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.

Publication year 2020

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, LGBTQ, Children's Literature


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Parenting, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Beauty, Life/Time: Birth, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Food, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Life/Time: The Future

Tags Lyric Poem, Education, Education, History: World, Romance, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Regret

Tags Lyric Poem, Love / Sexuality


Publication year 1891

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Sexuality

Tags Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction, Play: Drama, German Literature

Spring Awakening: A Children’s Tragedy is an 1891 bildungsroman by the German playwright Frank Wedekind. The play chronicles a group of teenagers struggling to navigate puberty in the sexually repressive environment of fin-de-siècle provincial Germany. In its indictment of repressive bourgeois mores, the play addresses topics that prevented it from being performed until 1906, including gay relationships, masturbation, suicide, and rape. This foundational work of Modern theater is notable for the amorality of its teenage... Read Spring Awakening Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1954

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Classic Fiction, French Literature, Romance, Love / Sexuality

The Story of O is a 1954 erotic novel written by French writer Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage. Explicit and intense in tone, the work centers on the sexual life and fantasies of O, who engages in sadomasochistic play with her lover and several other figures, both men and women. At the time the novel was written, women in Europe faced an atmosphere that was repressive both sexually and professionally, leading many... Read Story of O Summary


Publication year 1958

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Southern Gothic, Play: Drama, American Literature, Southern Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction

Suddenly Last Summer (1958) is a one-act play by American playwright Tennessee Williams. It was originally staged with another Williams drama (Something Unspoken) in a double bill known as Garden District and met with mixed reviews upon its Broadway premiere. This may have been due to the content of the play, which includes pedophilia, cannibalism, and relationships between men (considered scandalous at the time). Indeed, Williams reportedly modeled Suddenly Last Summer and its two-monologue structure... Read Suddenly, Last Summer Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Mental Health

Tags Food, Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2020

Genre Memoir in Verse, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Sexuality, Self Discovery, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World


Publication year 1891

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Gender, Society: Class, Society: Community, Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride

Tags Romance, Victorian Period, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, British Literature, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period

Tess of the D’Urbervilles is Victorian writer Thomas Hardy’s 12th novel. It was first published in 1891 as a serial in the newspaper The Graphic; this serialized publication was followed by a three-volume edition in 1891 and a single volume in 1892. Like many of Hardy’s other realist novels, Tess is set in the fictional, southwestern English region of Wessex, using fictional locations closely modelled after real ones. Hardy’s sympathetic portrayal of a young woman... Read Tess of the D'Urbervilles Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Teams, Society: Community, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Action / Adventure, Humor


Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Sports, Relationships, Psychological Fiction

Published in 2011, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach is a work of literary fiction depicting the interwoven journeys of characters at Westish, a fictional small liberal arts college in Wisconsin. Henry Skrimshander is a talented baseball shortstop whose future is jeopardized by an errant throw. His development intersects with that of his teammate Schwartz; his roommate, Owen; college president Guert; and Pella, Guert’s daughter and a newly enrolled student of Westish. The novel... Read The Art of Fielding Summary


Publication year 2

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Life/Time: Midlife, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity

Tags Lyric Poem, Romance, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Ancient Rome, Didacticism, Love / Sexuality, Philosophy, Arts / Culture, History: European, Gender / Feminism, Relationships, Philosophy, Classical Period, History: World, Fantasy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1956

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Psychology, Philosophy, Self Help, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Sociology


Publication year 2001

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Psychology, Self Help, Philosophy, Relationships, Love / Sexuality, Philosophy, Business / Economics, History: World, Psychology


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Irish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Disability, Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Bullying, Disability, Education, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

The Beginning of Everything is a young adult coming-of-age novel by the accomplished American author Robyn Schneider. First published in 2013, it is Schneider’s debut novel and has been nominated for numerous YA book awards. It is published in multiple countries, in the UK under the title Severed Heads, Broken Hearts.Schneider, who lives in Los Angeles, is the author of several other bestselling YA books: Extraordinary Means; Invisible Ghosts; You Don’t Live Here. Her newest... Read The Beginning of Everything Summary


Publication year 1958

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Sexuality

Tags Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality, LGBTQ, British Literature, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy