BOOK LIST
100 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT AIDS: What You Need
To Know; Ford,
Michael Thomas; $14.95; Looks at the questions that are most often asked
aboutAIDS and gives straightforward, honest answers about what AIDS is,
how itis (and is not) transmitted, how to avoid becoming infected with
thevirus, and the issues surrounding AIDS testing. This book also
containsinterviews with young people who know first hand how AIDS
affects people's lives.
ACT WELL YOUR PART; Sakers, Don; $5.95; At first Keith Graff dislikes
his new school, Oak Grove High. He misses his old friends, and wonders
ifhe'll ever fit in. Then, he joins the school's drama club, where he
meetsthe boyish Brian Davenport. Young lovexfag bashingxsweet revenge.
AIDS: TRADING FEARS FOR FACTS: A Guide for Young People (Updated
Edtion); Hein, Karen, DiGeronimo,Theresa Foy et. al.; $5.95; REVISED
EDITION!Teenagers ha ve enough to worry about. School. Money. Parents.
Friends.Dating. Now there's AIDS. Knowing the facts will not change the
realitiesof AIDS. The facts in this book, directed at a teenage
audience, can makea real difference in their lives, offering informat
ion and allowingchoices to be made.
ALF; Vogel, Bruno; $12.95; The story of a friendship between two boys at
aBerlin prep school, Felix and Alf. Fearful of the sexual side of
theirrelationship, Alf enlists in the German army, and his letters from
thefront radicalize his friend, who becomes an agitator against the war.
ALL-AMERICAN BOYS; Mosca, Frank; $5.95; "I've known I was gay since I
was thirteen.... It was the most natural thing in the world. I thought
everyone was. At least until I hit high school the next year. That's
when I finally realized all those faggot and dyke jokes referred to
people like me...."
AM I BLUE? COMING OUT FROM THE SILENCE; Bauer, Marion Dane;
$5.95;Teenagers are often confused about their sexual identity, and
thisconfusion often puts t hem at risk. To combat this dilemma,
sixteenprominent young adult authors offer original short stories that
exploreaspects of growing up lesbian or gay or with lesbian or gay
parents.
ANNIE ON MY MIND; Garden, Nancy; $3.95; A pensive story of love
betweenwomen that earned high praise from all corners. Chosen by the
American Library Asso ciation as one of the Best of the Best Books for
Young Adults,1970-1982. Tells us what it feels like to be a young woman
who is justcoming to terms with her lesbianism. Clearly written,
consistent, lyrical,and best of all, believable.
AUBADE; Martin, Kenneth; $12.95; When it was first published in 1957,
thisnovel created a storm of controversy with its frank revelations
aboutadolescent homosexual feelings and influenced many major figures of
thetime. Written in the first person by a sixteen-year-old Irish boy, it
deals uncompromisingly with the early homosexual love affair of a young
man. With a new introduction by the author.
BLACKBIRD; Duplechan, Larry; $7.95; It was a month to remember for
JohnnieRay Rousseau, a gay black high school boy: it was the month Todd
Waterson,high-s chool hero and all-around hunk, got the baptist
minister's daughterpregnant, the month sweet Cherie Barker, his
girlfriend, decided the time had come for them to make love, the month
he met Marshall MacNeill, surely the sexiest man ever to walk the earth.
And, of course, the month of hisexorcism.
BOYS ON THE ROCK; Fox, John; $8.95; The story of Billy Connors,
highschool student, swim team member and all-around regular guy who has
toface the fact th at he's gay.
BREAKTIME; Chambers, Aidan; $11.75; Ditto took up the challenge from
Morgan. According to Morgan, fiction is useless, just a bunch of
lieshaving nothing to do with real life. Ditto decides to prove him
wrong bywriting about his holiday adventures while camping. But he
becomes sowrapped up in his tale telling that even he must wonder about
the facts of the events he records. An exciting adventure story either
way. A great book for young adults.
