The most recommended books about coming out

Fake dating story? Check. Queer characters? Check. A fragile web of lies? Another check! In Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating, Hani and Ishu do not like each other.

They might be the only Bengali girls in their predominantly white Irish school, but that doesn't mean they're anything alike. If pretending to date someone will get you ahead in life, though, sometimes you do what you have to do. And if that turns into real feelings, well...that's a problem for another day.

I was totally smitten by this story. It's cute, well-written, and heartwarming, and it's sure to add a little bounce to your step after you turn the final page.

This book is the story of etymology: words and the mystery of their origin and utilization by writers and speakers. And of course, the story of the books that officially collect and define them. I made a list of new words, arcane and whimsical. It was amusing to guess which were legitimate usage and which were contrived to aid the narrator’s search for what is true and real. Wordplay is the name of the game. Obsessive main characters with a supporting cast of a lackadaisical cat and oddly motivated associates of the dictionary compilation project amused me up until the surprise ending. 

Walden is one of my favorite pure artists—one of those people whose drawings I look at and say to myself: “I could never draw like that even if I practiced for the rest of my life.”

She combines her jaw-dropping artwork with sensitive, nuanced writing. While her work is consistently brilliant, this book—a memoir of her time coming-of-age as a queer person while being a competitive figure skater—was one of my foremost inspirations for my book, which started as a similar queer sports memoir before morphing into semi-autobiographical fiction.

My wife introduced me to this gripping crime thriller. Set during a roasting summer within a rural southern Italian community, the tale is told through the eyes of a child.

Part of a little gang of faithless so-called friends, and surrounded by untrustworthy adults, the young hero is the only sympathetic character in the story. But what a story! Ammaniti brilliantly evokes a sense of place and time, and the sheer desperation of the poor.

This one had me laughing out loud just as much as swooning over the lovely story of Caroline and her transformation once her husband dumps her in the home where ‘difficult’ women are put when they cause too much trouble for those husbands. There are elements of steampunk, social commentary, twisted humor, and a cast of secondary characters that are as varied as they are interesting. The setting, while bleak to begin with, grows on you as you read, and once all the twists and turns finally click into place, it’s a romp of a ride to the end.

A wonderful book for young children, baby-2 years old.

Little Fish swims in the sea and sees all his friends. He says hello and wants the readers to say hello too.  There are lots of brilliantly colored fish in every color. Then there’s Striped Fish, Spotted Fish, Ele-Fish, and Shelly Fish and many others. There’s also Mommy Fish, who has lots of kisses. And then Little Fish gets to meet himself in the mirror.

The rhymes, colors, and patterns, are all wonderful. My grandson giggles all the way through the book. 

I fell deeply for Brian and identified with him. I wasn’t ever a quarterback or a football player, but I was deeply in the closet in high school, all the while pining for other guys. I admired boys like Landon, unafraid to be authentic in the face of bigotry and hate.

This is a coming-out, coming-of-age story quite unlike most out there and certainly not for the faint of heart. Its subject matter is tragic and timely and frames and focuses on the coming-out and shedding of boyhood for both of the main characters. I laughed, I cried, and it was definitely better than Cats!

I loved that this novel was told through a variety of perspectives; it made reading this so enjoyable. And I was literally on the edge of my seat, flipping the pages as fast as I could to find out who did it.

Promise Boys is a contemporary YA thriller/mystery that follows three students as they attempt to clear their names when they are framed for the death of their prep school principal. This perspective of urban youth demonstrates what can happen when dreams go unchecked and that people should come together, rather than separating themselves.

Even though this is YA, I recommend this for YA and adult readers since I think people of all ages can get something out of it. 

I’m always excited when a new Kortney Keisel book comes out.

Compared is the first in her closed-door romcom series, and it’s a brilliant debut. This book follows Meg and Tyler in a single dad, teacher/parent romance that is completely swoon-worthy and hilarious.

Kortney does a fantastic job dealing with some harder subjects while keeping the material light-hearted and fun. I always turn back to this book if I want to read something deep and meaningful, but woven with funny scenes and banter.

I also love this book for the close connection between Meg’s siblings and dad. They’re exactly what a family should be.

It’s easy to find books about vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and witches… but very rarely do you stumble across a young adult book about sirens. Not the mermaid kind (we’ve already covered mermaids), but still sinister, manipulative, and dangerous. Despite this threatening presence, this book is absolutely hilarious and a fantastic adventure. It’s also an LGBT story written by an LGBT author who has always said that this was a book he wrote for his younger self. To let him, and kids like him, know that he’s not alone. And I just love that.