Ballad of the Desert


Tong Hua - 2006
    She soon becomes friends with Xiongnu children, including Yu Dan, Yi Zhi Xie and Mu Da Duo.One year later, due to political changes, her foster father is killed. His only wish was for her to return to his hometown Chang'an, in the Han Dynasty. Thus, Yu Dan tried to help her flee the Xiongnu territory, but soon found out that Yi Zhi Xie, the new clan leader, had sent soldiers in hot pursuit of them. To save Yu Jin, Yu Dan persuades her to stay in the wild desert and return to the wolf pack she had grown up with,while he keeps going, leading the soldiers on a wild goose chase. Years later, a teenage Yu Jin meets the disabled Meng Jiu (Meng Xi Mo),who was part of a traveling merchant's caravan, and then saves and meets Huo Qu Bing (under the alias of Xiao Huo) and his comrades while they were fleeing the desert bandits on the way back to Chang'an. Yu Jin introduced herself as Jin Yu remembered her foster father's last wish and asked for some traveling money from Huo Qu Bing as repayment. Huo Qu Bing gives her the money, but then requests that she lead them out of the desert. Jin Yu didn't know then that Xiao Huo was actually the Han general Huo Qu Bing. After leading them out of the desert, she sets off towards Chang'an by herself....(from Wikipedia)

You're Always in the Last Place You Look


T.N. Gates - 2014
    He has a few friends—okay, one real friend and his roping partner. But being the town pastor’s son isn’t easy. Not to mention he’s sure he was born askew, without the ability to experience life the way others seem to. It is the only explanation he has for why he isn’t like everyone else. However, when he rescues Zane, a misplaced city boy dressed in tattoos and leather, from a killer bumblebee, he experiences more than he expects. Zane shows Gabriel that sometimes the path you’ve chosen isn’t set in stone, and more times than not, you’ll find yourself in the last place you look.

Burro Hills


Julia Lynn Rubin - 2018
    He hides the truth about his sexuality from everyone, including his best friend Jess and his childhood rival and drug dealing partner, Toby. Keeping your head down, Jack knows, is the best way to survive.But when Connor, a fearless new arrival, enrolls at school, he sees right through Jack’s façade. Jack finds himself falling for Connor, and the feeling is mutual―but their relationship will set into a motion a series of events with lasting consequences. After a falling out with Jess, Jack is worried to see her growing close to the manipulative Toby. To make matters worse, Jack is becoming increasingly paranoid that Toby will expose his relationship with Connor.As tensions rise and more secrets come to a head, Jack cuts off ties with Toby. Hungry for revenge, Toby comes after Jack, jeopardizing his budding romance with Connor and the life he’s tried so hard to salvage in Burro Hills.

Being True


Jacob Z. Flores - 2014
    Cobbler has not had an easy life. It’s bad enough people say he looks like Donkey from Shrek, but he’s also suffered the death of his policeman father and his mother’s remarriage to a professional swindler, who cost them everything. Now dirt poor, they live in the barrio of San Antonio, Texas. When Tru transfers to an inner-city high school halfway through his senior year, he meets Javi Castillo, a popular and hot high school jock. Javi takes an immediate liking to Tru, and the two become friends. The odd pairing, however, rocks the school and sets the cliquish social circles askew. No one knows how to act or what to think when Mr. Popular takes a stand for Mr. Donkey. Will the cliques rise up to maintain status quo and lead Tru and Javi to heartbreak and disaster or will being true to who they are rule the day?

My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen


David Clawson - 2017
    Chris sometimes feels more like a maid than part of the family. But when Chris’s stepsister Kimberly begins dating golden boy J. J. Kennerly, heir to a political dynasty, everything changes. Because Chris and J. J. fall in love . . . with each other.With the help of a new friend, Coco Chanel Jones, Chris learns to be comfortable in his own skin, let himself fall in love and be loved, and discovers that maybe he was wrong about his step-family all along. All it takes is one fairy godmother dressed as Diana Ross to change the course of his life.My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen is a Cinderella retelling for the modern reader. The novel expertly balances issues like sexuality, family and financial troubles, and self-discovery with more lighthearted moments like how one rogue shoe can launch a secret, whirlwind romance and a chance meeting with a drag queen can spark magic and light in a once dark reality.

Small Wonders


Courtney Lux - 2015
    He keeps it all close and works out a life he could have if he could ever let someone keep him long enough for him to build up a treasure trove of small wonders all his own.Small Wonders is Courtney Lux’s debut novel of a Southern boy escaping his roots and unexpectedly finding hope in his future.

