Book Nook > Recommended Reads: Fiction > It's A Queer Thing

It's a Queer Thing: A Bibliography for & about Gay & Lesbian Teens

Fiction featuring GLBT teens

Bauer, Marion Dane (ed.)
Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence
Short stories by young adult and children's authors that explore the many meanings of a gay/lesbian identity for teens.

Benduhn, Tea
Gravel Queen
Aurin plans to spend the summer with her two best friends, but when she falls for the new girl in town she has trouble balancing her friendships with the new relationship.

Block, Francesca Lia
Dangerous Angels: the Weetzie Bat books
Blending punk culture with magical realism, this compilation of the Weetzie Bat series follows the fantastical adventures of Weetzie and her eclectic friends.

Boock, Paula
Dare Truth or Promise
Louie falls for Willa, but she must grapple with family and religion before following her heart.

Burchill, Julie
Sugar Rush
When Kim moves to a new school, she falls for Maria "Sugar" Sweet, but finds that Sugar's true intentions may not be as sincere as Kim's.

Cart, Michael (ed.)
Love and Sex: ten stories of truth
These short stories are about teen sexuality and the many forms that love can take.

Cart, Michael
My Father's Scar
During his first year in college, Andy recalls his awkward adolescence and growing awareness of his sexuality while coming of age in a 1960s small town.

Chbosky, Stephen
The perks of being a wallflower
Charlie, a freshman in high school, is befriended by two seniors, who introduce him to parties, drugs, and sex.

De Oliveira, Eddie
Lucky
By introducing him to London's gay social scene, Sam's new friend Toby helps Sam come to terms with his sexual identity.

Ferris, Jean
Eight Seconds
John meets fellow cowboy Kit at a rodeo camp over the summer. When he discovers Kit is gay, John must acknowledge his own feelings and come to terms with his sexuality.

Garden, Nancy
Annie on My Mind
Liza and Annie meet at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, fall in love, and then find that a public declaration of their feelings is too threatening to their friends and relatives.

Garden, Nancy
The Year They Burned the Books
The new sex education curriculum at Wilson High, which includes condom distribution and discussion of homosexuality, is dividing the town. Jamie, a lesbian and the editor of the school paper, finds herself in the middle of the controversy.

Hartinger, Brent
Geography Club
Worried about the risk of coming out in a small, conservative high school, Russel and his friends form a GLBTQ support group but name it the Geography Club - club that sounds so boring no one will want to join.

Hartinger, Brent
Order of the poison oak
Russel is tired of being the token gay guy at school so he decides to spend the summer as a camp counselor - where he learns that ten-year-olds have just as many problems as he does.

Howe, James
Totally Joe
As a school assignment, thirteen-year-old Joe writes an alphabiography - the story of his life from A to Z - including his experience of being out and gay in middle school.

Johnson, Maureen
The Bermudez Triangle
Nina, Mel and Avery are all best friends but when Nina leaves for the summer she returns to find that Mel and Avery have become more than friends.

Kerr, M.E.
Deliver Us from Evie
Evie falls in love with the daughter of the town's banker - the man who holds the mortgage for the family farm that Evie will one day run. Told from her younger brother's point of view.

Koja, Kathe
Talk
Hoping to escape the reality of his life for awhile, Kit auditions for the school play and discovers his talent for acting, both on-stage and off, as he struggles with the prospect of coming out.

LaRochelle, David
Absolutely, Positively Not
Steven attempts to shed his homosexual feelings by dating girls and hanging out with the hockey team, all with disastrous (and hilarious) results. A fun look at a serious topic.

Levithan, David
Boy Meets Boy
Living in a present-day gaytopia where the cross-dressing homecoming queen is also the star of the football team, Paul and Noah seem to have an easier romance than most gay teens, but their new relationship can still be snagged by returning exes and meddlesome friends.

Moore, Terry
Strangers in Paradise (series)
The tale of two best friends who always share their lives and loves with each other. Graphic novel format.

