Pigott Memorial Library

Reading Recommendations

GLBTQ Recommendations
Fiction

A near-future novel in which eighteen-year-old Lore van de Oest, stripped of her identity chip by the kidnappers who stole her from her wealthy family, struggles for control of her life after she is rescued by Spanner, a data pirate who offers Lore a world of possibilities.

Russel Middlebrook, a sophomore at Goodkind High School, has a secret crush on a baseball jock, Kevin Land, and soon discovers that Kevin is also gay. The boys set up the "Geography Club" with three other gay students, one of whom is Russel's closest friend, Min. The club members use the time to discuss their lives and to relate to one another openly, but intense peer pressure and insecurity threaten to ruin the club.

Sixteen-year-old Steven relishes square dancing, drools over his male health teacher's musculature, and keeps a stash of International Male catalogs underneath his bed, but is determined that he is absolutely, positively not gay. To prove his heterosexuality, he futilely attempts to buy a Playboy magazine, tries mingling with the jocks at lunch, and embarks on a series of disastrous dates with girls from his class. Eventually, however, he gives up and outs himself to his best friend, who is so excited for him that she wants to celebrate it, while he still isn't sure he wants anyone else to know.

This is one groundbreaking book where sexual preference is not really a problem for narrator Paul and most of his friends. Paul says, "There isn't really a gay scene or a straight scene in our town. They got all mixed up a while back, which I think is for the best." Paul is smitten with Noah, and they are beginning a serious relationship when Kyle, Paul's ex, complicates things by deciding that all is forgiven. Joni is going out with Chuck, who dominates her, much to her friends' disapproval. Tony's conservative parents refuse to acknowledge that he is gay, so the others must bone up on Bible verses all week so they can pretend Saturday night is a study group. And then there's Infinite Darlene, football quarterback and Homecoming (Drag) Queen, who deserves a whole romance novel of her own. Life in their town is gloriously accepting of differences and only occasionally verges on magic realism, in this first novel in which same sex preference is not the problem. (From an Amazon.com review.)

In Levithan's latest, he imagines a future America--after the Reign of Fear, after the Greater Depression, the War to End All Wars, the Jesus Revolution, and the Prada Riots. Living in this not quite but almost believable America are Duncan and his boyfriend, Jimmy, who start out the book rejoicing that Abe Stein, both gay and Jewish, has been elected president. Unsurprisingly, however, the governor of Kansas demands a recount, causing both Stein supporters and Stein haters to travel en masse to Kansas. Into this politically charged atmosphere go Duncan and Jimmy, who experience what proves to be a life-changing journey for them and their country.

A young man in post-World War II Japan, slowly comes to the realization that he is homosexual, and hides behind a mask of propriety while secretly exploring his sexuality.

Sixteen-year-old Mary-Elizabeth "Mike" Szabo, struggling to understand her father's suicide and her own homosexuality, falls for Xanadu, an exotic girl who has moved to small Coalton, Kansas, from the big city. Mike persues a relationship with Xanadu despite the fact that Xanadu is straight and, as Mike's best friend warns her, manipulative.

Claire McKenzie wonders about who and what Lani is. When Lani shows up on Hackett Island, neither Claire nor her cheerleader friends can tell if Lani is male or female (Asked if he's a girl, he says, "Oh! No. Not a girl. Sorry"). Claire has been hiding much of her identity, too: she conceals her electric guitar and the bloody lyrics she writes, and she doesn't tell her friends or her alcoholic mother that she suspects her leukemia has returned. When Lani finds her fainting, he pries her secrets out of her, then takes her to a hospital where she can get tested without parental consent. He helps her face her problems, and when an orderly tells her about androgynous "floating angels," the discussion plants a question in Claire's mind, and as odd events continue, she skates close to asking if Lani might be one of those angels. (From an Amazon.com review.)

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. If you like this one, read the rest of the series, Rainbow High and Rainbow Road.

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 informing a Gay-Straight Alliance at their Texas high school.

Abandoned by her mother and raised by her loving but religiously zealous grandmother, 16-year-old lesbian Heavenly Faith Simms (H.F. for short) has never felt like she belonged anywhere. When she finds her mother's address in a drawer, she and her best friend, Bo, an emotionally repressed gay boy, hit the road in Bo's scrap heap of a car and head south. Their journey through the heart of the American South awakens both teens to the realization that there is a life waiting for them that is very different from what they have known and that the concept of family is more far-reaching than they had ever imagined.

Skye signs up for volleyball at her new high school only because the girls on the team are beautiful, then shrinks from making the first move toward them. When she catches sight of the doomed, black-clad Jessica, Skye thinks she has found a soulmate, but Jessica turns out to be a murky reflection of Skye's mother--unhappy and unstable, feeling cheated by life. To what extent Skye will be pulled down into others' trouble is the issue beneath the more pressing questions of whom she will love, and who will love her.

Nonfiction

The author presents a comprehensive narrative that features four transgender teens who live in Los Angeles, and shares her experiences as a volunteer at a support center for trans teens.

Describes the challenges faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered teens, offers practical advice, real-life experiences, and accessible resources and support groups.

This memoir describes Kevin Jenning's life growing up as the youngest son of a born-again Southern Baptist preacher and a mother from Appalachian Tennessee. Jennings had a poor youth among trailer parks in Southern towns where his dad would try to find work, and by the time of his father's death he became a "mama's boy," introverted, brainy and overweight, and ridden by guilt at his incipient homosexuality. Jennings eventually become well-educated, worked in high schools, and promoted the creation of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) to protect students from the kind of harassment he experienced firsthand. (From Publisher's Weekly review.)

Presents twenty-one essays on the various psychological and social aspects of growing up with parents who are gay, lesbian, or transgender.

Offers gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students advice on how they can adapt to college life, with tips on finding a homosexual-friendly school, evaluating campus policies, dealing with homophobia on campus, finding support on campus, and more.

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