What YA Friendly Book Are You Currently Reading? Showing 451-500 of 1,359

[Kaje]

I'm reading Just Between Us and I think it's a very well done YA about a guy who is scared he might be HIV+, and what happens to between him and the boy he's attracted to. Present tense narration, which isn't my favorite, but what felt like a very realistic and plausible story line.

[Kim]

I just finished that one, Kaje, as well as Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park , which I found really relatable. Now I'm on to Rowell's Fangirl and an advance reader copy of Chorus , the forthcoming sequel to Emma Trevayne's Coda . Chorus may or may not have QUILTBAG content, as it centers around the sister of Coda's queer main character. All these books either are or I fully expect will be very good. =)

[Rainbowheart]

I love Fangirl! It's one of my favorite YA books. And there is LGBT content, since Catherine writes gay fan fiction.

Let me know about Chorus. I have that on my LGBT listopia for 2014 but if Coda (or other queer characters) don't show up in the story, I'll have to take it off.

[Ulysses]

Just finished a short story, "Be My Valentine, Bobby Bryson" by Geoffrey Knight. For some reason not on GR - but it's a winner. Seems inspired by the blog written by Amelia on Huffpost...about her seven-year-old son who self identifies as gay already (and totally understands what it means).

[Kaje]

I just had someone strongly recommend Whisper, Loudly! - an M2F transgender book. I am temporarily missing spotting our M2F thread, so I'm parking the book here. Also it's currently free on Amazon, so I'll put it in the free reads thread.

[Rainbowheart]

Read Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mlynowski.

Really cute and realistic teen girl story, and there is some slight LGBT content. The MC finds out two minor characters are bi/lesbian and dating each other.

[Kaje]

I had The Stone Prince recommended as a fantasy with LGBT relationships as part of the normative culture. Not specifically YA, but not erotic and fine for younger readers.

[Ellen]

"Birds on a Wire" reads like traditional literature, but it focusses on a 17yo boy who is just coming to turns with his sexuality. His first crush is sweet and innocent as first crushes are. He is afraid and alone, and his two straight best friends are too wrapped up with their own teen issues to notice.
I'd love some feedback on the book.
Birds on a Wire

Best,
Ellen

[Kaje]

Have you considered putting up for read-to-review : https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

[Ellen]

Thanks, Kaje. I will try to post there tomorrow.

[Rainbowheart]

Read When We Wake by Karen Healey.

Interesting and thoughtful sci fi book, with added bonus of important LGBT characters. Looking forward to the sequel which is coming later this year.

[Ulysses]

Just finished L. Summers' "Beneath Angel's Wings," which has remarkable characters and crosses various racial and class lines in a way you rarely see in YA books...totally PG13, too.

[Kaje]

Beneath Angel's Wings by E. Summers? Another TBR book - I'll have to move it up.

[Ulysses]

Kaje wrote: "Beneath Angel's Wings by E. Summers? Another TBR book - I'll have to move it up."

Yes, E. Summers (typo)

[Grace]

All True Lovers by Sarah Aldridge. I have read this book 4 times. It is a period book, but I like those. It is set in the early 1900's.

[Rainbowheart]

Read Roomies by Sara Zarr. Interesting book about two girls who end up becoming roommates for the first year of college. This does have LGBT content since one of the girls, Elizabeth, has a gay dad. This is not the main plot point but it is addressed in the story.

[[deleted user]]

I'm currently reading Harry Potter. I wish I can find a GLBT themed wizard series with the one of main characters as gay or pan or bi.

[Kaje]

Meagan wrote: "I'm currently reading Harry Potter. I wish I can find a GLBT themed wizard series with the one of main characters as gay or pan or bi."

Smoke and Shadows and sequels - they're not really YA but there is no explicit sex - not a romance but a favorite urban fantasy series about a young gay guy with a vampire ex-boyfriend and a crush on an actor, finding out he's a wizard...

Coyote's Creed - another adult urban fantasy series that would be okay for teens; each book has a different MC, but they are gay. This one is 16+.

[Kim]

Meagan wrote: "I'm currently reading Harry Potter. I wish I can find a GLBT themed wizard series with the one of main characters as gay or pan or bi."

What I've read so far of Scott Tracey's Witch Eyes series isn't really to my taste, but it does have a gay main character and at least one or two other queer key characters.

[Rainbowheart]

I think Tracey's Moonset series is the same. Not totally sure if it's the MC, but there are gay witches.

[Kaje]

I just finished Fearless and really liked it. Be aware, though, that is has a very bittersweet quality at times. It's quite a bit darker in places than Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture. A good, sometimes sweet book with a hopeful romance thread, but not an easy read.

[Kim]

I've just finished Kelley York's Made of Stars , which was excellent but also not an easy read. York tends to deal realistically with tough issues in her books, and this was no exception. The very end of it is going to bother me for a long time, though; I wish that there had been more to it or that there would be a follow-up novel/novella/short story/something.

[Rainbowheart]

Read The Center of Everything by Linda Urban. It's more middle grade than YA, since the MC is only 12. Nice, thoughtful book with LGBT content. The MC's best friend Lucy has two dads, and I love how it's treated in the story. Just a fact of life, not a big deal, not requiring some huge explanation that they're gay and Lucy was adopted. It's just assumed that the reader will understand without having to have it all explained out.

[Kaje]

Nice :)

[Liz]

Kaje wrote: "I just finished Fearless and really liked it. Be aware, though, that is has a very bittersweet quality at times. It's quite a bit darker in places than Exiled to Iowa. Send He..."</i>

I loved [book:Fearless. My one slight quibble, and it is slight, is the ending, but I also understand the author's choice to end it the way he did. Great book overall.

[Kaje]

I liked that he kept things real. But I had to read a fluffy romance afterward.

[Kaje]

I read David Levithan's book Every Day. It was a good read - I had plot/technical quibbles, but was seduced by the language, the characters and the bittersweet hope. LGBT characters of all areas of the rainbow in here, and the MC "A" is designated as gender-neutral, although I notice the blurb says "he" and convention does make A seem to read more male than female to me. 4 star book for me.

[Rainbowheart]

Read Zero Fade by Chris L. Terry. I thought this was middle grade when I started it, but it turned out to be YA. The MC is 13, but there's way too much profanity and sex talk to call it middle grade. Would be ok for kids in late junior high though.

It's also got LGBT content. The MC's uncle is gay and coming out, and part of the story is about the MC accepting that and overcoming his own homophobia. The story is also partly told from the uncle's point of view, so you get to learn about Paul and his boyfriend Xavier. The characters are also all African American, so yay for YA diversity!

[Rainbowheart]

Read The Kid Table by Andrea Seigel. Cute family story about teen girl and her group of cousins. Dom, one of the cousins, is gay and sort of out. Everyone knows he's gay but none of the adults will say anything about it. Part of the book is about Dom trying to get people to acknowledge his sexuality.

[Sandra]

Just finished The Red Sheet by Mia Kerick. Very well done. It's about bullying, redemption and forgiveness.

[Rainbowheart]

Read Keeper by Kathi Appelt. This isn't actually YA. It's a middle grade book but it does have a really cute m/m romance as a subplot. Henri and Jack are two characters who meet as 15 year olds and fall in love, holding hands every night by a fountain, only to be separated later on for many years. Can't say more without being spoilery, but magic is involved. And it has a happy ending.

[Rainbowheart]

Read Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks. This is a suspenseful mystery with LGBT content. There are two gay male characters. It would be spoilery to reveal who they are, but they do have a large role in the story.

[Kyle]

I. I just finished "Something Like Summer" by Jay Bell.
Excellent book.

[Kaje]

It is very well rated, although it might have a bit too much sex content to be called true YA. The first half is classic YA at least.

[Dallas]

currently reading "The Red Sheet" and very much enjoying it so far.

[Kaje]

Is that the one by Mia Kerick? I hadn't looked at it yet, but the blurb sounds interesting..."One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different person—helpful, generous, and chivalrous—a person whose new admirable qualities he doesn’t recognize. Stranger still is the urge to tie a red sheet around his neck like a cape.
..."

[Dallas]

Kaje wrote: "Is that the one by Mia Kerick? I hadn't looked at it yet, but the blurb sounds interesting..."One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different person—hel..."

