Greg’s casual interest in the history of a ruined mansion becomes more personal as he slowly discovers the tragic events that overwhelmed its last inhabitants. Set against a background of the modern day and the First World War, Greg’s contemporary beliefs become intertwined with those of Edmund, a foot soldier whose confusion about his sexuality and identity mirrors Greg’s own feelings of insecurity.
When her best friend dies, Girl, the 17-year-old street-punk narrator of Crashing America, leaves San Francisco for the heartland in search of a place where she can breathe again. Torn between her innate restlessness, an overwhelming longing for a sense of home, and a desperate fear of impending death, Girl seeks to link herself to almost anyone she crosses paths with: a bored housewife in Salt Lake City casting a net for illicit thrills, a born-again Christian punk rocker and his girlfriend, a teenage waitress in a small town with a horizon so endless Girl is terrified to leave her hotel room.
When the sky blue ball comes soaring over the fence, a high-school girl is confronted with the haunting memory of her childhood. A jealous teen lets her cousin go off alone with a dangerous capricorn, aware of the terrifying possibilities. A vulnerable young girl cunningly outwits a menacing stranger and exults in her newfound power, surviving the first of many small avalanches.
Nancy Dodd grew up privileged, at least for the early nineteen hundreds, until her father died, leaving an overbearing uncle as her only choice of a legal guardian. Instead of going to live with her mother’s brother, Nan is spirited away by her father’s less-acceptable family to become a player on vaudeville, staying in hiding until she reaches adulthood. Joining a troupe called the Five Larks, Nan begins her new life.
Sam is a teen boy who's attracted to both boys and girls. He doesn't know what to call himself or where he fits in. Then he meets Toby, another boy who likes both boys and girls. Are they destined to be just friends, more than friends, or less than friends?
Set during the year preceding the Easter Uprising of 1916 -- Ireland's brave but fractured revolt against British rule -- At Swim, Two Boys is a tender, tragic love story and a brilliant depiction of people caught in the tide of history. Powerful and artful, and ten years in the writing, it is a masterwork from Jamie O'Neill.
Frannie and her best friend Marcus are both "boyfriend virgins," but Marcus has an excuse—eligible gay boys are hard to come by in their small Illinois town.
Tia Ramirez’s to do list: 1. Haircut, 2. Study for French, 3. Call Andy, 4. Pick up cheese for mom’s enchiladas, 5. Decide what to do with the rest of my life
When Belinda sees her mom walking arm in arm with a man who is not Belinda's father, her parent's marriage suddenly becomes the focus in her life. Obsessed with the affair that could break up her family, Belinda ignores the people closest to her.
Nick has a three-legged dog named Lucky, some pet fish, and two moms who think he's the greatest kid ever. And he happens to think he has the greatest Moms ever, but everything changes when his birth mom and her wife, Jo, start to have marital problems. Suddenly, Nick is in the middle, and instead of having two Moms to turn to for advice, he has no one.
Every day in Coalton is pretty much the same. Mike pumps iron in the morning, drives her truck to school, plays softball in the afternoon, and fixes the neighbors' plumbing at night. But when an exotic new girl, Xanadu, arrives in the small Kansas town, Mike's world is turned upside down.
In this honest, emotionally captivating short story collection, renowned author and National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters offers a stunning portrayal of young women as they navigate the hurdles of relationships and sexual identity.
In her trademark, darkly humorous voice, Julie Anne Peters has written a moving, compelling, and witty love story between two girls. Keeping You a Secret is a contemporary, worthy successor to classic YA coming out novels.
Liam has decided he is ready to transition into Luna. Liam/Luna's sister Regan may not be able to deal with the consequences.
The close-knit residents of Hackett Island have never seen anyone quite like Lani Garver. Everything about this new kid is a mystery: Where does Lani come from? How old is Lani? And most disturbing of all, is Lani a boy or a girl?
BREATHE is the story of a teenage boy's struggle to keep his sexuality a secret from his devout religious family and homophobic friends. BREATHE, which is set against the backdrop of contemporary city life and hip-hop culture, is written with a passion and verve reminiscent of James Earl Hardy.
Acclaimed sports columnist and fiction writer Jim Provenzano's novel PINS tells the story of bigotry in athletics, and one very short boy who stands up to it. Set in Little Falls, New Jersey in 1993, PINS weaves the classic story of a Catholic saint into a compelling modern life -and near-death- account of Joey Nicci, a fifteen-year-old Italian-American wrestler.
In this unusual coming-of-age novel, author Jay Quinn surveys the expanding emotional and sexual boundaries of Matt, an eighteen-year-old surfer in coastal North Carolina. Set against the broad skies and beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks, Matt's story of claiming his place as a surfer and as a gay man in the small and large worlds of construction sites, fishing piers, and surf breaks, is a triumph of storytelling.
This new poetry anthology navigates the rocky waters of teenage sexuality and confusion with insight, clarity, and understanding. The poems were written by adults who keenly remember the turmoil and excitement of their own adolescent sexual explorations but now have the perspective and sense of self that come with growing up. They employ concrete details — reaching across car seats, the electric touch of fingertips — as well as more ephemeral concepts, such as facing desire as powerful as a thunderstorm.
I know God doesn't make mistakes, and if I'm gay it's because that's what he wanted. What you wanted. And I think the challenge is to get everyone else to see that. This is their test, not mine.
Life is going nowhere fast...until the night some freak wanders into the convenience store where Sam and Gilly are hanging out. He lets them in on a secret: The Witches' Carnival is nearby. If they travel fast, they might catch it.
As a star basketball player in her last year of high school, Nancy Takahiro's life is about to change forever. Faced with the college recruitment process and unsure of where her skill will take her, Nancy is not prepared for meeting Raina Webber, an All-State shooting guard whose passion for basketball is matched only by her talent.
This novel portrays the widespread effects of a young lesbian's decision to come out of the closet and live openly and honestly while still in high school. The story line revolves around Kit Dandridge-a young lesbian struggling to be herself in a repressive environment-her best friend Lynn, and their families and friends.
The only son of a traveling merchant, Katjin spends his summer in the clan lands with his grandparents. He wishes his father, his apa, would take him along, but despite the promises that someday he’ll get to go, Katjin is left behind while his apa heads away on business that seems more and more suspicious the older Kat becomes.
Nuclear devastation is the past. The need for water is the present. Can they survive to find a future? I watch the sun coming up on my right as I walk. We’ve only got about three hours now before it gets too hot and we have to stop. We’ve learned not to leave it too long, learned not to wait until the last minute to put up our tents and hide within their dubious shelter.
What do the poorest boy in town and the captain of the football team have in common? More than you might think. Casper has nothing, but a trio of bullies who hound him, a distant father and an older brother who makes his life a living hell. Brendan has it all; muscles, money, fame and popularity. The boys come from different worlds, but both share a constant desire.
Marshall only wanted to help his friends, to undo the pain of the past, but a few moments of thoughtless action changed everything. Altered Realities is the tale of a changed world. All bets are off. Nothing is as it was and what is to be is transformed too. Mark, Taylor, Ethan, Nathan, Brendan, Casper and nearly the entire cast of the Gay Youth Chronicles come together in a tapestry of tales as they all try to deal with the consequences of Marshall’s actions.
Mark is an eighteen-year-old boy who wants what we all want: to love and be loved. His dreams are realized when he meets Taylor, the boy of his dreams. The boys struggle to keep their love hidden from a world that cannot understand, but ultimately, no secret is safe in a small Midwestern town.
Marshall’s experiences with ghosts and the supernatural are legendary, but when a boy a hundred-years dead turns up in his bedroom with the cryptic message “Blackford Manor,” Marshall realizes his adventures with the other side have only began. As more specters appear to Marshall, he begins to assemble the pieces of a puzzle that lead him to Graymoor Mansion and a set of crimes more heinous than those of modern day serial killers.
Disastrous Dates & Dream Boys is the story of teenaged boys who want what we all want, to love and be loved. The boys from A Better Place are back. Shawn yearns for a boyfriend, but fears his father’s wrath if he discovers the truth. Dane, too, is seeking a soul mate and trying to leave his checkered past behind. He yearns for Billy, but if he approaches him will the result be happiness or disaster?
In Do You Know That I Love You, Ralph, a young gay teen living on a farm in Indiana, has an aching crush on a rock star and wants nothing more than to see his idol in concert. Meanwhile, Jordan, the rock star, is lonely and sometimes confused with his success, because all he wants is someone to love him and feels he will never find the love he craves.
Sixteen year old Avery is in trouble, yet again, but this time he’s in over his head. On the run, Avery is faced with hardships and fear. He must become what he’s always hated, just to survive. He discovers new reasons to hate, until fate brings him to Graymoor Mansion and he discovers a disturbing connection to the past.
Masked Destiny is the story of Skye, a high school athlete determined to be the Alpha male. Skye's obsessed with his own body, his Abercrombie & Fitch wardrobe, and keeping those around him in their place. Try as he might, he's not quite able to ignore the world around him, or the plight of gay boys who cross his path.
Outfield Menace is the tale of Kurt, a fifteen-year-old baseball player, living in a small, 1950s, Indiana town. During a confrontation with Angel, the resident bad boy of Blackford High School, Kurt attacks Angel, earning the wrath of the most dangerous gang in town. When Angel finally corners Kurt, however, something happens that Kurt wouldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams.
