Book Recommendations: LGBTQ+

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, flea marketing with his loving grandmother, and his first sexual relationships.

Transgender author Kate Bornstein provides guidance for suicidal teenagers, relating personal emotional struggles; discussing bullies, identity, and freedom; and describing 101 activities teens can use to cope and keep themselves alive.

A guide to navigating life as a trans teen that discusses family and friends, cross-hormonal therapy, self-care, expression, identity, dysphoria, and depression, and features real-life trans stories.

An investigation into how we express and understand the complexities of gender today. Deeply researched and fully illustrated, this book demystifies an intensely personal--yet universal--facet of humanity. Queer author and artist Iris Gottlieb touches on history, science, sociology, and her own experience of the sometimes confusing process of navigating ones' gender and sexuality in the 21st century.

Chronicles the history of homosexuality in the United States from the Puritans through the twentieth century, examining the role of gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgendered individuals in shaping American culture.

Offers answers to questions about homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender people, from sex to politics, hooking up to stereotypes, coming out and more. This exploration of sexuality and what it's like to grow up LGBT also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention humorous illustrations.

Traces queer history from the early 20th century before the 1969 Stonewall riots to today using thousands of photos and pieces of ephemera with detailed captions that tell the story of the fight for LGBTQ+ civil rights.

History has often ignored men who loved men, women who loved women, and people who lived outside gender boundaries. Lee Wind examines primary source letters, poems, and more to rethink the lives and loves of historical figure.

Collects seventeen short stories about queer teens.

Presents twelve stories by contemporary, award-winning young adult authors, some presented in graphic or letter format, which explore themes of gender identity, love, and sexuality.

A collection of seventeen short stories on queer themes from young adult authors, includes a story in which an alien helps a girl decide if she should tell her best friend how she feels.

A collection of nine short stories that feature characters who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.

Fleeing to Rome in the wake of coming out to his Muslim family, a failed relationship, and blackmail, eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi embarks on a more authentic life with new friends and dates in the Sistine Chapel before an encounter with a U.S. Customs officer places his hard-won freedom at risk.

After a bewildering encounter at her small town's annual summer festival, seventeen-year-old biracial, queer Nima plunges into the world of drag, where she has the chance to explore questions of identity, acceptance, self-expression, and love.

Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend.

Homecoming queen Kristin Lattimer has a hard enough time dealing with her body, but her visit to the doctor reveals a difficult truth, Kristin is intersex, which means that though she looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts" and after her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, her identity is thrown into question.

When a college scholarship falls through, wallflower Liz LIghty is forced to turn to her school's scholarship for prom king and queen, which plunges her into the spotlight and leads her to discoveries about her own identity and the value of true friendships.

When her conservative Muslim mom catches her and her girlfriend together, Rukhsana is sent to stay with her extended family in Bangladesh, where she finds intolerance, but also the courage to take control of her life.

A young adult debut by the popular social media personality and critic reflects the racial and economic struggles of today's teens in the story of high school junior Moss, who in the face of a racist school administration decides to organize a protest that escalates into violence.

Sixteen-year-old Mexican American Yami Flores starts Catholic school, determined to keep her brother out of trouble and keep herself closeted, but her priorities shift when Yami discovers that her openly gay classmate Bo is also annoyingly cute.

Amanda Hardy only wants to fit in at her new school, but she is keeping a big secret, so when she falls for Grant, guarded Amanda finds herself yearning to share with him everything about herself, including her previous life as Andrew.

After moving to Seattle with its thriving LGBTQIA+ community, Jay starts his senior year at a new school with a romance bucket list.

Alice believes she is asexual, after breaking up with her girlfriend, and has sworn off dating but ends up having feelings for her co-worker Takumi.

Growing up, Rebecca assumes sex is just a scary new thing they will 'grow into' as they gets older, but when they leaves school, starts working, and does grow up, they starts to wonder why they doesn't want to have sex. In this memoir, we follow Rebecca as they navigate a culture obsessed with sex - being bullied at school, trying to fit in with friends, forcing themself into relationships, and experiencing anxiety and OCD - before understanding and embracing their asexual identity.

Lewis has a few things to say to his younger teen self. He knows she hates her body. He knows she's confused about who to kiss. He knows she's really a he and will ultimately realize this. But she's going to go through a whole lot of mess (some of it funny, some of it not funny at all) to get to that point. Lewis is trying to tell her this...but she can't quite hear him yet. Lewis Hancox takes readers on the hilarious, heartbreaking, and healing path he took to make it past trauma, confusion, hurt, and dubious fashion choices in order to become the man he was meant to be.

An autobiographical comic in which the author discusses their path to identifying as nonbinary and asexual, and coming out to family and society.

It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes--but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.

Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who's under pressure to join the cheerleading squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser, a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life in order to maintain their support of her transition. Through the rigors of squad training and amped-up social pressures (not to mention microaggressions and other queer youth problems), the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they'd lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them.

Charlie is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School. The past year hasn't been great, but at least he's not being bullied anymore, and he's sort of got a boyfriend, even if he's kind of mean and only wants to meet up in secret. Nick is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He's heard a little about Charlie - the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months - but he's never had the opportunity to talk to him. That is until Nick and Charlie are made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance.

One fateful night, teen witch Nova Huang follows reports of a white wolf in the woods and discovers her childhood crush--werewolf Tam Lang, battling a horse-demon. Now, against the background of a slowly rekindling romance, Tam and Nova mus investigate the dark supernatural forces eager to claim wolf magic for evil.

Prince Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances—one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses.

Queer black girls team up to overthrow the patriarchy in the former kingdom of Cinderella.

Wyatt, a transgender witch hiding in the human world, must face the royal fiance he left behind and decide what is more important—his people or his freedom.

Seventeen-year-old Xochi's life changed when she became governess to precocious twelve-year-old Pallas, but the duo unintentionally summons a pair of ancient creatures determined to right the wrongs of Xochi's adolescence.

Twins Kylee and Brysen must fight for survival in a remote valley called Six Villages as war approaches, she by rejecting her ancient gifts for falconry and Brysen by striving to find greatness.

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, hiding a terrible legacy, until mysterious Fel arrives and Estrella helps him explore his dangerous past.

A society wife-in-training has an uncomfortable awakening about her strictly polarized society after being recruited into a band of rebel spies and falling for her biggest rival.

During his last year at Watford School of Magicks, Simon Snow, the Chosen One, faces a magic-eating monster wearing his face, a break-up, and a missing nemesis.

Yadriel, a trans boy, summons the angry spirit of his high school's bad boy, and agrees to help him learn how he died, thereby proving himself a brujo, not a bruja, to his conservative family.

When she pricks her finger on a bone spindle, treasure hunter Fi is stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose, a prince under a sleeping curse, and must team up with a tough-as-dirt girl warrior to free the prince--and herself.

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him--the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world's population. But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. Benji is eager to belong, until he discovers the ALC's mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own

After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City's mightiest hero (and Nick's biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he'll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick's best friend (and maybe the love of his life.