Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender Literature for Teens

Hartinger, Brent. The Order of the Poison Oak. 2005. 211p. Gr. 7-10. Tired of being the school freak, gay 16-year-old Russel tries to escape as a summer camp counselor in a rural summer camp only to be attracted to the same counselor as his bisexual friend Min.

Howe, James. Totally Joe. 2005. 189p. Gr. 6-8. In 13-year-old Joe’s alphabiography assignment—the story of his life from A to Z—he bares his soul about his parents, teachers, friends, and enemies--and his coming out. 

Limb, Sue. Girl Nearly 16, Absolute Torture. 2005. 216p. Gr. 7-10. Forced to leave her boyfriend and visit with her father for two weeks, 15-year-old Jess finally learns the reason her father left her mother. 

Peters, Julie Anne. Between Mom and Jo. 2006. 232p. 232p. Gr. 7-10. Fourteen-year-old Nick has a great life with his two moms until they split up and he’s caught in the middle with no support. 

Woodson, Jacqueline. After Tupac & D Foster. 2008. 153p. Gr. 5-8. Eleven-year-old D Foster completes a trio of friends who share a passion for the music of Tupac Shakur as they deal with discrimination directed toward the gay brother of one of the trio. 

Brothers, Meagan. Debbie Harry Sings in French. 2008. 240p. Gr. 8-12. Johnny is pretty sure he isn’t gay, but he’s not quite sure what it means that he wants to be Debbie Harry—to dress like her, have hair like hers, and to hang out with drag queens.

Cameron, Peter. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You. 2007. 229p. Gr. 10-12. Holden Caulfield, meet James Sveck, a white, middle-class New Yorker who disdains his peers and most of the adults in his life, except for the gay man who manages his mother's art gallery, 

Cohn, Rachel, and David Levithan. Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List.August 2007. 230p. Gr. 9-12. Witty, urbane Naomi, age 19, finally comes to terms with being hopelessly in love with her gay best friend, Ely, even after she learns he is sleeping with her boyfriend. 

Dole, Mayra Lazara. Down to the Bone.2008. 367p. Gr. 8-12. After 16-year-old Laura is outed at school, kicked out of her home, and rejected by her girlfriend, she finds herself and her community in this hilarious debut novel with an all-Latino cast.

Ford, Michael Thomas. Suicide Notes. 2008. 295p. Gr. 9-11. After he wakes up in a psychiatric hospital, 15-year-old Jeff describes the events that led up to his attempted suicide and how his life is changed during his 45-day stay. 

Geerling, Marjetta. Fancy White Trash.2008. 257p. Gr. 9-11. 15-year-old Abby struggles with her highly dysfunctional family while her best friend Cody deals with the challenges of coming out to himself and his friends.

Goldman, Steven. Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about the Grapes of Wrath. 2008. 272p. Bloomsbury, Gr. 8-10. Eleventh-grader Mitchell’s life suddenly changes when his best friend David comes out of the closet. 

Harmon, Michael. Last Exit to Normal. 2008. 275p. Gr. 9-11. Ben and his two dads move to rural Montana where Ben absolutely does not fit in and finds it harder to deal with having two dads than he did in their previous urban home.

Hegamin, Tonya Cherie. M+O 4EVR.2008. 165p. Gr. 7-10. After the death of Marianne, Opal’s best friend—and more—Opal deals with her loss through the life of Hannah, a runaway slave who died in 1842. 

Hyde, Catherine Ryde.Becoming Chloe. 2006. 215p.  Gr. 9-12. Attempting to protect Wanda (aka Chloe), another homeless teenager, 17-year-old Jordan finds the brutality and beauty in life on their road trip across the country.

Juby, Susan. Another Kind of Cowboy. December 2007. 344p. Gr. 8-10. 15, gay, and closeted, Alex has dreamed of riding dressage since childhood, although his father wants him to be a “real” cowboy.

