What YA Friendly Book Are You Currently Reading? Showing 601-650 of 1,359

[Cheyenne]

I just began reading Luna by Julie Anne Peters, a book about a boy, Liam, who struggles to live his true identity, a girl named Luna, and the story of his families rough road to acceptance.

[J.S.]

Chen wrote: "I just began reading Luna by Julie Anne Peters, a book about a boy, Liam, who struggles to live his true identity, a girl named Luna, and the story of his families rough road to acceptance."

--

I read it. Very well written, I thought. Sad, but had a hopeful ending.

[Kaje]

Chen wrote: "I just began reading Luna by Julie Anne Peters, a book about a boy, Liam, who struggles to live his true identity, a girl named Luna, and the story of his families rough road to acceptance."

I like that one too. I've read it a couple of times. It's interesting in having it from the sister's POV, not the trans character. (Although I know a couple of readers who didn't like it because they couldn't sympathize with the sister.) I thought it was very well done - she's a teenager so sometimes she's self-centered, but I thought it was realistic and yet hopeful.

[[deleted user]]

I got the Rainbow trilogy and love Rainbow Road the best. Also own all Alex Sanchez books except the one with Xoi "So hard to say" I think is the main character. Just read it one... I love his characters. They come alive when you read them. I love books like that.

Currently Reading:I am J I love this book. I own it and have read it several times over. I love how Cris Beam characters make me feel what they are feeling, understand what they are going through. The seem so realistic to me...

[Kaje]

I just finished Falling From The Sky - it grew on me and managed to miss some of the expected cliche moments. A good self-discovery coming of age story.

[Kaje]

Rayvin wrote: "I got the Rainbow trilogy and love Rainbow Road the best. Also own all Alex Sanchez books except the one with Xoi "So hard to say" I think is the main character. Just read it one... I love his char..."

Alex Sanchez is great - he wrote a very interesting blog post about being blocked on writing a book. I particularly like "Rainbow High" and wish he would write Jeremy's own story.

[Ulysses]

I just read Marshall Thornton's "My Favorite Uncle," which revolves around an eighteen-year-old appearing on the doorstep of his gay uncle after fleeing his fundamentalist family.

There is enough sexual activity to make this a "mature teens only" book, but really this book is quite wonderful and not at all idealized. It studies both the gay uncle, a middle-aged man set in his ways; and the teenager, who is both innocent and, well, teenaged, and thus not innocent at all. I gave it five stars.

[Kaje]

I like Marshall's writing style - it's a bit spare and yet emotion somehow comes through clearly.

[Justin]

I'm reading Hero right now. Next up is probably either Luna or Lies My Girlfriend Told Me

[Kaje]

I liked Luna a lot.

I'm reading the Book of the Month - Educating Simon. I do like Robin Reardon's writing.

[Kim]

I'm nearly finished with Non Pratt's Trouble . It's a decent, quick read (so ignore the potentially daunting 384-page count), but it has much less queer content than I'd expected, just one supporting out gay character who is almost entirely in the background.

[Rainbowheart]

Kim, I've got that one on my list too. I was hoping the male MC was gay, but it was really hard to tell from the reviews. I guess it's not him then, just someone in the background.

[Ulysses]

Just finished Peter's Monn's "The Before Now After Then," and it's amazing.

[Kaje]

Ulysses wrote: "Just finished Peter's Monn's "The Before Now and After Then" and it's amazing."

Interesting title *adds to TBR*

[Kaje]

I found my B&N copy of Educating Simon has a format glitch :( - Waiting for a good copy. It helps a little though, knowing that my own format issue recently can happen to bigger publishers :)

[Kim]

Rainbowheart, I had the same guess from the available info about Trouble before reading it. However, although classmates of the main characters speculate about the main male character, he's straight and cisgender. A friend of the two main characters is gay, and he's directly involved in no more than 10% of the story, unfortunately.

Now I'm going to re-devote my attention to the e-galley I have of Hannah Moskowitz' Not Otherwise Specified , with its bisexual leading lady of color.

[Adora]

I'm currently reading Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray, which features a lesbian character, a bisexual (or maybe pansexual) character, and a transgender character. It's a quick and easy read and I'm really liking it so far.

Before this, I recently finished The Will of the Empress, by Tamora Pierce. It's part of a series I was really enjoying without any LGBT characters, so coming to this book and seeing one character discover that she's a lesbian, and have two more minor female characters confirmed to be in a relationship with each other, was amazing. Especially since I'd been rooting for those two minor characters to get together without actually expecting it to happen.

[Kaje]

Tamora Pierce's books are great, and full of strong female characters.

[Kim]

I got sidetracked when my library request for the newly released third book, Isla and the Happily Ever After in Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss series arrived for me, because I'd been eagerly awaiting it for so long. I still like the first book best, by far, but it was nice to see a bisexual character appear in a minor supporting role in this one.

[Rainbowheart]

Kim, oh, cool! I didn't know it had a bi character. I'll have to add it to the 2014 list. Btw, this list could definitely use more votes....

