Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Transgendered Fiction for YAs -------------------------------------------- compiled by Shawna Hellenius (hellenius@altavista.com), March 2000 from contributions to YALSA-BK *FICTION* AM I BLUE? COMING OUT FROM THE SILENCE (anthology, ed. Marion Dane Bauer) - A compilation of short stories/personal essays about gay/lesbian teens. With a *very* funny opening story! - Includes work by C.S. Adler, Bauer, Francesca Lia Block, Bruce Coville, Nancy Garden, James Cross Giblin, Ellen Howard, M.E. Kerr, Jonathan London, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, Leslea Newman, Cristina Salat, William Sleator, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jane Yolen. Bechard, Margaret IF IT DOESN'T KILL YOU - Ben discovers his father is gay. BENDING THE LANDSCAPE: FANTASY BENDING THE LANDSCAPE: SF - Short story anthologies edited by Nicola Griffith Berendt, John MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL - Remember The Lady Chablis? Block, Francesca Lia BABY BE-BOP - my personal favourite. "DRAGONS IN MANHATTAN" - short story in GIRL GODDESS #9 I WAS A TEENAGE FAIRY WEETZIE BAT Boock, Paula DARE TRUTH OR PROMISE - about 2 New Zealand teen girls falling in love and dealing with parents and society. And it has a happy ending, hooray! - It's the best YA lesbian fiction novel I've read - it's even well written. Brown, Todd LETTERS FROM A HOT PINK NOTEBOOK Bujold ETHAN OF ATHOS - A squeaky-clean young man from conservative backwater Athos is out in the wild wicked galaxy having adventures, dealing with (gasp) women (there aren't any on Athos, it's against their religion). It's rather implied that he finds True Love by the end of the novel but, again, it's the people, not their genital configurations that drive the plot. - I am currently reviewing an audio version of a book titled Ethan of Athos by Bujold. Athos is a planet populated only by men (and they fear women). They populate their planet with test tube babies and raise their children (only boys, of course) with 2 gay (apparently) dads. I haven't listened to the entire tape yet but the storyline is certainly intriguing. Cart, Michael MY FATHER'S SCAR (S&S, 1996) - "wonderful" Carter, Raphael THE FORTUNATE FALL Chambers, Aiden DANCE ON MY GRACE Chbosky, Stephen PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER - The main character has a friend who is gay, and also explores his own confusing sexual feelings. CONFLICT OF HONOURS - Science fiction adventure. Both the heroine and hero are bisexual, nobody gets any diseases (though the heroine goes through a bit of psychotherapy in the nicest possible way - nothing to do with her sexual preferences though). Of course, being SF, the characters sexual relationships are pretty much taken for granted and the "romance" is about two *people* finding a way to love each other rather than two genders doing so in a PC-kinda-edgy way. (NB the book is back in print as PARTNERS IN NECCESSITY by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee) Cruse, Howard STUCK RUBBER BABY - amazing graphic novel about coming of age in the 60's... don't miss it! Donoghue, Emma KISSING THE WITCH - retellings of fairy tales with a feminist & lesbian viewpoint. Feinberg, Leslie STONE BUTCH BLUES - transsexual protagonist Garden, Nancy ANNIE ON MY MIND - A classic! Not so positive, but no death and happy ending. GOOD MOON RISING - very positive and enjoyable. THE YEAR THEY BURNED THE BOOKS Jenkins, A.M. BREAKING BOXES Koertge, Ron THE ARIZONA KID - main character's uncle is gay. Kerr, M.E. DELIVER US FROM EVIE - Sweet, thoughtful. "HELLO," I LIED - 17 year old Lang wants to tell his friend he is gay and develops an unexpected infatuation with a girl. Lackey, Mercedes. (fantasy) LAST HERALD MAGE TRILOGY: MAGIC'S PAWN MAGIC'S PROMISE MAGIC'S PRICE -- Main character in this series realizes he is gay, falls in love, is attacked, then loves again. There is violence (EX: main character in this series is raped by non-homosexual men), so wouldn't recommend for younger teens. Overall, though, what I like about Lackey is that generally, within the "mage" society, homosexuality is nothing special. Larson, Rodger WHAT I KNOW NOW More, Terry STRANGERS IN PARADISE - Graphic novel series. Very Melrose-Placey plots. Beautifully drawn, lots of heart and fairly suspenseful in an X-Files kind of way. Various individual titles: COMPLETE STRANGERS IN PARADISE, Vol. 1, 2, 3 etc. STRANGERS IN PARADISE: I DREAM OF YOU Mowry, Jess BABYLON BOYZ - A multicultural title. There are several main characters, one of them black and gay, and he's portrayed in a positive light. Murrow, Liza Ketchum TWELVE DAYS IN AUGUST (Holiday House, 1993) BLUE COYOTE (S&S , 1997) - sequel to Twelve Days in August Reid, John (pseudonym) THE BEST LITTLE BOY IN THE WORLD (1973) Revoyr, Nina THE NECESSARY HUNGER - Features an African American woman and a Japanese American woman. Ryman, Geoff THE CHILD GARDEN - The main character believes herself to be the only lesbian on the planet...as genetic engineering has "solved" many of the world's "problems". However things are far from perfect, for when a way is found to eliminate cancer, humanity also looses its ability to age past 30 or so. The key for reviving humanity looks to be in the genes of the biologically natural/untampered hero of the book. Lots of other great stuff involving music and the arts too. I can't recall if it would be good for YAs or not, but for fans of the genre I would say it is a must read. Winner of Arthur C. Clarke Award, John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and nomination for British Science