Below you will find print and digital titles about LGBTQIA+ issues in our SHS Learning Commons collection and the Libby collection from the Scott County Library. For more titles, please visit the Saber Pride Reading Guide.
Lark and Kasim Start a Revolution by
Like many teenagers, seventeen-year-old nonbinary Lark Winters' social media presence often makes them feel lonely and depressed, but they also feel their platforms are important vehicles for sharing their progress in their novel about a winged teenager named Birdie. When Lark's former best friend Kasim accidentally posts a thread about a secret crush from Lark's Twitter account, the thread becomes popular and generates a lot of activity. Lark decides to pretend they generated the post to take advantage of the buzz, but soon has to generate white lies to keep the ruse going. A renewed relationship with Kasim soon turns into something more, and Lark finds themselves struggling to keep up with a rapidly devolving situation.
Icebreaker by
Mickey James III is following in his father's and grandfather's skates by playing hockey at Hartland University, but he is not enjoying the situation. For one thing he is seriously depressed, unsure of anything, even whether he can make it as a hockey player (or wants to). More troubling is that his rival, Jaysen Caulfield, is also on the team and seems to bitterly resent him, and Mickey is actually attracted to Jaysen and does not know how to deal with that.
The Complicated Calculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen by
Fifteen-year-old Carl Paulsen lives with his father and little sister on a dairy farm in southern Minnesota, but he and his father are struggling with how to address the future of their farm, a legacy of Carl's late mother. In addition, Carl is trying to come to terms with his crush on Andy Olnan, a city boy recently transplanted to farm life from Minneapolis who seems to return his feelings. As he struggles to be accepted for who he is, Carl begins to discover the same in the people who mean the most to him.
Imogen, Obviously by
High school senior Imogene is looking forward to visiting her newly out pansexual friend Lili at college. Considering herself a heterosexual ally, Imogene is passionate about LGBTQ issues and supporting her friends. When she learns that Lili has made up lies about her being a bisexual ex-girlfriend to impress her friends, Imogene goes along with the ruse. However, when she begins developing feelings for Lili's friend Tessa, she finds herself wondering if her feelings are queer appropriation or something she's been hiding all along.
Brave Face by
Shaun David Hutchinson discusses coming of age in the early 1990s, when a lack of positive queer representation cast his own sexuality as a negative trait that left him depressed and angry. He shares passages from his own diary at the time when he reveals the self-harm and abuse he suffered, and the constant messages from a society who told him to "repent" or he would never find love. He goes on to explain how he eventually found happiness and acceptance in the gay community.
The Gravity of Us by
When his volatile father is picked to become an astronaut for NASA's mission to Mars, seventeen-year-old Cal, an aspiring journalist, reluctantly moves from Brooklyn to Houston, Texas, and looks for a story to report, finding an ally (and crush) in Leon, the son of another astronaut.
Like a Love Story by
Iranian-born New Yorker, Reza, is terrified of his own homosexuality amid the 1980s AIDS crisis, equating being gay with dead men. He meets aspiring fashion designer Judy and her best friend Art, an openly gay photographer, who are united in AIDS activism because of their mutual love of Judy's uncle Stephen, who is gay and has AIDS. Both Art and Judy find they are attracted to Reza, and believing he should be with a woman, Reza and Judy begin dating despite the undeniable feelings Reza and Art have for each other.
The Meaning of Birds by
Jessica, an "out" lesbian and one of the only "out" teenagers in her school, finds that the grief and anger building inside her ever since her father's death is changed and redirected by Vivi when she crashes into her life, opening her up to love and encouraging her to pursue her talent as an artist. Then, in the middle of their senior year, Vivi suddenly dies, sending Jess back into anger and depression. However, in her work-study program she meets another new and unexpected friend who helps her learn to make room for her heart to heal and use her anger, passion, and creativity to make a new path forward to healing and a future.
The Magic Fish by
Tien, the son of two Vietnamese refugees, is struggling with the right way to come out to his parents. With a language barrier, Tien wonders how he will ever tell his parents the truth. As he helps them with their English, Tien realizes he may be able to use fairy tales to get his message across.
Salt the Water by
Nonbinary high school senior Cerulean Gene and their queer friends--self-proclaimed "Bronx babies"--dream of a world where they'll be accepted and can live life on their own terms. With their parents' support, Cerulean saves their money for the future and speaks out against a White male teacher who has little empathy for them and their other Black friends. When an argument escalates between Cerulean and the teacher, they drop out of school, fast-tracking their plans to move to California and live off the grid. However, a family tragedy upends Cerulean's plans and they must decide how to move forward when the future is uncertain.
Loveless by
Georgia has parents who are still in love, two sets of grandparents that are still together, and a brother who married his girlfriend, but at eighteen she has never even kissed someone (not even her lesbian best friend, Felipa) or particularly even wanted to; at the prom afterparty she is surrounded by couples making out, and she really does not know what is wrong--but in college she comes to understand herself as asexual/aromantic, and to capture the part of her identity that has always eluded her.
From Here by
Luma Mufleh, founder of Fugees Family, a nonprofit that supports refugee children in the United States, provides a memoir of her experiences as a refugee. Growing up as a Muslim in Jordan, Luma knew as a preteen that she was attracted to girls, but didn't have words for her homosexuality. After getting accepted into college in the United States, Luma came out to her parents, but they wanted her immediately returned to them. Knowing she could be killed, Luma applied for asylum in the United States and began the long journey to becoming a citizen where she could live as her authentic self, while simultaneously loving her heritage and helping her family accept who she is.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by
Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.
