Looking for (very)YA literature about being lesbian/bi/pan/etc.
June 27, 2022 2:55 PM Subscribe
My 10 year old, god love her, is looking for books for kids her age about being lesbian/bi/pansexual...
She's a terrific reader (probably 9th grade level), but we're having a hard time finding stuff appropriate for her age group. I'd prefer books more about relationships and friendships than sexuality per se, and I'm coming up short. I find a lot of stuff for 13 and up (which obviously makes sense), but I feel like I'm missing stuff for younger kids that's probably out there.
Any suggestions? Many thanks in advance!
She's a terrific reader (probably 9th grade level), but we're having a hard time finding stuff appropriate for her age group. I'd prefer books more about relationships and friendships than sexuality per se, and I'm coming up short. I find a lot of stuff for 13 and up (which obviously makes sense), but I feel like I'm missing stuff for younger kids that's probably out there.
Any suggestions? Many thanks in advance!
Are you looking for fiction or nonfiction? The book Wait, What? is a graphic novel nonfiction book about puberty/relationships that is specifically aimed at tweens (grade 4-7) and has a fair amount of discussion of sexual and gender identity.
Also agree with Lumberjanes as gender and orientation inclusive graphic novel fun. There are trans, nonbinary, asexual, and lesbian characters but that information emerges really organically.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 3:04 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also agree with Lumberjanes as gender and orientation inclusive graphic novel fun. There are trans, nonbinary, asexual, and lesbian characters but that information emerges really organically.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 3:04 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee is about a girl who is cast as Romeo in the school play and gets a crush on Juliet. I believe the characters are 8th graders but a 10 year old strong reader is the target audience for the novel.
posted by gideonfrog at 3:10 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by gideonfrog at 3:10 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
I just read The Real Riley Mayes (maybe a 4th grade level - very light and fluffy) - the protagonist is starting to realize that she's gay. There are some negative reactions from other kids in the book even though everything turns out well.
posted by xo at 3:48 PM on June 27, 2022
posted by xo at 3:48 PM on June 27, 2022
I haven't read these but they might fit the bill:
Almost flying (Jun 2021)
Arlow, Jake Maia
Would-be amusement park aficionado Dalia only has two items on her summer bucket list: (1) finally ride a roller coaster and (2) figure out how to make a new best friend. But when her dad suddenly announces that he's engaged, Dalia's schemes come to a screeching halt. With Dalia's future stepsister Alexa heading back to college soon, the grown-ups want the girls to spend the last weeks of summer bonding--meaning Alexa has to cancel the amusement park road trip she's been planning for months. Luckily Dalia comes up with a new plan: if she joins Alexa on her trip and brings Rani, the new girl from her swim team, along maybe she can have the perfect summer after all. But what starts out as a week of funnel cakes and Lazy River rides goes off the rails when Dalia discovers that Alexa's girlfriend is joining the trip. And keeping Alexa's secret makes Dalia realize one of her own: she might have more-than-friend feelings for Rani.
Where the heart is (Apr 2019)
Knowles, Johanna
An unexpectedly challenging summer job and her parents' financial difficulties are further complicated by 13-year-old Rachel's best friend's changing feelings and her own uncertainty about whether she even likes boys.
posted by xo at 3:53 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Almost flying (Jun 2021)
Arlow, Jake Maia
Would-be amusement park aficionado Dalia only has two items on her summer bucket list: (1) finally ride a roller coaster and (2) figure out how to make a new best friend. But when her dad suddenly announces that he's engaged, Dalia's schemes come to a screeching halt. With Dalia's future stepsister Alexa heading back to college soon, the grown-ups want the girls to spend the last weeks of summer bonding--meaning Alexa has to cancel the amusement park road trip she's been planning for months. Luckily Dalia comes up with a new plan: if she joins Alexa on her trip and brings Rani, the new girl from her swim team, along maybe she can have the perfect summer after all. But what starts out as a week of funnel cakes and Lazy River rides goes off the rails when Dalia discovers that Alexa's girlfriend is joining the trip. And keeping Alexa's secret makes Dalia realize one of her own: she might have more-than-friend feelings for Rani.
Where the heart is (Apr 2019)
Knowles, Johanna
An unexpectedly challenging summer job and her parents' financial difficulties are further complicated by 13-year-old Rachel's best friend's changing feelings and her own uncertainty about whether she even likes boys.
posted by xo at 3:53 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake:
When a tornado rips through town, twelve-year-old Ivy Aberdeen's house is destroyed and her family of five is displaced. Ivy feels invisible and ignored in the aftermath of the storm--and what's worse, her notebook filled with secret drawings of girls holding hands has gone missing.
Mysteriously, Ivy's drawings begin to reappear in her locker with notes from someone telling her to open up about her identity. Ivy thinks--and hopes--that this someone might be her classmate, another girl for whom Ivy has begun to develop a crush. Will Ivy find the strength and courage to follow her true feelings?
posted by Jeanne at 4:17 PM on June 27, 2022 [4 favorites]
When a tornado rips through town, twelve-year-old Ivy Aberdeen's house is destroyed and her family of five is displaced. Ivy feels invisible and ignored in the aftermath of the storm--and what's worse, her notebook filled with secret drawings of girls holding hands has gone missing.
