lgbtqia+ people

"Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. . . . If she swims well enough, she will be scouted, get a scholarship, go to a good school. Her parents will love her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life. But these are human concerns. These are the concerns of those confined to land, those with legs. Ren grew up on stories of creatures of the deep, of the oceans and the rivers. . . . Ones of the creature that she's always longed to become: mermaid. Ren aches to be in the water. . . . And she will do anything she can to make a life for herself where she can be free. No matter the pain. No matter what anyone else thinks. No matter how much blood she has to spill"--OCLC.

After a summer of life changing, Gabriel, Reese, Sal, and Heath are finally ready for senior year, but as graduation nears and the boys prepare to enter the real world, it is clear their friendship will never be the same.

Summer vacation quickly becomes complicated for Felicity Becker as she tries to plan a perfect wedding for her mom, figure out her feelings for her friend Nancy, and wonder what dating will look like for her as an asexual person.

In 2019, R.K. Russell broke the mold when he came out as bisexual in an essay for ESPN that ignited the sports world. Now, in his powerful memoir, THE YARDS BETWEEN US, he shares his story and explores his love of football, men and women, walking the devastating tightrope of keeping his sexuality secret, the tension between his private and public lives, and the importance of crashing through barriers. One part inspirational journey and one part coming of age as an athlete struggling to break a mold, THE YARDS BETWEEN US follows in the footsteps of moving, impactful sports memoirs like Agassi's OPEN, Misty Copeland's LIFE IN MOTION, and Megan Rapinoe's ONE LIFE. Told through the people and moments that have shaped him, Russell traces the highs and lows of his life in and out of football, from his early life as a shy kid struggling with the expectations on a Black boy and the pull between his quiet nature and his athletic ability, to being drafted by his hometown team the Dallas Cowboys, and then on to seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills. And as his time in the sport comes into full bloom, Russell realizes that keeping his secret in the NFL is easier than in college when life and football are so much more connected to social worlds. Through being cut, injured, and frustrating setbacks, Russell's confidence lags as the secret of his sexuality weighs heavier and heavier. And when that frustration is combined with the devastating loss of his best friend and sole confidant, the darkness that follows also brings a deep understanding that perhaps it's time to make a change. In Los Angeles, against the backdrop of the swaying palm trees and warm sands of Malibu, Russell falls in love and it's the final push he needs to stand up for every part of himself?a professional athlete, a writer, a son, a friend, a lover, a bisexual Black man. In THE YARDS BETWEEN US, R.K. Russell shows us the life-changing power of embracing who you are and fighting to make space so others can do the same.

"In the vein of Dominicana and My Brilliant Friend, an unforgettable story about female friendship and queer love in a Pakistani-American community Razia Mirza grows up amid the wild grape vines and backyard sunflowers of Corona, Queens, with her best friend, Saima, by her side. But when a family rift drives the girls apart, Razia's idyllic childhood is shattered forever. In middle school, Razia befriends a new girl, Taslima, and they begin to chafe at the restrictions imposed on them in their tight-knit Pakistani Muslim community. Together, they embark on a series of small rebellions: listening to scandalous American music, wearing mini skirts, and cutting school to explore the city. Then Razia is accepted to a prestigious high school in Manhattan and the gulf between the person she wants to be and the daughter her parents expect widens. There, she meets beautiful, free-spirited Angela, Razia is attracted to her in a way that first confuses her and then blossoms into new understanding. But when their relationship is discovered by an Aunty in the community, Razia must choose between her family and her own future. Punctuated by both joy and loss, full '80s music and beloved novels, Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a new classic: a fiercely compassionate coming-of-age story of a girl struggling to reconcile her own heritage and faith with her desire to be true to herself"--.