LGBTQ2+ Book List by Erin Kuepfer https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6 Learn more about yourself, your peers, and your LGBTQ2+ community through the joys of reading! This book list is focused on providing LGBTQ2+ identity affirming literature to the school community. There's something for everyone–parents included! If you don't material of interest, don't worry. This book list is also always in the works, so if you have a book recommendation you'd like to share, we want to hear it! Just let your English teacher know, or contact Ms. Kuepfer (ekuepfer@uwo.ca). Happy reading! en-us 2023-11-08 20:56:17 UTC 2023-11-23 14:52:34 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4da.png Queer, There and Everywhere kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2782232028 Synopsis: World history has been made by countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—and you’ve never heard of many of them.

Queer author and activist Sarah Prager delves deep into the lives of 23 people who fought, created, and loved on their own terms. From high-profile figures like Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt to the trailblazing gender-ambiguous Queen of Sweden and a bisexual blues singer who didn’t make it into your history books, these astonishing true stories uncover a rich queer heritage that encompasses every culture, in every era.


Pages: 262


Awards: Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2020)


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Homophobia

  • Transphobia

  • Suicide



]]> 2023-11-08 21:17:44 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2782232028 High School kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2782232140 Synopsis: High School is the revelatory and unique coming-of-age story of Sara and Tegan Quin, identical twins from Calgary, Alberta, growing up in the height of grunge and rave culture in the 90s, well before they became the celebrated musicians and global LGBTQ icons we know today. While grappling with their identity and sexuality, often alone, they also faced academic meltdown, their parents' divorce, and the looming pressure of what might come after high school


Pages: 384


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Homophobia

  • Drug and alcohol use


]]> 2023-11-08 21:17:54 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2782232140 The Spirit Bares Its Teeth kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796609096 Synopsis: London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old trans, autistic Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife.

After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its guts to the world—so long as the school doesn’t break him first.


Pages: 384


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Transphobia

  • Ableism

  • Graphic violence

  • Sexual assault

  • Discussions of forced pregnancy and miscarriage

  • Mentions of suicidal ideation

  • Extensive medical gore

]]> 2023-11-20 15:56:16 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796609096 Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796620950 Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated.


Pages: 303


Awards: Rainbow Project Book List Winner (2016)


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Blackmail

  • Bullying

  • Homophobia

  • Public outing


]]> 2023-11-20 16:06:35 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796620950 The End of Eddy kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796785613 Synopsis: “Every morning in the bathroom I would repeat the same phrase to myself over and over again . . . Today I’m really gonna be a tough guy. ” Growing up in a poor village in northern France, all Eddy Bellegueule wanted was to be a man in the eyes of his family and neighbors. But from childhood, he was different―“girlish,” intellectually precocious, and attracted to other men.

Already translated into twenty languages, The End of Eddy captures the violence and desperation of life in a French factory town. It is also a sensitive, universal portrait of boyhood and sexual awakening


Pages: “Every morning in the bathroom I would repeat the same phrase to myself over and over again . . . Today I’m really gonna be a tough guy. ” Growing up in a poor village in northern France, all Eddy Bellegueule wanted was to be a man in the eyes of his family and neighbors. But from childhood, he was different―“girlish,” intellectually precocious, and attracted to other men.

Already translated into twenty languages, The End of Eddy captures the violence and desperation of life in a French factory town. It is also a sensitive, universal portrait of boyhood and sexual awakening


Pages: 208


Reviews from the Community:

"The book is super neat! It's about growing up queer and in a poor, small town where this wasn't as accepted. There's also spinoffs focused on his mom and dad if you really like this book." – Ms. Denstedt


Content Warning:

  • Homophobia

  • Violence

  • Sexual Assault

]]> 2023-11-20 18:45:19 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796785613 They Both Die at the End kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796793458 Synopsis: On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

Pages: 389


Awards: Flicker Tale Children's Book Award for Older Readers Winner (2021)


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Death (animal and child)

  • Violence

  • Homophobia

  • Mental illness

  • Suicide/suicidal ideation

]]> 2023-11-20 18:53:28 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796793458 Lies We Sing to the Sea kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796806269 Synopsis: Each spring, Ithaca condemns twelve maidens to the noose. This is the price vengeful Poseidon demands for the lives of Queen Penelope’s twelve maids, hanged and cast into the depths centuries ago.

