Tag: Contemporary

Dreamers

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Dreamers

T.J. Baer

“Heartfelt and full of love, Dreamers will stay with you long after finishing. Baer has crafted a beautiful portrait of friendship, family, and staying true to yourself.”
—Alison Evans, author of EUPHORIA KIDS

The week of Leo Torres’ sixteenth birthday, he decides to finally start living as the boy he is. Armed with a new haircut, a chest binder, and a stack of notes declaring his new name to his teachers, Leo shows up to the first day of school ready for a brand new start.

But the ghosts of the past aren’t so easy to overcome. As word about him spreads around school, Leo has to deal with confused classmates, a furious sister, and recurring dreams featuring his long-dead father, who promises he can teach Leo how to “dream walk.” Leo is almost positive the dreams are just that—dreams—but when they take him into the dreamscape of the soft-spoken new kid, Robbie, Leo realizes nothing is as it seems.

Leo never expected to spend his sixteenth year coming out, falling in love, and walking into other people’s sleeping minds, but he’s learning that pretty much anything is possible. Anything he can dream.

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Click here for T.J. Baer's author page.

Also available as an audiobook, narrated by Zia Amador!

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Books by T.J. Baer

Of Gods and Boys

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Of Gods and Boys

Harry F. Rey

Teenager Achilles is fresh out of juvie.

It wasn't even for something he did; he took the fall for a crime committed by his father, a member of the Greek mafia. As hard as prison was for Achilles, being outside is proving even harder. He struggles to reconnect with his former girlfriend Carla while getting his GED and navigating the bizarre parole condition of qualifying for a Greco-Roman wrestling competition. At least his mom, an ardent follower of traditional Greek religion, is there to help Achilles win the favor of the gods with animal sacrifices in the back garden.

When Principal McKenna sets Achilles up with a student tutor, out-and-proud Hispanic math genius Jesús, things start to turn mythical. After saving Jesús from a violent homophobic attack, the Gods want a word with Achilles. With the help of Underworld boatman Charon (in full drag), Achilles' heroic actions spark an epic adventure of mythological proportions that will force Achilles to confront, and defeat, all his many, many demons in order to win what his heart truly desires.

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Click here for Harry F. Rey's author page.

Books by Harry F. Rey

You Can Call Me Cooper

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You Can Call Me Cooper

Cali Kitsu

Eighteen and newly single, baseball all-star Coop Morgan should feel devastated, but instead he feels...ambivalent. That is, until Ethan Prescott, his coach's gorgeous son, joins the team. Coop and Ethan feel an immediate connection, one that Coop has never felt before.

Just when Coop is about to make a move on Ethan, he stumbles on his late mother's journal and learns old secrets—about his family, about the people around him, about his past, and about his present. Secrets that had forever altered the course of his life to bring him to where he is now.

Between these long-buried secrets, forbidden romances, baseball shenanigans, and more, Coop is driven to embrace what he truly wants—Ethan. It takes everything Coop has to free himself from the shackles of the past, but in doing so, he might just be the key to everyone getting their happy-ever-afters.

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Click here for Cali Kitsu's author page.

Our L.I.F.E.

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Our L.I.F.E.

L.I.F.E., Book Three

Felyx Lawson

Rider Williams is your typical College student. He has classes, plays guitar, is in a long distance relationship, is missing his boyfriend, and has become a teaching assistant in his first semester. Okay so he’s not your typical college student.

Being so far away from each other is more difficult than Rider or Cam could have imagined. They are struggling to stay connected, but when Rider meets Nixs, an older student who he has so much in common with, it’s not long till Rider starts having feelings and things get a lot more complicated. Cam is also struggling, not only with missing Rider but with a number of his teammates when they discover he’s dating a guy.

Is it just the distance that’s the issue, or will the potential of new love be to much?

Freshman year has only just begun but Rider already knows College L.I.F.E is a lot more complex than high school.

Publisher's Note:
This story explores love, friendship, and chosen family, but it also explores depression and self-harm. Please read with care.

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Touchy Feely Sweet Thing

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Touchy Feely Sweet Thing

Happy Lucky Everything, Book Two

Kieran Frank

Jayden has dropped his ex, Kail, but he deserved it, even if it leaves Jayden feeling lonely. His bestie, Sasha, is going out of state for college next year, creating a countdown for the end of their friendship. Ollie continues to capture Jayden's heart, but that boy isn't around much these days. Gracie, a Christian extremist with a hate-on for Jayden, just keeps making his life worse. And his mother doesn't seem to care about anything except her new boyfriend, Mitch.

Now, there’s someone new who enters Jayden's life...

