Books and Reading: LGBTQ+

A true story about growing up gay in an evangelical family.

An exploration of the Stonewall Riots and the national gay rights movement that followed.

Seventeen-year-old Arin Andrews shares all the hilarious, painful, and poignant details of undergoing gender reassignment as a high school student in this teen memoir.

A collection of testimonials written to teenagers from celebrities, political leaders, and other individuals on the happiness they found in life after they suffered through bullying and torment in their youths because of their sexual orientation.

Answers to questions about homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender people, from sex to politics, hooking up to stereotypes, coming out and more.

An autobiography of Jazz Jennings in which she shares her experiences of transitioning for male to female and becoming an advocate for transgender youth.

A one-of-a-kind guide to staying alive outside the box, Hello, Cruel World is a much-needed unconventional approach to life for those who want to stay on the edge, but alive.

Nineteen-year-old Katie Hill a transgender girl shares her personal journey of growing up as a boy and then undergoing gender reassignment during her teens.

Describes how homosexuals were treated during the Holocaust.

Looks at how LGBTQ+ athletes are fighting for equality.

Addresses some of the challenges faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender teens, offering advice on how to come out to family and friends, develop a social life, deal with homophobia, and other topics, and includes personal testimonies.

Looks at Gay Pride Day and what led to its creation.

Six teens tell what it is like for them to be members of the transgender community.

William's father gives him a basketball and a train but these do not make him want a doll less.

Dyson loves pink, sparkly things. Sometimes he wears dresses. Sometimes he wears jeans. He likes to wear his princess tiara, even when climbing trees. He's a Princess Boy.

Morris wears a beautiful orange dress that reminds him of his mother’s hair and tigers, but his classmates say that dresses are for girls. One night, Morris has a dream that changes everything. On order.

This Day In June welcomes young readers to experience a pride celebration and share in a day when we are all united.

Anyone can be a princess, a pirate, a mermaid, or a superhero. Demonstrated through rhyming text and whimsical illustrations, whatever you can imagine, you can become.

Tells the story of Jazz Jenning, who was born a boy, but felt like a girl.

A glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world.

At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches. Based on a true story.

From the moment Donovan wakes in the morning, he painstakingly prepares for his special role in the wedding ceremony of his two mothers.

When the queen insists that the prince get married and take over as king, the search for a suitable mate does not turn out as expected.

Bailey longs to wear the beautiful dresses of her dreams but is ridiculed by her unsympathetic family which rejects her true perception of herself.

Three young children experience the joys and challenges of being raised by two mothers.

Jacob, who likes to wear dresses at home, convinces his parents to let him wear a dress to school too.

While playing at the beach with friends, a young boy describes the different ways in which his two mothers help him.

Two worms in love decide to get married, and with help from Cricket, Beetle, Spider, and the Bees they have everything they need and more, but which one will be the bride and which the groom?

Aidan, a transgender boy, experiences complicated emotions as he and his parents prepare for the arrival of a new baby.

Traces the [history] of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today's world.

After having fun running around the house naked and wild, young Fred decides to get dressed--in his parents' closet--with surprising results.

A transgender twelve-year-old, learns to accept her true identity and share it with the world

Dillon's dad wants him to play football, his crew wants him to freestyle, but all he wants to do is dance, dance.

Four lively adopted boys, two dads and a grouchy new neighbor star in this modern family comedy.

Lily is trans and is facing puberty, which will make her look less than herself than she does now, while new kid Dunkin’s manic impulsiveness makes him a misfit; though they click immediately, life gets complicated.

Joe tells his story of coming out and overcoming bullies and prejudice through alphabetical entries in his "alphabiography."

Male role models aren't a scarce commodity for Archer Magill, but when two of them fall in love, what does that mean for his comprehension of the weird world of adults? Then there's all that impending puberty stuff.

Thirteen-year-old Nate runs away from his small town in Pennsylvania to New York City to audition for E.T. the Musical.

Nate Foster’s dreams are finally coming true in this sequel to Better Nate Than Never.

