Book picks similar to
Who I Am by M.L. Rice


lesbian
young-adult
lgbt
romance

Down to the Bone


Mayra Lazara Dole - 2008
    What if you don't follow the rules and it radically alters the course of your life?What if you get kicked out of the house and lose all your friends and everyone you love? Will you turn the corner into a world filled with unusual friends and create a new kind of family or self-destruct?BOOKLIST *STARRED* REVIEW

The Road to Her


K.E. Payne - 2013
    Liking what she sees, Holly slowly finds herself falling in love, but can she ignore her growing attraction to Elise when the lines between fact and fiction begin to blur?

The Princess Affair


Nell Stark - 2013
    As she arrives at Oxford to begin her course of study, she is determined to make the most out of this latest opportunity. But when she meets Her Royal Highness Princess Sasha, second in line to the British throne, Kerry’s priorities are eclipsed by an attraction neither of them can ignore. "Sassy Sasha" is a tabloid favorite who appears to delight in scandalizing her people, but beneath her vexed public image, Sasha longs to be truly seen.Will the tenuous connection she forms with Kerry be broken by the weight of the crown? Or will they find true love despite the forces endeavoring to keep them apart?

Forgive Me If I've Told You This Before


Karelia Stetz-Waters - 2014
    She does her best to hide behind her dyed hair and black wardrobe, but it's hard to ignore the bullying of Pip Weston and Principal Pinn. It's even harder to ignore the allure of other girls. As Triinu tumbles headlong into first love and teenage independence, she realizes that the differences that make her a target are also the differences that can set her free. With everyone in town taking sides in the battle for equal rights in Oregon, Triinu must stand up for herself, learn what it is to love and have her heart broken, and become her own woman.

The Gravity Between Us


Kristen Zimmer - 2013
    Payton Taylor is Kendall’s best friend since childhood, and the one person who reminds her of who she really is – her refuge from the craziness of celebrity life. With her career taking off, Kendall moves Payton to LA to help keep her sane. But Payton is hiding a secret that could make everything ten times worse. Because to her, Kendall is more than a best friend – she is the only girl that she has ever loved. Just as they need each other more than ever, they’ll have to answer the question of where friendship stops and love begins? And find out whether the feelings they have can survive the mounting pressure of fame… The Gravity Between Us is a daring, romantic, emotional story about friendship, love, and finding the courage to be yourself in a crazy world. New Adult novel: recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and sexual content

Deliver Us from Evie


M.E. Kerr - 1990
    Told by her brother Parr, this is the story of 18-year-old Evie, her Missouri farm family, and the turmoil created by Evie's love for the local banker's daughter.

Lessons


Kim Pritekel - 2006
    A daughter of affluent parents, Chase is expected to go to college at the University of Arizona and prove herself as equally successful as her big sister. How can she do that when she doesn't even know herself? Dagny Robertson is everything that the Marin's would want in a daughter - too bad Dagney's own parents don't even know their only child, borne from their intense love, exists. Now, Dagny works on her graduate degree while acting as a TA in Psych 101. Can this older woman, once the worshipped babysitter of a lost eight year-old girl, help Chase find herself?

All In The Family


Q. Kelly - 2012
    Sam is deaf, so Allison begins to learn sign language. Allison is eager to please Sam and to make a good impression on her. Sam does not care about good impressions. She is a loner, always has been. She resents her new instant family, especially her stepmother-to-be. Sam is also reluctant to bond with three-year-old Allen. However, Allison and Allen gradually crack Sam's facade, and the two girls fall in love.But life in a stepfamily is rarely easy. Throw in romance between two stepsiblings, and the ride is going to be bumpy.

Just Juliet


Charlotte Reagan - 2016
     Juliet represents the road less traveled. Will Lena take it? Lena Newman is 17, her best friend’s a cheerleader, her boyfriend’s a football player, and as far as everyone is concerned, her life is sorted. But that’s before she befriends the new girl. Juliet is confident, slightly damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and a lesbian. Lena realizes that her interest goes beyond just friendship. She sets off on a path of self-discovery where the loyalty of those closest to her will be tested. "It feels real without being tedious, and heart-warming without being sappy. It's not all roses, and it's not all doom and gloom. It's great.” - Jon "Just Juliet is the story I wish I could have given to my parents to read when I was 16 so that they knew what I was going through." - Caro M.