Geoff is an exchange student from Germany. He's staying with Sasha and her family—and he seems to be taking Jayden's place in Sasha's life. Maybe that countdown to the end of their friendship is already over? But as Jayden forces himself to learn to like Geoff, he learns he might like him a little more than he wanted to. Jayden's heart belongs to Ollie, but Ollie's not around enough. Geoff, though...

Ollie started as Jayden's squish, then became a crush. But will he also be that special sweet thing that gives Jayden all the feels? Or will Geoff claim that space in Jayden's heart instead?

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My Only Real Friend is the Easter Bunny at the Mall

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My Only Real Friend is the Easter Bunny at the Mall

Christina Bagni

When Mo’s therapist suggested she get an after-school job to help with her depression, she didn’t expect to end up as the photographer at the Easter Bunny photo set. She also didn’t expect to befriend Billy, the man in the bunny suit—an extremely tattooed ex-gangster (probably).

Mo’s therapist also didn’t lay out the risks. Like how Mo’s shoplifting habit might make things difficult with her mall cop dad. Or how the cute changing room attendant at Pandora’s Box might reveal to the world that Mo’s queer before she’s ready.

Or how it all might end with Mo getting arrested.

Well, whatever her therapist expected, Mo’s about to tell her the truth…for maybe the first time. Because after it all blows up, she’s all Mo’s got—besides her only real friend, the Easter Bunny at the mall.

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I Know You’re Out There Somewhere

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I Know You're Out There Somewhere

Joe Baumann

Kyle Filburn appears to have a picture-perfect life. He's entering his senior year, in a relationship with a great girl, on his high school's three-times-straight state championship soccer team, and an art professor from the local university has invited him to show and sell his work in his gallery.

But a chance meeting with a midfielder from a rival high school creates cracks in this picture-perfect life. Kyle develops feelings for this boy, throwing him into confusion. What does he want? And with whom? And when an anonymous patron starts buying his art, Kyle starts to wonder whether he should really be pursuing art school rather than athletics.

It becomes crystal clear that this picture-perfect life no longer reflects who Kyle is or who he wants to be...but what does that mean for Kyle?

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L.I.F.E. Too

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L.I.F.E. Too

L.I.F.E. #2

Felyx Lawson

Rider Williams is a typical high school student. He has classes, plays guitar, and dreams of being a journalist. He’s out at school, even if it wasn’t his choice, and he’s secretly dating a boy from the basketball team. Okay, so he’s not your typical high school student.

While Rider might be out, his relationship with Cameron Walker is not. Cam loves their time together. What he feels for Rider is something he’s never felt before, but despite being head over heels for each other, both struggle to say how they truly feel.

Maybe the class trip to New York City will be the push they need to grow even closer? Or maybe not. Turns out Rider and Cam have to share their room with Octavius Spencer and Michael Myers—two of Rider’s biggest enemies. Relationships are difficult in high school, and even more so when they’re half in the closet.

Can Rider and Cam survive their senior year?

There’s still plenty of the school year left, but Rider knows L.I.F.E. is just getting started.

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Blowin’ My Mind Like a Summer Breeze

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Blowin' My Mind Like a Summer Breeze

Benjamin Roesch

Fifteen-year-old Rainey Cobb never thought meeting someone could actually change her life. But, then again, she’s never met anyone like Juliet.

It’s 1995 and The Cobb Family Band, led by Rainey’s rock star parents, has arrived for a week-long gig at the Midwestern resort owned by Juliet’s family. Dazzled by Juliet’s carpe diem attitude, DIY tattoos, and passion for grunge, Rainey falls hard. And when Juliet gives Rainey a mixtape that unlocks her heart’s secret yearnings, Rainey starts seeing herself—and her vagabond, show-biz life—through new eyes.

If Rainey quits the band, her parents’ fading career might never recover. But if she doesn’t leap now, she might be stuck forever in a life she didn’t choose…and always wonder who she could have been.

Teacher's guide / discussion guide can be downloaded here.

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Also available as an audiobook, narrated by Nicola Fordwood!

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This book has a Spotify playlist!
Listen to the mixtape that Juliet makes for Rainey!
Click here to visit Spotify

Gay Love and Other Big Disasters

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Gay Love and Other Big Disasters

Jordan and Benjamin Forever #3

Dylan James

Jordan and Benjamin's love story has always been like a fairy tale.

What they don't realize is that old fairy tales often have a bad ending.

Freshly home from their first year of university, Jordan and Benjamin are looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends and growing even closer as a couple. But Jordan's parents are fighting like they've never fought before, their friends are moving forward in their relationships in ways that make Jordan doubt his own, and all the subtle differences between straight and gay relationships start to become loud warning signs that his fairy tale love with Benjamin is headed toward disaster.

There's one thing that can get him through all of this—opening up to Benjamin and telling him his deepest fears—but Jordan is too afraid to do so. If he exposes the cracks in their relationship, will Benjamin conclude it's unsalvageable?

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