Usually one wants to highlight all the really good services that your organization DOES offer. In this case, however, there's just so much Young Adult (and YA-friendly) fiction coming out that our library just can't buy it all, even though we have readers who've read everything we've got in a genre and still want more. At one point, I started creating a "next-best" running list of titles of GLBT novels that sound good but aren't in the Paideia Library's collection. But you know what? There are just too many!
Instead, I very heartily recommend the blog of YA author Lee Wind, who has been committed to reviewing GLBTQ-themed novels for teens since early 2007. The sidebar of his blog, I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read? links to all his reviews, categorized by theme. Check it out.
Other places to look for recommendations:
• The Lambda Literary Foundation, which gives the annual Lammy awards and publishes the Lambda Book Report GLBT Literature, a website devoted to books, cinema and other GLBT arts.
• The Rainbow List from the American Library Association. The 2009 list features 34 recently published books for youth from birth through age 18, representing a broad range of GLBTQ experience.
You can find these books at your local public library (links to Atlanta-area online catalogs here), in libraries around the world (via WorldCat), or as a last resort, you could buy them at your local independent bookstore.
Of course, you can always check the Paideia library catalog, or the recommended reading lists for all the great books we DO own!
1 comment:
WOW - thanks for the shout-out! These books DO make a huge difference, and I applaud you for helping Teens find out about them.
Namaste,
Lee
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