How would you respond to growing suicides in your community? Keith Boykin responded by publishing a call to action through a collection of memoirs by African American and Latino men. Winner of the 2013 Stonewall Book Award for Nonfiction, these raw...
Book Genre: GLBT
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Laurie.
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Laurie.
Melanie thinks she has a dilemma: how to tell the state of North Dakota she is gay. In reality, Melanie's memoir is more about reconciliation and acceptance. Her journey back to herself is told by the landscape and the people she once called home. No interaction is too small to provide...
Becker
After so many years of being called Fat Angie, Angie can only think of herself this way. Years of abuse by classmates and neglect and cruelty by her family, added on to the fact that she's the only one who believes her sister, a soldier taken hostage during the Iraq war, is still alive, lead...
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Becker
It's the 1920s, and Garnet's mom has her life planned out for her. She's no longer allowed to pursue her passion, tromping through the forest looking for birds--she must learn to be a proper lady so that she can get married and take care of her home, husband, and children. Garnet is sent to...
Emily
This amazing graphic novel is moving and eye-opening. I had no idea Green Day was so awesome, but when seen through Road's eyes their punk, pansexual, glamrock selves are inspiring, powerful and near godlike. Really cool book about the exploration of identity, culture, sexuality and ultimately...
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Becker
I'll admit it--I'd never heard Gossip's music before reading this book. I'd heard of Beth Ditto--it's hard not to when your reading diet contains a healthy dose of GLBTQ focused media--and her memoir sounded intriguing. Ditto details her childhood in rural Arkansas--poor, bouncing between family...
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Becker
Newman describes this book as an historical novel in verse. In the introduction, she talks about being scheduled as a speaker for Gay Awareness Week at the University of Wyoming in October, 1998, just days after the brutal attack on Matthew Shepard in Laramie. Newman decided to attend the event...
Lily
When you think of Magical Realism, Canada is not the first country to come to mind. Nonetheless, The Lava in My Bones takes place in Labrador, which is home to an interesting family headed by a religiously devout and intensely god-fearing mother. She is bent on saving her family...
Laurie.
Who knew snarky insights into another's dieting world could be so funny. Mere mortals were first introduced to Simon Doonan via his memoir, Beautiful People, which was adapted for television and aired on the BBC. The 20 year gig at Barney's earned him some recognition too. Doonan...
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Becker
Told in alternating voices, this is the story of Lio and Craig, of dealing with loss and of finding each other. Lio was a "cancer kid"--he and his twin brother both had leukemia when they were 8. Lio survived. His twin didn't. Lio has survivor's guilt, and his family didn't survive the cancer...
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Becker
Colby is 16, and she's known a lot of loss in her life. Her mother died a few years ago, and her dad is home from his cross country trucking job only a few times a month. Her girlfriend dumped her for a guy. She's not doing well in school. Can anything in her life go right? Searching for cans...
Becker
Gabe's life centers around music. He uses it to express himself and to escape from the world in which he was born Elizabeth. High school is almost over for Gabe, and he looks forward to moving to a place where no one knew him as Liz and he can be Gabe all the time, not just on his community...
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Becker
Astrid is searching—for herself, for somewhere for her love to go, for all sorts of answers. The folks in her small town thrive on gossip and putting people in boxes. Astrid doesn’t want a box, she wants possibilities. She sends her love to the people in passing airplanes because no one...
extra medium
I’ve had a bit of a nerd crush on Kate Bornstein since I met her in 1996(or '97, can’t remember) when she was touring colleges for her book Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us. I remember she deftly wielded that heartbreaking mix of honest and funny during her talk and after when I...
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extra medium
Oh man! This is one of my favorite books of the year! Flocks of birds across North America are causing planes to crash. Reese, her debate partner David, and their teacher are stranded in Phoenix. Things are getting ugly at the airport so they decide to drive home to San Francisco because no one...
Becker
Phyre wants to be an actress, and this book is written as her diary-style screenplay of her life. Taking place over the fall semester of the school year in which Phyre develops a massive crush on the new drama teacher, Mia, gets the lead in the school play, and has a push/pull relationship with...
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Becker
Told in two voices, this book is essentially about friendship. Luke and Tessa have been best friends forever. Influenced by his mom's viewing of romantic comedies, Luke sees Tessa's lack of a boyfriend and decides she must secretly in love with him. He makes a grand romantic gesture, asking her...
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Becker
Anna and Kat are on a post graduation road trip, inspired by the words of Jack Kerouac and looking for answers. Anna hasn't been able to feel much since her mother died and her father shut down, and Kat wants her best friend back. A wild ride that includes matching tattoos, a blue bus full of...
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Becker
Ellis is finishing her sophomore year, and everything is uncertain. Her dad has been in a coma since a construction accident 2 years ago. Her mom is present physically, but not emotionally. Her friends seem to be drifting away and not getting her. Her mom thinks it might be time to release her...
Becker
Loup Garron is the product of an affair between a genetically modified soldier and a local in the town of Santa Olivia, an unofficial town in the DMZ between Texas and Mexico. Orphaned at an early age, she spends time with her brother, who is training for a boxing match with one of the soldiers...
Laurie.
You don't need to be a fan of Bechdel's comic strip, Dykes to Watch Out For, to appreciate her first graphic novel examining her relationship with her father who committed suicide. Her graphic art and storytelling had me re-reading this...
Laurie.
A coming of age story narrated by Cliffy Douglas and set in 1970s Cincinnati. One of my favorite "first novel by a writer"…truly remarkable writing.
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Laurie.
This memoir about Terry's life and her challenges -- deaf (with a little-d) and Queer (with a big-Q) -- will haunt you. *Spoiler alert: Don't read the chapter about her father's death while riding public transportation.*
Laurie.
In this 1992 National Book Award winner for nonfiction, Monette describes his life growing up gay in America asking "Why do they hate us? Why do they fear us? Why do they want us invisible?"
What would your answer be?
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Becker
The Letter Q includes more than 60 writers, and what they would say to their teen selves if they could. All of these writers grew up to be proudly gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and their consistent message to their younger selves is that life will change, that it will change for the better. There's...