But when that fate comes for Leto, death is not what she thought it would be. Instead, she wakes on a mysterious island and meets a girl with green eyes and the power to command the sea. A girl named Melantho, who says one more death can stop a thousand.

The prince of Ithaca must die—or the tides of fate will drown them all.


Pages: 432


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Violence

  • Death

  • Sexual assault

  • Swearing

  • Suicide


]]> 2023-11-20 19:06:42 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796806269 Last Night at the Telegraph Club kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796813416 Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible.


But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.


Pages: 409


Awards: National Book Awards for Young People's Literature Winner (2021)


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Homophobia

  • Miscarriage

  • Misogyny

  • Racial slurs

  • Racism

]]> 2023-11-20 19:14:21 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796813416 The Honeys kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796829217 Synopsis: Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who'd grown tragically distant.


Mars's genderfluidity means he's often excluded from the traditions -- and expectations -- of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place.


What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him. Folksy charm and sun-drenched festivities camouflage old-fashioned gender roles and a toxic preparatory rigor. Mars seeks out his sister's old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. They are beautiful and terrifying -- and Mars is certain they're connected to Caroline's death.


But the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars’s memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. If Mars can't find it soon, it will eat him alive.


Pages: 344


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Grief depiction

  • Loss of a loved one

  • Cancer mentions

  • Suicide

  • Mental health

  • Bullying/harassment

  • Misogony

  • Homophobia

  • Transphobia

]]> 2023-11-20 19:30:43 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796829217 Heartstopper kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796835566 Synopsis: Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more...?

Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn't been too great, but at least he's not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He's heard a little about Charlie - the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months - but he's never had the opportunity to talk to him.

They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner...


Pages: 288


Awards: Readers' Choice Winner at the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards (2022)


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Emotionally abusive relationship

  • Homphobia

  • Bullying

]]> 2023-11-20 19:37:24 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796835566 On a Sunbeam kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796840532 Synopsis: Throughout the deepest reaches of space, a crew rebuilds beautiful and broken-down structures, painstakingly putting the past together. As new member Mia gets to know her team, the story flashes back to her pivotal year in boarding school, where she fell in love with a mysterious new student. Soon, though, Mia reveals her true purpose for joining their ship—to track down her long-lost love.

An inventive world, a breathtaking love story, and stunning art come together in this new work by award-winning artist Tillie Walden.


Pages: 533


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Drinking

  • Bullying

  • Violence

  • Death

]]> 2023-11-20 19:42:57 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796840532 The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796846853 Synopsis: Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.


Pages: 518


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:


]]> 2023-11-20 19:50:00 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796846853 Blackfish City kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796852316 Synopsis: After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living; however, the city is starting to fray along the edges—crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population.

When a strange new visitor arrives—a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side—the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people—each living on the periphery—to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.


Pages: 336


Awards: John W Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2019)


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Ableism

  • Alcohol

  • Animal death

  • Death

  • Genocide

  • Misgendering

  • Self harm

  • Sexuality

  • Suicide ideation

  • Torture

  • Violence

]]> 2023-11-20 19:56:15 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796852316 I'll Give You the Sun kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796860421 Synopsis: At first, Jude and her twin brother Noah, are inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.

Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways... but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah's to tell; the later years are Jude's. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they'll have a chance to remake their world.