Myracle, Lauren
Kissing Kate
After Lissa kisses her best friend Kate at a party, their friendship wanes and Kate becomes distant. Heartbroken, Lissa struggles to answer questions about her feelings for Kate.

Papademetriou, Lisa
M or F?
Straight Frannie and gay Marcus are best friends, but how will their friendship survive when they fall for the same guy?

Peters, Julie Anne
Far from Xanadu
Mike is bored in her small Kansas town. All this changes when she falls for a straight girl and is forced to confront her own sexuality.

Peters, Julie Anne
Keeping You a Secret
With a serious boyfriend and her many school activities, Holland's last semester of high school is set. Then "out and proud" Cece moves to town and their instant attraction for each other turns Holland's world upside down.

Peters, Julie Anne
Luna
When Regan's transgender brother Liam is ready to fully transition to female and become Luna, Regan's not sure she's ready for the consequences. She loves her brother Liam but does she have what it takes to love Luna?

Plum-Ucci, Carol
What Happened to Lani Garver
Lani Garver is the new kid in school. With a slim but muscular build, long hair, and soft features, no one can tell if Lani is a boy or a girl - and that's the way Lani likes it.

Ryan, Sara
Empress of the World
At a summer camp for gifted teens, fifteen-year-old Nic finds herself falling in love with another girl. Nic is happy in her new relationship but also confused about what it means.

Sanchez, Alex
Rainbow Boys (and sequels)
Three guys, all high school seniors, find a circle of support in each other as they struggle with and experience what it's like to be a gay teenager.

Sanchex, Alex
So Hard to Say
Being a new kid in the eighth grade is hard enough, but when Frederick finds himself more attracted to his soccer teammate than to the girl who has a crush on him, life gets even more complicated.

Sloan, Brian
A Really Nice Prom Mess
Rather than going to the prom as a couple, Cameron and his boyfriend Shane decide to take girls as their dates with plans to meet up after the dance is over. Their plan goes awry when the two are faced with a series of outrageous and hilarious obstacles.

Steinhöfel, Andreas
The Center of the World
In their small, conservative German town, Phil's mother is seen as promiscuous and many disapprove of Phil being gay. As he learns more about his past, Phil learns about the power of sexuality and how it is perceived.

Summer, Jane (ed.)
Not the Only One: gay and lesbian fiction for teens
An anthology for gay and lesbian teens featuring many authors known for GLBTQ literature.

Wittlinger, Ellen
Hard Love
John and Marisol bond over their interest in zines, but when John develops feelings for Marisol - an out lesbian - he learns the meaning of hard love.

Woodson, Jacqueline
The House You Pass Along the Way
The daughter of an interracial couple, 14-year-old Staggerlee is already an outsider when she wonders if she is gay, too.

Weyr, Garret Freymann
My Heartbeat
Ellen loves James, the best friend of her older brother Link. The problem is that Link loves James too. With three people who care very much for one another, one is bound to have a broken heart...who will it be?

Wyeth, Sharon Dennis
Orphea Proud
Orphea goes to live with her great-aunts after being thrown out of her home for falling in love with another girl. In the quiet of the Virginia mountains, she reflects on her past while learning the true meaning of acceptance from her extended family.

Nonfiction Books for GLBT Teens and Allies

Read, Kirk
How I Learned to Snap: a small-town coming-out and coming-of-age story (YA Biography)
Southern journalist Kirk Read takes readers on a tour of his high school days as an out teen in a small-town high school. A victim-free story that will leave you laughing.

Boyer, David
Kings & Queens: queers at the prom (YA 305.235 BOY)
Seventy years of photos and memories tell the story of gay and lesbian teens going to their school proms.

Bass, Ellen
Free Your Mind: the book for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth - and their allies (YA 305.235 B293f)
More than 50 young people speak about their lives as gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens.

