Fiction Monday: Top Ten Fiction Books for Gay / Queer Teens

As promised, here is a top ten list featuring some of the hottest selling fiction for queer teenagers as right this very moment. I’ve read a few of these and reviewed one or two and I’ll note those.

And now, in no particular order, my top ten:

1. Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman. “A lonely gay teen bides his time with trips to strangers’ funerals and Ouija board sessions, desperately searching for someone to love–and a reason to live following a suicide attempt. Walking an empty stretch of New Jersey highway on an autumn night, he meets a strange and beautiful boy who looks like he stepped out of a dream. But the vision becomes into a nightmare when the boy turns out to be the local urban legend, the ghost of a star athlete killed in 1957–a ghost with a deadly secret and a dangerous obsession. Vintage: A Ghost Story is an intense thriller that looks at the dark side of gay urban fantasy, where the dead can never rest and trapped spirits never find peace.”

2. Wrestling with Desire by D. H. Starr – “Derek Thompson is a senior, a wrestler, and has a secret. He’s gay. Scott Thayer is a new student who has just moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts from Iowa. On the first day of school Derek and Scott meet and their lives change in an instant. As Derek and Scott discover the things they have in common, they enter into one of the closest and most loving relationships either of them has ever experienced. When unexpected circumstances threaten their relationship, they both have to make a decision. DO they protect their secret and separate? Or fight for what they want…each other?”

3. Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence edited by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by Beck Underwood – “…anthology of YA fiction devoted to lesbian and gay themes, …original stories by…YA authors, among them M. E. Kerr, Nancy Garden, William Sleator, Jane Yolen, C. S. Adler and Bruce Coville. With subjects ranging from first love to coming out, self-discovery to homophobia, the collection offers an eclectic mix of voices. Newbery winner Lois Lowry, for example, contributes “Holding,” a poignant tale of a high school student who confides in his best friend after the death of his gay father’s lover, while Francesca Lia Block weighs in with the wonderfully quirky “Winnie and Teddy,” in which a teenager comes out to his girlfriend during a momentous road trip to San Francisco. Perhaps the book’s most powerful moments are provided by Jacqueline Woodson’s shimmering “Slipping Away,” a painful look at one girl’s discovery that there are some tests that a friendship simply cannot withstand; and Gregory Maguire’s “The Honorary Shepherds,” which deftly employs the language of a film treatment to describe two mixed-race students who collaborate on a school video project. …Part of the proceeds from the book will be donated to Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Ages 12-up.”

4. Thinking Straight by Robin Reardon – “Reardon’s stirring novel grapples with homosexuality and born-again Christianity. When Taylor Adams comes out, his parents ship him off to Straight to God, a camp for those who have gone astray. The nightmarish camp seeks to exorcise the satanic influence from its charges, some of whom are gay, and some of whom are petty criminals or drug addicts. The camp’s strict guidelines include no speaking for newbies (who wear yellow stickers on their clothing), the writing of Moral Inventories to be shared with group leaders, and prayer meetings. Taylor is furious about his incarceration, but through his intellect and open nature, he discovers leadership qualities in himself and learns that not everyone is the religious automaton they appear to be.”

5. Bleeding Hearts, 2nd edition (Killian Kendall Mysteries) by Josh Aterovis – This book was previously reviewed on this site.

6. Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture by Chris O’Guinn. “This is the story of me, Collin Murray, a bright, witty and charming L.A. teen who is cruelly transported to a small town in Iowa by parents who delight in my suffering. It tells the tale of my struggles against such obstacles as flannel, packs of bullies, lack of car, hoodies, crazy English teachers and vengeful former friends. It is an epic tale of survival in a savage denim wilderness.”

7. Here, in my Head by Lauren Stone – “At the age of sixteen, Sam has already found the answers to who she is, and takes pride in that. But when Alice walks into her world, and turns it upside down from day one, she starts to learn that things aren’t always black and white. Together, they embark on a journey of self-discovery the likes of which Sam never dreamed imaginable.. The lessons that Alice teaches are not pleasant, though, and Sam will have to find a way to see past them, because she is to find out that disembarking is not the end, and it does not always promise happily-ever-after. Disembarking means the finality of one journey, of answered questions, and the beginning of a new journey, a new embarking.”

8. Leave Myself Behind by Bart Yates – “Noah York is a closeted gay teenager with a foul mouth, a critical disposition, and plenty of material for his tirades. After his father dies, Noah’s mother, a temperamental poet, takes a teaching job in a small New Hampshire town, far from Chicago and the only world Noah has known. While Noah gets along reasonably with his mother, the crumbling house they try to renovate quickly reveals dark secrets, via dusty Mason jars they discover interred between walls. The jars contain scraps of letters, poems, and journal entries, and eventually reconstruct a history of pain and violence that drives a sudden wedge between Noah and his mother. Fortunately, Noah finds an unexpected ally in J. D., a teenager down the street who has family troubles of his own. Rape and other physical violence, alcoholism, and incest–the novel describes these abuses in a brutal, matter-of-fact way that may leave some readers uncomfortable. Most of the time, however, Yates effectively captures the honest, sometimes silly, often tender interactions between his fragile characters. James Klise”

9. Morning Rising (Guardian Of Morning) by Samantha Boyette – “In the ever present dusk of Inbetween, Kara Hart wakes up dirty and alone with the memory of a girl named Dylan. She remembers meeting Dylan and how her heart beat when Dylan touched her face, but nothing else. When Kara is sent to Demitar, the evil ruler of Inbetween, the truth is revealed. She is Dylan’s Guardian and neither of them are who they thought they were. Set in a darker version our own world, Morning Rising follows Kara as she tries to save Dylan from Demitar’s clutches. She is given three days to find Dylan and get her out of Inbetween before she belongs to Demitar forever. Memories must be regained and powers restored if they have a chance of escaping. Each memory and sighting of Dylan helps Kara remember the love they once shared. If only she can help Dylan remember before it’s too late.”

10. Ash by Malinda Lo – “Grade 8 Up—Described as “Cinderella…with a twist,” Ash is in many ways the familiar fairy tale about a girl’s move from comfort to despair to true love (with a little help from fairies and magic). Standard Cinderella images set up the story: after losing her mother and later her father, Ash is treated as a servant in the home of an unkind stepmother and two unfriendly stepsisters. She has ties to the fairy world, attends the royal ball in an enchanted dress, catches the eye of the prince, and finds love by the end of the story. However, while structural similarities exist, ideologically Lo’s beautiful and dark tale takes the story to a new place. It is not about Ash being found and saved by a charming prince; instead, it is about her courtship with Kaisa, the King’s huntress, a relationship that burgeons over time and is based on more than just initial attraction. Despite Ash’s grief, oppressive guardianship, and dangerous flirtation with the fairy Sidhean, who promises to steal her away from her sadness, the protagonist finds her own salvation and chooses to live and love in the real world and on her own terms. Ash will appeal to readers looking for GLBTQ titles, but fans of romance, fantasy, and strong female protagonists will also embrace this fine debut novel.—Jennifer Miskec”