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

I'm at the 100 vote limit, but if you know of books that fit, feel free to add them. I have some that I'm waiting to add as soon as votes get freed up, and Isla is one of them.

[Rainbowheart]

Addie wrote: "I'm currently reading Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray, which features a lesbian character, a bisexual (or maybe pansexual) character, and a transgender character. It's a quick and easy ..."

Addie, I really liked Beauty Queens! Loved the diversity in that one. Glad you're enjoying it. :)

[Kim]

Rainbowheart wrote: "Kim, oh, cool! I didn't know it had a bi character. I'll have to add it to the 2014 list...."

I hadn't realized beforehand either, Rainbowheart. It was a pleasant surprise. =)

[Gavin]

I finished Sarah's Keyby Tatiana de Rosnay last night. It is a very interesting and disturbing read. Not really M/M fiction but has some minor gay characters.

[Kaje]

I just finished the last two books of the Tales from Foster High series - "End of the Innocence" and "151 Days". I felt about them somewhat like I did about Two Boys Kissing - the books say some things I really want people to hear, and say them well, eloquently, passionately, (if perhaps not always completely believably from the mouth of a teen MC). I really enjoyed the series, other than a slightly-clunky narrative choice in the last one (151 Days) which even so was a 4-star read. I'm sure not everyone will like the balance of message to story, but I read both books straight through.

[[deleted user]]

The best GLBT book I've read so far, has been "Ask The Passengers". It is beautiful. That, along with "Keeping you a secret" introduced me to this genre.

[Kaje]

I just finished The Elephant of Surprise .

This is the fourth book in the Russel Middlebrook YA series. If you haven't yet read the award-winning first book, Geography Club, you should start there. The characters learn and grow throughout the series. That book will introduce you to Russel, and to his wide-eyed, fun and engaging narrative voice. Russel is a young man learning how to navigate the world, trying to fit his desires, his curiosity and his good intentions alongside his worries, mistakes and tendency to be over-imaginative. The teen voice feels authentic, and I've enjoyed the whole series.

In this book, Russel and his friends come to grips with the Elephant of Surprise - the way things are so often not what they seem, and how sometimes finding out the truth stomps you flat. But then, other times, it can lift you to ride above the crowd. His straight, quirky friend Gunnar and bi best friend Min are familiar and well-loved characters who add depth, humor and plot twists to this story.

Russel and his friends meet up with a group of "freegans", social activists who try to live lightly on the planet by using things that otherwise would be wasted or thrown away, living by scavenging, gathering, and borrowing. One of them is Wade, a good-looking guy who seems taken by Russel. But what's the truth behind Wade? And is freeganism a way to save the world from our horribly wasteful modern ways, or just a quirky cult that has a few good ideas among the rest of the dross?

Min is in a relationship, but her girlfriend is acting strangly. Imagination, or is something going on?

Gunnar is chronicling his day to day life by the minute. Will this be just boring, or will evidence of every moment reveal important secrets? Or inconvenient and private ones?

I enjoyed this chapter in the life of Russel and his friends. There were twists I didn't see coming any better than the main characters. A stomp or two from the Elephant of Surprise. But the tone is generally upbeat, despite some of the things Russel and his friends have to face. His forward-looking optimism and clean narrative voice make this book a fun read. This is the opposite of wallowing in overdone YA angst - it slides through the muddy waters of life up in the sunshine, and even when someone's heart is bruised, there is room for a better tomorrow. I like that.

[Iuri]

I'm halfway through Peter Monn's The Before Now and After Then and I'm really enjoying it.
I'm all about love at first sight / everything seems perfect stories.

[Kaje]

Iuri wrote: "I'm halfway through Peter Monn's The Before Now and After Then and I'm really enjoying it.
I'm all about love at first sight / everything seems perfect stories."

That one's on my radar. We'll see if it wins the Book of the Month vote...

[Alfstoria]

Hi, I just started Proxy by Alex London.

[Kaje]

Cool. I like the blurb for that.

I'm reading The Before Now and After Then for our BotM, and I'll Give You the Sun because I voted for it on GR based on less than the full book, and I want to finish it (good, so far.)

[Tanya]

I'm currently reading Redeemed. It's not really an LGBT book, but the main character has a gay best friend, Damien, who is important to the story.

[Kaje]

Richele ♥'s Trip & Boone wrote: "I just started reading One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva."

I enjoyed that one - some humor and some angst and some sweetness.

[Kaje]

I just finished Period 8 by Chris Crutcher. Not my favorite. He's an author I really love - there are often positive LGBT characters in his books although the only LGBT MCs are in two tragic-ending short stories, one in Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories, the other in Angry Management - but Period 8 was a sort-of-thriller with less than ideal pacing (and no real LGBT content, incidentally).

However I highly recommend other books of his including Whale Talk, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Stotan!, Chinese Handcuffs and my favorite, Deadline

[Oliver]

I'm currently (re)reading The Song of Achilles
It's a retelling of Achilles and Patroclus, going from when they first meet to where The Illiad picks up.
It's told from Patroclus' point of view, which is really interesting!

