In keeping with Wear it Purple Day, we welcome and support Youth LGBTQIA+ and provide an inclusive community for all. We aim to ensure that students have access to quality books with significant content regarding inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and all that extends throughout the Rainbow spectrum; and that truly represents where LGBTQIA youth lives and literature are today. We hope that readers see reflections of themselves in these works and windows into the lives of others.
For any books not featured in the collection, book suggestions can be made below or by reaching out to Library staff.
When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition ... Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is [their center of gravity] Jude, ... by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he'll not only be unable to overcome--but that will define his life forever
Ash is used to taking hits for his high school football team - but then those hits start pushing him through a succession of universes almost-but-not-really like his own. As small shifts in reality become significant shifts in Ash's own identity, he starts to question the world he thought he knew, as well as the ones he finds himself catapulted into.
Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette. The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other.
The story of one dramatic day in the life of 17-year-old Adam Thorn. Between his religious family, a harrowing experience with his unpleasant boss, and his ex-boyfriend, Adam's world seems to be coming apart. And across town, a ghost has risen from the lake
Cal Lewis's volatile father has been picked to become an astronaut for NASA's mission to Mars. This means leaving Brooklyn -- and Cal's career plans as an aspiring journalist -- to move to Houston, Texas. Now life is a media circus, and Cal and his parents struggle to be the "perfect American family". He meets and falls head over heels for Leon, whose mother is also an astronaut. As the frenzy around the mission mounts, Cal suspects secrets are being kept from the families that could change everything.
All Magnus Bane wanted was a vacation - a lavish trip across Europe with Alec Lightwood, the Shadowhunter who against all odds is finally his boyfriend. But as soon as the pair settles in Paris, an old friend arrives with news about a demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand that is bent on causing chaos around the world. Now Magnus and Alec must race across Europe to track down the Crimson Hand and its elusive new leader before the cult can cause any more damage. As if it wasn't bad enough, demons are now dogging their every step and it is becoming harder to tell friend from foe. As their quest for answers becomes increasingly dire, Magnus and Alec will have to trust each other more than ever - even if it means revealing the secrets they've both been keeping.
Luca is ready to audition for the Australian Ballet School. All it takes to crush his dreams is one missed step and a broken foot. Jordan is the gorgeous rowing star and school captain of Luca's new school. Everyone says he's straight - but Luca's not so sure. As their unlikely bond grows stronger, Luca starts to wonder - who is he without ballet? And is he setting himself up for another heartbreak?
Benjamin Law considers himself pretty lucky to live in Australia- he can hold his boyfriend's hand in public and lobby his politicians to recognise same-sex marriage. But as the child of migrants, he's also curious about how different life might have been had he grown up in Asia. So he sets off to meet his fellow Gaysians. Law takes his investigative duties seriously, going nude where required in Balinese sex resorts, sitting backstage for hours with Thai ladyboy beauty contestants and trying Indian yoga classes designed to cure his homosexuality. The characters he meets - from Tokyo's celebrity drag queens to HIV-positive Burmese sex workers, from Malaysian ex-gay Christian fundamentalists to Chinese gays and lesbians who marry each other to please their parents - all teach him something new about being queer in Asia. At once entertaining and moving, Gaysia traces a fascinating quest by a leading Australian writer. 'Asia is a big place - where to start? I decided to begin where most Australian did- taking it easy on Bali, leisure-filled paradise island of the gods. But first, for reasons you will soon understand, I would have to get naked. Very, very naked.''A terrific read ... gonzo anthropology and great storytelling.' - John Safran 'Benjamin Law is funny and honest and handsome - Gaysiais a delightful, occasionally confronting adventure.' - Josh Thomas
A story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal told from different points in time, and in separate voices, by artists Jude and her twin brother Noah. Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else--an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they'd have a chance to remake their world
From the award-winning author of GEORGE, the story of a boy named Rick who needs to explore his own identity apart from his jerk of a best friend. Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out. But now Rick's gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school's Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that . . . understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones. As they did in their groundbreaking novel GEORGE, in RICK, award-winning author Alex Gino explores what it means to search for your own place in the world . . . and all the steps you and the people around you need to take in order to get where you need to be.
