Rainbow Reads for Grades 6-8
Recommended books concerning gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning identities. To find more books, try a subject search for “gay youth,” “lesbian youth,” “transsexual youth,” “transgender people,” or “gay parents” in the library catalog. Click here for a print-friendly version of this list.
Junior High Fiction (Y)
| Author | Title | Call Number |
|---|
| Adams | Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie Debbie tries to get over a crush on her best friend by embarking on a “holy quest” with a couple of misfits. (256 pp.) | Y Adams |
| Barakiva | One Man Guy When Alek’s parents send him to summer school, he thinks his summer is ruined. And then he meets Ethan... (255 pp.) | Y Barakiva |
| Burch | The Manny Files Shy Keats, overshadowed by his sisters, learns from his male nanny how to be more outgoing and self-confident. (296 pp.) | Y Burch |
| Desai | Born Confused Shy Dimple comes into her own as she explores her Indian heritage and the exciting world of New York City. (413 pp.) | Y Desai |
| Federle | Better Nate Than Ever Nate, who dreams of performing on Broadway, concocts a plan to run away to New York and audition for E.T.: The Musical. (275 pp.) | Y Federle |
| Gennari | My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer June spends the summer at her Vermont home, getting used to the woman her mother is planning to marry. (119 pp.) | Y Gennari |
| Goldman | Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath Mitch negotiates the difficult social situations he encounters, both with girls and with his gay best friend, David. (307 pp.) | Y Goldman |
| Horner | A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend As she tries to sort out her feelings of love, Cass, a spunky math genius with an introverted streak, finds a way to memorialize her dead best friend. (259 pp.) | Y Horner |
| Howe | Totally Joe Joe writes an alphabiography—life from A to Z—and explores issues of friendship, family, school, and the challenges of being gay. (189 pp.) | Y Howe |
| Jahn-Clough | Country Girl, City Girl When city girl Melita comes to visit farm girl Phoebe, Phoebe has confusing feelings about their new friendship. (185 pp.) | Y Jahn-Clough |
| LaRochelle | Absolutely, Positively Not Steven attempts to fit in at school by becoming a macho, girl-loving, Playboy pinup-displaying heterosexual, with hilarious results. (219 pp.) | Y LaRochelle |
| Lo | Ash Ash must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King's Huntress whom she loves. (264 pp.) | Y Lo |
| Moskowitz | Marco Impossible Stephen and Marco attempt to break into the prom so Marco can confess his love for the adorable bass player of the band. (247 pp.) | Y Moskowitz |
| Peters | Between Mom and Jo When Nick’s mom and her partner Jo split up, he faces unexpected and difficult choices. (232 pp.) | Y paperback PE |
| Polonsky | Gracefully Grayson With the help of a school play, Grayson, a transgender twelve-year-old, learns to accept her true identity and share it with the world. (243 pp.) | Y Polonsky |
| Rudetsky | My [Awesome] Awful Popularity Plan Chubby, Jewish, and gay, Justin Goldblatt plans to become popular and date the star quarterback. (211 pp.) | Y Rudetsky |
| Sanchez | So Hard to Say When Xio starts thinking of Frederick, the new boy, as her boyfriend, Frederick must confront his fear that he might be gay. (230 pp.) | Y Sanchez |
| Stevenson | Out of Order Sophie’s new school is bully-free, but she soon learns that even friends can harm your sense of self. (221 pp.) | Y paperback ST |
| Tracey | Witch Eyes After a terrifying vision, Braden learns the guy he’s falling for is the son of a rival witch dynasty. (330 pp.) | Y paperback TR |
| Trueman | 7 Days at the Hot Corner Varsity baseball player Scott Latimer struggles with his own prejudices and those of others when his best friend reveals that he is gay. (150 pp.) | Y Trueman |
| Walliams | The Boy in the Dress Dennis is the leading scorer on his soccer team...and also has a secret passion for fashion. (231 pp.) | Y Walliams |
| Woodson | The House You Pass on the Way When Staggerlee spends a summer with her cousin Trout, she begins to question her sexuality. (99 pp.) | Y Woodson |
Nonfiction, Folktales & Poetry
| Author | Title | Call Number |
|---|
| Alsenas | Gay America: Struggle for Equality How gay women and men have gone from social invisibility to becoming a strong political force and proud members of the American public. (160 pp.) | Y305.9 AL |
| Aretha | No Compromise: The Story of Harvey Milk The life and legacy of the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. (128 pp.) | Y921 Milk |
| Basso | The Underground Guide to Teenage Sexuality Facts about human sexuality, including anatomy, health, contraception, homosexuality, and sexual intercourse. (230 pp.) | Y612.6 BA |
| Snow | How It Feels to Have a Gay or Lesbian Parent Kids talk about the experience of having gay or lesbian parents. (110 pp.) | Y306.874 SN |
Last Updated: 1/15
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