Library LGBTQ YA Resources
Created by a teacher-librarian, this site offers a thorough bibliography for YA books featuring gay and lesbian characters. The creator’s goal is to “make it easier for queer youth and teenagers to see their life reflected in the literature they read.”
Books with Gay & Lesbian Characters (Teen Book List created by Plymouth District Libraries, Michigan)
This site covers 50 books featuring gay and lesbian characters for young adults. It serves as a great starting point in the field for reader new to the genre, and includes bibliographic information and summaries.
This site covers 50 books featuring gay and lesbian characters for young adults. It serves as a great starting point in the field for reader new to the genre, and includes bibliographic information and summaries.
Although not comprehensive, this site offers a well-curated list of contemporary books with a wide variety of gay and lesbian characters.
Other Resources for Finding and Discussing LGBTQ YA Books
School Gay-Straight Alliance Groups
Many schools have created LGBTQ gay-straight alliance groups to act as a community to counteract prejudice based on sexuality. Many groups post "books" links on their group websites. For instance, the Oak Park & River Forest High School Gay-Straight Alliance in Oak Park, Illinois has an amazing website with a great book list. To see the group's site, click here. To see the group's book recommendations, click here.
I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?
To be clear, says Lee Wind, the creator of the site, "'Gay Teen' includes Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer and Gender Non-Conforming Teens! And of course, allies are welcome!" This great blog offers not only reviews, but helpfully organizes LGBTQ YA books by "Books with Gay Teen Characters/Themes, Books with Lesbian Characters/Themes, Books with Bisexual Characters/Themes, Books with Transgender Teen Characters/Themes, Books with Questioning Teen Characters/Themes, Books with Queer (Gender Non-Conforming Characters/Themes, Books with an Ensemble that Includes GLBTQ Teen Characters, Books with a GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker, and GLBTQ YA Graphic Novels and Comics." The site also includes news regarding GLBTQ issues and tolerance in school settings.
Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
This amazing site offers over 10 years of non-standard YA booklists. Many of the reviewers are teen readers. The site was created by Jennifer Hewitt, a middle school librarian in Manhattan, and has grown into a powerhouse of nuanced recommendations and honest reviews. Though the site doesn't separate by theme or content, it offers a wealth of juicy, thoughtful, timely reviews for the YA reader.
Amazon also offers author’s pages, where the reader can view videos of authors discussing their works and easily find other works. Additionally, the “Customers Who Bought this Also Bought” feature allows users to quickly connect to books with similar LGBTQ young adult themes.
This site allows users to contribute literature recommendations on certain subjects, and contains a number of interesting threads debating LGBTQ YA literature recommendations. The back-and-forth discussions are wonderful examples of responses to different YA LGBTQ books, and readers debate a story's believability, subject matter or tone. Many readers have preferences regarding these issues, and a board such as this one allows broad exploration of the topic mixed with critical analysis. New discussions emerge often. A representative example can be found here.
Annotated Bibliographies
Lobban, Marjorie and Laurel A. Clyde, Out of the Closet and Into the Classroom. (Thorpe/ALIA, 1996)
This work presents an annotated bibliography of young adult books concerning gay and lesbian issues and characters. It was the first bibliography ever published concerning LGBTQ issues in young adult books. Like Day's work below, the book can serve as a collection development aid in LGBTQ young adult literature. It contains lists of books which may be helpful to young adults in gay or lesbian families. The PDF version of the bibliography can be downloaded for free here.
This book is primarily intended for librarians to select excellent books with gay and lesbian content. The author provides a thorough annotated bibliography with critical content, as well as categories of works. The book also contains profiles of young adult authors whose work has enriched the literature. The foreward to the book is by Nancy Garden, author of Annie on My Mind.
Author Sites
Author Sites
David Levithan
http://www.davidlevithan.com/
A fun site in which Levithan talks about his works and his inspiration for his books.
This site offers users a wide listing of YA books with gay content from YA author Alex Sanchez.
