Fiction

BABY BE-BOP
by Francesca Lia Block
Dirk MacDonald, a sixteen-year-old boy living in Los Angeles, comes to terms with being gay after he receives surreal storytelling visitations from his dead father and great-grandmother.

VIOLET AND CLAIRE
by Francesca Lia Block
In search of material for a screenplay they are developing, seventeen-year-old Violet and her new friend Claire try to make life a movie as they chase their dreams through dangerously beautiful Los Angeles.

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.

MY FATHER'S SCAR
by Michael Cart
As he enters into his first relationships as a gay man, a college freshman recalls the aching loneliness of life with his alcoholic, physically abusive father in a community prejudiced against homosexuals.

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
by Stephen Chbosky
A series of letters to an unknown correspondent reveals the coming-of-age trials of a high-schooler named Charlie.

EIGHT SECONDS
by Jean Ferris
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.

MY HEARTBEAT
by Garret Freymann-Weyr
As she tries to understand the closeness between her older brother and his best friend, fourteen-year-old Ellen finds her relationship with each of them changing.

THE YEAR THEY BURNED THE BOOKS
by Nancy Garden
While trying to come to terms with her lesbianism, a high school senior finds herself in the middle of a battle with a group of townspeople over the new health education curriculum.

NOT THE ONLY ONE
edited by Tony Grima
A collection of short stories portraying gay and lesbian teenagers at different moments in their lives.

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.

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.

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.

ONLY THE RING FINGER KNOWS
by Satoru Kannagai and Hotaru Odagiri
At Wataru Fujii's high school, it's all the rage to wear paired rings with the girl you love. Wataru wears one though he is single, and one day inadvertently discovers that his ring pairs up with that of tall, handsome, and smart Yuichi Kazuki. Their paired rings somehow draw them together and the two must sort out their budding feelings for each other.

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.

WHAT I KNOW NOW
by Rodger Larson
In 1957 in California, having fallen in love with a young man who has come to his house to build a garden, a fourteen-year-old gay boy finds his life and his world view changing.

BOY MEETS BOY
by David Levithan
High school sophomore Paul lives in a present-day gaytopia, where boys come out of the closet to become class president, and the Gay-Straight Alliance has more members than the football team. The cheerleaders ride Harleys, and the cross-dressing homecoming queen is also the star quarterback.

SONNY'S HOUSE OF SPIES
by George Ella Lyon
In a small Alabama town in 1947-1956, Sonny searches for answers about his father's disappearance, "Uncle Marty," who looks after the family, and Mamby, their black housekeeper.

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.

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.

LOVE RULES
by Marilyn Reynolds
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.

EMPRESS OF THE WORLD
by Sara Ryan
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.

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.

PEBBLE IN A POOL
by William Taylor
Two tragic deaths are handled very differently by school administrators. A drunk driving accident paralyzes Adrian Vanderlaar and kills his girlfriend. The outpouring of grief is starkly contrasted with the muted response to a gay-bashing murder, causing Paul Carter to speak out.

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.

HARD LOVE
by Ellen Wittlinger
After starting to publish a zine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.

FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MELANIN SUN
by Jacqueline Woodson
Thirteen-year-old Melanin Sun's comfortable, quiet life is shattered when his mother reveals she has fallen in love with a woman.

THE HOUSE YOU PASS ON THE WAY
by Jacqueline Woodson
When fourteen-year-old Staggerlee, the daughter of a racially mixed marriage, spends a summer with her cousin Trout, she finds herself attracted to Trout and catches a glimpse of her possible future self.

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.

LEAVE MYSELF BEHIND
by Bart Yates
Starting a new life with his legendary psycho-poet mother in a sleepy New England town, seventeen-year-old Noah York uncovers clues to an age-old mystery in the walls of their old Victorian home, while falling in love with the boy next door.

Nonfiction

FREE YOUR MIND: A BOOK FOR GAY, LESBIAN, AND BISEXUAL YOUTH AND THEIR ALLIES
by Ellen Bass and Kate Kaufman

AM I BLUE? COMING OUT FROM THE SILENCE
by Marion Dane Bauer

TWO TEENAGERS IN TWENTY: WRITINGS BY GAY AND LESBIAN YOUTH
by Ann Heron

OUT OF THE ORDINARY: ESSAYS ON GROWING UP WITH GAY, LESBIAN AND TRANSGENDER PARENTS
by Noelle Howey and Ellen Samuels, editors

GLBTQ: THE SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR QUEER & QUESTIONING TEENS
by Kelly Huegel

THE JOURNEY OUT: A GUIDE FOR AND ABOUT LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL TEENS
by Rachel Pollack and Cheryl Schwartz

GROWING UP GAY IN AMERICA: INFORMATIVE AND PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR TEEN GUYS QUESTIONING THEIR SEXUALITY AND GROWING UP GAY
by Jason R. Rich

REVOLUTIONARY VOICES: A MULTICULTURAL QUEER YOUTH ANTHOLOGY
by Amy Sonnie

GLBTQ Links and Resources
Support and communities for GLBTQ teens.