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl.

Shane is keeping something private, something that might make a difference to his friends and teammates, to Josh, and his crush, Madeline. And when a classmate threatens to reveal his secret, Shane's whole world comes crashing down.

Rick Riordan introduces readers to Alex Fierro, a gender fluid teen who has “startling eyes, an impressive sweater-vest, and a tendency to hit people."

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

Paul's simple high-school life is confused by his desire for another boy who seems unattainable, until Paul's friends help him find the courage to pursue the object of his affections.

A young bisexual British lord embarks on an unforgettable Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush. An 18th-century romantic adventure for the modern age

Pen (not Penelope) has always worn her brother's clothes, but now people keep telling her to stop. They tell her she needs to act "like a real girl" to show respect for her conservative parents, but Pen wants to start doing things for herself.

Teenaged Quinn, an aspiring screenwriter, copes with his sister's death while his best friend forces him back out into the world to face his reality

A story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal told from different points in time, and in separate voices, by artists Jude and her twin brother Noah.

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.

In Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death, seventeen-year-olds Sahar and Nasrin love each other in secret until Nasrin's parents announce their daughter's arranged marriage and Sahar proposes a drastic solution.

Told through a series of texts and emails, ... two best friends ... head off to their first semesters of college on opposite sides of the country. But as each changes and grows into her new life, will their friendship survive the distance?

Sixteen-year-old Sana has too many secrets, but when she and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it's time she finally be honest with her family.

In Hawaii, seventeen-year-old Jaya Mehta is a transgender outsider with depressive tendencies and the stunningly beautiful Rasa Santos thinks sex is her only power. Will their love transcend and pull them forward or will they remain stuck, separate, in the chaos of their pasts?

Suzette returns home to Los Angeles from boarding school and grapples with her bisexual identity when she and her brother Lionel fall in love with the same girl, pushing Lionel's bipolar disorder to spin out of control and forcing Suzette to confront her own demons.

Sweet, popular Mary, the pastor's daughter, has been viciously murdered, and the killer makes it clear that it's because of her relationship with Avery, a transgender boy.

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.

When Alek's high-achieving, Armenian-American parents send him to summer school, he thinks his summer is ruined. But then he meets Ethan, who opens his world in a series of truly unexpected ways

Tired of being known as "the gay kid", Rafe Goldberg decides to assume a new persona when he comes east and enters an elite Massachusetts prep school--but trying to deny his identity has both complications and unexpected consequences.

Aki, who is bisexual, and her friend Lori set off on a church youth-group trip to a small Mexican town for the summer and Aki meets Christa--slightly older, far more experienced woman.

The groundbreaking novel from critically acclaimed author Ellen Wittlinger that tells the story of a transgender teen’s search for identity and acceptance.

Sixteen-year-old, not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier is blackmailed into playing wingman for his classmate or else his sexual identity--and that of his pen pal--will be revealed.

High school junior Leila's Persian heritage already makes her different from her classmates at Armstead Academy, and if word got out that she liked girls life would be twice as hard, but when a new girl, Saskia, shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would, especially when it looks as if the attraction between them is mutual, so she struggles to sort out her growing feelings by confiding in her old friends.

Two boys, Van (called Vanilla) and Hunter, tell of their relationship which began before they were teenagers, but begins to crack in high school, mostly because Hunter thinks they should be having sex and Vanilla is not so sure.

The summer after graduating from an Iowa high school, eighteen-year-old Dade Hamilton watches his parents' marriage disintegrate, ends his long-term, secret relationship, comes out of the closet, and savors first love.

Toni and Gretchen are the couple everyone envied in high school. They've been together forever. They never fight. They're deeply, hopelessly in love. When they separate for their first year at college--Toni to Harvard and Gretchen to NYU--they're sure they'll be fine. The reality of being apart, though, is very different than they expected.

This is a story of survival and of triumphing to become one’s authentic self. An important book that will serve as a lighthouse for gay teenagers and build empathy in all readers, no matter their backgrounds.