Tag: Contemporary

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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More by Felyx Lawson

Twins for Life

L.I.F.E.

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! The audiobook is currently nominated for a VoiceOver award from SOVAS!

Listen to a preview below!

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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More by Dylan James

Drag Queens, Emo Teens & Big Dreams

Frankenstein Builds a Boyfriend

Gay Love and Other Christmas Magic

Thunder

Gay Love and Other Fairy Tales

Squishy Crushy Something

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Squishy Crushy Something

Happy Lucky Everything, Book One

Kieran Frank

Jayden never expected he’d be the type to develop a squish on a boy, never mind a full-blown crush.

It started with Kail, a boy with looks and popularity and all-around awesomeness. Developing a squish on Kail might’ve been natural for Jayden, of course, as anyone could fall for that boy. But it’s now three years later, the summer before senior year, and Jayden’s squish on Kail has grown into a crush that he can no longer ignore. And this crush is leading Jayden to make decisions he knows he’ll regret later.

But Kail isn’t the only one Jayden is having squishy crushy troubles with.

He used to be friends with Ollie, but when Ollie got too deep into religion, it drove Jayden away. Now, Ollie is back and he seems much more open-minded—not to mention much more attractive—and Jayden can’t help but develop a squish. But could it turn into a crush?

Jayden is caught between two squishy crushes—the crush on the boy that he knows is toxic, and the potential crush that could make or break a friendship—and he doesn’t know what to do. The right choice could bring him happiness, but if he makes the wrong choice he could lose everything.

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Pieces of My Life

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Pieces of My Life

Chris Bedell

Kevin should be living the life of every eighteen-year-old—applying to colleges, procrastinating on homework, and hanging with friends. Instead, he’s starting senior year at a new school, still struggling to cope with the sudden and tragic death of his secret boyfriend a mere two months ago.

He just wants to go to school, do the work, and go home…and not talk to anyone. But that plan is foiled by Wesley, an arrogant, talkative jock who just won’t leave Kevin alone. It gets even worse when they’re assigned to work together on a project. And it really hits rock bottom when Kevin realizes Wesley is flirting with him.

But maybe this could be a good thing—for both of them. With Wesley being closeted, maybe Kevin can help him make peace with who he is. And if he explores this flirtation with Wesley, this might be the thing to help Kevin work through the grief that clouds his days and find the light of happiness again.

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More by Chris Bedell

Dying Before Living

I’ll See You Again

Deathly Desires

Drag Queens, Emo Teens & Big Dreams

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Drag Queens, Emo Teens & Big Dreams

Muscles and Mascara #1

Dylan James

For Corbin, his secret double-life as a drag queen is the escape he needs from his oppressive life as the son in a hyper-masculine family. But that escape comes to an end when his older brother finds out his secret.

Corbin has two secrets.

The first secret is that he’s gay. He’s known it for a while now and six months ago he met a cute guy and they’ve been dating ever since. But he can’t tell anyone. His father is like a one-man Marine recruitment poster and has made every effort to raise Corbin to be an alpha male. If he finds out Corbin is gay, he’ll forbid Corbin from seeing his boyfriend, dooming the relationship to an unhappy end.

The second secret is that he’s a drag queen. On Sundays he heads to the queer café and dons his best dress, wig, and heels, and becomes Misty Rain, putting on a captivating show to an adoring crowd. While coming out as gay would lead to a crack-down from his Dad, the punishment for putting on a dress and heels would be ten times worse—he’d be shipped off to military school and there’d be absolutely no hope for Corbin and his love.

So far, Corbin has managed to keep his secrets.

But when his older brother comes home while on leave from the Marines, he happens to catch the drag show featuring Corbin—and he spots his brother right away.

Corbin’s perfectly structured life and his big dreams are all about to come crashing down.

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Gay Love and Other Big Disasters

Frankenstein Builds a Boyfriend

Gay Love and Other Christmas Magic

Thunder

Gay Love and Other Fairy Tales

Dying Before Living

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Dying Before Living

Chris Bedell

Cameron wants nothing more than to just be left alone and live his life without being considered a freak. Ryder intrudes on that loneliness and, unexpectedly, Cameron is okay with it. But as secrets unravel and people start dying, Cameron must use his greatest secret to save himself—and risk everything in the process.

Cameron is alive.

That’s a big deal considering he had died of a genetic disease and then been put in cold storage until science could fix him and bring him back to life. But being a once-dead teen is nowhere near as much fun as one might expect. He gets no privacy because everyone knows who he is. He sometimes wonders about mortality and what happens—or what doesn’t happen—in the afterlife.

And then there’s his strange, newfound ability to make objects levitate and move if he just focuses his attention on them.

So when Ryder hits on him, the last thing Cameron wants in this world is to enter into a relationship.

When Cameron’s grandmother is murdered in broad daylight, he soon discovers her secret—his grandmother, who worked at the biotech company that revived him, was secretly communicating with the media and about to leak confidential files. Grappling with the overwhelming pressures of life and death, the nosy media, and the rising crime rate in his town, Cameron starts using those secret powers of his to get a sense of justice and order into his world. And try as he might to avoid it, he soon falls for Ryder.

But nothing is easy. Especially when Cameron uncovers the secret his grandmother wanted to leak about her boss...and it gets messy with that boss being Ryder’s father.

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More books by Chris Bedell

Pieces of My Life

I’ll See You Again

Deathly Desires

The Mixtape to My Life

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The Mixtape to My Life

Jake Martinez

Justin Ortega doesn’t just make mixtapes, he lives them.

Justin Ortega might as well be starring in his very own coming-of-age 80s movie. If only he could find his dream boy to pull up in front of his house in a red convertible and sweep him off his feet, already! At seventeen years young, he isn’t quite Mexican enough for his South Texas town; isn’t manly enough for his father; can sometimes be too much of a smart mouth for his mother; and as for the other kids at school—let’s just say he’d be cast as the quiet nerd with a heart of gold…and an ear for music.

The one solace Justin has is his love of 80s hair metal bands, which he listens to on his beloved Sony Walkman. The songs, lyrics, and melody keep him just sane enough to escape the pressures of school and help navigate the hurdles life brings. Especially with the doozy this year is shaping up to be. Not only does he have to try out for a captain position which is rightfully his, but his best friend has found a new girlfriend, leaving Justin to fend for himself in a school where he’s mostly known as simply Coconut.

Enter Dominic Mendoza. Sweet, funny, and a blast from his past, the hunky football player has moved in next door. Justin could never forget how Dominic protected him in the eighth grade, nor the way Dominic made him feel, then…and now.

Except, this isn’t a movie. Confusion, friendship, and love won’t guarantee a happy ending unless Justin can learn to accept himself for who he truly is. Hair bands and all.

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More by Jake Martinez

The Mixtape to the Real Me