Henry Skrimshander, newly arrived at college, shy and out of his depth, has a talent for baseball that borders on genius. But sometimes it seems that his only friend is big Mike Schwartz -- who champions the talents of others, at the expense of his own. And Owen, Henry's clever, charismatic, gay roommate, who has a secret that could put his brilliant college career in jeopardy. Pella, the 23-year-old daughter of the college president, has returned home after a failed marriage, determined to get her life in order. Only to find her father, a confirmed bachelor, has fallen desperately in love himself. Then, one fateful day, Henry makes a mistake -- misthrows a ball. And everything changes!
On September 5th, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: they're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: there's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure - to live a lifetime in a single day.
Seventeen-year-old Phil has felt like an outsider as long as he can remember. All Phil has ever known about his father is that he was Number Three on his mother's list - third in a series of affairs that have set Phil's family even further apart from the critical townspeople across the river. As for his own sexuality, Phil doesn't care what the neighbours will think; he's just waiting for the right bloke to come along.
Haunting, provocative, and sophisticated, this literary novel by award winner Andreas Steinhofel has become a much acclaimed international success.
Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they've never met until one day when they're made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised. Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness.
Sam Waver's life has always been pretty quiet. A bit of a loner, he struggles to make friends, and his busy parents often make him feel invisible. Luckily for Sam, his older brother, Jason, has always been there for him. Sam idolises Jason, who seems to have life sorted - he's kind, popular, amazing at football, and girls are falling over themselves to date him. But then one evening Jason calls his family together to tell them that he's been struggling with a secret for a long time. A secret which quickly threatens to tear them all apart. His parents don't want to know and Sam simply doesn't understand. Because what do you do when your brother says he's not your brother at all? That he thinks he's actually... your sister?
Sixteen-year-old, not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier is blackmailed into playing wingman for his classmate or else his sexual identity--and that of his pen pal--will be revealed
When non-religious rebel Josh turns up at school, Yossi is asked to look after him, and while Yossi educates Josh on the ancient traditions of their race, Josh does some educating of his own. Through their relationship, Yossi learns to see the laws of Judaism in a very new light. But when he and Josh are caught kissing in the bathhouse, Yossi's life takes on a dramatic new turn, and he can ignore his new reality no longer
Castle Rock is a small town, where word gets around quickly. That's why Scott Carey wants to confide only in his friend Doctor Bob Ellis about his strange condition: he's losing weight, without getting thinner, and the scales register the same when he is in his clothes or out of them, however heavy they are. Scott also has new neighbours, who have opened a 'fine dining experience' in town, although it's an experience being shunned by the locals; Deidre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don't exactly fit in with the community's expectations. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be friendly, but Deidre is cold as ice. As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12k run, Scott starts to understand the prejudices his neighbours face and he tries to help. Unlikely alliances form and the mystery of Scott's affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.
Agoraphobic Solomon has not left his house in three years, but Lisa is determined to change that-- and to write a scholarship-winning essay based on the results. Lisa thrusts herself into his life, introducing him to her boyfriend Clark. Soon all three teens are far closer than they thought they'd be. When their facades fall down, their friendships threaten to collapse, as well.
In the 1950s, 'entering' the seminary was for ever, and young boys were gathered into the priesthood before they were old enough to know what they would lose. Tom went to St Finbar's because he was looking for something more than the ordinary happiness of his home and school. Then he discovered that loving another person was the most important thing of all. For Tom, loving Frankie made him part of the world. Even when Frankie was gone. This is a tale of faith, the Catholic church, homosexuality, love and bullying.
Featured in Seventeen, The Verge, Hypable, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, The Nerd Daily, Booklist, and SyFy Wire. In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia. The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks--refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister's offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister's son--cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful--and the way forward becomes less clear. Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he's willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.
A heartbreaking yet uplifting story of grief about a boy who has lost everything, but finds new hope drawing in the shadows of a hospital. Features a thirty-two-page graphic novel. Andrew Brawley was supposed to die that night, just like the rest of his family. Now he lives in the hospital, serving food in the cafeteria, hanging out with the nurses, sleeping in a forgotten supply closet. Drew blends in to near invisibility, hiding from his past, his guilt, and those who are trying to find him. His only solace is in the world of the superhero he's created--Patient F. Then, one night, Rusty is wheeled into the ER, half his body burned by hateful classmates. Rusty's agony calls out to Drew like a beacon, pulling them both together though all their pain and grief. In Rusty, Drew sees hope, happiness, and a future for both of them. A future outside of the hospital, and away from their pasts. But to save Rusty, Drew will have to confront Death, and life will have to get worse before it gets better. And by telling the truth about who he really is, Drew risks destroying any chance of a future.