LGBTQ+

Non Fiction

1.	Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States 
DB 96338
Allen, Samantha
A transgender reporter provides a peek at LGBT communities that exist in conservative-leaning states along the course of a cross-country road trip from Utah to Texas and on through the Bible Belt and the Deep South. Profiles drag shows, political rallies, hubs of queer life, and individuals working for change. Strong language. 

2.	Homosexuality, and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis
DB17136  
Bayer, Ronald.
An objective and gripping investigation into the changing attitudes regarding homosexuality in American psychiatry. Examines conflicting politics and ideologies as well as scientific aspects of homosexuality and chronicles how homosexuality changed from being regarded as a mental illness in 1952 to being considered no disorder at all by the psychiatric profession in 1973.

3.	For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey 
DB 78820
Blanco, Richard. 
Richard Blanco (born 1968) chronicles his experiences growing up in Miami as a Cuban exile, his life as a gay man, and his development as a writer-- for which he was named the inaugural poet for Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013. 

4.	For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Still Not Enough: Coming of Age, Coming Out, and Coming Home 
DBC00150
Boykin, Keith. 
In the wake of the tragic suicide of a young, gay, university student, Tyler Clementi, the movement "It Gets Better" began, as thousands of user-created videos posted online echoed this message for LGBT youth of all races, backgrounds, and colors. Stemming from this movement, this collection of stories addresses the longstanding issues of sexual abuse, suicide, HIV/AIDS, racism, and homophobia in the African American and Latino communities, and more specifically among young gay men of color. Contains some explicit descriptions of sex, some strong language, and some violence.

5.	Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution 
DB 58653
Carter, David. 
Chronicles six days of violent protests in June 1969, when homosexuals fought police during a routine raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village. Examines events leading up to the riots, key demonstrators, and the uprising's aftermath that prompted the gay rights movement. 

6.	The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle
DB 84312
Faderman, Lillian.  
An award-winning scholar of LGBT issues tackles a history of the modern struggle for gay, lesbian, and transgender rights in America. With interviews and in-depth research, covers everything from the witch hunts of the 1950s, the Stonewall riots and the AIDS epidemic, to twenty-first-century campaigns for marriage equality. 

7.	The Pride Guide: A Guide to Sexual and Social Health For LGBTQ Youth 
DB 95983 BR22755
Langford, Jo.
Guide to sexual and social development, safety, and health for LGBTQ youth. Explores the realities of teen sexuality, particularly that of trans teens, and provides guidance and understanding for parents and kids alike. Explicit descriptions of sex. For junior and senior high and older readers.

8.	Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home 
DBC 08614
Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi. 
This memoir by a disabled queer woman of color and abuse survivor is a multi-layered story of homecoming and self-healing, a survivor's love song about finding identity and freedom. Descriptions of sex, some violence, and strong language.

9.	And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic 
DB 26042
Shilts, Randy. 
The author, a reporter for the "San Francisco Chronicle," has been covering the AIDS epidemic full-time since 1982. He presents the apathy and politics displayed by the government, the media, the medical establishment, and the gay community before they realized the magnitude of the crisis, as well as the tragedy of the disease's human toll.

10.	Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story 
DB 94505
Tobia, Jacob. 
Tobia discusses their difficulties with a binary gender system while growing up as someone who did not fit the stereotypical mold for masculinity. Tobia seeks to discount the notion that all individuals can be easily sorted into the categories of "men" and "women".

Fiction

1.	Mostly Dead Things 
DB 95794
Arnett, Kristen N. 
Jessa-Lynn Morton walks into the family taxidermy shop one morning to find that her father has committed suicide. Shocked and grieving, Jessa steps up to manage the failing business, while the rest of the Morton family crumbles. 

2.	Giovanni's Room: A Novel
DB12503 
Baldwin, James. 
Homosexuality and the physical aspects of male love are explored in a Paris setting where the narrator, a young American, is involved both with a woman and man, and is eventually compelled to make a choice. 1956. The Advocate says of this book: Author Chavisa Woods is far from alone when calling Giovanni's Room "masterfully written, heartbreaking." It's a book that has resonated with so many queer people since first being published in 1956, speaking to issues of identity even now. Woods, a Lambda Literary Award nominee for her novel Things to Do When You're Goth in the Country, says Baldwin succeeded at "blurring the lines of hero and villain and bringing the complexity of human nature into horrifying focus." Maybe that's because Baldwin said the book isn't actually about being gay. "Giovanni's Room is not really about homosexuality," said Baldwin in a 1980 interview about queer life. "It's the vehicle through which the book moves. Go Tell It on the Mountain, for example, is not about a church, and Giovanni is not really about homosexuality. It's about what happens to you if you're afraid to love anybody."

3.	The Miseducation of Cameron Post 
DBC 00592
Danforth, Emily M. 
After Cameron's parents die in an automobile accident when she was a young teen, Cam spends the rest of her adolescence riddled with guilt and shame that her parents never knew the truth about her. Although trying to keep her homosexuality a secret, Cam meets Coley, in her hometown fundamentalist church, and falls head over heels. But Cam's conservative aunt discovers the relationship and Cam's homosexuality, and resolves to "cure" Cam by sending her to God's Promise camp. But Cam's experiences at camp show just how possible acceptance can be. For high school and adult readers.

4.	Fiebre Tropical: A Novel 
DB 99258
Delgado Lopera, Juliana. 
Fifteen-year-old Francisca and her family have moved from Colombia to Miami. She feels alienated in the city, especially when her mother joins an evangelical church. But there, she meets Carmen and they develop a relationship. Strong language, some violence, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 

5.	Pet
DB 97604
Emezi, Akwaeke. 
In a near-future society that claims to have gotten rid of all monstrous people, a creature emerges from a painting Jam's mother created. A hunter from another world, Pet seeks a real-life monster in the city of Lucille. Violence and strong language. For senior high and older readers. 

6.	Pizza Girl 
DB 99513
Frazier, Jean Kyoung. 
A pregnant eighteen-year old works as a pizza delivery girl in suburban Los Angeles, grieving the death of her father and trying not to think about her future. She becomes obsessed with customer Jenny, a stay-at-home mother new to the neighborhood. 

7.	And This Too Shall Pass: A Novel 
DB 42209
Harris, E. Lynn. 
Lives of four African American professionals intersect in Chicago. Zurich is an NFL quarterback. Sean is a gay journalist who covers Zurich. Mia, a sports anchor, is attracted to Zurich. And Tamela, an attorney, represents him when an accusation threatens his career. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. 

8.	Her Body and Other Parties: Stories 
DB 86967
Machado, Carmen Maria. 
A collection of short stories that tear down the boundaries between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. Some violence, strong language, and explicit descriptions of sex. 

9.	Real Life 
DB 98508 BR 23066
Taylor, Brandon.
Wallace, a biochemistry graduate student, struggles to remain connected with his friends because of his sense of self-preservation as a gay black man from Alabama living in the Midwest. But an unexpected encounter with a straight man fractures his defenses and threatens the equilibrium of his community.

10.	Memorial 
DB 101143
Washington, Bryan. 
Japanese American chef Mike and African American daycare teacher Benson begin reevaluating their stale relationship after Mike departs for Japan to visit his dying father and Benson is suddenly stuck with Mike's mom, who becomes an unconventional roommate. Strong language and some descriptions of sex.