BRIDGES OF RESPECT: Creating Support for Lesbian and Gay Youth; American
Friends Service Committee; $7.50; "This guide is presented as
aninvitation to adults who work with youth to recognize the needs of
aneglected, largely invisible p opulation of lesbian and gay young
people.It includes a discussion of the special struggles and strengths
of theseyouth and an extensive listing of resources-print and
audiovisualmaterials as well as organizations, programs, and
projects-that will beusefu l to educators, health care and social
service providers and youth advocates."/Quote from the Introduction
CHANGELINGS; Sinclair, Jo; $8.95; Two teenage girls, one Jewish and one
black, forge a friendship as their neighborhood seethes with
racialstrife. This no vel shows how such struggles affect younger
generations,whose survival lies in their power to love.
CODY; Hale, Keith; $5.95; Back in print! This novel explores a different
type of friendship where the lines between straight and gay blur, where
two minds merge, making each one whole in the process. Trotsky, as he is
known to his friends, feels it as love. But what does Cody feel? A teen
coming out classic.
COLOUR OF HIS HAIR; Rees, David; $8.50; Two teenagers fall in love in
the mid-70s. When their so-called friends at school find out what is
going on,the pe rsecution begins. The relationship survives into early
adulthood,and ten years later, it undergoes some surprising twists and
turns in lessliberal, AIDS-conscious 1986.
CRYSTAL BOYS; Hsien-yung, Pai; $11.95; The first Chinese novel with a
gay theme recently made into the film "Outcasts." Cast out from his
family after com ing out, A-qing, the adolescent hero, drifts into a
life of hustling among the buoliquan, or "glass community"- Taiwanese
for the gay community in which individuals are called "crystal boys."
DEATH BY DENIAL: Studies of Suicide in Gay and Lesbian
Teenagers;Remafedi, Gary; $9.95; A federal study found in 1989 that
teenagersstruggling with issues of sexual orientation were three times
more likelythan their peers to commit suicide. The report was swept
aside by the Bushadministration, yet the problem didn't go away. Here
are the full findingsof that report, and of several other studies
documenting the difficultiesfaced by teenagers who are coming out,
proposing ways to ease the process.
DROWNING OF STEPHAN JONES; Greene, Bette; $3.99; When a gay couple moves
to the artsy community near town, Carla is not the least bit
offended.However, An dy, the boy she adores, wages war against the men.
A tragic night of violence leads Carla to realize that Andy's heinous
actions can no longer be denied, and she must stand up for what she
believes in.
ENCHANTED YOUTH; McMullen, Richie; $9.95; In this book by the author
of"Enchanted Boy," it's 1958 and fifteen-year-old Richie discovers the
excitement of Soho in the rock'n'roll years and the love for a public
school boy his own age.
GAY AND LESBIAN YOUTH; Herdt, ed. by Gilbert; $24.95; This book
isdescribes the unique experiences of gay and lesbian youth in the
growing-up process. The changes in youth in the United States is
compared and contrasted with those changes elsewhere to better
understand the identities, situation, and relationships of homosexual
teens in manysocieties. Gay teenagers and their parents will better
understand t he similarities of the problems facing young people today.
This book willhelp all readers understand the unique and emotion-filled
world of gay and bisexual youth going through the coming-out process.
GROWING UP GAY: A Literary Anthology; Singer, Bennett; $9.95; This
ambitious collection of over fifty coming of age stories pairs
selections by lesbian an d gay teenagers with older writers' reflections
on growing upgay or lesbian. Fiction by Baldwin, Rita Mae, Leavitt and
otherscounterpoint autobiographical essays by Lorde, Crisp, and
Navratilova. Diary accounts of growing up gay in 80's and 90's compleme
nt poems andstories about how it felt in the 40's and 50's. Sobering,
funny,inspiring, and ultimately affirming.
HAPPY ENDINGS ARE ALL ALIKE; Scoppeto ne, Sandra; $6.95; It was the
lastsummer before college, and Janet and Peggy were in love. But as
Janet said, "It always seems as if when something great happens, then
something lousy happens soon after." Soon her worst fears turned into
brute reality.
IMPERFECTIONS; Harrington, Meredith Sargeant; $9.99; A young
Baltimorewoman author writes about how a teenage boy first hates and
rebels against, then attempts to understand and accept his
father'shomosexuality.
