Recommended Reading

Teens (12 & up)

Am I Blue?
Edited by Marion Dane Baurer
An anthology of stories by well-known children's authors, each portraying the subject and theme of growing up gay or lesbian, or with gay or lesbian parents or friends. Two of the stories feature LGBT parents in some way.

Annie on My Mind
Author: Garden, N.
Aware that their feelings for each other are not safe to express in the open, Liza and Annie find themselves in a unique situation of cat minding for two of Liza's teachers, where they can be alone. What starts out as a private joyful time, forces both girls to deal with public humiliation, betrayal, lying, coming out to family and friends, and homophobia.

Bad Boy
Author: Wieler, D.
AJ thinks that all he wants in his life is to make the Triple A hockey team, with his best friend Tully.  But when he learns that Tully is gay, he can't keep hisfear and aggression from coming out onto the ice. He has to learn about friendship and to rebuild his trust in Tully. Governor General’s Literary Award.

Blue Coyote
Author: Ketchum, L.
Alex searches for his best friend who suddenly “disappears” in a veil of secrecy from their hometown. It’s a suspenseful, emotional story of two teenage boys coming to terms with their sexuality and learning about the true value of friendship.

The Blue Lawn
Author: Taylor, W.
David and Theo are mates on a rugby team in small-town New Zealand, slowly coming to understand their mutual attraction and hostility to each other. Their different lives, families and personalities are obstacles to their friendship, but a wise relative helps them both to mature.

Deliver Us from Evil
Author: Kerr, M. E.
Families in a small, conservative farming community deal with coming to terms with the lesbian relationship between two young women in their community.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
When Melanin Sun's mother tells him she is in love with a women, he has a decision to make; he will also learn the meaning of sacrifice, prejudice, and love.

Geography Club
Author: Hartinger, B.
This is a fast paced, funny tale about teens who don’t learn anything about Geography but discover plenty about the treacherous social terrain of high school. Their Geography club eventually becomes a Gay Straight Alliance club at their school

Good Moon Rising
Author: Garden, N.
While working on a school play, Jan and Kerry find their feelings for each other evolving beyond friendship, and are soon faced with the revenge tactics of a jealous actor, who threatens to expose them.

Gravel Queen
Author: Benduhn, T.
Life gets complicated when Aurin and Neila start getting very close.  Aurin has to maintain her existing friendships, despite her excitement about the uncertain future. This novel shows the celebratory, fun  parts of teen life, and offers a positive outcome.

Happy Endings Are All Alike
Author: Scoppettone, S.
A love story of two young women graduating from a small town high school. Many stereotypic ideas about lesbian relationships are presented, and then sensitively dispelled.

Love Rules
Author: Reynolds, M.
This story tells of a young woman's struggle with her sexual identity and how this affects her, her friends and her family.

Lucky
Author: De Oliveira, E.
Sam is attracted to both boys and girls. He meets Toby, who has the same likes and attractions.  Love comes in many shapes and sizes, sometimes all at once. The author shows there’s more to life than labels, and more to love than a simple definition.

Lucky In The Corner
Author: Anshaw, C.
A lesbian mother newly out of the closet and her uncomprehending, difficult teenage daughter are the protagonists in this novel about family life and growing up.

Luna  
Author: Julie Anne Peters
A young adult novel that features a transgender teen as the main character. Regan’s brother, Liam, can’t stand the person he is during the day, so in the secrecy of his bedroom he transforms himself into Luna, the beautiful girl he longs to be.

Name Me Nobody
Author: Yamanaka, L.
Emi-Lou, is 13 and overweight .  She lives in small-town Hawaii, far from her mother, trying desperately to grow up and to fit in with the popular girls. The only people who make her feel like somebody are her plain-speaking grandmother and her best friend, Von.

Necessary Noise
Edited by Michael Cart
This collection of stories includes pieces about all kinds of families, some about LGBT-headed families.

Night Kites 
Author: Kerr, M. E.
This story centres on Erick, aged 17, who learns about prejudice and family bonds when his older brother, gay and living with AIDS, moves back home. The novel also portrays Erick’s own discoveries of love and relationships.

Not the Only One
Author: Grima, T. (ed)
21 stories capture many of the fears, joys, confusion and energy of teens coming face-to-face with lesbian / gay issues, in their own coming out, or in learning that a friend or family member is LGBT.

Out of the Shadows
Author: Hines, S.
Rowanna thinks her family is freakishly unique, and Jodie is afraid of her own feelings. They spend a long time not speaking about what really matters to them. They end up getting closer to each other, going through an array of feelings.

Rainbow Boys Rainbow High
Author: Sanchez, A.
Both books are easy to read, thought-provoking, and informative. They feature 3 very different young gay men, as they deal with sex, love, virginity, body image, homophobia, bashings, activism, parental / peer reactions, and internet predators

Singing the Dogstar Blues
Author: Alison Goodman
Ages 13 & up
The two main characters in this mix of humor, science fiction, mystery and adventure are Joss, an Earth teen, and Mavkel, an alien teen. In this coming-of-age story, Joss reconnects with her mom’s ex-lover Louise, who was a pivotal figure while she was growing up.

Stitches
Author: Glen Huser
Travis knows he's different from his junior high classmates, he loves to sew and play with puppets. He wants to become a professional puppeteer. These interests make Travis a ripe target for Shon and his friends, the school thugs. This story of the trials and tribulations of adolescence resonates with young adult readers.

Trying Hard to Hear You
Author: Scoppettone, S.
Members of a small theatre group learn that two of the boys are gay. There are strong feelings as a result of prejudice and racism in some members, but there is a gradual awareness / acceptance by most peers after a period of discussion and learning.

What Happened to Lani Garver?
Author: Plum-Ucci, C.
Lani is a new kid at school, and others are asking questions, mainly “Is Lani a boy or a girl?” Claire befriends Lani, but soon has to deal with shattered friendships and her own personal demons. The events that follow are tragic, and somewhat ambiguous, but the book does a wonderful job of introducing the concept of androgyny.

The Year They Burned the Books
Author: Garden, N
When Jamie writes an editorial for her high school paper in favour of condom distribution and an open discussion of homosexuality, she becomes embroiled in a community wide controversy.