Meandering Monday (15)- Books Teen Boys Should Read Part 3

So today I've got my GLBT list, as well as links to other lists and sites that are helpful.

In Part 1, I mentioned some of my picks for an initial sampling of gay YA literature. To reiterate them, I recommended Geography Club (and its sequels, Order of the Poison Oak and Splitscreen) by Brent Hartinger, Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, and Rainbow Boys (and its sequels, Rainbow High and Rainbow Road) by Alex Sanchez. To me, these are the big 3 because they were my first gay reads as well as the first mainstream reads to make it big (well, as big as gay YA can get, especially at that time).

David Levithan has continued to write some wonderful novels featuring gay teens, such as Wide Awake (which I adored!) and How They Met (and Other Stories). Along with these, he's written novels with Rachel Cohn, all of which feature gay teens, even if they're not the main character- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Naomi and Ely's No-Kiss List (Ely is gay), and Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. There's also the massive hit he co-wrote with John Green, Will Grayson Will Grayson, which is newly out in paperback. It is AMAZING.

Brent Hartinger also has a new gay book out called Shadow Walkers, which I enjoyed though it did have some flaws. But his Russel Middlebrook series that I talked about above is one of my favorites. Alex Sanchez also has Getting It, So Hard to Say (gay middle-grade!), The God Box (balancing sexuality with religion), and his upcoming novel Boyfriends with Girlfriends (April 26).

OK, on to some other novels and authors I enjoy. One of my favorite gay reads from the past few years is Straight Road to Kylie by Nico Medina. It caught my attention because of Kylie in the title and I thought to myself "Is it talking about Kylie Minogue?" Because the name Kylie is like NEVER used, except when referring to her. Looking at the summary confirmed it and I bought it. It was an amazing book. I've been waiting for a new book from him since his second book, Fat Hoochie Prom Queen, was released in 2008. Come on, Nico!!

Some other great gay books I've liked include Freak Show by James St. James, Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby, Band Fags! by Frank Anthony Polito (there's also a companion book called Drama Queers I have yet to read), Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg (gay football player!), The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd and What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson. If you like mysteries with your gay teens, check out the Killian Kendall mysteries by Josh Aterovis. There are four books so far- Bleeding Hearts, Reap the Whirlwind, All Lost Things and The Truth of Yesterday.

I haven't read these but heard some great things about Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley, Sprout by Dale Peck, Hero by Perry Moore as well as The Trouble Boy by Tom Dolby. Tom's YA novels Secret Society and The Trust have a gay character but you don't see much of him.

I also LOVED I Am J by Cris Beam, which I think everyone should read but teen boys would probably benefit from it. It's a great book that really explains what it means to be transgendered. I'm also excited for Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey, which is coming out from Flux this September. It looks so good and I can't wait to get it.

I am missing tons of books, I know, including some I've probably read, so please leave suggestions in the comments. I've also gathered together a few links to help you choose other reads I may have missed:

Gay Teen Books on Alex Sanchez's website
A new site called Gay YA, which I just love!
ALA has a GLBT review blog as well as list of books nominated for their Rainbow List.