The Ghosts We Keep


Mason Deaver - 2021
    Feeling more alone and isolated than ever, Liam finds themself sharing time with Marcus, Ethan's best friend, and through Marcus, Liam finds the one person that seems to know exactly what they're going through, for the better, and the worse. This book is about grief. But it's also about why we live. Why we have to keep moving on, and why we should.

Lock & West


Alexander C. Eberhart - 2019
    He can’t make eye contact, counts when he’s nervous and has to remind himself several times a day how ‘normal’ teens behave. Homeschooled most of his life, he’s resigned himself to a friendless existence at his new Atlanta high school. Until he meets West. List Of Reasons Why My Life Is A Mess: How Much Time Do You Have? West has everything. Looks. Talent. Money. And secrets… so many secrets. Beneath the surface of West’s perfect existence is a pain he’s buried so deep a million therapists couldn’t unearth it and he’s determined to keep it that way. He’s an actor. He can act normal. But then there’s Lock. Sometimes Two Wrongs Can Be Right They don’t fit. Their lives are equal but opposite disasters and the universe just keeps throwing obstacles in their path. Every time they are together they find it harder to say goodbye, harder to keep their secrets, harder not to lean on each other. But for this relationship to have a fighting chance, the two must stop trying to re-write the past and start figuring out how to build a future… together. Warning: This book deals with content which some readers may find disturbing such as eating disorders, past sexual abuse and post traumatic stress disorder.

Sisters in Sanity


Gayle Forman - 2007
    At Red Rock, Brit is forced into therapy, and her only hope of getting her life back is in the hands of an underqualified staff of counselors. Brit's dad thinks Red Rock can save her, but the truth is it's doing more harm than good. No girl could survive Red Rock alone--but at a treatment center where you earn privileges for ratting out your peers, it's hard to know who you can trust. For Brit, everything changes when she meets V, Bebe, Martha, and Cassie, four girls who keep her from going over the edge. Together they'll hold on to their sanity and their sisterhood while trying to keep their Red Rock reality from becoming a full-on nightmare.

Free Hand


E.M. Lindsey - 2019
    A routine that keeps him functioning, a job as a tattoo artist that keeps his rent paid and food in his belly, and if he’s alone through it well, there are worse things to be. With his complicated past, Derek is sure no one would ever want to deal with the struggle that comes along with loving someone who has severe PTSD. Especially since the man who spent years abusing him is now in hospice, and Derek has taken over his end-of-life care. Derek’s resigned himself to living and dying alone, and maybe that’s okay. Then one night, during a raging storm, Derek finds himself stuck in an ATM vestibule with a quiet stranger, and it’s in that moment his world begins to change. Basil Shevach is new to Fairfield, taking over his dead aunt’s florist shop. He’s also Deaf in a small town, where he and his sister are the only ones not hearing. It’s not to say he hates it there, but he’s not sure Fairfield is the place for him. At least, not until one night, when a storm leaves him trapped inside the bank with a man quietly panicking against the glass door. He’s immediately intrigued by this unbelievably attractive stranger with bright tattoos covering his arms and haunted eyes, but he’s also bitter because he’s dated a hearing man before and it ended as badly as it could go for him. He had resolved years ago to never make that mistake again, but somehow, the frightened man trapped with him in that little room, crawls under his skin and no matter what he tries, he can’t seem to shake him. Will the two of them be able to find their way together, or will their pasts prevent them from being able to find happiness and contentment when they need it most? Free Hand is the first book in the Irons and Works series. Each book contains an individual storyline with no cheating and HEA.

A Secret Edge


Robin Reardon - 2007
    He hits the books, hangs with his friends, flirts with girls, and omits the full truth of his life from his Aunt Audrey and Uncle Steve, who have raised him since his parents died. But there's one way that Jason Peele is very different: when he dreams at night, it isn't about girls; it's about David Bowie. At sixteen-years-old, Jason is just beginning to understand that he might be gay.The one place Jason feels comfortable is on the track where he can run fast and hard. He loves the feel of the wind at his back, of his legs propelling him furiously around, the roar of the crowd in his ears. But now, even his sanctuary feels threatening. It isn't just the jerks who call him "faggot" in the locker room. A new guy has joined the team, and everything about him will challenge the way Jason sees life. From late-night showings of "La Cage Aux Folles" to reading Gandhi, he's running a new race on an uncertain course, and only one thing's for sure--his senior year is going to be unforgettable...With "A Secret Edge, "Robin Reardon delivers a sexy, sensitive coming-of-age novel about identity and courage, love and honor, anger and hope, and the many ways the truth can really set you free.

Dream Boy


Jim Grimsley - 1995
     In his electrifying novel, adolescent gay love, violence, and the spirituality of old-time religion are combined through the alchemy of Grimsley's vision into a powerfully suspenseful story of escape and redemption.

