Queer media,’ he recalls. ‘It was the first time I followed the story of someone who represented myself, and it was refreshing to be the hero of a story rather than a side character.
‘Reading them helped me fall in love with myself and allowed me to feel less alone.
‘The words became a friend and mentor when I didn’t have one. They showed me that I could have love and a future while being my authentic self.’
After gaining more confidence in his sexuality, Kevin wanted to share his passion for the books that had helped him so much, so he started posting online about them in the autumn of 2020.
‘Books were pivotal during my coming out process. They helped me understand myself more and alleviated so much fear that society instilled in me about identifying as queer.
‘Since LGBTQ+ books helped me, I wanted to create an online resource for others who might need these stories, too. So I started posting some of my favourites and from there, my account took off,’ he explained.
Kevin now has more than 251,000 followers on TikTok and while he posts about all genres of books, he loves being a part of the BookTok community, where hundreds of thousands of readers are championing queer literature, helping LGBTQ+ stories get published, and raising the profile of authors who might have otherwise flown under the radar.
‘BookTok shows the importance of diverse and LGBTQ+ stories,’ he says. ‘It’s shown the publishing industry that we crave these stories and that there is a market for them.
‘There are now so many positive LGBTQ+ books and romances, and I couldn’t be happier. I am so glad that we have this representation and that it has hit the mainstream media.’
And on a more personal level, BookTok has also provided something that Kevin was sorely lacking when he first came out — people who understand him and accept him for who he is.
‘The book community is such a safe space for Queer people. In my experience, everyone has been very accepting. Becoming a part of BookTok was the first time I ever publicly displayed my Queerness in my content. It gave me the freedom to express myself.’
For those that want to hear more about Kevin’s story, he has since gone on to write his very own book, a poetry collection called The Transformation of Fruit, which further documents his coming out experience and his first love.
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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