APRIL: Kamikaze Boys by Jay Bell

If the world is against you, don’t give up. Find yourself a kindred spirit. Then you can start fighting back.

They say Connor, the one with the crazy eyes and creepy scar, tried to kill his old man. Lately he’s been seen hanging out with David, the gay guy who always eats lunch alone. They make an odd pair, the loser and the psychopath, and bad things happen to people who mess with them. Not that Connor and David are looking for trouble. Even when taking on the world, they seem more interested in each other than fighting.

Kamikaze Boys is a story about breaking the chains that bind you and using them to beat down anyone that gets in your way. Better yet, it’s about holding hands with the guy you love while doing so.

Published by: CreateSpace
Year of Publication: 2012
Number of pages: 278

MARCH: Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg

Star quarterback Bobby Framingham, one of the most talented high school football players in California, knows he’s different from his teammates. They’re like brothers, but they don’t know one essential thing: Bobby is gay. Can he still be one of the guys and be honest about who he is? When he’s outed against his will by a student reporter, Bobby must find a way to earn back his teammates’ trust and accept that his path to success might be more public, and more difficult, than he’d hoped. An affecting novel about identity that also delivers great sportswriting.

Published by: Dutton Juvenile
Year of Publication: 2008
Number of pages: 272

FEBRUARY: Gulliver Travels by Justin Luke Zirilli

Heartbroken and hungry for a new start, Gulliver Leverenz flees his family, friends, and bastard of an ex-boyfriend in Los Angeles, with his sights set on New York City – a place he’s only ever heard of. With no money, no job, and no direction, Gully lands in NYC’s hottest gayborhood, Hell’s Kitchen, living with his only friend — fraternity brother and current rising gay nightlife star, Todd DiTempto. From Midtown to Fire Island and everywhere in between, Gulliver sinks fast into the chaotic life of sex, booze, and boys. Just barely scraping by in the city that never sleeps (alone, at least), Gully quickly discovers that this strange, concrete jungle has some major surprises in store. Luckily he has some tricks up his sleeve, and he isn’t afraid to use his claws.

Published by: BoiParty Books
Year of Publication: 2011
Number of pages: 296

JANUARY: Prove It by Chris Owen

 

Warren and Silas meet for the first time at the age of five. It doesn’t go well. When they reach junior high they have a truce in place and Tal, a new guy in their class, acts as a catalyst, bringing them together as best friends. Together all through high school they survive school plays, Tal’s girlfriends, Silas’ boyfriend, and Warren’s endless studying. College is more of the same, until Silas and Tal coax Warren out of the closet. For Warren nothing changes, but for Silas the world has unexpectedly changed forever. He had no idea he was in love with his best friend at all, and when he finally tells Warren the reaction is another surprise. Prove it. Warren knows all about Silas, knows the tricks, the games, the very best and the very worst about him, and Warren loves him back. But Warren also knows that if they’re going to be together it’s got to be forever, and he can’t just risk everything for what might be another one of Silas’ whims. Silas has to prove he loves Warren, and he wants to do just that. But how do you win the heart of someone who knows you better than anyone else?

Published by: Torquere Press
Year of Publication: 2011
Number of pages: 186

DECEMBER: The Unborn Spouse Situation by Matt Rauscher

 

Augie Schoenberg is twenty-two, an aspiring filmmaker at a school without a film school, and desperately single. He’s just moved into the Harley Hutt, the wildest party house on campus, and has fallen hard for his roommate Victor Radhakrishna, a campus political activist who is, for Augie, “a practical demi-god: a crusader for justice in skateboarding shoes.” The problem is, Augie is the only gay one in the house – or so he thinks. This darkly comic novel of sex, betrayal, and cultural clashes follows Augie’s search for love: from the cornfields of Illinois, to the gay beach and underground clubs of Chicago, and finally to the ecstasy-fueled nightlife of London, where Victor’s secret threatens to keep the two apart forever.

Published by: Lethe Press
Year of Publication: 2010
Number of pages: 236

NOVEMBER: Something Like Summer by Jay Bell

 

Love, like everything in the universe, cannot be destroyed. But over time it can change.

The hot Texas nights were lonely for Ben before his heart began beating to the rhythm of two words; Tim Wyman. By all appearances, Tim had the perfect body and ideal life, but when a not-so-accidental collision brings them together, Ben discovers that the truth is rarely so simple. If winning Tim’s heart was an impossible quest, keeping it would prove even harder as family, society, and emotion threaten to tear them apart.

Something Like Summer is a love story spanning a decade and beyond as two boys discover what it means to be friends, lovers, and sometimes even enemies.
For more information on the author, Jay Bell, check out: http://www.jaybellbooks.com/

Published by: CreateSpace
Year of Publication: 2011
Number of pages: 288

OCTOBER: Drama Queers! by Frank Anthony Polito

 

Ever since Mrs. Malloy assigned us the What I Want To Be When I Grow Up paper earlier that year in her 1st hour English, my mind had been made up. . . I, Bradley James Dayton, will be a famous actor someday!

Meet Bradley Dayton–a wickedly funny high school senior whose woefully uncool life always seems to be full of drama, even in the sorry little suburb of Hazel Park, Michigan. It’s 1987, the era of big hair, designer jeans, and Dirty Dancing. George Michael has “Faith” and Michael Jackson still has a nose. Brad, on the other hand, has a thing for acting, and while his friends are trying to get laid, Brad’s trying to land the lead in Okla-homo! and practicing the Jane Seymour monologue from Somewhere in Time.

Sure, he’d like to get laid too, but while Brad has known he was gay forever, the rest of “Hillbilly High” is not so forthcoming. Brad’s already lost one best friend, Jack, who dropped out of marching band to step into the closet. But lately, things are looking up. Not only has Brad made Homecoming Top Five, but Richie, a new, totally cute member of drama club, definitely seems to be sending signals–and he’s not the only one. Before senior year ends, Brad will know more about love, lust, and friendship than he ever thought possible. Because if all the world’s a stage, he’s ready to be in the spotlight. . .

For more information go to: http://www.dramaqueers.net/

Published by: Kensington
Year of Publication: 2009
Number of pages: 416