Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture.


Chris O'Guinn - 2010
    teen who is cruelly transported to a small town in Iowa by parents who delight in my suffering. It tells the tale of my struggles against such obstacles as flannel, packs of bullies, lack of car, hoodies, crazy English teachers and vengeful former friends. It is an epic tale of survival in a savage denim wilderness.

Running With the Pack


A.M. Burns - 2016
    Everything is different—even the elevation—and Finn’s having a hard time getting used to his new home. Life takes a turn for the better when he meets Ivan Dubovasky at a farmers’ market. Finn finds not only a close new friend but a fulfilling volunteer position at the High Mountain Wolf and Wild Dog Center, which Ivan’s family runs. Before long Finn develops an affinity for the wolves under the center’s protection.Things only get better for Finn when he starts a relationship with Ivan; and Ivan’s best friend, Adrian, who’s asexual, completes their small pack. But it all comes crashing down when the bully plaguing Adrian crosses the line and Adrian goes missing. Finn and Ivan are determined to bring their boyfriend home safe, but they might not be able to do it alone. Luckily there’s a special wolf ready to lend a paw.

Circle of Change


Laney Cairo - 2009
    The thing is, Kim is not only gay, but he's transgender, too. He's unhappy and lost in his female body, and his mother has agreed it's time for him to undergo hormone therapy and possibly surgery.Things get even more complicated when university student Dash joins Kim's mother's coven. Dash is immediately attracted to Kim and they wind up going out together, but when Kim reveals he's a female to male transgender, Dash reacts badly.With all the other things going on in their lives, will Kim and Dash be able to try again and find happiness with each other?

My Favorite Uncle


Marshall Thornton - 2014
    Martin's first impulse is to send him back to his parents. But when he discovers that Carter has been in a mental hospital to cure his gay-ness he realizes he's stuck with the boy. Unfortunately, the two get on each other's nerves, each driving the other to distraction. Independently, however, they each arrive at the same conclusion. The other would be much less annoying if he only had... a boyfriend.

A Boy Worth Knowing


Jennifer Cosgrove - 2017
    But they aren’t the only ones making his high school years a living hell. All Nate wants is to keep his secret and keep his head down until he can graduate. That is, until the new boy, James Powell, takes a seat next to him in homeroom. James not only notices him, he manages to work his way into Nate’s life. But James has issues of his own.Between dead grandmothers and living aunts, Nate has to navigate the fact that he’s falling in love with his only friend, all while getting advice from the most unusual places.Ghosts, bullies, first love: it’s a lot to deal with when you’re just trying to survive senior year.

How We Began


Edie Danford - 2015
    A smile across a counter at a coffee shop or video store. A secret revealed in a song from another place and time. Or in a love ballad crooned at a high school dance. In this anthology of never-before-published sweet LGBTQ+ stories, six authors explore the beginnings of love between young and new adult couples. All proceeds will support The Trevor Project's work with crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth.

The Extraordinaries


T.J. Klune - 2020
    Some are just extra. TJ Klune's YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves.Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right?After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick's best friend (and maybe the love of his life).Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl meets Marissa Meyer's Renegades in TJ Klune's YA debut.

When Ryan Came Back


Devon McCormack - 2014
    The problem? Ryan Walters committed suicide just days earlier.Ryan tells Steven that he didn't kill himself. He believes he was murdered and that his death is linked to an article he was working on for the school paper. Steven sets out to solve the mystery, but as the story unfolds, so does Ryan's secret life of sex with guys and depression. Steven realizes suicide is more plausible than Ryan's conspiracy theory, but he struggles to convince Ryan of the real cause of his death. And despite revelations of his friend's closeted life, he must face the truth that Ryan doesn't—and never will—love him.

My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan


Seth Rudetsky - 2012
    Unfortunately, he has the wrong look (short, plump, Brillo-pad curls), he has the wrong interests (Broadway, chorus violin), and he has the wrong friends (Spencer, into Eastern religions, and Mary Ann,  who doesn't shave her armpits). And Chuck? Well, he's not gay; he's dating Becky, a girl in chorus with whom Justin is friendly.But Justin is determined.In detention one day (because he saw Chuck get it first), Justin comes up with a perfect plan: to allow Becky to continue dating Chuck, whom Becky's dad hates. They will pretend that Becky is dating Justin, whom Becky's dad loves. And when Becky and Justin go out on a fake date, Chuck will meet up with them for a real date with Becky. Chuck's bound to find Justin irresistable, right? What could go wrong?Seth Rudetsky's first novel for young adults is endearingly human, and laugh-out-loud funny, and any kid who ever aspired to Cool U will find Justin a welcome ally in the fight for popularity.