A specter from the past haunts the halls of Blackford High School, terrorizing anyone who preys on the weak. Rumors say that a Goth/skater boy controls the ghost, but can the rumor be true? A mysterious new boy catches the eye of Toby and his new friend, Daniel Peralta as well. The new boy seems too perfect to be real. Is he or will be become the boy of Toby's or Daniel's dreams?
Toby Riester is sixteen, gay, and searching for his first boyfriend. He discovers many potential candidates--Orlando, a cute sixteen year old boy of Latin ancestry who works with Toby at the Phantom World amusement park--C.T., a blond, seventeen year old who is obviously gay--and Spike, a well-built sixteen year old from the internet. Each boy has his own seductive qualities and each is more than his seems.
The Soccer Field Is Empty is the story of teen love, steamy romance, friendship, loyalty, understanding, and ancient prejudice. Here is a tale that breaks the stereotypes of the ignorant and peers into the soul of two boys who want what we all want; to love and be loved. The story of Mark and Taylor, two sixteen-year-old high school athletes, is a tale of love and happiness torn asunder by a world that understands too late.
Someone is killing the gay boys of Verona, Indiana, and only one gay youth stands in the way. He finds himself pitted against powerful foes, but finds allies in places he did not expect.
Someone Is Watching. Someone Knows. It was a nightmare come true for seventeen-year-old Ethan. It's hard hiding a secret. It's even harder keeping that secret when someone else knows. Who is the mysterious note-writer, the secret tormentor? Who is the enemy that hides among Ethan's friends and teammates?
"The Summer of My Discontent" is a tapestry of tales delving into life as a gay teen in a small Midwestern town. Dane is a sixteen-year-old runaway determined to start a new life of daring, love, and sex--no matter the cost to himself, or others. His actions bring him to the brink of disaster and only those he sought to prey upon can save him.
This Time Around follows Jordan and Ralph as they become involved in a struggle with Reverend Wellerson, a TV evangelist, over the fate of gay youth centers. Wellerson is willing to stop at nothing to crush gay rights and who better to halt his evil plans than the most famous rock star in the entire world? While battling Wellerson, Jordan seeks to come to terms with his own past and learn more about the father he never knew.
Graham Granger is intrigued by the new boy in school. Graham’s heart aches for a friend, and maybe a boyfriend, but is Josiah the answer to his dreams? Why is Bry Hartnett, the school hunk, taking an interest in Graham as well? When strange happenings begin to occur at Griswold Jr./Sr. High, Graham’s once boring life becomes more exciting than he can handle.
The first day of Stephanie’s junior year is a step into the underworld. Led into desire, depression, and alienation by the intoxicating yet strangely distant figure of Denny Pistill, Stephanie must cope with a series of fears and crises. Denny and Stephanie are drawn to each other through writing and reading poetry, and author Liz Rosenberg’s own poetic sense gives truth to Stephanie’s ability to make art out of the darkest things.
Spawned from Hollywood's A-list glitterati, nearly every student at the exclusive Orion Academy is a singer, dancer, model, or actor -- with the ego to match. So how do you fit so many budding stars into one school musical? Multi-cast, of course. It's a Wizard of Oz like no other: four Dorothys, two Scarecrows, two Glindas, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Every "star" gets a moment in the spotlight.
School's out, but the drama never stops at the superposh Orion Academy. Hartley Blackstone -- the famous director, producer, choreographer, and genuine Broadway icon -- has chosen Orion to hold auditions for one lucky guy and girl to attend his summer theater program in New York City.
Naturally, every wannabe-It girl and boy at Orion is going mad, prepping to win Blackstone's approval. With any luck, it could be Bryan and his BFF, Sam, stepping onto a Broadway stage.
The Renaissance Faire has come to town! Okay, so the exclamation point doesn't make it any cooler, but Sam is overjoyed to reunite with her former faire folk (say that ten times fast). Bryan, on the other hand, can do without all the "thees," "thous," and -- oh yes -- man tights. But he'd best take part in the festivities lest he lose his head...with Sam doing the chopping.
It's time for the Fall One-Act Festival, and Hope gets the honored privilege of debuting her very first original play! With Bryan directing and Jason and Sam as the leads, it seems as if nothing could go wrong with this dream team of talent. But where's the fun in that?
Enter Sam and Jason's onstage chemistry that's so hot, it's working overtime offstage! Course, Sam's real-life beau, Eric isn't so cool with that.
Nicola Lancaster is spending the summer at the Siegel Institute Summer Program for Gifted Youth-a hothouse of smart, articulate, intense teenagers, living like college students for eight weeks. Nic's had theater friends and orchestra friends, but never just friend friends. And she's certainly never had a relationship.
Battle Hall Davies is sure of some things: she’s going to Reed; she loves girls; and her older brother, Nick, is cooler than she could ever be. Nick ran away when Battle was in high school, and four years later, he’s tracked her down.