JACK; Homes, A.M.; $10.00; Fifteen-year-old Jack wants everyone to
behappy, including himself. One day his father takes him out in the
middleof a lake in a little rowboat, and says something that undoes his
world.He tells him he's fallen in love with another man; he's gay. Jack
can'tbelieve it, and he can't believe it makes no difference. And
somehoweverybody knows. An insightful, endearing, and often funn y novel
about aboy struggling to accept his father and himself.
LARK IN THE MORNING; Garden, Nancy; $14.95; Gillian's diary is stolen
andin it she confesses her love for Suzanne, who shares the same
feelings.When Gill tracks down the thieves, they are a couple of young
run aways escaping their abusive parents. Respecting their fear she
decides to helpthem but soon discovers she may have taken on too much.
LIKE THE LION'S TOOTH; Kellogg, Marjorie; $3.95; At a school for
"problemchildren," eleven-year-old Ben and his outcast friends learn to
cope withthe effe cts of their parents' savagery and incest.
MAN WITHOUT A FACE; Holland, Isabelle; $3.95; "Charles Norstadt...is
arevelation and a joy. So many young people in books and films are
defeated and disil lusioned by sexual ambiguity, broken homes, the drug
scene and the emptiness of formal education, but this boy plows into
them, thrashes hectically through his fourteenth year and comes to terms
with himself andhis world. He's an endearing and funny boy, Isabelle
Holland has written a beautiful book about him."\Quote:Tad Mosel
MILKMAN'S ON HIS WAY; Rees, David; $7.95; All during his school
years,Ewan knows he gets a special feeling from being with other guys,
but until he unexpe ctedly lands in bed with his best friend, he doesn't
know what it all means. This book depicts one young man's gradual
process of coming out.
MOVIE HOOKY; Foster, Dan; $9.95; William Carfax discovers
movies;especially, those that glamorize violence and extreme suffering.
As often as possible he plays hooky to go the movie palaces of Dallas.
There he replaces his humdrum life with the loves and hates of beautiful
men and women. Very slowly, he comes to understand and accept his
homosexuality and leaves Texas for New York and its glittering promis
es.
TOUCHING HARRY; Robins, Peter; $8.50; Set in the closing years of
WorldWar II, this is the story of a teenager. Harry, about to leave
school inwar-weary London, is torn emotionally between Noreen, a trainee
nurse, andJoe, the delivery boy from a local grocery store. Explores the
hazards andthe comedy of growing up gay in an alien landscape.
TRYING HARD TO HEAR YOU; Scopettone, Sandra; $9.95; 16 year old Camilla
tells about a crucial summer in which her close knit theater
groupdiscovers that t wo of their members are gay. The reader is
educated along with Camilla, but other members of the group are less
ready to change.
TWO TEENAGERS IN TWENTY: Writings by Lesbian and Gay Youth; Heron,
Ann;$17.95; More than a decade after One Teenager in Ten, Heron asks a
newgeneration of teens to describe first-hand what it's like to be gay
or lesbian in a world that wants to ignore or condemn them. Many of the
essays here are combined with some from the first book and will help
easethe way for teens just now coming out, and the adults w ho seek to
support them.
UNDERSTANDING SEXUAL IDENTITY: A Book for Gay and Lesbian Teens;
Rench,Janice; $4.95; This book offers support for gay and lesbian teens
andanswers questi ons that many people have about sexual identity. A
simple,compassionate, and factual starting point for gay teens and
people whocare about them. Offers a straightforward, no-nonsense
approach to understanding sexuality.
UNTIL WHATEVER; Humphreys, Martha; $13.95; On the second day of her
junior year in high school, Karen learns that her classmate and former
friend Connie h as AIDS. As the news spreads, Karen is pressured to stay
away fromher. But in spite of everything, Karen commits herself to
renewing the friendship. For ages 14 and up.
WE'RE NOT ALONE; Isensee, Rik; $7.95; A heartfelt tale depicting the
break down of barriers between a young man and woman who happen to be
gay,their heterosexual friends, their school teachers, and their
parents. This story empowers ga y and lesbian youth to overcome
homophobia and develop apositive identity.