Social Intercourse


Greg Howard - 2018
    the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets The Parent Trap.Beck: The Golden Girls-loving, out-and-proud choir nerd growing up in the “ass-crack of the Bible belt.” Jax: The Golden Boy, star quarterback with a slick veneer facing uncomfortable truths about himself and his past. When Beck’s emotionally fragile dad starts dating the recently single (and supposedly lesbian) mom of former bully, Jaxon Parker, Beck is not having it. Jax isn’t happy about the situation either, holding out hope that his moms will reunite and restore the only stable home he’s ever known. Putting aside past differences, the boys plot to derail the budding romance between their parents at their conservative hometown’s first-ever Rainbow Prom. Hearts will be broken, new romance will bloom, but nothing will go down the way Beck and Jax have planned. In his hilarious and provocative debut, Greg Howard examines the challenges of growing up different in a small southern town through the lens of colorful and unforgettable characters who stay with you long after the last drop of sweet tea.

The Quarterback's Crush


John R. Petrie - 2018
    His plan is to finish high school, get a football scholarship, and come out to his family and friends when he has the cushion of being away at college. But none of that is going to happen if his failing grades get him kicked off the team. His saving grace comes in the form of Tommy Peterson, the smartest kid in school, who also happens to be the Triple S that Dylan crushes on: smart, short, sexy. Dylan falls hard and when his feelings seem unrequited, he accidentally outs himself to his entire team, expecting them to oust him. But it’s anybody’s game as Dylan learns how to be honest about who he is and keeps his eye on the prize—the heart of Tommy Peterson.

Looking for Group


Rory Harrison - 2017
    His room in the falling-down Village Estates can generously be categorized as “squalid,” and he sure as hell isn’t getting any love from his mother, who seemed to—no, definitely did—enjoy the perks that went along with being the parent of a “cancer kid.”Now that Dylan’s suddenly in remission, all he’s left with is a lingering OxyContin addiction and a hunger for something—anything—but the life he’s known.His only escape has been in the form of his favorite video game—World of Warcraft—and the one true friend who makes him feel understood, even if it’s just online. Dylan met Arden playing Warcraft, and now he wants to take her on a real mission, one he never thought he’d live to set out on: a journey to a mysterious ship in the middle of the Salton Sea.But Arden is fighting her own battles, ones that Dylan can’t always help her win. As they navigate their way west, they grapple with Arden’s father (who refuses to recognize his daughter’s true gender), Dylan’s addiction, and the messy, complicated romance fighting so hard to blossom through the cracks of their battle-hardened hearts.

Tips on Having a Gay (Ex) Boyfriend


Carrie Jones - 2007
    Until one day when Dylan drops the ultimate bomb; he's gay. Where, Belle wonders, does that leave her? And how will the rest of their small town deal with an openly gay Homecoming King? This beautifully written debut explores what happens when you are suddenly forced to see someone in a new light, and what that can teach you about yourself. "Provocative . . . The author's poetic prose ably captures her heroine's emotional upheavals." -Publishers Weekly "It's good to have [Carrie Jones'] talent in the field." -KLIATT "Jones offers an atypical perspective of the coming-out story by legitimizing the love that is not lost, but changed, when young people grow up and apart." -School Library Journal "From the first sentence of Carrie Jones' novel I could tell that here was a bright new writer who was going to set the world of young adult letters aflame." -Kathi Appelt, award-winning poet and author

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali


Sabina Khan - 2019
    She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer.But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective. Rukhsana realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing everyone and everything in her life?

All the Invisible Things


Orlagh Collins - 2019
    Perfect for fans of Holly Bourne and Laura Steven's The Exact Opposite of Okay.Vetty's family is moving back to London, and all she can think about is seeing Pez again. They were inseparable when they were small - roaming the city in the long summers, sharing everything. But everyone's telling her it'll be different now. After all, a boy and a girl can't really be friends without feelings getting in the way, can they?Vetty thinks differently ... until Pez tells her she's 'not like other girls'. But what does that even mean? Is it a good thing or not? Suddenly she's wondering whether she wants him to see her like the others - like the ultra-glamorous March, who's worked some sort of spell on Pez, or the girls in the videos that Pez has hidden on his laptop.How can she measure up to them? And who says that's what a girl is supposed to be like anyway?