Pride Month Reads

Held in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall uprising, Pride Month celebrates and affirms the worth and vitality of the LGBTQ community. Titles in this collection include notable fiction and nonfiction works by LGBTQ authors and those writing about LGBTQ topics, including Audre Lorde, Douglas Stuart, and Amy Ellis Nutt.

Jesus and John Wayne

by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Fear, Nostalgia, Masculinity, Race, Sexual Identity, Family, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

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Jonny Appleseed

by Joshua Whitehead

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Self Discovery

Tags LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction

The novel Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead was originally published in 2018 by Arsenal Pulp Press. Whitehead, a queer Indigenous writer from Peguis Frist Nation, uses the auto-fictional character of Jonny to explore the intersections of LGBTQ+ and Indigenous identity. The novel was a 2021 Canada Reads Winner and the winner of a Lambda Literary Award. It was also a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year and longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.This... Read Jonny Appleseed Summary

Kaikeyi

by Vaishnavi Patel

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Nation, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags World History, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mythology, LGBTQ+, Indian Literature

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Keesha's House

by Helen Frost

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Gratitude, Grief, Hope, Loneliness, Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Sexual Identity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger

Tags Realistic Fiction, Narrative Poem

Keesha’s House (2003) is a coming-of-age novel in verse by Helen Frost. Frost has published several books for young readers, including other novels in verse. Keesha’s House is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, and it is praised for introducing young readers to poetry. Frost uses sestinas and sonnets to tell the stories of seven teens—Stephie, Jason, Keesha, Carmen, Dontay, Harris, and Katie—who confront different levels of precarity. The narratives alternate and intersect, and they... Read Keesha's House Summary

Key Player

by Kelly Yang

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Language, Race, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Place, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Sports

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Kingmaker

by Sonia Purnell

Publication year 2024

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, The Past, Marriage, Social Class, Politics & Government, War

Tags Biography, History, European History, World War II, US History, Gender & Feminism

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Lady Chatterley's Lover

by D. H. Lawrence

Publication year 1928

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Love, Sexual Identity, Femininity

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Love & Sexuality, British Literature, Modernism, World History, Historical Fiction

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a Modernist novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. It was written between 1926 and 1928, while Lawrence was living in Italy, and first published privately in 1928. Since it was considered scandalous and obscene, the novel was not widely available in America or the United Kingdom until the 1960s. The novel was controversial because of its explicit sexual content, as well as its depiction of an adulterous affair between... Read Lady Chatterley's Lover Summary

Land of Milk and Honey

by C Pam Zhang

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Language, Race, Sexual Identity, Future, Animals, Climate, Environment, Food, Place, Social Class, Power & Greed, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Food, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ+

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Last Exit to Brooklyn

by Hubert Selby Jr.

Publication year 1964

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Social Class, Community

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Horror & Suspense, Realism, Poverty, Psychological Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Last Exit to Brooklyn is a 1958 novel by Hubert Selby Jr. Set in the Brooklyn borough of New York City in the 1950s, the novel portrays the interconnected lives of the residents. The loosely connected stories involve crime, violence, and poverty, as well as drug-use, sex work, and sexual assault. The novel was criticized for its graphic portrayal of controversial themes, resulting in several court cases in the United States and the United Kingdom... Read Last Exit to Brooklyn Summary

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

by Malinda Lo

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Sexual Identity, Race, Gender Identity, Femininity, Masculinity, Love, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Equality, Truth & Lies, Loyalty & Betrayal, Family, Friendship

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance, Coming of Age, Love & Sexuality, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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Lavinia

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Grief, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, Military & War, Italian Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

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Lawn Boy

by Jonathan Evison

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Coming of Age, Sexual Identity

Tags Coming of Age, LGBTQ+, Relationships, Social Class, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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Les Belles Soeurs

by Michel Tremblay

Publication year 1968

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Social Class

Tags Drama

Les Belles-Soeurs, or The Sisters-in-Law, was written in 1965 and premiered at the Théâtre du Rideau Vert in Montreal in 1968. Although it was Canadian playwright Michel Tremblay’s first major play, Les Belles-Soeurs revolutionized Canadian drama as the first professionally produced play written in joual, the vernacular dialect of the Québécois working class. During the 1960s, in an era known as the Quiet Revolution, joual became politicized as a symbol of the oppressed proletariat, while... Read Les Belles Soeurs Summary

Less

by Andrew Sean Greer

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity

Tags LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Humor

Written by Andrew Sean Greer and published in 2017, Less is a satirical comedy novel. It portrays the journey of Arthur Less, who after a difficult breakup plots a round-the-world trip to better understand himself. It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.Plot SummaryApproaching 50, Arthur Less sits in a hotel lobby waiting to be picked up for a literary event. He is a writer and will be interviewing another writer, albeit a sci-fi author... Read Less Summary

Like Water for Chocolate

by Laura Esquivel

Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Food, Family, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Siblings, Marriage, Self Discovery, War

Tags Magical Realism, Latin American Literature, Historical Fiction, Romance, Food, Gender & Feminism, Love & Sexuality, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Like Water for Chocolate is the debut novel of Laura Esquivel, published in Mexico in 1989 and then translated into English by Carol and Thomas Christensen. Esquivel has sold over four million copies of the novel worldwide. She is a novelist and active politician serving in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. She collaborated with her husband at the time to adapt the novel into a film in 1992, which was then nominated for a Golden... Read Like Water for Chocolate Summary