Strawberry Summer


Melissa Brayden - 2017
    She hated her name, was less than popular in school, and was always cast aside as a “farm kid.” However, with the arrival of Courtney Carrington, Margaret’s youth sparked into color. Courtney was smart, beautiful, and put together—everything Margaret wasn’t. Who would have imagined that they’d fit together so perfectly?But first loves can scar.Margaret hasn’t seen Courtney in years and that’s for the best. But when Courtney loses her father and returns to Tanner Peak to take control of the family store, Margaret comes face-to-face with her past and the woman she’s tried desperately to forget. The fact that Courtney has grown up more beautiful than ever certainly doesn’t help matters.

She Loves You, She Loves You Not...


Julie Anne Peters - 2011
    She had her family and her best friends and, most important, she had Sarah. Sarah, her girlfriend, with whom she dreamed with about the day they could move far away and live out and proud and accepted for themselves, instead of having to hide their relationship. Alyssa never thought she would have to make that move by herself, but disowned by her father and cut off from everyone she loves, she is forced to move hundreds of miles away to live with Carly, the biological mother she barely knows, in a town where everyone immediately dismisses her as "Carly's girl." As Alyssa struggles to forget her past and come to terms with her future, will she be able to build a new life for herself and believe in love again? Or will she be forced to relive the mistakes that have cost her everything and everyone she cared about?National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters has written a compelling novel about coming out, finding love, and discovering your place in the world. Alyssa's story will speak to anyone who has known the joy and pain of first love and the struggle to start over again.

Heart's Surrender


Emma Weimann - 2014
    But soon simple attraction turns into something more. What happens when the worlds of a handywoman and a pampered housewife collide? Can nights of hot, erotic fun lead to love, or will these two very different women go their separate ways?

No One Needs to Know


Amanda Grace - 2014
    But when he starts dating, Olivia is left feeling alone, so she tries to drive away Liam's girlfriends in an effort to get her best friend back.But she meets her match in Zoey, Liam's latest fling. A call-it-like-she-sees-it kind of girl, Zoey sees right through Olivia's tricks. What starts as verbal sparring between the two changes into something different, however, as they share their deepest insecurities and learn they have a lot in common. Olivia falls for Zoey, believing her brother could never get serious with her. But when Liam confesses that he's in love with Zoey, Olivia has to decide who deserves happiness more: her brother or herself?

The Kiss That Counted


Karin Kallmaker - 2008
    Contact with the good-hearted Karita Hanssen leaves CJ wishing for impossible things—friends, roots, a lover who knows her real name.With a life cheerfully balanced between all the things that she loves, Karita gives freely of her time and affection. She isn't looking for more until something in CJ's eyes suggests that there could be feelings deeper, stronger—and more dangerous—than any she has ever felt.CJ is committed to only tonight with her body and certainly no tomorrows when it comes to her heart. Karita has always lived for today while she waits for tomorrow to happen. One kiss couldn't change all that—unless it's the kiss that counted.Golden Crown and Lambda Literary award-winning author Karin Kallmaker's tale of two women, two outlooks and two futures trying to become one adds to her long list of best-selling and critically acclaimed lesbian romance novels.

Our Demented Play Date


Kat Fletcher - 2015
    The beach is ok, but the rest of it? Boring. And if spending half of August away from her friends wasn’t bad enough, her parents announce she’s expected to hang out with their friend’s daughter Rachel. Sarah’s seventeen years old; she’ll be a high school senior in only a month. Can’t she just stay at home by herself? Whatever Sarah expected from this demented play date, Rach isn’t it. She’s beautiful, smart, stylish—totally on point. And she likes girls and is very out of the closet. Suddenly, two weeks on Cape looks a lot more interesting. If only Sarah can bring herself to come out and tell her how she feels. Young adult/New Adult lesbian romance. 60,000 words.