Mysteriously, Ivy's drawings begin to reappear in her locker with notes from someone telling her to open up about her identity. Ivy thinks--and hopes--that this someone might be her classmate, another girl for whom Ivy has begun to develop a crush. Will Ivy find the strength and courage to follow her true feelings?
posted by Jeanne at 4:17 PM on June 27, 2022 [4 favorites]
I also was going to say Lumberjanes.
She might also like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, a comic in which the superhero has a best friend who seems pretty clearly intended to read as asexual. The emphasis in this one is on friendship.
From another Ask last year, I bought Tillie Walden's On a Sunbeam which is a brick of a graphic novel with a lesbian love story in space, pretty PG if I recall. Very beautiful drawings.
(I like comics I guess)
If she seems interested in a "sex talk" kind of book that's more inclusive than the one my mom gave me (Where Did I Come From? in case you're interested) I have Sex is a Funny Word on the shelf for when my kid starts asking. It's very open-ended and is by the same authors of What Makes a Baby, which we found lovely and wildly inclusive. I see that they recently published You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things which continues along the same lines.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 4:18 PM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
She might also like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, a comic in which the superhero has a best friend who seems pretty clearly intended to read as asexual. The emphasis in this one is on friendship.
From another Ask last year, I bought Tillie Walden's On a Sunbeam which is a brick of a graphic novel with a lesbian love story in space, pretty PG if I recall. Very beautiful drawings.
(I like comics I guess)
If she seems interested in a "sex talk" kind of book that's more inclusive than the one my mom gave me (Where Did I Come From? in case you're interested) I have Sex is a Funny Word on the shelf for when my kid starts asking. It's very open-ended and is by the same authors of What Makes a Baby, which we found lovely and wildly inclusive. I see that they recently published You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things which continues along the same lines.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 4:18 PM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: The Elusive Architeuthis good question! Fiction - thanks! (She LOVES graphic novels and I see a lot of those above, thank you.)
posted by tristeza at 4:23 PM on June 27, 2022
posted by tristeza at 4:23 PM on June 27, 2022
I asked a similar question a couple years ago. Maybe you’ll find the answers helpful. :)
posted by fancyoats at 4:24 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by fancyoats at 4:24 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is about a parent being gay and not the main character, but Rebecca Stead has a book called The List of Things That Will Not Change. It is entirely appropriate for a ten year old.
posted by soelo at 4:35 PM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by soelo at 4:35 PM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: fancyoats, thanks! didn't quite hit the right tags. :)
posted by tristeza at 4:44 PM on June 27, 2022
posted by tristeza at 4:44 PM on June 27, 2022
Oh, just thought of another one: The Insiders, which is a magic-realism type of story set in the modern day. It has a lesbian character in the core friend group, and the others are all LGBT. I found it very charming, though my kid found the embarrassing middle school social stuff too embarrassing to finish. I know that Mark Oshiro, the author, has written other middle grade and YA stuff, and that they have written about centering their queer and POC experiences, but I'm not sure about the content of the others, specifically.
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:55 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:55 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Chad Sell graphic novels are great for this, both Cardboard Kingdom and Doodleville.
posted by umbú at 5:00 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by umbú at 5:00 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
You will have better luck and find some fantastic lists for age-appropriate books for a 10 year old if you search for LGBTQIA+ MG/middle grade, rather than YA/young adult. MG is slotted for 8-12 year olds. YA is slotted for 12-18 year olds (and in some cases, 14-18.)
To specifically answer your question, check out THIS IS OUR RAINBOW edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby. It's a fantastic queer middle grade anthology, edited by two fantastic queer people. (Full disclosure, I have edited Katherine Locke, and I share an agent with Nicole Melleby.)
posted by headspace at 5:05 PM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
To specifically answer your question, check out THIS IS OUR RAINBOW edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby. It's a fantastic queer middle grade anthology, edited by two fantastic queer people. (Full disclosure, I have edited Katherine Locke, and I share an agent with Nicole Melleby.)
posted by headspace at 5:05 PM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
Mine adored The Prince and the Dressmaker which is about gender and choice and friendship, and just very lovely.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 7:12 PM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 7:12 PM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
An early contribution to this genre was Hey, Dollface, which came out (heh) in 1978. The linked page says it's reading level grades 7-12, but I read it when I was 11, so if your kidlet is a strong reader I imagine it would be OK in terms of the text itself. I don't remember enough about it to say whether it delves into sexuality per se, but it certainly nails the friendship part.
posted by scratch at 7:28 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by scratch at 7:28 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
George by Alex Gino is more about gender identity. Atypical on Netflix has a sibling character that struggles with finding their way in high school which is decent family viewing with tweens.
posted by childofTethys at 6:16 AM on June 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by childofTethys at 6:16 AM on June 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Nimona is another graphic novel that features a young shapeshifter who begins working as a sidekick for a fantasy villain. It sticks to friendships and no real romance or sexuality. Nimona's sexual orientation is never stated, but the author, ND Stevenson (who also worked on Lumberjanes), is bigender and transmasculine, and Nimona is noticeably queer-coded with themes about the fluidity of one's identity.
posted by castlebravo at 8:28 AM on June 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by castlebravo at 8:28 AM on June 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by tchemgrrl at 3:01 PM on June 27, 2022 [13 favorites]