WEETZIE BAT; Block, Francesca Lia; $3.95; A young girl and her gay
bestfriend try to find life and love in the wilds of LA.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MR. FORSTER?; Bargar, Gary W.; $8.95; Louis is trying
tomake his sixth-grade year a success, and is being helped by a new
teach er,Jack Forster. But parents are suspicious of the bachelor
teacher, and hedisappears suddenly. Why?
WHEN HEROES DIE; Durant, Penny Raife; $3.95; 12 year old Gary Boyden
idolizes his uncle Rob, a former basketball star who is outgoing and
took the place o f Gary's father when he ran off. But Rob's been sick
lately,and Gary's mother reveals that Rob is not only gay, but has AIDS.
Soon Gary is forced into doubts about his own sexuality, his
relationship with his Uncle, and what really constitutes a hero in p
eople's eyes.
WHEN SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS GAY; Cohen, Susan and Daniel; $3.99;
"WhenSomeone You Know Is Gay" is a book written for straight teenagers
on thesubject of homosexuality. From gay liberation to AIDS, there is
clearly avastly increased awaren ess of homosexuality in our society
today. Focusingon the interaction between straight and gay teens, this
book combinesinterviews and personal accounts with historical and
scientific material.Sympathetic, and non-sensational, it deals with a
subject that is oftenavoided; it should help young people, straight and
gay, look at their ownfeelings and beliefs.
WHO LIES INSIDE; Ireland, Timothy; $6.50; This is Martin's story:
"...Thestranger seemed to have wriggled under my skin, or had grown
inside me allmy eigh teen years, only now for some reason that stranger
was not contentto stay in the shadows but wanted to step out into the
light and be seen."Winner of the Other Award, 1984.
DELIVER US FROM EVIE. Kerr, M.E. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers,
1994. Here, finally, is a challenger to Annie on My Mind. This well
crafted, interesting, and believable novel features a midwestern farm
family with a lesbian daughter. Kerr creates a character who knows who
she is and feels at home in her differenc e. Evie's younger brother Parr
narrates the story. Parr plays a key role in the action that revolves
around how the town deals with Evie's love for the wealthy daughter of
the town's most powerful man. A real refreshing heroine. I'm still so
high on this book I'm not sure how to annotate it. I'll give you an
excerpt: "Mom got up and rinsed out her coffee cup. She said, 'I just
hope Evie has the name without the game. It's bad enough to look that
way, but it's awful to look it and actually be it....Then you're a
stereotype. You're what everybody's always thought one of those women
was like.' 'I'm what everybody thinks a farm boy's like. I'm driving
around on tractors, going to 4-H, planting in the spring, harvesting in
the fall- what's the difference?' 'The difference is you're not against
the law, Parr. And the church doesn't call you a sinner.' 'Maybe
something's wrong with the law.'
PETER Walker, Kate. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. (published 1991 in
Australia) Peter enjoys photography and BMX motorcycle riding. He hangs
out with the guys and struggles through the macho environment, peer
isolation, and ridicule endemic to the life of a 15 year old. The novel
centers on Pete's confusion about his sexuality. He finds he is
attracted to his older brother's gay friend David. Walker provides a
good, realistic sketch of the emotional roller coaster teens experience
while questioning their sexuality. She makes a strong point for
tolerance. Her piece on the limits that labels impose is grounded in
feminist writings on subjectivity and hold an important message. Well
done.
GAY: WHAT TEENAGERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE AIDS CRISIS.
Hunt, Morton M. Farrar, 1987. Candidly examines questions that help to
clarify ga y orientation, sexual practices, and lifestyles.
COMING OUT TO PARENTS: A TWO-WAY SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN
AND THEIR PARENTS Borhek, Mary V. Pilgrim, 1983. Guide aimed atboth
parents and te enagers.
THE ARIZONA KID. Koertge, Ron. Avon/Flare, 1989. Billy spends a summer
in Arizona with his gay uncle working at a racetrack. He falls in love
with a girl and grows to understand his uncle's life. Very funny book.
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