Thinking Straight


Robin Reardon - 2008
    When he is shipped off to Straight to God, an institution devoted to ''deprogramming'' troubled teenagers, Taylor Adams learns valuable lessons in love, courage, rebellion, and betrayal in a place where piety is a mask for cruelty and the greatest crimes go.

Son of Money


Brandon Witt - 2016
    To make ends meet, Randall does erotic photography and massage—a secret he keeps from his family so he can remain a part of his young niece’s life. But the price of that relationship is high, and Randall is once more slipping under his family’s thumb.Noah Carroll is the spokesperson for the Seattle Humane Society, and the city holds a special place in his heart. When fate intervenes during a pet adoption, Noah finds himself face-to-face with his first love—Randall.While Noah and Randall are not the teenagers they once were, the flame of a first kiss long ago draws them together. Their romance is beginning to grow, but someone is out to destroy Randall and expose all he keeps hidden.When secrets and rumors thrust Randall into the public eye, his relationship with Noah isn’t the only thing that comes under threat.

Freak Show


James St. James - 2007
    When he has to move to Florida, he can't believe his bad luck. His new school is a mix of bible belles, amberzombies, and football heroes -- none of which are exactly his type. Billy's efforts to fit in and stand out at the same time are both hilarious and heart warming. In this novel from adult author and media personality James St. James, readers are in for a wild ride as he tells Billy's fascinating story of bravado, pain, and unexpected love, inspired by his own experiences.

Shirts and Skins


Jeffrey Luscombe - 2012
    Josh Moore lives with his family on the 'wrong side' of Hamilton, a gritty industrial city in southwestern Ontario. As a young boy, Josh plots an escape for a better life far from the steel mills that lined the bay. But fate has other plans and Josh discovers his adult life in Toronto is just as fraught with as many insecurities and missteps as his youth and he soon learns that no matter how far away he might run, he will never be able to leave his hometown behind.

Crazy Rich Asians


Kevin Kwan - 2013
    What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back.Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should—and should not—marry.Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.

One Life, One Incarnation: Beautiful Bones


墨宝非宝 - 2014
    He had long forgotten her already, but what she remembers felt like yesterday. Thus, in order to be together, in this heaven-sent second chance, Shi Yi decided to take charge and move fast. No matter if many things have changed and if their feelings are being challenged, to be together is all that matter.

Let Me Catch You


Kent Deron - 2016
    Staying with his father’s former boss, Stephen Davis, provides a distraction from his mess of a life, and a face that continues to haunt him. Soon though, awkward interactions with Stephen, and strange happenings in the night, begin to rattle Inver who is unaware his handsome host intends to make him pay for the sins of his father.It’s 1995 and cocky womanizer Stephen has returned to the family farm to inherit a responsibility that was never meant to be his. Feeling bored and trapped he develops an unlikely friendship with social outcast Shaun Munro. As lines between mates are crossed, Stephen begins to question what he stands for. The true spirit of their friendship betrays those around them, leading to severe consequences in a town rife with secrets, and forces Stephen to choose which path in life to take.

Guyliner


J. Leigh Bailey - 2016
    He has the grades, the extracurriculars, the athletics, and a part-time job at his dad’s shop… every detail specifically chosen to ensure the college scholarships he needs to get the hell out of the Podunk town where he lives. The last thing he needs is an unexpected attraction to Graham, an eyeliner-wearing soccer phenom from St. Louis, who makes him question his goals and his sexuality. Sure, he’s noticed good-looking boys before—that doesn’t have to mean anything, right?—but he’s got a girlfriend. There’s no room on the agenda for hooking up with Graham, but the heart doesn’t always follow the rules.As he and Graham grow close, other aspects of Connor’s life fall apart. Family pressure, bad luck, and rumors threaten to derail his carefully laid plans. Suddenly the future he’s fighting for doesn’t seem quite as alluring, especially if he has to deny who he really is to achieve it.

Been Here All Along


Sandy Hall - 2016
    His plans include running for class president, becoming head of the yearbook committee and having his choice of colleges. They do not include falling head over heels for his best friend and next-door neighbour, Kyle. It's a distraction. It's pointless, as Kyle is already dating the gorgeous and popular head cheerleader, Ruby. And Gideon doesn't know what to do . . .Kyle finally feels like he has a handle on life. He has a wonderful girlfriend, a best friend willing to debate the finer points of Lord of the Rings, and social acceptance as captain of the basketball team. Then, both Ruby and Gideon start acting really weird, just as his spot on the team is threatened, and Kyle can't quite figure out what he did wrong . . .