Pages: 371


Awards: Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature (2015), Bank Street's Josette Frank Award (2015), Stonewall Honour Book (2015)


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Alcohol/drug addiction

  • Bullying

  • Death

  • Divorce

  • Homophobia

  • Overdose

  • Sexual assault/rape (underage)

]]> 2023-11-20 20:06:11 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796860421 Radio Silence kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796863570 Synopsis: What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?

Frances has been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time she's unafraid to be herself.

So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. Now Frances knows that she has to confront her past. To confess why Carys disappeared…

Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.


Pages: 496


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Anxiety

  • Emotional abuse

  • Animal death

]]> 2023-11-20 20:10:22 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796863570 Helping Your Transgender Teen kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796865327 Synopsis: If you are the parent of a transgender teen, this book will help you understand what your child is feeling and experiencing. Irwin Krieger is a clinical social worker with many years of experience helping transgender teens. This book brings you the insights gained from his work with these teenagers and their families. According to the author, “Today’s teens have access to a wealth of information on the internet. Teenagers who are wondering about gender identity soon find out what it means to be transgender or transsexual. Parents, on the other hand, know little about this topic. When a teenager declares he or she is transgender, parents fear that their child is confused and is choosing a life fraught with danger.


I wrote this book to help parents of transgender teens gain an understanding of this complex subject.” "Helping Your Transgender Teen" begins with the basic information you and your family need. The central chapters of the book address the fears and concerns most parents of transgender teens share. The final chapters guide you through the steps you can take to discover what is best for your child.


Pages: 110


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Full PDF available online!

]]> 2023-11-20 20:12:46 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796865327 This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids: A Question & Answer Guide to Everyday Life kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796873979 Synopsis: Written in an accessible Q&A format, here, finally, is the go-to resource for parents hoping to understand and communicate with their gay child. Through their LGBTQ-oriented site, the authors are uniquely experienced to answer parents' many questions and share insight and guidance on both emotional and practical topics. Filled with real-life experiences from gay kids and parents, this is the book gay kids want their parents to read.


Pages: 240


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!

]]> 2023-11-20 20:22:31 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2796873979 Right Where I Left You kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2799624582 Synopsis: School’s out, senior year is over, and Isaac Martin is ready to kick off summer. His last before heading off to college in the fall where he won’t have his best friend, Diego. Where—despite his social anxiety—he’ll be left to make friends on his own. Knowing his time with Diego is limited, Isaac enacts a foolproof plan: snatch up a pair of badges for the epic comic convention, Legends Con, and attend his first ever Teen Pride. Just him and Diego. The way it should be. But when an unexpected run-in with Davi—Isaac’s old crush—distracts him the day tickets go on sale, suddenly he’s two badges short of a perfect summer. Even worse, now he’s left making it up to Diego by hanging with him and his gamer buddies. Decidedly NOT part of the original plan. It’s not all bad, though. Some of Diego’s friends turn out to be pretty cool, and when things with Davi start heating up, Isaac is almost able to forget about his Legends Con blunder. Almost. Because then Diego finds out what really happened that day with Davi, and their friendship lands on thin ice. Isaac assumes he’s upset about missing the convention, but could Diego have other reasons for avoiding Isaac?


Pages: 396


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Racism

  • Homophobia

  • Parental abandonment

  • Divorce

  • Anxiety

]]> 2023-11-22 17:01:27 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2799624582 The Postscript Murders kuepfererin https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2799637790 Synopsis: The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing.

But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station: while clearing out Peggy’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.

And then things escalate: from an Aberdeen literary festival to the streets of Edinburgh, writers are being targeted. DS Kaur embarks on a road trip across Europe and reckons with how exactly authors can think up such realistic crimes...


Pages: 315


Reviews from the Community:

Coming soon!


Content Warning:

  • Murder

  • Death

  • Fatphobia

  • Gaslighting

]]> 2023-11-22 17:18:46 UTC https://padlet.com/kuepfererin/xdfjrx5308jv8pf6/wish/2799637790