Will Grayson

Author:  John Green & David Levithan

Publisher:  Penquin

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library


Publisher's summary: 

 It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson may as well live on different planets.  When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions.  With a push from friends new and old --including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire --Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical

Boy meets Boy

Author:  David Levithan

Publisher:  Alfred A. Knopf

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library


Publisher's summary: 


 Love is never easy.  Especially if you are PAUL.  He's a sophomore at a high school like no other -- and these are his friends.
  INFINITE DARLENE, the homecoming queen and star quarteback
JONI, Paul's best friend who may not be his best friend anymore
TONY, his other best friend, who can't leave the house unless his parents think he's going on a date ...with a girl
Kyle, the ex-boyfriend who won't go away
RIR, the school bookie, who sets the odds...
And, NOAH.  The Boy.  The one who changes everything

LOVE MEETS LOVE
CONFUSION MEETS CLARITY
BOY MEETS BOY

Breaking the Surface

Author:  Greg Louganis with Eric Marcus


Publisher:   Sourcebooks

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's summary:


In his number one New York Times best selling autobiography, Greg Louganis gives us the gift of his heartbreaking honesty.  He discusses his early struggles with adoption and abuse, his late-detected dyslexia, prejudice towards his dark skin coloring and anguish over his homosexuality, which he felt compelled to hide.  His newfound celebrity led to drinking and drugs, and intensified the difficulties he was having with his relationships.

Greg is a superb athlete, four-time Olympic gold medalist and a role model to millions.  Here is his story -- the story of the world's greatest diver.

Geography Club

Author:  Brent Hartinger

Publisher:  HarperTempest

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's summary:


I knew that any wrong action, however slight, could reveal my true identity...

Russel is still going on dates with girls.  Kevin would do anything to prevent his teammates on the baseball team from finding out.  Min and Terese tell everyone they're just really good friends. But after a while, the truth's too hard to hide --at least from each other --so they form the "Geography Club."  Nobody else will come.  Why would they want to?  Their secret should be safe.

The Laramie Project

Author:  Moises and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project


Publisher:  Vintage Books

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library


Publisher's summary:


On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence in the hills outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of brutality and hate that shocked the nation.  Matthew Shepard's death became a national symbol of intolerance, but for the people of Laramie the event was deeply personal, and it is their voices we hear in this stunningly effective theater piece.

Inside Out: Straight Talk From a Gay Jock

Author:  Mark Tewsbury

Publisher:  John Wiley and Sons

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book: Strathcona High School Library


Publisher's summary: Once the elite athlete, now an accomplished and natural storyteller, Mark Tewksbury uses his own story --public and private -- to offer a fascinating insight into the worlds of Olympic politics, media, fame, gay life, and sports leadership.  He takes us from growing up gay in conservative western Canada, through the pain of keeping his true self a secret even as he feted on the world stage, and ultimately to coming out, being able to live his whole life to the fullest, and to make a difference in life.

Confessions of an Empty Purse

Author:  S. McDonald

Publisher:  Frontenac House

Edition:  Print

Where I got the Book:  Strathcona High School Library


Publisher's summary: 


 In these street-wandering confessions, McDonald explores the injustices of gender, floating freely between the depths of narrative and the butterfly brevity of poetry.  Here is a text where bodies are mapped into memories, in turn mapped back onto bodies, a palimpsestic circulation that sometimes storytells, sometimes startles, and always spills its truth, a purse overturned on a page.    Ashok Mathur

Thunder through My Veins

Author:  Gregory Scofield

Publisher:  HarperPerennialCanada


Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library


Publisher's summary:


All Gregory Scofield ever wanted was to belong.  Born into a Metis family but never told his heritage, Gregory knew he was different, his feeelings of displacement heightened by poverty, illness, abuse and loss.  Separated from his mother when he was five, sent to live with strangers and extended family, he tried to make sense of a world that often didn't make sense at all.  As he grew , clinging to the edge of an already misunderstood society, Gregory faces his own rejection from both the Native and non-Native communities, who were unable to accept him for himself.

Thunder Through my Veins is Gregory Scofield's traumatic, tender and redeeming story of his fight to discover himself --and of a young man finally able to harmonize often very disparate voices into one joyful song.  Universal in its themes and its emotional moments, it is a beautifully lyrical and tremendously hopeful book.

Inferno

Author:  Robin Stevenson

Publisher:  Orca

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's summary: 


 For Dante high school is hell.  She hates her new home in the suburbs, her only friend has moved away, her homeroom teachers mocks her and her mother is making her attend a social skills group for teenage girls.  When a stranger shows up at school and hands Dante a flyer that reads:  WOOF, WOOF. YOU ARE NOT A DOG.  WHY ARE YOU GOING TO OBEDIENCE SCHOOL?  Dante thinks she's found a soul mate.  Someone who understands.  Someone else who wants to make real changes in the world.  But there are all kinds of ways of bringing about change....and some are more dangerous than others.