Gray, Mary L.
In Your Face: stories from the lives of queer youth (YA 305.235 G793i)
A collection of real-life accounts from queer youth ages 14-18 which covers issues such as coming out to yourself, understanding the impact religion plays, and coping with school.

Rich, Jason R.
Growing up Gay in America: informative and practical advice for teen guys questioning their sexuality and growing up (YA 305.235 RIC)
Directed toward male teens who are gay or wondering if they are, this book explores such topics as self-acceptance, coming out to family and friends, and the gay social scene.

Levithan, David (ed.)
The Full Spectrum: a new generation of writing about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and other identities (YA 306.76)
A collection of poems, essays and stories written by young adults, including issues such as family, friendship, religion and a first kiss.

Rooney, Frances (ed.)
Hear Me Out: true stories of teens educating and confronting homophobia (YA 306.766 HEA)
Volunteers from Toronto's Teens Educating and Confronting Homophobia (T.E.A.C.H.) recount their individual coming-out stories.

Huegel, Kelly
GLBTQ: the survival guide for queer & questioning teens (YA 306.766 HUE)
Written for gay and questioning teens, this guide covers a multitude of topics and includes quotes from GLBT teens.

Trachtenberg, Robert (ed.)
When I Knew (306.766 WHE [Adult area])
Several people, famous and otherwise, share their stories of when they first knew they were gay.

Nestle, Joan
Genderqueer: voices from beyond the sexual binary (810.80353 Gender [Adult area])
Explores the gray area between strictly male and strictly female with 30 first-person testimonies.

Merrell, Billy
Talking in the Dark: a poetry memoir (YA 811 Merrell Talking)
A poetry memoir about growing up, coming out, and exploring love.

Rachel, T. Cole (ed.)
Bend, Don't Shatter: poets on the beginning of desire (YA 811.008 BEN)
A collection of poetry that deals with what it means to come of age gay, lesbian, transgender, or totally confused.

Scholinski, Daphne
The Last Time I Wore a Dress (YA Biography Sch6453L)
A memoir of a 15-year-old girl named Daphne who was committed to a mental institution for "gender identity disorder" and whose treatment included makeup lessons and instructions on how to walk like a girl.

Winick, Judd
Pedro & Me: friendship, loss and what I learned (YA Graphic Novel W72784p)
Pedro was HIV-positive in high school and was an effective AIDS activist until his death. In comic book format, Judd tells the story of their friendship and their experiences on The Real World San Francisco.

Web Sites of Interest to GLBT Teens & Those Who Care for Them

Fresno GLBTQ Youth Alliance
http://www.fresnorainbowpride.com/youthalliance.html
Information about what's happening for queer youth here in Fresno, from peer counseling and advocacy to just hanging out and having fun.

Gay & Lesbian Resources
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/youth/health/pamphlets/glbresources.htm
From issues of advocacy and legal rights to health issues and hotlines, this site collects a wealth of information for gay and questioning teens, as well as their families and friends.

Gay-Straight Alliance Network
http://www.gsanetwork.org/
Information, resources, and contact numbers for local GSAs, clubs committed to empowering youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia.

GLSEN & The Safe Schools Action Network
http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/involved/index.html
The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network provides many opportunities to get involved and do something to make schools safe for GLBTQ youth.

Go Ask Alice!
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/
Ask any question and get a serious answer about your health, relationships, or anything else in your life. If you're too shy to ask, read what others have posted on a variety of topics.

National Youth Advocacy Coalition
http://www.nyacyouth.org/nyac/youth_connections.html
A national organization devoted to improving the lives of queer youth through advocacy, education, and information.

Out Proud: The National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth
http://www.outproud.org/
Resources for both educators and teens, including coming-out stories, a directory of local organizations, and other recommended Web sites.

Sex, Etc.
http://www.sexetc.org
Written for teens by teens, this is the online version of the award-winning newsletter. From the menu on the left, click on "GLBTQ" for queer-specific information.