Social Intercourse--"If I had known losing my virginity would be so nerve-wracking, I would've stayed home and watched the Golden Girls marathon with my dad"

Title: Social Intercourse

Author: Greg Howard


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): High school seniors openly-gay Beckett and star quarterback Jaxon have little in common, but then Beck's dad starts dating one of Jax's moms. Beck is afraid that his dad will get his heart broken again, and Jax wants his moms to get back together and be a family again.  Meanwhile, Beck is planning the Rainbow Prom, Jax is struggling with his bisexuality, and all have to deal with homophobia in their small Southern town.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): My summary doesn't reflect the tone of this book--it is absolutely hilarious!  Sure, it deals with some serious subjects, but the voices of each narrator are so down-to-earth that Social Intercourse is delightful to read.

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park--"& brothers, JFK, sign language, divas, & extreme fabulousness!"

Title: My Most Excellent Year:  A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park

Author:  Steve Kluger

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): TC, Augie, and Alè tell stories of their freshman year in high school.  When TC was six, his mother died, and TC and Augie became close friends and "brothers."  Alè is new in school, the daughter of the US ambassador to Mexico, and secretly taking singing and dancing lessons. TC develops an instant crush on her. Meanwhile, Augie comes into his own as a fabulous, singer-dancer-actor, taking the school by storm in Kiss Me Kate.

What I think:  Wow, I am not sure I can adequately describe how much I loved this book.  I think I will just list some of the awesome parts of the book below:

Lizard Radio--"Life is about ambiguity" OR "The Lizard People were just a red herring!"

Title: Lizard Radio

Author: Pat Schmatz


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Kivali is sent to CropCamp, a place where the SayFree government sends teenagers go to become productive adult members of society.  Gender-neutral Kivali (nicknamed Lizard) feels different from the other campers, but she knows she must either try to fit in or accept her place as an outcast, which would send her to Blight, a government-sanctioned area for criminals and other non-conforming citizens.  Lizard also wonders: was she sent here from another planet?

What I think (in 250 words or fewer): At the beginning of Lizard Radio, I thought of Scott Westfeld's Uglies because slang was used immediately by the main characters and readers had to figure it out as they read, such as mealio (cafeteria), cleezies (chores), and jazzing (messing around).  Another similarity to the Uglies dystopia was when teenagers came of age, they would be controlled by the government: Uglies with plastic (and brain) surgery and CropCampers with the kickshaw.

Alex as Well--"More about untreated mental illness than intersex or trans"

Title: Alex as Well

Author: Alyssa Brugman

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Alex, who was raised as a boy, always knew that she was really a girl.  Even as she lives as a girl, the "boy Alex" still lives inside her--it's like she is two people at once.  Alex struggles to live authentically as she deals with her mentally unstable mother and non-confrontational father. When she enrolls in a new school and contacts a solicitor to help her change her birth certificate, Alex discovers something startling.

What I think (in 400 words or fewer):  This book was . . . unsettling.  Alex identifies as a girl and the "boy" Alex talks to her in her head, like another personality.  Every time Alex does something particularly masculine, or rude and vulgar, she blames "boy Alex."  Alex refers to her male part as her "noodle" and mentions that it is smaller than average.

Saving Alex--"We still have a lot of work to do"

Title:  Saving Alex:  When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began

Author:  Alex Cooper with Joanna Brooks

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): When fifteen-year-old Alex tells her parents that she is a lesbian, she thinks her parents are sending her away to live with her grandparents.  However, Alex's parents send her to the Siales, a husband and wife team who take in "rebellious" teenagers and "fix" them.  Until Alex manages to escape with the help of school staff and a lawyer, she is physically and mentally abused in order to "cure" her of her homosexuality.

What I think (in 250 words or fewer):  Saving Alex that reads like one of those delightfully trashy unauthorized Kitty Kelley biographies that I went through a phase of reading in high school (don't judge).  I do not mean, however, to negate the seriousness of Alex's story by comparing it to a sensationalist novel.  Saving Alex is an autobiography and therefore is authorized, and it is truly horrifying.

Far from the Tree--"A fantastic book, but a tear-jerker for sure"

Title: Far from the Tree

Author: Robin Benway


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Sixteen-year-old Grace has just given her baby up for adoption.  Desperate to connect with someone who knows how she feels, Grace decides to search for her birth mother and finds two half-siblings, Joaquin (who has spent his life in foster care) and Maya (whose volatile parents are getting divorced). Together, the newly-united siblings search for their mother but also learn about love, belonging, and what it means to be a family.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I downloaded this e-book to give me something happier to read while I took a break from the intense angst of Call Me by Your Name.  Ha, ha, ha, the joke was on me--I read Far from the Tree--and cried and cried and cried.  A fantastic book, but a tear-jerker.