Young Adult

Annie on my mind book cover

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.

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Bloom book cover

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.

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The miseducation of Cameron Post book cover

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.

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Hey, kiddo book cover

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"--

Angie's picture

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 book cover

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.

Brian's picture

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 book cover

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.

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This compelling and well-written YA novel explores what would happen if everyone knew the world was ending. -Brian

I'll give you the sun book cover

I'll give you the sun

Jandy Nelson

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Nelson Jandy
Young Adult, LGBTQ+

"A story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal told from different points in time, and in separate voices, by artists Jude and her twin brother Noah"--

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This achingly beautiful novel follows twin siblings as they experience loss and love. -Brian

Emergency contact book cover

Emergency contact

Mary H. K. Choi

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Choi Mary
Young Adult

"After a chance encounter, Penny and Sam become each other's emergency contacts and find themselves falling in love digitally, without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other"--

Brian's picture

Absolutely charming book! I haven't been this invested in a fictional couple for quite a while. Also, I'm still not over how gorgeous the cover is. -Brian

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe book cover

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe

Benjamin Alire Sáenz

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Saenz Benjamin
LGBTQ+, Young Adult

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

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Wandering son book cover

Wandering son

Takako Shimura

MANGA Shimura Wandering
Graphic Novels, LGBTQ+, Young Adult

V. 1: "The fifth grade. The threshold to puberty, and the beginning of the end of childhood innocence. Shuichi Nitori and his new friend Yoshino Takatsuki have happy homes, loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates. But they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy "-- back cover.

Casey's picture

This is a beautiful and touching series about friends supporting one another through thick and thin. -Casey