More Happy Than Not by
After enduring his father's suicide, his own suicide attempt, broken friendships, and more in the Bronx projects, Aaron Soto, sixteen, is already considering the Leteo Institute's memory-alteration procedure when his new friendship with Thomas turns to unrequited love.
Felix Ever After by
Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
How It All Blew Up by
Fleeing to Rome in the wake of coming out to his Muslim family, a failed relationship, and blackmail, eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi embarks on a more authentic life with new friends and dates in the Sistine Chapel before an encounter with a U.S. Customs officer places his hard-won freedom at risk.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu is living in Chinatown, in 1950s era San Francisco when she meets and befriends her first white friend, Kathleen Miller through a mutual interest in aerospace. When the pair express their desire to see a performer at a well-known lesbian bar, they sneak out and it's there that they explore their sexuality and begin a relationship with each other in secret. However, with Lily's conservative Chinese family at her heels and McCarthyism threatening her family, Lily will need to make tough choices about her relationship with Kathy and who she wants to be.
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali has always been fascinated by the universe around her and the laws of physics that keep everything in order. But her life at home isn't so absolute.Unable to come out to her conservative Muslim parents, she keeps that part of her identity hidden. And that means keeping her girlfriend, Ariana, a secret from them too. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life at home and a fresh start at Caltech in the fall. But when Rukhsana's mom catches her and Ariana together, her future begins to collapse around her.Devastated and confused, Rukhsana's parents whisk her off to stay with their extended family in Bangladesh where, along with the loving arms of her grandmother and cousins, she is met with a world of arranged marriages, religious tradition, and intolerance. Fortunately, Rukhsana finds allies along the way and, through reading her grandmother's old diary, finds the courage to take control of her future and fight for her love.A gritty novel that doesn't shy away from the darkest corners of ourselves, ????
We Deserve Monuments by
Seventeen-year-old biracial Avery Anderson's life is turned upside down when she and her parents move to Bardell, Georgia, to live with her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. Avery's mom and Mama Letty have a strained relationship, but they won't tell Avery what caused it. Fortunately, Avery befriends Simone Cole, her Black next-door neighbor who she begins to fall for, and Jade Oliver, the White daughter of the town's most prominent family. As Avery begins to unpacks Bardell's racist past, she learns more about her own family's tragic connection to the town and about the unsolved murder of Jade's mother.
The Passing Playbook by
Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He's also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio. At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy's soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans--he's passing. So when a discriminatory law forces Spencer's coach to bench him after he discovers the 'F' on Spencer's birth certificate, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even though it would mean coming out to everyone--including the guy he's falling for.
A Scatter of Light by
The summer after she graduates high school, eighteen-year-old Aria Tang West expects to spend the summer hanging with friends on the island of Martha's Vineyard before she heads to MIT in the fall. Instead, her parents send her to live with her artist grandmother in the San Francisco Bay area, after a scandalous photo of her taken at a graduation party is circulated on social media. Far from the boring summer she expects, Aria finds herself immersed in the area's working-class queer community her grandmother is a part of and growing closer to Steph Nichols, her grandmother's gardener, who introduces Aria to people and experiences that transform her.
This Is Why They Hate Us by
The summer before his junior year of high school, Enrique "Quique" Luna has vowed to get over his crush on Saleem Kanazi, especially since Saleem will be gone for the first half of the summer to meet a woman his Palestinian American family hopes to set him up with.
The Black Flamingo by
Michael Angeli, a mixed-race gay teen living in London, tells his story in lyrical verse, describing his struggles with self-acceptance and identity as he grows up without a father. When he moves away from home to attend university, he discovers the drag community, where he finally finds acceptance and a new persona as the Black Flamingo.
Can't Take That Away by
Carey Parker, a high school teen who feels themselves to be of non-binary gender and goes by the pronoun "they," longs to become a diva and singer, but cannot shake the emotional scars left by a homophobic classmate, nor can "they" cope with "their" grandmother's deteriorating health and dementia. Then "they" meet Cris, a singer and guitarist who makes Carey feel real and seen for the first time.
I Wish You All the Best by
When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.But Ben's attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by
Sixteen-year-old Mexican American Yami Flores starts Catholic school, determined to keep her brother out of trouble and keep herself closeted, but her priorities shift when Yami discovers that her openly gay classmate Bo is also annoyingly cute.
The Music of What Happens by
It is summer in Phoenix, and seventeen-year-old Maximo offers to help Jordan, a fellow student in high school, with the food truck that belonged to Jordan's deceased father, and which may be the only thing standing between homelessness for Jordan and his mom; the boys are strongly attracted to each other, but as their romance develops it is threatened by the secrets they are hiding--and by the racism and homophobia of those around them.
Symptoms of Being Human by
Riley Cavanaugh, a gender-fluid teen who struggles with identity, creates an anonymous blog on the topic that goes viral, and faces ridicule at the new school he attends. When someone threatens to reveal Riley's identity as the creator of the blog, Riley must walk away from his lifeline and cause, or risk everything by coming out and standing up for his beliefs.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by
Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab. Adib Khorram’s brilliant debut is for anyone who’s ever felt not good enough—then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.
Ellen Outside the Lines by
Thirteen-year-old Ellen, who is autistic, likes order and certainty, which explains why she's reeling from changes in her friendship with her best friend Laurel, who's increasingly spending time with other people. She hopes to rekindle their friendship on a class trip to Spain.