Fiction Association Award, all in 1990. Scott, Melissa - Just about anything by Melissa Scott (who I believe once said that all of the characters in her books should be considered gay barring any other information) Sinclair, April COFFEE WILL MAKE YOU BLACK - bisexual protagonist AIN'T GONNA BE THE SAME FOOL TWICE - bisexual protagonist Springer, Nacy LOOKING FOR JAMIE BRIDER - 14 year old Jamie is determined to find out who her real parents are. It turns out one is gay. Swados, Elizabeth FLAMBOYANT Taylor, William THE BLUE LAWN - originally published in New Zealand, and published here last year as an original paperback by Alyson. A popular football player falls for the new guy at school. Great romantic tension. - I loved the Blue Lawn by William Taylor. The main character finds that he has feelings for his new best friend. The characters are struggling with their sexuality. What I loved about it was how the author described the teenage feelings of having a crush and falling in love. Those feelings are universal no matter who the crush is on. Van Dijk, Lutz DAMNED STRONG LOVE - Translated from German. Nice cross-cultural feel to the story, a universality. Walker, Kate PETER (1991) - An Australian teenager begins to wonder if he might be gay when he finds himself attracted to the homosexual friend of his older brother. Presents sexuality as a spectrum, rather than as an either/or choice. Peter's grappling with his sexual identity, his repulsion at both heterosexual and homosexual "fumbling", his painful efforts to find out more information about sex and himself, and especially the marvelously UNresolved conclusion -- struck me as one of the most honest explorations of teen sexuality I have ever read. - I LOVE this book! It may have been the first book I read that had a positive, thoughtful treatment of homosexuality for teens. I felt such compassion for Peter as he struggled with his fears and his feelings while his peers made fun of gays ("poofter"). His brother's friend is depicted as a caring, gentle soul who is kind to Peter. A WAY OUT OF NO WAY: WRITINGS ON GROWING UP BLACK IN AMERICA (Jackie Woodson, ed.) Wersba, Barbara WHISTLE ME HOME Wieler, Diana BAD BOY - The main character finds out over time that his best friend is gay. It has a hopeful (not sugary or pat) ending, but there are a lot of realistic hurts and misunderstandings on the way. - One of the things about that particular book is that the story is told from the points of view of both the main character (AJ) and his friend (Tully) who turns out to be gay. I can remember the author telling us that the publisher wanted her to tell it from just one point of view (AJ), but that she felt it was very important to get Tully's side of the story from Tully himself, not just through his friend. I just love all of Diana Wieler's books, and it's great when I see them recommended. - Homosexuality in a male athlete, difference between love for a friend and being in love with that friend -- not often examined. Wonderful book that can make you cry. Winterson, Jeanette THE PASSION - Takes place partially during the Napoleonic war. Mature reading for older high school students. Wittlinger, Ellen HARD LOVE - Two high school students, John and Marisol, share a love of 'zines. John falls in love with Marisol, and Marisol loves John, but not the same way...she's a lesbian and knows it...this is a great book!! It discusses those questions we all have: how can I like someone of the opposite sex so much and still be gay? Great story line that just sucks you in -- Don't miss out! - Includes a lesbian (who^Òs also Puerto Rican by birth) as a main character. - She is healthy and fairly together. Winner of the Printz honor award and a Best Book 2000 winner. WHAT'S IN A NAME? - features one character who comes out and includes some interesting reactions. Interesting format, where each chapter is narrated by a different teen. Womack, Jack. RANDOM ACTS OF SENSELESS VIOLENCE Woodson, Jacqueline FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MELANIN SUN - Deals with a young boy whose mother falls in love with another woman. THE HOUSE YOU PASS ON THE WAY - deals with an interracial family and a young woman's lesbian longings. Yamanaka, Lois Ann NAME ME NOBODY - has some lesbian characters and the Hawaiian protagonist is struggling with her loyalty to her lesbian friend and her attraction to boys Youngblood, Shay SOUL KISS - About a young girl's abandonment by her mother, her yearning to be with her father and her developing erotic feelings. This is an adult book which would appeal to older YAs. *ADDITIONAL SF/F AUTHORS* Melissa Scott, Gael Baudino, and Marion Zimmer Bradley *TRANSSEXUAL AND TRANSGENDERED NON-FICTION FOR TEENS* Bornstein, Kate GENDER OUTLAW: ON MEN, WOMEN, AND THE REST OF US MY GENDER WORKBOOK Cameron, Loren BODY ALCHEMY: TRANSSEXUAL PORTRAITS Feinberg, Leslie TRANGENDER WARRIORS: MAKING HISTORY FROM JOAN OF ARC TO RUPAUL *ONLINE BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF LBG LITERATURE FOR YA'S* (both fiction and nonfiction): http://www.youth.org/yao/docs/books.html http://www.armory.com/~web/gaybooks.html http://www.softlord.com/glbbooks/fiction.html http://www.softlord.com/glbbooks/nonfiction.html http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity/Specific/Sexual_Orientation/Biblographies/ (note the long URL, it may word-wrap) Booklist has this article on YA LBG fiction that's not depressing: http://www.ala.org/booklist/v95/youth/je1/55yatalk.html Also in Booklist, but not online (in their September 1, 1990 issue) is the article "Being Gay: Gay/Lesbian Characters and Concerns in Young Adult Books."