The Diverse Families bookshelf was created and funded through numerous grants. Due to lack of additional grants and the loss of key personnel, the project has come to an end. We have tremendously enjoyed creating this database and hope that it can help bring readers and books together.
Browse by LGBTQ:
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Nothing Pink
Mark Hardy
Vincent Harris, the teenaged son of a Baptist minister, has always known he is gay and uses his faith to avoid any sinful thoughts or acts, but when his family moves to a new church in the late 1970s he meets Robert Ingle, falls in love, and begins to wonder if God is really asking him to repent and change.
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Not Otherwise Specified
Hannah Moskowitz
Auditioning for a New York City performing arts high school could help Etta escape from her Nebraska all-girl school, where she is not gay enough for her former friends, not sick enough for her eating disorders group, and not thin enough for ballet, but it may also mean real friendships.
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Not the Only One: Lesbian and Gay Fiction for Teens
Jane Summer
This revised edition of Alyson's groundbreaking anthology for gay and lesbian teens features new original fiction which reflect both the tension and relief of being true to oneself. These stories provide hope and inspiration to gay and lesbian teenagers as they take the first exciting, often difficult steps toward accepting their sexuality and emerging from the shadows as open and proud individuals.
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Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War Hero
Marissa Moss
A story of a nineteen-year-old woman who disguised herself as a man to avoid an unwanted marriage and who distinguished herself as a male nurse during the Civil War, and later as a spy for the Union Army.
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October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard
Leslea Newman
On the night of October 6, 1998, twenty-one-year-old gay college student Matthew Shepard was lured from a Wyoming bar by two young men, savagely beaten, tied to a remote fence, and left to die. In a deeply personal response to that tragic day and its brutal aftermath, Leslea Newman explores the impact of the vicious crime through fictitious monologues from various points of view.
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Oddly Normal: One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality
John Schwartz
A heartfelt memoir by the father of a gay teen, and an eye-opening guide for families who hope to bring up well-adjusted gay adults. Three years ago, John Schwartz, a national correspondent at The New York Times, got the call that every parent hopes never to receive: his thirteen-year-old son, Joe, was in the hospital following a suicide attempt. Mustering the courage to come out to his classmates, Joe's disclosure--delivered in a tirade about homophobic attitudes--was greeted with unease and confusion by his fellow students. Hours later, he took an overdose of pills. In the aftermath, John and his wife, Jeanne, determined to help Joe feel more comfortable in his own skin, launched a search for services and groups that could help Joe understand that he wasn't alone. This book is Schwartz's very personal attempt to address his family's struggles within a culture that is changing fast, but not fast enough to help gay kids like Joe.
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Odd One out
Nic Stone
High school juniors and best friends Courtney and Jupe, and new sophomore Rae, explore their sexuality and their budding attractions for one another.
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Of Fire and Stars
Audrey Coulthurst
Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile kingdoms. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire--a dangerous gift for the future queen of a land where magic is forbidden. Now Denna has to learn the ways of her new kingdom while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria's formidable warhorses before her coronation--and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine, sister of her betrothed. When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two work together, they discover there is more to one another than they thought--and soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more. But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms--and each other.
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Of Many Colors: Portraits of Multiracial Families
Gigi Kaeser and Peggy Gillespie
Based on an award-winning photo exhibit, this collection of interviews and photographs documents the feelings and experiences of "thirty-nine families who have bridged the racial divide through interracial marriage or adoption."
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Oh The Things Mommies Do!: What Could Be Better Than Having Two?
Crystal Tompkins
A playful celebration of Lesbian Mothers and their children! "Oh The Things Mommies Do!" is a bouncy, and playful look at the joys of a two Mom family. With its catchy rhymes and vibrant illustrations, it is a pleasure for children and parents alike!
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OMGQueer
Radclyffe . and Katherine E. Lynch
This anthology of short stories gives voice to the rising generation as they define what it means to grow up queer in the twenty-first century. What is it like to grow up in a society that embraces you in certain ways but discriminates against you in others? How do you choose a label from the alphabet soup, and should you even have to? By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, comical and caustic, these stories, imagined and told by youth across America, provide a snapshot of queerness at the dawn of the new millennium.
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On a Sunbeam
Tillie Walden
In two interwoven timelines, a ragtag crew travels to the deepest reaches of space, rebuilding beautiful, broken structures to piece the past together; and two girls meet in boarding school and fall deeply in love, only to learn the pain of loss.
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One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads
Johnny Valentine
Two children, one with two blue dads and one with a more traditional family, compare notes and wonder what is so different about dads who are blue.
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One Family
George Shannon
A family can be many things, in this story that introduces numbered groups from one to ten.
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One Hundred is a Family
Pam Muñoz Ryan
Groups making up many different kinds of "families" introduce the numbers from one to ten and then by tens to one hundred.