Grl2grl

Author:  Julie Anne Peters

Publisher:  Little, Brown and Company

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book: sTRATHCONE hIGH sCHOOL lIBRARY

Publisher's summary:

In this honest and emotionally captivating short story collection, renowned author and National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters offers a stunning portrayal of teens as they navigate the hurdles of relationships and sexual identity.  From the young lesbian taking her first steps toward coming out, to the two strangers who lock eyes across a crowded train, to the transgender teen longing for a sense of self, or the girl whose abusive father has turned her to stone, Peters is the master of creating characters whose vulnerabilities resonate and stay with you long after the last page is turned.  Grl2grl shows the rawness of teenage emotion as young adults begin to discover the intricacies of love and dating.

Annie on My Mind

Author:  Nancy Garden

Publisher:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Edition:  Print

Where I got trhe book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's summary:


From the moment Liza Winthrop meets Annie Kenyon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she knows there is something special between them.  But, Liza never knew faaling in love could be so wonderful...... or so confusing.

The Full Spectrum

Author:  David Levithan & Billy Merrell

Publisher:   Alfred A. Knopf

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's summary: 


 A new generation of writing about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and other identities.

Love and Lies: Marisol's story

Author:  Ellen Wittinger

Publisher:  Simon and Schuster

Edition: Print


Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library


Publisher's summary:


Write a novel then fall in love.  How hard is that?  Marisol Guzman has deferred college to accomplish those very two goals.  And things begin quite smoothly as she enrolls herself in an adult education class called "How to write your first novel."   Also enrolled in the class is John Galardi, a.k.a. "Gio", a friend and fellow zine writer who fell head over heels for her last spring.  Of course, Gio is not the person Marisol would wish to fall in love with, because they've been down this road before and she's a lesbian.

No , the object of Marisol's affection is Olivia Frost -- her instructor.  But as they pursue their seemingly storybook romance together, things eventually get complicated, with outside influences creeping in on their relationship, and Marisol starts to lose sight of her goals.  She of all people should know that nothing in life is easy, especially when it comes to love...

Kipocihkan: Poems new and selected

Author:  Gregory Scofield

Publisher:  Nightwood Editions

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's summary: 

The word kipocihkan is slang for someone who is mute or unable to speak, and charted in this book is Scofield's journey out of that silence to become one of the most powerful voices of all time.    He applies anger and forgiveness as he writes about poverty, racism, sexual abuse and street life.

In the Garage

Author:    Alma Fullerton

Publisher:  Red Deer Press

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's summary: 


 I'm up here, in front of God, the priest, and the congregation listening to EVERY SINGLE AMPLIFIED BREATH, of every person in front of me, unable to say a God-damn word about the guy who was my best friend for eight years.  All I can do is stand silent, and think about how it all began.  Barbara Jean (BJ) Belanger has always suffered from low self-esteem: she has a portwine birthmark on her face, she feels overweight, and has repeatedly suffered the taunts of others her age for which she is a natural target, a victim.  One of the very few who have treated her with respect, understanding and affection is Alex, who becomes her best friend.


 And what's ripping her apart as the story opens is that she knows she has betrayed him in the worst possible way. 
 When Alex takes on a new member of his garage band, David, the balance of all their lives is upset, as Alex seems to display more affection for David than for her.  Disaster comes when BJ is persuaded that she should steal Alex's journal of poems, in which he reveals the dark secret of his real feelings for David. Very quickly, BJ's life is turned upside down in a terrible moment in which the meanness of the world proves too much to bear.

Out

Author:  Sandra Diersch


Publisher:  James Lorimer


Edition:  Print


Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library


Publisher's summary:


 Things are changing fast, and no one in Alex's world is who they seem anymore.  After witnessing a respected church leader in a compromising situation, Alex faith begins to waver. And when his brother Mark shares a deep-rooted secret with him, Alex is forced to decide where his loyalties lie and what  he truly believes in. 

Wounded: a novel

Author:  Percival Everett

Publisher:  Graywolf Press

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's summary:


Training horses is dangerous  --a head-to-head confrontation with 1,000 pounds of muscle and little sense takes courage, patience, and smarts.  These same qualities allow John and his uncle Gus to live in the beautiful high desert of Wyoming.  A black horse trainer is a curiosity, but a familiar curiosity in these parts.  The brutal murder  of a young gay man, however, pushes their small community to the edge of intolerance.

Mister Sandman

Author:  Barbara Gowdy

Publisher:  HarperPerennialCanada

Edition:  Print

Where I got the book:  Strathcona High School Library

Publisher's Summary:  

Steeped in deception and immoderate passions, the Canary family consists of Gordon, head of the household and secretly gay; his wife, Doris, a compulsive liar, their daughters: promiscuous Marcia and eerily contented Sonja, and Joan, the mute, brain-damaged and musically brilliant youngest child.  As the family fights, laughs and lies, Joan quietly listens, blending their discordant conversations into harmony.  And just when the Canarys think they have reached an irredeemable low, Joan's experimental composition allows the family finally to hear each other out.