Albert Campbell C.I. Library

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Teen Literature

Goal: Build a collection of titles that teens who read GLBTQ literature will enjoy

Aims in Building the Collection:

  • The library should be a place where all teens should expect equal treatment and equal representation of their ideas and personalities
  • Select a wide variety of outstanding titles for GLBT teens, for straight teens with an interest in the subject, and for GLBT friends and family
  • Fiction and non-fiction titles including Canadian contemporary titles, multicultural titles, ELL titles, classic GLBT titles, poetry, drama and graphic novels in a variety of genres and themes
  • Variety of reading levels
  • Compose read-alike lists and thematic lists for further reading
  • High-quality titles, especially award-winning, not quantity of titles

Things looked for in the titles to add to the collection:

  • Lack of death and disease in GLBT characters—punishing of GLBT characters—includes more tolerance and acceptance
  • For realist fiction to fully mirror the lives of today’s teens, books that incorporate a wide variety of reactions to a character’s coming out—should not always be portrayed as becoming outcasts and losing friends and family
  • No one way to be a ‘gay teen’—diversity of interests, personalities, background, and goals in life—gay boys should not always pursue stereotypically ‘feminine’ interests, and lesbian girls should not always have short hair and eschew dresses

Professional Resources

a) Terms and Acronyms to be used: see attached list

b) Best Print Teacher Librarian Professional Title:

Webber, Carlisle K. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Teen Literature: A Guide to Reading Interests. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2010. Print.

c) Professional Publications for Reviews: Print: Booklist, VOYA, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Teacher Librarian, Teaching Librarian Databases: Novelist and Books & Authors

d) Authors to Know:

List of authors that have written more than one young adult book focusing on GLBTQ characters:

Rachel Cohn,

Nancy Garden,

Brent Hartinger,

Ron Koertge,

David Levithan,

E. Lockhart,

Julie Anne Peters,

Tamora Pierce,

Alex Sanchez,

Ellen Wittlinger,

Jacqueline Woodson,

Core List of GLBTQ YA (Young Adult) Fiction

If you can only read 5 books:

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Luna by Julie Anne Peters

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

If you can only read 10 books:

Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence edited by Marion Dane Bauer

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr

The Misfits by James Howe

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger

If you can only read 15 books:

Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole

The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

Freak Show by James St. James

Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger

We also have titles in graphic novels, senior fiction, and the multicultural sections.

Non-fiction Titles

The non-fiction titles are located in the same section as the GLBT fiction section.