Cupid Painted Blind


Marcus Herzig - 2016
    Except, maybe, coming out to your friends when they already kinda knew you were gay. Or finding out that the breathtakingly handsome guy you’ve just met is best buddies with your archnemesis who happens to be a homophobic bully. Or being teamed up for a school assignment with that decidedly unattractive, facially-deformed, freaky-looking weirdo who hasn’t got a friend in the world. Or all of the above.Matthew Dunstan, closeted freshman, future bestselling author, and frequently blushing teenager is on a quest to find himself, find love, and live happily ever after. Sounds easy enough, right? But when the opportunities for failure are endless, it doesn’t take much to turn your life upside down. And that’s not exactly what you need when you try to catch someone’s eye without attracting everyone’s attention.Cupid Painted Blind is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, and occasionally hilarious roller coaster ride through an awkward freshman’s first few weeks of high school that will appeal to readers of all ages who enjoy Young Adult LGBTQ fiction.

Sutphin Boulevard


Santino Hassell - 2015
    From escaping their dysfunctional families in the working-class neighborhood of South Jamaica, Queens to teaching in one of the city’s most queer friendly schools in Brooklyn, the two men have shared everything. Or so they thought until a sweltering night of dancing leads to an unexpected encounter that forever changes their friendship. Now, casual touches and lingering looks are packed with sexual tension, and Michael can’t forget the feel of his best friend’s hands on him. Once problems rear up at work and home, Michael finds himself seeking constant escape in the effortless intimacy and mind-blowing sex he has with Nunzio. But things don’t stay easy for long. When Michael’s world begins to crumble in a sea of tragedy and complications, he knows he has to make a choice: find solace in a path of self-destruction or accept the love of the man who has been by his side for twenty years.

Shame Is an Ocean I Swim Across


Mary Lambert - 2018
    In verse that deals with sexual assault, mental illness, and body acceptance, Ms. Lambert's Shame Is an Ocean I Swim Across emerges as an important new voice in poetry, providing strength and resilience even in the darkest of times.

Maybe With a Chance of Certainty


John Goode - 2011
    Brad is the baseball star at Foster High. Both boys are damaged in ways that the rest of the world can’t see. When they bond over a night of history tutoring, Kyle thinks that maybe his life has taken a turn for the not-so-lonely.He finds out quickly that the promise of fairy-tale love is a lie when you’re gay and falling for one of the most popular boys in school, and if being different is a sin in high school, then being gay is the biggest sin of all. Now Kyle and Brad need to come to an understanding amidst the scrutiny of their peers or their fledgling relationship will crash and burn before it ever gets off the ground.

The Other Side


Kim Holden - 2019
    Denver, Colorado1987There are two sides to every story.The surface reality that’s presented to the world.And then there’s the other side.The real one.The one that matters.Seventeen-year-old, self-proclaimed asshole, Toby Page, is alone.No friends.No family.He trades maintenance work in exchange for room and board.Every day he fights demons no one else can see.Every day he wants to give up.But he can’t.Not yet.When Alice Eliot moves in downstairs, she offers Toby some light in his dark world.At a crossroads and barely hanging on, it’s hard to have perspective.It’s difficult to see your own worth when you’re the villain in your story.Luckily for Toby, Alice brings things out in him that no one else ever has.As the two sides of Toby’s story are revealed, and the full reality comes into view, truth is gained.Improbable alliances prove that kindness is fundamentally human.Unlikely heroes emerge.The question is, Will it all be enough to save him?

Thirteen Reasons Why


Jay Asher - 2007
    You can’t rewind the past.The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.

I Hate Everyone But You


Gaby Dunn - 2017
    From first loves to weird roommates, heartbreak, self-discovery, coming out and mental health, the two of them document every wild and awkward moment to each other. But as each changes and grows into her new life, will their friendship be able to survive the distance?

The Infinite Onion


Alice Archer - 2020
    Six months later, in Seattle without a job or a place to live, he escapes to the woods of nearby Vashon Island to consider his options. When he’s found sleeping outdoors by a cheerful man who seems bent on irritating him to death, Grant’s plans to resuscitate his life take a peculiar turn.Oliver Rossi knows how to keep his fears at bay. He’s had years of practice. As a local eccentric and artist, he works from his funky home in the deep woods, where he thinks he has everything he needs. Then he rescues an angry man from a rainy ditch and discovers a present worth fighting the past for.Amid the buzz of high summer, unwelcome attraction blooms on a playing field of barbs, defenses, and secrets.Standalone romance. HEA.

Rescued by Love


Kimberly Hunter - 2013
    A furry, lost friend. A last request.When you’re at war, there’s always the risk of never making it home. Of losing friends and team mates. For Graham Knowles, losing his brother to one last mission is the ultimate loss. But instead of drowning in grief, there’s a last request. Find Jake.Being the accountant for his uncle’s no kill shelter, Wyatt Daniels has seen more than his fair share of animals processed and placed in new homes. But when a beautiful German Shepard with soulful eyes and more smarts than most people comes through, well, he can’t resist. He takes the sweet boy home.Finally tracking down Jake, Graham gets more than his furry friend back. He meets the man of his dreams. Wyatt feels the connection too. However, his track record with men is rocky at best. Undaunted, Graham promises to go slow despite wanting Wyatt so bad, his teeth ache.Unfortunately, not all are happy that Wyatt and Graham are dating. And when Wyatt is kidnapped, Graham has to use every skill at his disposal to get him back. Even at the risk of losing his new job working for Uncle Sam.