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.

Neon Gods

by Katee Robert

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Love

Tags Romance, Fantasy, Mythology, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction

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Nimona

by N. D. Stevenson

Publication year 2015

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Family, Sexual Identity, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Humor, Action & Adventure, Fairy Tale & Folklore

Nimona is a young adult graphic novel created by N. D. Stevenson and published in 2015 by HarperCollins. It is based on Stevenson’s webcomic, also titled Nimona, which was published in 2012 and earned Slate magazine’s 2012 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Web Comic of the Year. The graphic novel adaptation also received critical acclaim, earning the 2016 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: Reprint and becoming a 2015 National Book Award Finalist.Nimona is a... Read Nimona Summary

Oil and Marble

by Stephanie Storey

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Death, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Fathers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Fate, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture, Renaissance

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Olga Dies Dreaming

by Xóchitl González

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Family, Mothers, Sexual Identity, Race, Power & Greed, Colonialism, Economics

Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Social Class, Finance, US History, Natural Disaster, Parenting, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

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Olive's Ocean

by Kevin Henkes

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Family, Sexual Identity, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Relationships

Kevin Henkes is the author of Olive’s Ocean, a 2001 coming-of-age chapter book for young readers. Kevin has written and illustrated several books for children and young readers, including Waiting (1991) and The Year of Billy Miller (2013). Henkes was born in Wisconsin, and this Midwest state is the home of his character Billy Miller, as well as Martha Boyle, the 12-year-old protagonist in Olive’s Ocean. In the novel, Martha grapples with the sudden death... Read Olive's Ocean Summary

One in a Millennial

by Kate Kennedy

Publication year 2024

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Nostalgia, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Childhood & Youth, Self Discovery

Tags World History, Humor, Arts & Culture, Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies

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One Last Stop

by Casey McQuiston

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Love, Memory, Future, The Past, Sexual Identity, Trust & Doubt, Gender Identity

Tags Romance, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction, Humor, Magical Realism, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read One Last Stop Summary

One of the Girls

by Lucy Clarke

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Regret, Revenge, Femininity, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Self Discovery, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction

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One Thousand White Women

by Jim Fergus

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, The Past, Family, Colonialism, Politics & Government

Tags Western, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

One Thousand White Women (1998) is a work of historical fiction by American author Jim Fergus. A work of revisionist Western fiction, the book was Fergus’s debut novel and received the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association’s Fiction of the Year Award. Fergus drew on his experience as a journalist and his interest in the American West to write the story. Presented as the discovered journal of May Dodd, the novel recounts her experience as a... Read One Thousand White Women Summary

Onyx Storm

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Loneliness, Love, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, The Past, Fathers, Siblings, Teamwork, Self Discovery, War, Good & Evil, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Romance, New Adult

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Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

by Jeanette Winterson

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Sexual Identity, Conflict, Love, Shame & Pride, Family, Mothers

Tags LGBTQ+, Life-Inspired Fiction, Coming of Age, Gender & Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is the debut novel of Jeannette Winterson, originally published on March 21, 1985 by Pandora Press in London. The story is a semi-autobiographical novel that closely follows the childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood of Jeanette, who, like Winterson, is adopted into a Pentecostal Evangelist household and raised in the church. As she grows, she comes to terms with her sexuality as a lesbian and faces condemnation and judgment from... Read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Summary

Our Evenings

by Alan Hollinghurst

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Race, Sexual Identity, The Past, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Equality, Fame, Literature

... Read Our Evenings Summary

Out of the Easy

by Ruta Sepetys

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Friendship, Sexual Identity, Community, Safety & Danger, Daughters & Sons, Literature, Mothers, Family, Shame & Pride, Nature Versus Nurture, Fathers, Gender Identity, Appearance & Reality, Truth & Lies, Perseverance, Loneliness, Guilt, Hope

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Southern Literature, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Romance

Out of the Easy, written by Ruta Sepetys and published in 2013, is a young adult historical fiction novel. Sepetys is an award-winning Lithuanian American writer of young adult historical fiction. Her honors include the Carnegie Medal, awarded to one work of children’s or young adult literature per year. Her novels are international best sellers and are widely translated. Out of the Easy is about Josie, a teenage girl living in the French Quarter of... Read Out of the Easy Summary

Paul's Case

by Willa Cather

Publication year 1905

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Art, Beauty, Social Class

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Depression & Suicide, Finance, Education, Education, LGBTQ+

Willa Cather’s short story “Paul’s Case” was published in 1905 in McClure's Magazine. In its original iteration, the story was titled “Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament,” but it was later shortened to the current title. The story became a popular one of Cather’s, in part because it was one of the only few that she allowed to be anthologized, but also for the debates over its interpretation. “Paul’s Case” was turned into a TV... Read Paul's Case Summary

Perfect Peace

by Daniel Black

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Guilt, Regret, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Self Discovery, Community, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Family

Tags Gender & Feminism, World History, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+

... Read Perfect Peace Summary