[Kaje]

Kaitlyn wrote: "Hi everyone!

I just finished this amazing short story from the hands of S. B. Sheridan and I'd like to share it with you!

http://amzn.to/1J9CXdp

I hope you like it!"

Thanks for the recommendation :)

[Rez]

I just finished the first in the Gives Light series. I'll probably pick up the rest of the series on Smashwords later this evening and read them after I knock a few books out of my To-Read pile before it topples over and kills me (occupational hazard from working at a library, but 100 Sideways Miles and The Tragic Age are in that stack); but that means finishing the second book in the Dresden Files series which is killing me because the crime-noir vibe is not my cuppa.

[Kaje]

I admit I love Dresden Files, but Gives Light is really popular with my friends here.

[Kaje]

I just finished The Porcupine of Truth. My 4* review:

I loved my last read from this author, Openly Straight. This book took longer to hook me in, but I did enjoy it, and there were some nicely emotional moments, especially towards the end.

The narrator, Carson, has come with his mother to Billings, Montana, to spend the summer caring for the father he hasn't seen since he was three. His father is dying of the complications of alcoholism, and one of the things that the dad harks back to when he becomes emotional is the loss of his own father, who disappeared when he was a teenager. Then, in a box of old papers, Carson finds proof that his grandfather had still been in contact with his grandmother, getting a divorce from her a year after his father was told he'd vanished without a trace. The mystery is something for Carson to latch onto in his adrift summer. And the thought of bringing a living father back to his father, giving the man he's just reconnected with and is losing a valuable gift, obsesses Carson.

His summer looks up immeasurably when he meets Aisha, a beautiful girl who is homeless, and to whom he is instantly drawn. They have similar non-sequitur off-the-wall senses of humor, which they use to avoid being serious. Carson offers her a place to live temporarily, and finds his first true friend. He fantasizes about having found someone to love romantically, until she reveals that she was kicked out of her home for being caught with her girlfriend. Carson's budding romance has a serious flaw, but the friendship blossoms, and with her help he sets off on a quest to find his grandfather.

I've read a few reviews that disliked the fact that Carson continues to fantasize about Aisha potentially developing feelings for him, even after he finds out she's a lesbian. Or that take his continued teen-boy reactions to her looks as creepy and shallow. I thought that it was realistic and in a way brave of the author to make Carson not the perfect straight sidekick. How many stories of gay boys lusting after their straight best friends do we read, and sympathize with the poor guy's impossible desires? Why would it be any different for a straight kid to keep lusting after the gay girl, just because he knows she isn't likely to return it? To fantasize about her discovering she's bi after all, and falling for him? This is just the mirror image. I'd bet Konigsberg knew he'd catch a little flak about that, but it made me believe in Carson more.

The end is conveniently rounded off, and yet it was also the point where I felt the emotions of this tale the most. Good endings are not always perfect endings, and I was happy with the way doors that closed led to windows that opened. An interesting book about families and LGBT and trying to make connections across the generations.

[Kaje]

Now reading Anything Could Happen - this book has both a gay MC, and a best friend with 2 dads. Enjoying it so far.

[Luke]

I have Anything Could Happen on my pile! :-)

[Cat]

I recently read Half Bad by Sally Green, because I heard that the protagonist was bi/pan/poly, but apparently it's not revealed until the second book, which I haven't read yet. The first was still pretty good.

[Michael]

I just finished The Geek and His Artist. 4.5 Stars rounded up.

[Kaje]

Catherine wrote: "I recently read Half Bad by Sally Green, because I heard that the protagonist was bi/pan/poly, but apparently it's not revealed until the second book, which I haven't read yet. The first was still ..."

Cool to have a character who is something other than G or L; you'll have to let us know how the next book is.

[Kaje]

I enjoyed "Anything Could Happen" - it's a gentle and not angsty coming out story. Not brilliant but a good read.

My next YA will be Ash - I've always meant to read it and never did, but she's our author of the month, so that's the push I need.

[Kaje]

Michael wrote: "I just finished The Geek and His Artist. 4.5 Stars rounded up."

I missed seeing this one - now on the TBRs. :)

[Kaje]

Richele ♥'s Hudson & Seb wrote: "I read Anything Could Happen a couple of months ago after picking up an ARC at a YA review group and I felt the same, Kaje. I thought it was a good read. Nothing ground breaking a..."

Yes, a good one for schools too.

[Kaje]

Read The Geek and His Artist but it just didn't work for me in tone at all, although I managed to finish it. It's getting good reviews though, so obviously many people really like it.

[Meghan]

Just read the first 2 in the Gives Light series. They're really excellent.

[Kaje]

Meghan (mm_reads) wrote: "Just read the first 2 in the Gives Light series. They're really excellent."

I have the first one, and hear a lot of good things about it. Must read it soon.

[Mel]

Meghan (mm_reads) wrote: "Just read the first 2 in the Gives Light series. They're really excellent."

I love this series!!