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One in Every Crowd
Ivan E. Coyote
Stories for everyone who has ever felt alone in their struggle to be true to themselves. These are honest, wry, plain-spoken tales about gender, identity, and family
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One Man Guy
Michael Barakiva Barakiva
Alek Khederian should have guessed something was wrong when his parents took him to a restaurant. Everyone knows that Armenians never eat out. Why bother, when their home cooking is far superior to anything these Americans could come up with? Between bouts of interrogating the waitress and criticizing the menu, Alek's parents announce that he'll be attending summer school in order to bring up his grades. Alek is sure this experience will be the perfect hellish end to his hellish freshmen year of high school. He never could've predicted that he'd meet someone like Ethan. Ethan is everything Alek wishes he were: confident, free-spirited, and irreverent. When Ethan gets Alek to cut school and go to a Rufus Wainwright concert in New York City's Central Park, Alek embarks on his first adventure outside the confines of his suburban New Jersey existence. He can't believe a guy this cool wants to be his friend. And before long, it seems like Ethan wants to be more than friends. Alek has never thought about having a boyfriend--he's barely ever had a girlfriend--but maybe it's time to think again. Michael Barakiva's One Man Guy is a romantic, moving, laugh-out-loud-funny story about what happens when one person cracks open your world and helps you see everything--and, most of all, yourself--like you never have before.
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Openly Straight
Bill Konigsberg
Tired of being known as "the gay kid," Rafe Goldberg decides to assume a new persona when he comes east and enters an elite Massachusetts prep school--but trying to deny his identity has both complications and unexpected consequences.
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Otis And Alice
Ariane Bertouille
Uncle Dan brought his nephew Otis a very special gift: a mouse with super-long, expressive whiskers! Otis can't believe his eyes. He has wanted a pet mouse forever! But, how long can he keep Alice? Can he convince his cat Rocket and his two moms to keep the little mouse, so full of imagination and energy? The daily lives of many families--so different from each other--are often very much alike. Can Alice the mouse fit into Otis's family?
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Our Own Private Universe
Robin Talley
Fifteen-year-old Aki Simon has a theory. And it's mostly about sex. No, it isn't that kind of theory. Aki already knows she's bisexual, even if, until now, it's mostly been in the hypothetical sense. Aki has dated only guys so far, and her best friend, Lori, is the only person who knows she likes girls, too. Actually, Aki's theory is that she's got only one shot at living an interesting life-- and that means she's got to stop sitting around and thinking so much. It's time for her to actually do something. Or at least try. So when Aki and Lori set off on a church youth-group trip to a small Mexican town for the summer and Aki meets Christa-- slightly older, far more experienced-- it seems her theory is prime for the testing. But it's not going to be easy. For one thing, how exactly do two girls have sex, anyway? And more important, how can you tell if you're in love? It's going to be a summer of testing theories, and the result may just be love.
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Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Parents
Noelle Howey and Ellen Jean Samuels
"Out of the Ordinary" is a groundbreaking collection of essays by teen and adult children of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender parents. The essays range from humorous to poignant and provide insight into numerous topics on dealing with a parent's sexuality while figuring out one's own.
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Over The River and Through the Woods: A Holiday Adventure
Linda Ashman
The classic song gets a fresh new twist! The fun begins when Grandma and Grandpa send invitations to their far-flung, modern, and multiracial family: Come to our house for the holidays! As each family faces an obstacle that delays their trip, they learn that sometimes the most old-fashioned form of transportation works best... neigh!
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Over You
Amy Reed
A novel about two girls on the run from their problems, their pasts, and themselves. Max and Sadie are escaping to Nebraska, but they'll soon learn they can't escape the truth.
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Parachutes
Kelly Yang
They’re called parachutes: teenagers dropped off to live in private homes and study in the United States while their wealthy parents remain in Asia. Claire Wang never thought she’d be one of them, until her parents pluck her from her privileged life in Shanghai and enroll her at a high school in California. Suddenly she finds herself living in a stranger’s house, with no one to tell her what to do for the first time in her life. She soon embraces her newfound freedom, especially when the hottest and most eligible parachute, Jay, asks her out. Dani De La Cruz, Claire’s new host sister, couldn’t be less thrilled that her mom rented out a room to Claire. An academic and debate team star, Dani is determined to earn her way into Yale, even if it means competing with privileged kids who are buying their way to the top. But Dani’s game plan veers unexpectedly off course when her debate coach starts working with her privately. As they steer their own distinct paths, Dani and Claire keep crashing into one another, setting a course that will change their lives forever.
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Parrotfish
Ellen Wittlinger
Grady, a transgendered high school student, yearns for acceptance by his classmates and family as he struggles to adjust to his new identity as a male.