It is the best and worst day of his life. Determined to impress Tara, Peyton sets out to win her love by mastering the drums and basketball. He takes on Tara’s small-minded mother, the bully at school, and the prejudices within his conservative hometown. In the end, Peyton must accept and stand up for who he is or lose the woman he loves.“A classic love story! Wood gets all the details of a trans individual coming-of-age into this novel. From the feelings about clothes, to the relationships with parents to the negotiations of life at school, this story rings true. Wood takes care with her setting and makes life, as painful and joyful as it can be, realistic. This novel is a great examination of what it means to come to terms with who you are and what it means to be true to yourself.” – Alex Myers, author of Revolutionary

    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.

    Five months later, the sleepy community is still in shock and mourning. Ricky’s sister, Alyssa, returns to confront her shattered, withdrawn mother and her guilt over the brother she left adrift. Mark McVitry, the lone survivor of the deadly outburst sparked by his own cruelty, is tormented by visions of Ricky’s vengeful spirit. Ricky’s surrogate older brother, Corky Meeks, grapples with doubts about the fragile boy he tried to protect but may have doomed instead. And Jeremy Little, who inadvertently became Ricky’s long-distance Internet crush despite never having met, seeks to atone for failing to hear his friend’s cries for help.For those closest to the tormented killer, shock and grief have given way to soul searching, as they’re forced to confront their broken dreams, buried desires, and missed opportunities. And in their shared search for meaning and redemption, Ricky’s loved ones find a common purpose: learning to trust their feelings, fighting for real intimacy in a world grown selfish and insincere, and fearlessly embracing all that matters most…before it’s gone from their lives.

    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?

    After the death of his son, his life shattered, Raphael regrets that he didn’t lie about some perfect paradise, and he pushes away everything that once mattered to him—his lover, his job, his reputation as a top architect. Then he meets Brian, a homeless, maybe hopeless kid. A Second Chance Brian’s a street kid. When he disappears, Raphael realizes that he cannot fail another person, and he launches a full-out search. What he finds both breaks his heart and begins to heal it. A Little Magic The price of saving Brian is high, maybe too high. But Raphael is no stranger to sacrifice, and he’ll risk everything to save Brian and reunite with the man Raphael now loves. The question is—How? Like the architecture of the opera house Raphael designs, the steps to regaining his life will depend not just on careful planning, but faith, hope, and maybe just the magic of love.“The Opera House, is a moving and emotional story about about gay men and their children, all struggling with big issues — from leukemia to abandonment, devastating loss to unbridled joy — in a way that’s remarkably touching, sometimes funny, and often unexpected. Remarkable, must-read novel from an emerging master storyteller.” Diane Anderson-Minshall, editor at large, Advocate magazine

    Her idol, her older sister, jogs headlong into the lights of an approaching car, and dies. And Julie falls in love with a girl who both is and isn't an echo of her older sister, a long-limbed Francophone named Patrice-who is also a devotee of the Institute of Temporal Illusions, a Church of Scientology-like cult.In Julie Thatch you cannot help but see shades of Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander. Jeanne's former writing teacher at the University of Texas, Alexander Parsons (author of Leaving Disneyland and In the Shadows of the Sun) writes: "The Dream of Doctor Bantam is one of those books you read every few years in which, page by page, you come to think of the characters as a part of your own dear, weird, and intransigent family. In Julie Thatch, Thornton has written a character as memorable and compelling as Holden Caufield or Oedipa Maas. She is alternately hilarious, maddening, and enchanting, a fearful and fearless smartass who enlivens every page of this fine novel."With illustrations by the author.

    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.

    At least, she’s trying to be. School photographer and all-around geek, she introverts hard and keeps her crush on sexy-hot glam-Goth star Euphoria on the down-low. But when a freak accident Awakens her slumbering power, Syl is forced to accept a destiny she never wanted—as the last sleeper-princess of the fair Fae.Suddenly hunted by the dark Fae, Syl’s pretty sure things can’t get any worse. Until she discovers her secret crush, Euphoria, is really a dark Circuit Fae able to harness the killing magic in technology. Even worse, she’s been sent to destroy Syl. With mean girls and magic and dark Fae trying to kill her, it’ll take more than just “clap if you believe in fairies” to save Syl’s bacon—not to mention, her heart.

    Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret, and she's determined not to get too close to anyone. But when she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, Amanda can't help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself, including her past. But Amanda's terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won't be able to see past it. Because the secret that Amanda's been keeping? It's that at her old school, she used to be Andrew. Will the truth cost Amanda her new life, and her new love? Meredith Russo's If I Was Your Girl is a universal story about feeling different and a love story that everyone will root for.

    His grades sucked. Making friends? Out of the question thanks to his nervous breakdowns and unpredictable moods. Still, Vince thought when Maggie Atkins took him in, he might’ve finally found a place to get his life—and his issues—in order.But then Maggie keels over from a heart attack. Vince is homeless, alone, and the inheritance money isn't going to last long. A year ago, Vince watched a girl leap to her death off a bridge, and now he's starting to think she had the right idea.Vince stumbles across a website forum geared toward people considering suicide. There, he meets others with the same debate regarding the pros and cons of death: Casper, battling cancer, would rather off herself than slowly waste away. And there’s quiet, withdrawn Adam, who suspects if he died, his mom wouldn't even notice.As they gravitate toward each other, Vince searches for a reason to live while coping without Maggie's guidance, coming to terms with Casper's imminent death, and falling in love with a boy who doesn't plan on sticking around.

    She finds herself surrounded by glamour girls and pageant queens all vying for a date with the smokin hot bachelor. Ashley's plan, to fly under the radar and get sent home early, falters when she soon discovers a knack for drawing unwanted attention her way. Bad boy quarterback Luke Townsend thought choosing between 25 stunning women would be a dream come true. How wrong he was! Luke's patience is tried by the wiles of the charmers and the persistence of the camera crews. It doesn't take long for him to realize, however, that the one girl trying the hardest to get off the show is the one who most intrigues him.

    He's on his own in New York City. Nobody to depend on; nobody depending on him. And it's been working fine.Until this girl comes along. She's 18 and blond and pretty--her world should be perfect. But she's seen things no one should ever see in their whole life--the kind of things that break a person. She doesn't seem broken, though. She seems . . . innocent. Like she doesn't know a whole lot. Only sometimes she does.The one thing she knows for sure is that the world is an ugly place. Now her life may depend on Jordy proving her wrong. So they hit the road to discover the truth--and there's no going back from what they find out.This deeply felt, redemptive novel reveals both the dark corners and hidden joys of life's journey--and the remarkable resilience of the human soul.

    They are even better at keeping them from each other. Max Walker is a golden boy, with a secret that the world may not be ready for. This novel is a riveting tale of a family in crisis, a fascinating exploration of identity, and a coming-of-age story like no other.

    Until now, she’d been content living in the shadow of her high-profile and highly accomplished family. Then her college boyfriend and one-time husband of seventeen months, A-list action star FX Fahey, shows up with a job offer that she can’t resist, and Elizabeth’s life suddenly gets a whole lot more interesting. She’s off to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the summer to make sure FX doesn’t humiliate himself in an avant-garde production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.As she did so skillfully with her first novel, Helen of Pasadena, which spent more than a year on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list, Lian Dolan spins a lively, smart, and very funny tale of a woman reinventing her life in unexpected ways.

     "A fun, sweet, cute story with many laughing out loud moments." -The Bookaholic Cat Giovanni Roma was jilted at the altar. Twice. Meeting Natalie is an enchanting distraction—too bad she’s engaged to another man. To top it off, Giovanni’s mother has a mouth with no filter and is obsessed with finding her son a suitable baby-maker. Natalie DeMarco is a good cop with one problem. Cold feet. Her fiancé is a decent man, but she’s starting to wonder if decent is good enough. Maybe the doubts could be blamed on Giovanni, that guitar-making Italian hunk next door. Giovanni knows he must do something, but things get out of hand when he learns he’s not the only one who objects to the wedding. Dog Day Wedding is a fast, fun romantic comedy that gives new meaning to the term, “Shotgun Wedding.”