GLBTQ Literature

Burchill, Julie.  Sugar Rush. 279 p.

            After fifteen-year-old Kim transfers to a new school, she finds herself falling in love with the glamorous Maria "Sugar" Sweet.

DeOliveria, Eddie. Lucky. 239 p.

            Teenager Sam Smith tries to figure out his own sexuality when he finds himself equally attracted to Toby and Lucy.

Ferris, Jean.  Eight Seconds.  186 p.

            Eighteen-year-old John must confront his own sexuality when he goes to rodeo school and finds himself strangely attracted to an older boy who is smart, tough, complicated, gorgeous, and gay.

Freymann-Weyr, Garrett.  My Heartbeat. 154 p.

            Fourteen-year-old Ellen, totally in love with her adored big brother Link's longtime best friend James, sets off a disturbing chain of events when it is suggested to her that Link and James might be a couple.

Garden, Nancy.  Annie on My Mind. 233 p.

            Liza puts aside her feelings for Annie after the disaster at school, but eventually she allows love to triumph over the ignorance of people.

Hall, John.  Is He or Isn’t He?  294 p.

            Best friends and high school seniors Paige and Anthony both have designs on cute new guy Max, figuring, whether he is straight or gay, he will have to fall for one of them.

Hartinger, Brent.  Geography Club. 226 p.

            A group of gay and lesbian teenagers finds mutual support when they form the "Geography Club" at their high school.

Hartinger, Brent.  Order of the Poison Oak.  211 p.

            Sequel to: Geography Club. Sixteen-year-old Russel, having endured the antagonism of his classmates since admitting he is homosexual, decides to take a counselor job at a summer camp for burn victims, but finds ten-year-old boys have just as many problems as he does.

Hyde, Catherine Ryan Hyde. Becoming Chloe.  215 p.

            A gay teenage boy and a fragile teenage girl meet while living on the streets of New York City and eventually decide to take a road trip across America to discover whether or not the world is a beautiful place.

Johnson, Maureen.  Bermudez Triangle.  370 p.

            The friendship of three high school girls and their relationships with their friends and families are tested when two of them fall in love with each other.

Jones, Carrie.  Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend. 278 p.

            Teenager Belle Philbrick chronicles her first week of heartbreak and coping after the boyfriend she loves, Dylan, breaks up with her, revealing that he is gay.

Kerr, M. E. Deliver Us From Evie.  177 p.

            Sixteen-year-old Parr Burrman and his family face some difficult times when word spreads through their rural Missouri town that his older sister is a lesbian, and she leaves the family farm to live with the daughter of the town's banker.

Levithan, David.  Boy Meets Boy.  185 p.

            Paul's simple high-school life is confused by his desire for another boy who seems unattainable, until Paul's friends help him find the courage to pursue him.

Levithan, David.  Wide Awake.  221 p.

            In the not-too-distant future, when a gay Jewish man is elected president of the United States, sixteen-year-old Duncan examines his feelings for his boyfriend, his political and religious beliefs, and tries to determine his rightful place in the world.

Malloy, Brian. The Year of Ice.  262 p.

            High school senior Kevin Doyle struggles to fit in at school while hiding some disturbing secrets, including his attraction to another boy in his class, his father's plans to abandon his family on the same day Kevin's mother was killed in a car accident, and the doubts that his mother's death may have been suicide.

Medina, Nico.  The Straight Road to Kylie. 295 p.

            After openly gay seventeen-year-old Jonathan Parish drunkenly sleeps with his friend Alex--female friend Alex--at a party, rich, popular Laura Schulberg makes him an offer he cannot refuse: pretend to be Laura's boyfriend in exchange for a trip to London to see Kylie Minogue in concert.

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert.  Dairy Queen.  274 p.

            After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert.  Off  Season.  277 p.

            Sequel to: Dairy queen. High school junior D. J. Schwenk staggers under the weight of caring for her badly injured brother, her responsibilities on the dairy farm, a changing relationship with her friend Brian, and her own athletic aspirations.

Papademetriou, Lisa and Chris Tebbetts.  M or F?. 246 p.

            Gay teen Marcus helps his friend Frannie chat up her crush online, but then becomes convinced that the crush is falling for him instead.

Peters, Julie Anne.  Between Mom and Jo. 231 p.

            Fourteen-year-old Nick has a three-legged dog named Lucky 2, some pet fish, and two mothers, whose relationship complicates his entire life as they face prejudice, work problems, alcoholism, cancer, and finally separation.

Peters, Julie Anne.  Far From Xanadu.  282 p.

            Sixteen-year-old Mary-Elizabeth "Mike" Szabo, struggling to understand her father's suicide and her own homosexuality, reaches the breaking point when she falls in love with Xanadu, an exotic girl who has moved to small Coalton, Kansas, from the big city.

