Easily one of my top reads for 2021, Too Bright to See is a hauntingly beautiful queer middle grade novel.

Eleven year old Bug, who lives in a haunted house, is used to sharing space with ghosts. But not long after Bug’s uncle dies, weird things start happening around Bug, like a ghost is trying to send Bug a message, and just possibly that message will help reveal the identity that has been eluding Bug for years.

First of all, this has everything I could ask for from a queer book: ghosts, complicated friendships, a drag queen, a summer of discovery, and at least one tearjerker moment. The characters have depth and life, even the ones who are deceased. Bug’s slow and sometimes painful journey throughout the book heightens the emotional impact of the ending and the joy Bug experiences.