Randomthoughtshappen

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

When asked to write about my favorite thing, the one thing that comes to mind is Queer literature and media. Being able to view and read media that I can relate to is so beautiful to me and I know it is also beautiful to so many others like me. This year for 2026 my main goal is to read more this year. In the month of January I read around 7 books, which is a huge accomplishment for me given I don’t read often.

Why this book?

My favorite piece of queer literature right now is Sunburn a book written by Chloe Michelle Howarth. This book is about the life of a young girl, Lucy, discovering her identity after realizing she has an intense crush on one of her closest friends, Susannah. Throughout this story it follows Lucy as she navigated how to deal with her queer identity, the love she has for her friend, but also aligning with the values of her small, conservative town, in 1990s Ireland.

Lucy grew up religious and was born into a traditional family and lives in a small town in Ireland. Her community is a very tight-knit community where everyone is described as thinking, speaking, acting and sharing the same beliefs. In Lucy’s mind, her fate is sealed and future has already been decided for her. She believes she will end up like her mother, a housewife with many kids. All of Lucy’s beliefs and perception of life is flipped upside down when she starts to recognize her romantic feelings for her best friend Susannah. I love the way Michelle wrote Lucy’s character because although she didn’t realize her feelings were romantic, she understood that her feelings for Susannah were unlike any feeling she had towards anyone else.

Another reason I love this story is because the way that Lucy’s feelings are described towards Susannah felt so real. Lucy often notices or thinks about Susannah that I can only describe as an intense yearning or burning for her. In the beginning of the book, Susannah isn’t the nicest to Lucy, but she would often brush off Susannah’s behavior and would just be happy that Susannah was giving her the slightest bit of attention. In chapter 3, Lucy thinks, “Susannah has her own language of looking, and this bitter look is one that she saves only for me. She wouldn’t look at anyone else like this; it pushes my heartbeat up to my throat. It could be nicer, but at least it’s mine”. I love the way she includes that last line. Just the idea of ‘yeah she hates me but at least it’s her and me and I hold some sort of value to her’. It’s so relatable and heart breaking and I just love it so much.

Lucy even thinks, “I would be the microbes in the beef that her body seeks and destroys if it meant she would be paying me even the slightest bit of attention”. This quote is one of my favorites of the entire book because, it is so raw to think such unhinged thoughts about someone you want so intensely. Later in the book after lucy and Susannah have confessed their love for each other and started dating in secret, Lucy starts to reimagine her future and is now unsure of what is in store for her. She truly believed she would marry martin, and end up a devoted housewife, like her mother. The thought of a future like that didn’t excite her, it was daunting and dreadful. Being with Susannah has made Lucy crave a domestic, sweet life, like that, but only with Susannah. In chapter 7, Lucy thinks, “She makes me think about cooking her dinner and reading to her and cleaning for her. The domestic things I once pitied Mother for are things I now crave. These subtle and romantic thoughts don’t surprise me anymore; this is just the way my mind goes when she is with me.”

This book is one of my favorite pieces of literature because the way Chloe Michelle Howarth describes the way Lucy navigates through her life as she realizes her feelings and going through the motions of that is beautiful. It makes me sick to my stomach reading it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves queer media! Can easily be found at a local book store, such as Barnes & Noble!