Book picks similar to
Looking For It by Michael Thomas Ford
gay
lgbt
glbt
fiction
The Hardest Thing
James Lear - 2013
Love is ... The Hardest ThingOnce a major in the US Marines, Dan Stagg fell foul of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and is now struggling to make sense of civilian life. In his late 30s, tall and muscular, Dan works as a bouncer at an East Village nightclub. When he's offered a fortune to protect the young male secretary of a powerful real estate developer, Dan takes off on a road trip with a hot blond companion who makes it clear that "protection" doesn't stop at the bedroom door. But Dan soon realizes that he's being used as a shield for a much more sinister operation and has to choose between easy money and the ideals that he once fought for.
The Vast Fields of Ordinary
Nick Burd - 2009
He has a crappy job at Food World, a "boyfriend" who won't publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade's shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away. Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet - and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he's gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future.
Dead Ringer
Heidi Belleau - 2015
His grandfather, silver-screen heartthrob James Ringer, died tragically at twenty-one, and Brandon looks exactly like him. But that’s where the resemblance ends. Brandon is unknown, unemployed, and up to his ears in bills after inheriting his grandparents’ Hollywood mansion. He refuses to sell it—it’s his last connection to his grandmother—so to raise the cash he needs, he joins a celebrity look-alike escort agency.Percy Charles is chronically ill, isolated, and lonely. His only company is his meddlesome caregiver and his collection of James Ringer memorabilia. When he finds “Jim Ringer” on Hollywood Doubles’ website, he books an appointment, hoping to meet someone who shares his passion for his idol.Brandon? Not that person.But despite their differences, they connect, and Percy’s fanboy love for James shows Brandon a side of his grandfather he never knew. Soon they want time together off the clock, but Percy is losing his battle for independence, and Brandon feels trapped in James’s long shadow. Their struggle to love each other is the stuff of classic Hollywood. Too bad Brandon knows how those stories end.
Come What May
A.M. Arthur - 2016
He just doesn't know it yet. Or at least, he doesn't want to admit it. Because there is no way Jonas Ashcroft is gay. He's a straight, carefree frat boy player, just like any good son of a conservative state senator. If only his struggle to convince everyone—especially himself—didn't leave him so miserable. No matter how many girls or bottles he drowns himself in, Jonas can neither escape nor accept who he is.Enter Tate. He's smart, confident, and instantly sees right through Jonas's surly exterior. Sure, he's done things in life he's not proud of, but he knows who he is and what he wants. And what he wants is Jonas. As their easy friendship intensifies into something more, Tate introduces Jonas to a life he's never known. One filled with acceptance and sex and a love that terrifies and excites them both.But some inner demons refuse to be shaken off so easily. When Jonas's old life barges in, he faces a shattering choice, one that could destroy everything he and Tate have fought so hard for. Sometimes love just isn't enough—and sometimes it's exactly what you need.
What If It's Us
Becky Albertalli - 2018
If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?But what if it is?
How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater
Marc Acito - 2004
Seventeen-year-old Edward Zanni, a feckless Ferris Bueller–type, is Peter Panning his way through a carefree summer of magic and mischief. The fun comes to a halt, however, when Edward’s father remarries and refuses to pay for Edward to study acting at Juilliard.Edward’s truly in a bind. He’s ineligible for scholarships because his father earns too much. He’s unable to contact his mother because she’s somewhere in Peru trying to commune with Incan spirits. And, as a sure sign he’s destined for a life in the arts, Edward’s incapable of holding down a job. So he turns to his loyal (but immoral) misfit friends to help him steal the tuition money from his father, all the while practicing for his high school performance of Grease. Disguising themselves as nuns and priests, they merrily scheme their way through embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft, forgery, and blackmail. But, along the way, Edward also learns the value of friendship, hard work, and how you’re not really a man until you can beat up your father—metaphorically, that is.How I Paid for College is a farcical coming-of-age story that combines the first-person tone of David Sedaris with the byzantine plot twists of Armistead Maupin. It is a novel for anyone who has ever had a dream or a scheme, and it marks the introduction to an original and audacious talent.
