Others: Mixed Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out. But now Rick's gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school's Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that... understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones.
Genres: young adult
Lists: …
Jennifer L. Armentrout
2018 · 320 pages · 2 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveA collection of short stories exploring the moment when a couple meets for the first time--from an African American girl in upstate New York who simultaneously finds a prom dress and a date to a transgender girl who confronts the student blocking her right to use the school restroom.
What made the match, strongest first
Patrick Ness
2017 · 277 pages · 1 review
Others: MixedAdam Thorn doesn't know it yet, but today will change his life. Between his religious family, a deeply unpleasant ultimatum from his boss, and his own unrequited love for his sort-of ex, Enzo, it seems as though Adam's life is falling apart. At least he has two people to keep him sane: his new boyfriend and his best friend, Angela. But all day long, old memories and new heartaches come crashing together, throwing Adam's life into chaos. The bindings of his world are coming untied one by one; yet in spite of everything he has to let go, he may also find freedom in the release.
What made the match, strongest first
Wendy Mills
2015 · 355 pages · 1 review
Others: NegativeSixteen-year-old Erin's life is fairly normal until she learns that her mother has breast cancer and she, too, may carry a mutated gene, so amid high school dramas including betrayal by her best friend, she must consider preemptive surgery to guarantee she will not be stricken.
What made the match, strongest first
M-E Girard
2016 · 379 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveAll Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she's always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it? They think the way she looks and acts means she's trying to be a boy that she should quit trying to be something she's not. If she dresses like a girl, and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty. But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words.
What made the match, strongest first
Brent Hartinger
2003 · 226 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveRussel Middlebrook is convinced he's the only gay kid at Goodkind High School.Then his online gay chat buddy turns out to be none other than Kevin, the popular but closeted star of the school's baseball team. Soon Russel meets other gay students, too. There's his best friend Min, who reveals that she is bisexual, and her soccer-playing girlfriend Terese. Then there's Terese's politically active friend, Ike.But how can kids this diverse get together without drawing attention to themselves?"We just choose a club that's so boring, nobody in their right mind would ever in a million years join it. We could call it Geography Club!"Brent Hartinger's debut novel is a fast-paced, funny, and trenchant portrait of contemporary teenagers who may not learn any actual geography in their latest club, but who learn plenty about the treacherous social terrain of high school and the even more dangerous landscape of the human heart.Ages 13+
What made the match, strongest first
Alison Cherry
2016 · 296 pages · 1 review
Others: NegativeThe story of a girl who apprentices at a summer theater festival hoping she's finally found a place to belong only to learn that neither talent nor love is as straightforward as she thinks.
What made the match, strongest first
Mixedthis is cute and it's super uplifting i think it focuses on one storyline way too much there's an element with rick and his best friend that i think is just less fleshed out and i would have loved to see more pages dedicated to the story lines that worked better however i think this book would be absolutely perfect for like a middle school library
