Cool Stuff For Queer Kids

The City Beautiful – In 1893 Chicago, a Jewish teen boy’s best friend is murdered, and the dybbuk (ghost) is out to possess him… Forcing him to team up with the guy he’s been crushing on.
The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity, and he dreams of the day he'll have enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania.But when...

The Passing Playbook – A Trans Teen Gets Benched by a new ‘no trans kids in sports’ Law and has to decide if he’ll come out as Trans and fight to play soccer… or keep passing at his new school.
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He's also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets a...

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating – to prove to her friends she’s Bi, Hani fake-dates another girl, Ishu, in this teen first-love rom com
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar Everyone likes Humaira Hani Khan--she's easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can't be bi if she's...

The Fabulous Zed Watson! – A middle grade novel starring a nonbinary tween on a “literary scavenger hunt”
The Fabulous Zed Watson! by Basil Sylvester, Illustrated by Kevin Sylvester Zed Watson loves a few things: their name (which they chose themself!), their big rambunctious family, and--oh yeah--monsters. When Zed discovered the mystery surrounding an unpublished novel...

The Joys of Communally Reading “No Way They Were Gay?” with Teenagers in Cyberspace – A Guest Post by Jim Cartwright
As a gay/queer man with a passion for queer history who is also an educator and an author, I was very excited when Lee Wind’s No Way They Were Gay was released. I pre-ordered it, devoured it as soon as I got it, and...

Watch this recording of my middle school panel, “Real Talk,” with fellow authors Alex Gino and Jamie Sumner at the Southeastern Young Adult Book Festival #SEYA2022
We had a great conversation, and the panel recording is now up on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/qTKqES0e_4A What an honor to be included with Alex and Jamie! I hope you'll watch, enjoy, and share. The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,Lee

Jay’s Gay Agenda – An Out Gay High School Senior moves from a small town (with no other out gay teens) to a big city where suddenly he’s able to make his list of gay firsts — his personal ‘Gay Agenda’ — come true!
Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June There's one thing Jay Collier knows for sure—he's a statistical anomaly as the only out gay kid in his small rural Washington town. While all his friends can't stop talking about their heterosexual hookups and relationships, Jay can only...

Upsetting and Cynical Move In Texas to Charge Parents of Trans Kids with ‘Child Abuse’ if they Support their Child’s Gender Affirming Treatment
Here's what the "Stand with Trans Kids in Texas" petition put out by Equality California says: "[At the end of February 2022], Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a directive to investigate and prosecute parents of transgender children and their healthcare providers."He...

Love, Violet – A girl-on-girl crush picture book that’s perfect for more than just Valentine’s Day – it lets every kid know that sometimes, girls have romantic crushes on other girls!
Love, Violet by Charlotte Sullivan Wild, Illustrated by Charlene Chua Only one personmakes Violet’s heart skipOf all the kids in Violet's class, only one leaves her speechless: Mira, the girl with the cheery laugh who races like the wind. If only they could adventure...