In June 1969 demonstrations in response to a police raid in New York City, known as the Stonewall riots, marked the beginning of a cohesive gay rights movement in America and sparked a gay pride movement that has yet to slow down. In 2009 June was named LGBT Pride Month, and it has also become National GLBT (Gay,Lesbian,Bisexual & Transgender) Book Month. This means that it is a good time to bring attention to exceptional literature which deal with GLBT themes. My focus here is books with GLBT themes for young adults.
The preteen and teen years are tough on everyone. Young adults are trying to find their place in the world, as well as who they want to be. Social pressures often weigh heavily, as to family and school expectations and obligations. It is even harder for those that might be perceived as different, regardless of if it is their perception or that of others.
Finding someone you can identify with or relate to in the books you read can go a long way to help young adults questioning their identity or feelings feel more understood and less alone. Here are some novels and a short list of related nonfiction books that I would recommend.
Fiction
If You Could Be Mine and Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan
One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva
Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh
For Today I am a Boy by Kim Fu
When We Were Good by Suzanne Sutherland
Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World by Janet E. Cameron
Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour
Far from You by Tess Sharpe
Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
Nonfiction
We Are the Youth: Sharing the Stories of LGBT Youth in the United States by Laurel Golio and Diana Scholl
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities by David Levithan, Billy Merrell
It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living by Dan Savage, Terry Miller
The Journey Out: A Guide for and about Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Teens by Rachel Pollack, Cheryl Schwartz
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