Peters, Julie Anne.  Keeping You a Secret. 250 p.

            Holland starts a difficult last semester of high school, and she finds herself puzzled about her future but intrigued by a transfer student who wants to start a lesbian and gay club at school.

Peters, Julie Anne.  Luna. 248 p.

            Fifteen-year-old Regan's life, which has always revolved around keeping her older brother Liam's transsexuality a secret, changes when Liam decides to start the process of "transitioning" by first telling his family and friends that he is a girl who was born in a boy's body.

Reynolds, Marilyn.  Love Rules.  269 p.

            Seventeen-year-old Lynn experiences surprise, discomfort, and a new awareness of prejudices and stereotyping when her best friend Kit comes out as a lesbian.

Rooney, Frances (ed).  Hear Me Out: True Stories of Teens Educating and

            Confronting Homophobia. 197 p.

            A group of young gay, lesbian, transsexual, bisexual, and transgender youths describe their experiences and the challenges they face.

Ryan, Sara.  Empress of the World. 213 p.

            While attending a summer institute, fifteen-year-old Nic meets another girl named Battle, falls in love with her, and finds the relationship to be difficult and confusing.

Ryan, Sara.  The Rules of Hearts.  222 p.

            Battle Hall Davies learns some truths about herself and her brother Nick when he contacts her nearly five years after he ran away from home and invites her to spend the summer between high school and college with him in Forest House, the group home where he lives in Portland.

Sanchez, Alex.  Getting It.  210 p.

            Hoping to impress a sexy female classmate, fifteen-year-old Carlos secretly hires gay student Sal to give him an image makeover, in exchange for Carlos's help in forming a Gay-Straight Alliance at their Texas high school.

Sanchez, Alex.  The God Box. 248 p.

            When openly gay Manuel transfers to Paul's high school, Paul, a born-again Christian, begins to question his own sexuality.

Sanchez, Alex.  Rainbow Boys. 233 p.

            Three high school seniors, a jock with a girlfriend and an alcoholic father, a closeted gay, and a flamboyant gay rights advocate, struggle with family issues, gay bashers, first sex, and conflicting feelings about each other.

Sanchez, Alex.  Rainbow High.  247 p.

            Sequel to: Rainbow boys. Gay friends Nelson, Kyle, and Jason, nearing the end of their high school days, struggle with issues of coming out, safe sex, homophobia, being in love, and college choices.

Sanchez, Alex.  Rainbow Road.  243 p.

            While driving across the United States during the summer after high school graduation, three young gay men encounter various bisexual and homosexual people and make some decisions about their own relationships and lives.

Sloan, Brian.  Tale of Two Summers.  239 p.

            Even though Hal is gay and Chuck is straight, the two fifteen-year-olds are best friends and set up a blog where Hal records his budding romance with a young Frenchman and Chuck falls for a summer theater camp diva.

Steinhofel, Andreas.  The Center of the World.  467 p.

            Phil, living in a small, provincial German town, works through his often difficult relationships with his single mother, his distant twin sister, his first boyfriend, as an odd assortment of friends help him learn about the wounds and healing brought by love.

St. James, James.  Freak Show.  298 p.

            Having faced teasing that turned into a brutal attack, Christianity expressed as persecution, and the loss of his only real friend when he could no longer keep his crush under wraps, seventeen-year-old Billy Bloom, a drag queen, decides the only to become fabulous again is to run for Homecoming Queen at his elite, private school near Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Tea, Michelle.  Rose of No Man’s Land.  306 p.

            Fourteen-year-old loner Trisha Driscoll, tired of staying alone in her room, vows to make a friend and heads to the mall where she accomplishes her goal when she meets Rose, a chain-smoking, drug-using, lesbian fry cook.

Walker, Kate. Peter. 229 p.

            An ordinary fifteen-year-old Australian kid, who enjoys riding his dirt bike and wants to be a photographer, becomes confused about his sexuality when he finds he is attracted to a gay friend of his older brother.

Womak, Craig.  Drowning in Fire. 294 p.

            Josh has always felt out of place and ashamed of his attraction to other boys, and as he struggles to come to terms with his sexuality, he learns some important lessons about his heritage and his own beliefs.

Woodson, Jaqueline.  From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun.  141 p.

            Thirteen-year-old Melanin Sun's comfortable, quiet life is shattered when his mother reveals she has fallen in love with a woman.

Woodson, Jaqueline.  House You Pass On the Way. 114 p.

            When fourteen-year-old Staggerlee, the daughter of a racially mixed marriage, spends a summer with her cousin Trout, she begins to question her sexuality to Trout and catches a glimpse of her possible future self.

Wyeth, Dennis.  Orphea Proud. 189 p.

            Presents a lyrical story about Orphea Proud, who shares her experiences with an audience in a dramatic performance as she talks about her sexuality, her family, prejudices, and identity.