Denver Public Library: Teens: Find a Good Book, Book Lists

GRAVEL QUEEN
by Tea Benduhn
All Aurin wants to do the summer before her senior year in high school is hang out with her friends Kenney and Fred, but when she falls in love with Neila, everything changes.

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

SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU
by Peter Cameron
Eighteen-year-old James, living in New York City with his older sister and divorced mother, struggles to find a direction for his life.

NAOMI AND ELY'S NO KISS LIST
by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Although they have been friends and neighbors all their lives, straight Naomi and gay Ely find their relationship severely strained during their freshman year at New York University.

DOWN TO THE BONE
by Mayra Lazara Dole
Laura, a seventeen-year-old Cuban American girl, is thrown out of her house when her mother discovers she is a lesbian, but after trying to change her heart and hide from the truth, Laura finally comes to terms with who she is and learns to love and respect herself.

MAP OF IRELAND
by Stephanie Grant
In 1974, the first year of busing in Boston, Massachusetts, seventeen-year-old Ann Ahern's lesbianism, which has isolated her from other white students, draws her to her African French teacher and leads her to insights into Blacks' struggles in the post-Civil Rights era.

GEOGRAPHY CLUB
by Brent Hartinger
A group of gay and lesbian teenagers find mutual support when they form the "Geography Club" at their high school.

THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK
by Brent Hartinger
After "coming out" at school, sixteen-year-old Russel decides to take a counselor job at a camp for burn victims to get away from the antagonism of his classmates, but finds ten-year-old boys have just as many problems as he does.

SPLIT SCREEN
by Brent Hartinger
Two books in one tell of sixteen-year-old friends Russel, who is gay, and Min, who is bisexual, as they face separate romantic troubles while working as extras on the set of a horror movie.

TOTALLY JOE
by James Howe
As a school assignment, a thirteen-year-old boy writes an alphabiography–life from A to Z–and explores issues of friendship, family, school, and the challenges of being a gay teenager.

THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE
by Maureen Johnson
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.

ANOTHER KIND OF COWBOY
by Susan Juby
In Vancouver, British Columbia, two teenage dressage riders, one a spoiled rich girl and the other a closeted gay sixteen-year-old boy, come to terms with their identities and learn to accept themselves.

MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR: A NOVEL OF LOVE, MARY POPPINS, AND FENWAY PARK
by Steve Kluger
Three teenagers in Boston narrate their experiences of a year of new friendships, first loves, and coming into their own.

BOY GIRL BOY
by Ronald Koertge
Three troubled high school seniors, who plan to run away together from Illinois to California after graduation, try to figure out who they are, who they want to be.

TALK
by Kathe Koja
Hoping to escape from himself for awhile, Kit auditions for a controversial school play and discovers his talent for acting, struggles with coming out, and both he and his costar face crises in their view of themselves and in their close relationships. Told from two points of view.

ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NOT
by David LaRochelle
Chronicles a teenage boy's humorous attempts to fit in at his Minnesota high school by becoming a macho, girl-loving, "Playboy" pinup-displaying heterosexual.

HOW THEY MET, AND OTHER STORIES
by David Levithan
Here are 18 stories, all about love, and about all kinds of love. From the aching for the one you pine for, to standing up and speaking up for the one you love, to pure joy and happiness, these love stories run the gamut of that emotion that at some point has turned every one of us inside out and upside down. What is love? With this original story collection David Levithan proves that love is a many-splendored thing, a varied, complicated, addictive, wonderful thing.

WIDE AWAKE
by David Levithan
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.

PRETTY THINGS
by Sarra Manning
While rehearsing for a production of "The Taming of the Shrew," four English teenagers explore their relationships and sexuality, while also discovering some surprising truths about themselves.