Yes it is. I want to say more about it but don't want to give to much of the plot away.

[Kaje]

Dallas wrote: "Kaje wrote: "Is that the one by Mia Kerick? I hadn't looked at it yet, but the blurb sounds interesting..."One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a differe..."

You can use spoiler tags. Or maybe nominate it for next month's Book of the Month - I just put up the thread for nominations here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Cam]

I just finished reading by Tedd Hawks. It's excellent!

[Cam]

Gwen wrote: "Cam wrote: "I just finished reading by Tedd Hawks. It's excellent!"

I got this on sale yesterday, so that's good to know!

I'm reading [book:How They Met, and Other Sto..."

My friend's brother-in-law wrote it, and I came upon it quite by accident. :)

[Rainbowheart]

Read Slob by Ellen Potter. It's middle grade, not YA. I wouldn't say this is exactly a trans book, maybe trans-adjacent? Trans-friendly? The MC has a little sister who wears boys' clothes, goes by a boy's name, and joined a club called GWAB - Girls Who Are Boys.

The author wrote about her own childhood experience with GWAB here....

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

The MC's sister Jeremy is just in the club to make friends (and because she's a tough girl who likes to fight) but her friend Arthur is totally gender nonconforming. These characters are just 6th graders, so no idea if they would grow up to identify as trans or even remain butch, but the story is a nice example of gender transgressive kids.

[Kaje]

I love seeing more stories like this out there :)

[J.S.]

Luna was quite good. Sad as hell, but well written, I thought.

[Kaje]

Jesse wrote: "Luna was quite good. Sad as hell, but well written, I thought."

I thought the ending was hopeful though - moving forward with her life. I mean, the family stuff was tough for sure, but (view spoiler)[ Luna knew what she wanted and didn't let herself get put off from it. I firmly believe she transitioned successfully later... (hide spoiler)]

[J.S.]

Kaje wrote: "Jesse wrote: "Luna was quite good. Sad as hell, but well written, I thought."

I thought the ending was hopeful though - moving forward with her life. I mean, the family stuff was tough for sure, b..."

---

Yeah, agreed. And agree with the spoiler as well.

[Ariel]

I can most definitely say that Scott Tracey's "Witch Eyes" series is by far my favorite fantasy LGBT book(s) as of yet. I fell in love with the first book because like a lot of first books in fantasy series, the main protagonist is thrust into a world that was foreign to him (well, the world of magic wasn't new to him, but the city's political world was definitely a change for him).
Without going into much detail in risk of possible spoilers, I enjoyed the progression of the not only the storyline, but the character development as well. The main character isn't the typical "wanna change the world and still be pure and innocent" hero. It's more noticeable towards the third book, but he knows that sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve his goals.
It's an excellent series, and I always recommend it with a 100/10 stars.

[Kaje]

Thanks! We had it as a book of the month a while back, but didn't get a lot of discussion at the time, so it's good to hear what you think of . Cool covers too.

[Ariel]

Yeah, when my coworker told me that there were two other books, I was ecstatic. It was definitely worth the 6 week wait for the library to order them, and I had literally jumped for joy when I saw them on the processing cart. ^_^

[Kaje]

:) I love libraries.

[Rainbowheart]

Finished two trans-related books, Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black.

I really liked both of these. The first one is a novel in verse and explores the POV of 3 people, a high school student named Brendan who is just figuring out that he might be transgender, Angel who is MTF and fully transitioned to living as female, and also Brendan's girlfriend Vanessa, who is confused and worried about the sudden changes in their lives.

I also thought it was cool that Angel had a nice romance in her life. She met a cis guy and they started a relationship together, and things ended happily for them. Angel's boyfriend also had 2 moms, so that was an extra bit of diversity. And also Angel (and maybe her bf?) were people of color, so even more diversity.

The second book I read was a vampire story. Holly Black usually includes queer characters in her books, and this one was no different. The MC is straight, but her boyfriend might be bi (there's mention of him making out with guys all the time). But the most important queer character in the book is Valentina, who is MTF. She also gets a nice romance with a cis guy. It's only towards the very last part of the story, but it's really cute and sweet.