Kluger, Steve. My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park.2008. 403p.. 8-10. Three high school friends, including a fun, proud, and just about out-of-the-closet gay young man, tell about their ‘excellent’ ninth-grade year. 

Levithan, David. How They Met, and Other Stories.2008. 256p. Gr. 9-11. Find the answer to “what is love?” in this diverse collection of short stories. 

Levithan, David. Wide Awake. 2006. 221p.). Gr. 9-12: In a future American when gay Jewish Abraham Stein is elected president, lovers Jimmy and Duncan join the throngs of people traveling to Topeka to protest the governor’s threat to change votes.

Moore, Perry. Hero. 2007. 428p. Gr. 10-12. Thom Creed, the son of superheroes, has to hide the fact that he’s gay if he’s going to fit into the League—but he finds a lot more problems than that facing him.

Ruditis, Paul. Entrances and Exits.[Drama series]. 2008. 242p. Gr. 7-10. A first time director and high school junior, Bryan has to learn to cope with a temperamental playwright, the leading actress’s jealous boyfriend, competition from a new girl on the drama scene, and his yearnings for Drew, his ex-best friend who kissed him and then ran.

Sanchez, Alex. Getting It. 2006. 210p. Gr. 9-12. Hoping to impress a sexy female classmate, 15-year-old Carlos secretly hires gay student Sal to give him an image makeover in exchange for Carlos’s helping to form a Gay-Straight Alliance at their Texas high school. 

St. James, James. Freak Show. 2007. 298p. Gr. 9-12. Outrageously over-the-top teen drag queen Billy Bloom, a new student at the very conservative Dwight D. Eisenhower Academy, finds that life is not easy for him among the rich white students with their brutal homophobia.  

Steinhofel, Andreas. The Center of the World. Trans. Alisa Jaffa. 2005. 467p.). Gr. 11-12. 17-year-old Phil navigates his complicated family dynamics and his first sexual relationship in a lyrical novel first published in Germany.

Tamaki, Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. Skim. 2008. 140p. Gr. 9-12. Would-be Wiccan and goth Skim, aka Kimberly Keiko Cameron, is revealed in this graphic novel as a sometimes target for the popular students at her all-girls private school in Toronto, where she falls in love with her English teacher Ms. Archer. 

Wilson, Martin. What They Always Tell Us. 2008. 293p. Gr. 9-11. Isolated and unsure of his place in his family and at school after an attempted suicide Alex is encouraged to try out for cross-country by his brother’s friend, Nathen, and discovers more than just a supportive teammate. 

Wittlinger, Ellen. Love & Lies: Marisol’s Story.2008. 256p. Gr. 9-11. When Marisol takes a year off between high school and college to write a novel, she falls in love with her creative writing teacher, Olivia.

Wittlinger, Ellen. Parrotfish. 2007. 294p. Gr. 9-12. When Angela, who has never felt comfortable as a girl, finally comes out as transgendered and begins life as a boy, she isn’t prepared for everyone’s reactions.

The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing. Ed. David Levithan and Billy Merrill. 2006. 272p. 288pp. Gr. 8-11. This collection of essays and poetry from a wide diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered teens shows the complexity of today’s LGBTQ youths. 

Alsenas, Linas. Gay America: Struggle for Equality.2008. 160p. Gr. 7-12. The fascinating story of gay people throughout America’s history is told with clear text and lots of photography. 

Marcus, Eric. What If Someone I Know Is Gay: Answers to Questions about What It Means to be Gay and Lesbian. 2007. 183p. Gr. 7-12. This radically updated resource covers basics and not-so-basics in a question-and-answer format. 

Hear Me Out: True Stories of Teens Educating and Confronting Homophobia. Planned Parenthood of Toronto. 2005. 197p. Second Story Press, $12.95. (1896764878). Gr. 9-12. Twenty teens from a variety of social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds give personal accounts of gay, lesbian, queer, transgender, transsexual, and questioning young-adult experiences.