Sources: Top 250 LGBTQ Books for Teens
Top 250 LGBTQ Books for Teens. Michael Cart and Christine A. Jenkins. Chicago: American Library Association, 2015. 164 p. $21.95 (ISBN: 978-1-9375-8956-1).
This book should be required reading for anyone working with teens. Cart and Jenkins have compiled a list of LGBTQ-themed books comprising fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, and professional resources. Both the fiction and graphic novel sections include codes to indicate whether the book’s themes include “homosexual visibility,” “gay assimilation,” and/or “queer consciousness.” Additional information about the meaning and use of these codes is presented in the appendix.
The book’s introduction includes a brief history of LGTBQ novels for young adults and historical publishing trends and changes. The authors also describe the criteria they used to choose the 250 books. The Fiction section of the book comprises 195 titles. These titles include both historically significant titles as well as newly published. Each entry includes the author, title, publication information, a summary of the novel, and fiction code(s). The Graphic Novel section includes the same information as the Fiction section, including the fiction code(s). The Nonfiction section includes books that, in the authors’ opinion, will stand the test of time. The Professional Resources section consists of a list of titles with publication information. As previously mentioned, the appendix includes information about the fiction codes and more history about LGTBQ books. The index includes both authors and titles in one list.
Overall, this book is well conceived and well executed. The authors provide the reader with history and a compelling rationale for the inclusion of the books on the list. This is an essential purchase for any library that serves teens, not only for those developing collections and providing readers’ advisory but also for teens themselves and for family members, teachers, and others who want to support and understand teens. This book is a phenomenal resource for collection development and a valuable teaching tool for teachers and librarians.—Melanie Wachsmann, Reference/Teen Librarian, Lone Star College-CyFair Branch Library, Cypress, Texas