Well, this is nice — Perennial was featured in a list of books about queer people dealing with cancer. Surprised me a little, because the main protagonists in the romance are a man and woman, but I’m queer and there are other queer characters in the story, so…
(Locals, this book is set in Oak Park. 
)
“In this unique book that combines poetry and fiction, Mary Anne Mohanraj draws on her own experience with breast cancer. The poems were written during the period in which she was diagnosed and went through chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. They are interspersed with her fictional take on the topic, the story of an aspiring artist, Kate, who has just moved to a small town. There Kate receives a cancer diagnosis, but she also meets Devan, a local florist and Indian Scottish immigrant. What follows is a very sweet, quiet romance. Although it is an M/F relationship, both characters are embedded in the queer community. In all aspects of the story, the theme of care is paramount: not only caring for yourself, but caring for your community.”