FictionforTeens

Benduhn, Tia. Gravel Queen. 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.

Block, Francesca Lia. Baby Be-Bop. 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.

De Oliveira, Eddie. Lucky. A coming-of-age tale about a student in England trying to deal with his feelings of attraction to both girls and boys while dealing with a new friendship that has the possibility of turning into something more.

Dole, Mayra Lazara. Down to the Bone. 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.

Freymann-Weyr, Garret. My Heartbeat. 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.

Garden, Nancy. Annie on My Mind. Liza puts aside her feelings for Annie after the disaster at school, but eventually she allows love to triumph over the ignorance of people. (This classic was the first novel written for teens to explore GLBTQ ideas. Yes, it’s old (published in the Mesozoic era of 1982!) but still worth reading.)

GLBTQ

Hartinger, Brent. The Geography Club. A group of gay and lesbian teenagers finds mutual support when they form the "Geography Club" at their high school.

Howe, James. Totally Joe. 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.

Johnson, Maureen. The Bermudez Triangle. Nina, Mel, and Avery are best girlfriends, but a romance between two of them threatens to shatter the triangle.Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy. 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. But even here, love can be scary!

Levithan, David. Wide Awake. 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.(The incomparable Mr. Levithan is not only one of the best writers for teens, period, but one of the best at exploring GLBTQ issues and characters. Really, just read anything he writes!)

Lockhart, E. Dramarama. Spending their summer at Wildewood Academy, an elite boarding school for the performing arts, tests the bond between teens Sadye and her best friend Demi.

Moore, Perry. Hero. Thom Creed, the gay son of a disowned superhero, finds that he, too, has special powers and is asked to join the very League that rejected his father, and it is there that Thom finds other misfits whom he can finally trust.

Myracle, Lauren. Kissing Kate. 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.

Peters, Julie Anne. Keeping You a Secret. 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.

Peters, Julie Anne. Luna. 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.(Another terrific writer for teens who is brilliant at exploring GLBTQ issues and characters, and worth exploring her whole catalog.)

Revoyr, Nina. The Necessary Hunger: A Novel. Nancy’s crush on Rania, a fellow basketball player, accelerates when her Japanese-American father falls in love with Raina’s African-American mother.

Sanchez, Alex. Rainbow Boys. 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.

Sanchez, Alex. So Hard To Say. Thirteen-year-old Xio, a Mexican American girl, and Frederick, who has just moved to California from Wisconsin, 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.(Like Levithan and Peters, Alex Sanchez is one of the best in this area – check out his many great books!)

Sloan, Brian. A Really Nice Prom Mess. 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.

St. James, James. Freak Show. 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 way to become fabulous again is to run for Homecoming Queen at his elite, private school near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.(The utterly fabulous James St. James was a legend among the N.Y. ‘Club Kid’ scene in the late ‘80’s/early ‘90’s – this novel is, of course, equally FAB!)

Stoehr, Shelley. Tomorrow, Wendy. Seventeen-year-old Cary seems to have it all -- gorgeous body, cool boyfriend, wealthy family, and a great sense of style, but she also has a serious problem.

Trueman, Terry. 7 Days at the Hot Corner. Varsity baseball player Scott Latimer struggles with his own prejudices and those of others when his best friend reveals that he is gay.

Wittlinger, Ellen. Hard Love. 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.

Wittlinger, Ellen. Parrotfish. Grady, a transgendered high school student, yearns for acceptance by his classmates and family as he struggles to adjust to his new identity as a male.

List compiled by Ken Petrilli, Teen Services Librarian, New Rochelle Public Library 914-813-3735 nrplteens@wlsmail.org