Hey everyone! Recently I've become sort of a bookworm, what with schoolwork in a lull and the rest of my life in the same kind of slump. Recently I've devoured every book in my personal collection, and I have found myself looking for something different. And by different, I mean gay. (I've never read a book about gay people.) I've googled "gay books" and "books about gays" to no avail. So, I was just wondering if you guys had any suggestions. Preferably a light-hearted romance, but whatever you guys give me I'll be glad to hear!! I wanna read a lot of books in this "genre". =D Thank you!!
Hero by Perry Moore is a good novel with gay themes in it? Its got alot to do with coming out, but its the coming out of a teenage gay superhero haha. I like the alternate world its set up in and it was a good page turner. Its nothing thick or serious, but it was definitely a really really good book.
http://explicitbooks.com/catalog/index.php They're a bookstore on Davie St in Vancouver, BC. Have fun. At least to get some ideas or titles that you can maybe find elsewhere too.
Oooooo I have some books for you! There is the Rainbow Boys trilogy by Alex Sanchez, which are Rainbow Boys (bk no 1), Rainbow High (bk no 2), and the third/conclusion is Rainbow Road. Its about three high schoolers: nelson the out and proud gay guy with a flamboyant style, kyle the swim team jock who's friends with nelson and SORT OF out of the closet slowly, and then there's basketball jock jason who's dating a girl but trying to come to terms with who he is. So its about coming out, acceptance, love and they even throw in an hiv scare for one of the boys in the first book. Then there is boy meets boy by david levithan, its a different sort of gay tale because it isn't such a boy meets girl, falls in love with girl,etc. The love is deep and meaningful and not just overplayed drama (well not fully). And finally, geography club and it's sequels the order of the poison oak, and a third one whose title I forget all by brent hartinger. This one's about a guy coming out who falls in love with this guy on the baseball team buit he wants it completely secret. Oh I also forgot dream boy by jim grimsley. Its a very heartbreaking novel, but a good one. Hope these all help!!
I agree with the suggestion of Hero by Perry Moore, it was the first gay-themed book I read and I loved it. Also Alex Sanchez is a great author and not just the Rainbow Boys Trilogy, hes written a few other books which are quite good. Robin Reardon is also pretty good, the two I have read are A Secret Edge and Thinking Straight which are both good. I'll just list some more that I think are pretty good. Sprout - Dale Peck My Side of the Story - Will Davis A Really Nice Prom Mess - Brian Sloan The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second - Drew Ferguson I go to a bookshop in Sydney but they have a website as well, which like RaeofLite suggested might give you some ideas. It has books for everyone, any age group and people of any orientation. http://www.thebookshop.com.au/home.php
If you're into gory stuff at all. Exquisite Corpse is an awesome book about a gay serial rapist and necrophiliac. sounds a little weird I know, but it's a favourite book among my friends. Lost souls is a less gross one by the same author (Poppy Z Brite) about vampires and stuff. it's really good. and not at all twilighty. fuck twilight... A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BOOK is Naked by David Sedaris, a kinda autobiographical collection of events. It's really good and funny! yeah if you read the first book... no judging.... but it probably will make you ill and upset.
I definitely agree about Hero and The Geography Club, both of which I loved. I keep wondering if there are any teen lesbian books as well.
Lesbian Books: "Keeping You a Secret" by Julie Anne Peters (best part is, she even responds to all fan mail) "Charting by the Stars" by Dr. Lindsey Abrams (think I got the last name wrong, but it's my absolute favorite lesbian book ever) I second anything and everything by David Sedaris.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg is excellent. It isn't really a "teen" book, like it's not targeted to teens, but it's amazing. It goes back and forth between the Great Depression and the 1980's and tells the story of two women who... yeah. Just read it. Also, if you're into fantasy/otherworldly stuff, the Gemma Doyle Trilogy has some very gay undertones. There are three books: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. I LOVED these books and I totally called the gayness in the first even though it wasn't 'official' until the third. I'm always looking for more, so if anyone ever finds any, let me know!
well actuallyyy we gots david levithan (boy2boy and then he wrote one with rachel cohn--they did nick and norahs infinite playlist together-- called __ and eli's no kiss list.) also theres keeping you a secret (which i REALLY want to read now) and the gilda stories (which are lesbian vampire stories i think.. correct me if im wrong.) and grl2grl which are short stories.
The only stuff I usually stumble upon are those yaoi fan fiction stories based on anime characters, but they're usually terribly written. Seriously.
