Young Adult
We contain multitudes
Sarah Henstra
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Henstra Sarah
LGBTQ+, Young Adult
As penpals for a high school English assignment, poetry-loving sophomore Jonathan and popular-athlete senior Adam explore their growing relationship through a series of letters.
The love & lies of Rukhsana Ali
Sabina Khan
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Khan Sabina
LGBTQ+, Young Adult
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali is looking forward to going to Caltech and getting away from her conservative Muslim parents' expectation that she will marry, especially since she is in love with her girlfriend Ariana--but when her parents catch her kissing Ariana, they whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh and a world of tradition and arranged marriages, and she must find the courage to fight for the right to choose her own path.
Added by Brian
Tell me again how a crush should feel
Sara Farizan
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Farizan Sara
LGBTQ+, Young Adult
High school junior Leila's Persian heritage already makes her different from her classmates at Armstead Academy, and if word got out that she liked girls life would be twice as hard, but when a new girl, Saskia, shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would, especially when it looks as if the attraction between them is mutual, so she struggles to sort out her growing feelings by confiding in her old friends.
Added by Brian
Little & Lion
Brandy Colbert
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Colbert Brandy
LGBTQ+, Young Adult
"Suzette returns home to Los Angeles from boarding school and grapples with her bisexual identity when she and her brother Lionel fall in love with the same girl, pushing Lionel's bipolar disorder to spin out of control and forcing Suzette to confront her own demons"--
Added by Brian
Annie on my mind
Nancy Garden
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Garden, Nancy
LGBTQ+, Young Adult
Liza puts aside her feelings for Annie after the disaster at school, but eventually she allows love to triumph over the ignorance of people.
Added by Brian
Bloom
Kevin Panetta
GRAPHIC NOVEL Panetta
LGBTQ+, Graphic Novels, Young Adult
"Baked with love! Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band--if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom...that is, if Ari doesn't ruin everything."--Page [2] of cover.
Added by Brian
The miseducation of Cameron Post
Emily M Danforth
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Danforth Emily
Young Adult, LGBTQ+
In the early 1990s, when gay teenager Cameron Post rebels against her conservative Montana ranch town and her family decides she needs to change her ways, she is sent to a gay conversion therapy center.
Added by Brian
Hey, kiddo
Jarrett Krosoczka
362.2913 /Krosoczka
Graphic Novels, Memoir, Young Adult
"In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery -- Jarrett doesn't know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents -- two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along"--
This book is getting rave reviews and was easy to see why. Hey, Kiddo is the graphic memoir of author-illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Raised by his colorful grandparents, who adopted him because his mother was an incarcerated heroin addict, Krosoczka didn't know his father's name until he saw his birth certificate when registering for a school ski trip. Hey, Kiddo traces Krosoczka's search for his father, his difficult interactions with his mother, his day-to-day life with his grandparents, and his path to becoming an artist. The artwork does, as intended, look like a memory or dream sequence and adds to the intensity of the book. It is a very honest description of his life growing up and at times can be very dark. Knowing the books he now writes and illustrates for children, it is amazing to see him overcome his upbringing to be the success he is today, it proves to be a very powerful message for everyone to take away. -Angie
The hate u give
Angie Thomas
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Thomas Angie
Young Adult
After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.
A lot of other staff have already added this to Staff Picks, and there's a good reason for that: It's essential reading. -Brian
We all looked up
Tommy Wallach
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Wallach Tommy
Young Adult
The lives of four high school seniors intersect weeks before a meteor is set to pass through Earth's orbit, with a 66.6% chance of striking and destroying all life on the planet.
This compelling and well-written YA novel explores what would happen if everyone knew the world was ending. -Brian
Added by Brian