The Ongoing Reformation of Micah Johnson
Sean Kennedy - 2016
Well, not so much straight, but you know what he means.Unfortunately the path to redemption is not an easy one. With fights at school and on the football field and an all-round snarky attitude as his number one defense mechanism, will Micah survive the school year and the training camps to achieve his dream of making the national draft and becoming a professional AFL player?His mentor, Declan Tyler, believes in him, but Micah wishes he had the same confidence in himself. Only time will tell if the ongoing reformation of Micah Johnson will be successful.
Red, White & Royal Blue
Casey McQuiston - 2019
With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?
Desert Sons
Mark Kendrick - 2001
Scott Faraday is 16, gregarious, talented, never been in a relationship, and is out to only a select few. Ryan St. Charles is 17, hot-tempered, has already has been in a long relationship, yet is barely out to himself. Behind Ryan's carefully fashioned façade is emotional scarring from a past he's never been able to reconcile. When he comes to live with his uncle in Yucca Valley, CA, he meets Scott. An unlikely pair, the boys form a tentative friendship. When Scott starts to suspect that Ryan might be gay, he plans his coming out to him. The result is that he transforms their friendship into his first real relationship. Then, Ryan's hidden past comes into view. Scott is not at all prepared for what he discovers: suicide attempts, past abuse, and loads of denial. Tightly focused on their new relationship, Desert Sons follows these two teenagers as they plunge headlong through a summer that will forever change them both.
Brothers
Ralph Josiah Bardsley - 2015
But those plans change when his parents are suddenly killed and he finds himself the guardian of his little brother, Nick. Jamus ends up back in the Boston neighborhood where he grew up, with a crying toddler on his knee and the challenge of building a new life for himself and the boy. Jamus somehow finds a way to navigate the ups and downs of single parenting, but over a decade of raising Nick, Jamus never truly overcomes his struggles with loneliness and the guilt he feels as the sole survivor of the crash that killed his parents. That changes when he meets bookishly handsome Sean Malloy. There’s a spark between the two men, but both must face down their own private demons to find love in the Irish enclave of South Boston.For a more in-depth look at "Brothers," check out www.ralphjosiahbardsley.com.
Conventionally Yours
Annabeth Albert - 2020
Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way—even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.
Teenage Rewrite
Brandon Williams - 2012
That’s great and all, but Justin Davis thinks this is a complete load.Withdrawn and perpetually anxious, Justin begins senior year completely overwhelmed by thoughts of life after high school. Up until now he’s been able to coast through life without any complications. He’s managed to pass all his classes, he has just enough friends to not eat alone at lunch and, quite frankly, he’s come to accept things just as they are: dismal. But after seventeen years of coasting, Justin meets two guys determined to ruin everything.With constant meddling from his nosy new friend Travis, Justin finally has to learn to own his bisexuality, connect with friends he didn’t know he had, and even get closer to his crush, Evan—a shy yet equally meddlesome junior.In this YA, coming-of-age novel, follow one boy’s struggle to embrace life’s complications and realize that ignoring life is much more difficult than living it. Especially when best friends don’t leave you any other choice.
In One Person
John Irving - 2012
Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character of In One Person, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a "sexual suspect," a phrase first used by John Irving in 1978 in his landmark novel of "terminal cases," The World According to Garp.In One Person is a poignant tribute to Billy’s friends and lovers—a theatrical cast of characters who defy category and convention. Not least, In One Person is an intimate and unforgettable portrait of the solitariness of a bisexual man who is dedicated to making himself "worthwhile.
We Contain Multitudes
Sarah Henstra - 2019
With each letter, the two begin to develop a friendship that eventually grows into love. But with homophobia, bullying, and devastating family secrets, Jonathan and Kurl struggle to overcome their conflicts and hold onto their relationship...and each other.This rare and special novel celebrates love and life with engaging characters and stunning language, making it perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson, Nina LaCour, and David Levithan.
The Bride's Brother
J.P. Oliver - 2018
into me? Is he into me? He'd be the first for quite some time. I have to admit, seeing all these weddings come and go can be a bit much when you go home all by yourself. But is it ethical to date a client's brother? Hunter He's such a snob, but I guess he's no worse than my sister. I'm always the one shoved around by everyone--but even him? At least he understands when it's a case of mistaken identity. I certainly never said I was marrying my sister. That would be one screwed up situation and besides, I'm not much for women anyway. Still, I've never met quite anyone like him. He's seen so much love, but he doesn't have any for himself. I wouldn't mind changing that. This mistaken identity book is steaming hot and ready for your eager fingers. Please, no one under legal age of their origin country.