Slide 1:ย Exciting Young Adult LGBTQ+ Books Releasing In 2021
Slide 2: Canโt Take That Away by Steven Salvatore // Ownvoices genderqueer rep
Carey Parker dreams of being a diva, and bringing the house down with song. They can hit every note of all the top pop and Broadway hits. But despite their talent, emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmotherโs spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice.
Then Carey meets Cris, a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life. With the rush of a promising new romantic relationship, Carey finds the confidence to audition for the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the school musical, setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by Careyโs tormentor and others in the school. Itโs up to Carey, Cris, and their friends to defend their rightsโand they refuse to be silenced.
Slide 3: May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor // Ownvoices transgender rep
Thereโs not a lot of information on literary agent and author Z.R. Ellorโs debut young adult novel, but the bookโs publisher, MacMillan, has said it will be about, โa throw-down battle for Homecoming King between a transgender teen and the boy he dumped last summer.โย
Slide 4: Between Perfect & Real by Ray Stoeve // Transgender rep
Dean Foster knows heโs a trans guy. Heโs watched enough YouTube videos and done enough questioning to be sure. But everyone at his high school thinks heโs a lesbianโincluding his girlfriend Zoe, and his theater director, who just cast him as a โnontraditionalโ Romeo. He wonders if maybe it would be easier to wait until college to come out. But as he plays Romeo every day in rehearsals, Dean realizes he wants everyone to see him as he really is nowโโnot just on the stage, but everywhere in his life. Dean knows what he needs to do. Can playing a role help Dean be his true self?
Slide 5: As Far as Youโll Take Me by Phil Stamper // Ownvoices queer rep
Marty arrives in London with nothing but his oboe and some savings from his summer job, but heโs excited to start his new lifeโwhere heโs no longer the closeted, shy kid who slips under the radar and is free to explore his sexuality without his parentsโ disapproval.
From the outside, Martyโs life looks like a perfect fantasy: in the span of a few weeks, heโs made new friends, heโs getting closer with his first ever boyfriend, and heโs even traveling around Europe. But Marty knows he canโt keep up the facade. He hasnโt spoken to his parents since he arrived, heโs tearing through his meager savings, his homesickness and anxiety are getting worse and worse, and he hasnโt even come close to landing the job of his dreams. Will Marty be able to find a place that feels like home?
Slide 6: She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen // Ownvoices queer rep
After losing spectacularly to her ex-girlfriend in their first game since their break up, Scottie Zajac gets into a fender bender with the worst possible person: her nemesis, the incredibly beautiful and incredibly mean Irene Abraham. Things only get worse when their nosey, do-gooder moms get involved and the girls are forced to carpool together until Ireneโs car gets out of the shop.
Their bumpy start the only gets bumpier the more time they spend together. But when an opportunity presents itself for Scottie to get back at her toxic ex (and climb her schoolโs social ladder at the same time), she bribes Irene into playing along. Hijinks, heartbreak, and gay fake-dating scheme for the ages.
