Finding out you’re a lesbian is never a simple journey. When your parents are powerful bigots, it’s almost impossible. El’s life is entirely lived under her mother’s eyes. Her mother decides what she wears, what she eats, what she likes and who she dates. For most of her seventeen years, El has gone along, feeling she had no choice. Then she fell in love with Riley, out lesbian and daughter of an ex-con. El documents her (unrequited as far as she knows) love of Riley on her blog, discovering a whole new world and community. When she finally finds the strength to run away, her mother sends goons after her. Then Riley gets in on the hunt but for very different reasons, hoping for a very different outcome.
Love Under Glasse is a contemporary fairytale, with a terrifying and manipulative evil queen and her very brave daughter fighting for her freedom. It’s a story of badass girls more suited to riding metaphorical dragons than ponies. A tale of despair turning into hope, of fears turning into love. It’s about friendship, solidarity, community and the power of the internet, about standing up for yourself and fighting for others. About good overcoming evil. It speaks of everyday magic and poetry.
It’s tough and heartwarming at the same time and feels like a friend you’d want on your side in rough times, very much like Riley and El.
Jude in the Stars 