CLAY'S WAY
by Blair Mastbaum
For 15-year-old Sam, his middle-class suburban life feels like a prison. Mistaking lust for fate, Sam becomes obsessed with Clay, a 17-year-old surfer. The tumult of Clay's search for identity propels him, with desperately confused Sam in his wake, through the hardest decisions and obstacles of their young lives.

STRANGERS IN PARADISE: HIGH SCHOOL
by Terry Moore
Although they are complete opposites, Francine and Katchoo find a common bond in the one thing neither one has, friendship. Also included in this volume is a side splitting spoof of the popular Xena television show with Francine, Katchoo, and David showing up in the oddest places.

KISSING KATE
by Lauren Myracle
Sixteen-year-old Lissa's relationship with her best friend changes after they kiss at a party and Lissa does not know what to do, until she gets help from an unexpected new friend.

GRL2GRL
by Julie Anne Peters
In this honest and emotional short story collection, a renowned author and National Book Award finalist offers a stunning portrayal of young women as they navigate the hurdles of relationships and sexual identity.

BETWEEN MOM AND JO
by Julie Anne Peters
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.

FAR FROM XANADU
by Julie Anne Peters
In a small Kansas town, sixteen-year-old Mary-Elizabeth "Mike" Szabo tries to come to terms with her father's suicide and her own homosexuality.

KEEPING YOU A SECRET
by Julie Anne Peters
As she begins a very tough last semester of high school, Holland finds herself puzzled about her future and intrigued by a transfer student who wants to start a Lesbigay club at school.

LUNA
by Julie Anne Peters
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.

SO HARD TO SAY
by Alex Sanchez
Thirteen-year-old Xio and Frederick quickly become close friends, but when Xio starts thinking of Frederick as her boyfriend, he must confront his feelings of confusion and face the fear that he might be gay.

RAINBOW BOYS
by Alex Sanchez
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.

RAINBOW HIGH
by Alex Sanchez
Follows three gay high school seniors as they struggle with issues of coming out, safe sex, homophobia, being in love, and college choices.

RAINBOW ROAD
by Alex Sanchez
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.

A REALLY NICE PROM MESS
by Brian Sloan
Gay high school senior Cameron Hayes endures a disastrous prom night when forced to take a girl as his date, and after fleeing the dance in disguise, he finds himself involved in a surprising on-stage performance, a high-speed police chase, and unexpected revelations.

TALE OF TWO SUMMERS
by Brian Sloan
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.

FREAK SHOW
by James St. James
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.

THE CENTER OF THE WORLD
by Andreas Steinhöfel
As he works through his often difficult relationships with his single mother, distant twin sister, his first boyfriend, and an odd assortment of friends, a teenage boy learns about the wounds and healing brought by love.

SKIM
by Mariko Tamaki
When her classmate Katie is dumped by her boyfriend, who then kills himself, the entire school goes into mourning overdrive. The popular clique stars a club to boost school spirit, but Skim sinks into an ever-deepening depression.

ROSE OF NO MAN'S LAND
by Michelle Tea
Fourteen-year-old Trisha Driscoll is a gender-blurring, self-described loner whose family expects nothing of her. While her mother lies on the couch in a hypochondriac haze and her sister aspires to be on The Real World, Trisha struggles to find her own place among the neon signs, theme restaurants, and cookie-cutter chain stories of her hometown.

7 DAYS AT THE HOT CORNER
by Terry Trueman
Varsity baseball player Scott Latimer struggles with his own prejudices and those of others when his best friend reveals that he is gay.

ORPHEA PROUD
by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
In this lyrical story that unfolds as a dramatic performance, Orphea Proud discovers her sexuality as a lesbian and shares her story, which explores powerful questions of family, prejudice, and identity.

ERIK & ISABELLE: FRESHMAN YEAR AT FORESTHILL HIGH
by Kim Wallace
The first book in the Foresthill High series introduces two best friends who experience growing pains as they face their first year of high school together. They are typical teenagers and both gay. Crushes, bullies, secret admirers plus family tension equals classic teen drama with a twist.

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