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Dance on My Grave

Aidan Chambers · back to the book

What’s in it

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24 books with the same feel

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❤️

In One Person

John Irving · 448 pages

A New York Times bestselling novel of desire, secrecy, and sexual identity, In One Person is a story of unfulfilled love—tormented, funny, and affecting—and an impassioned embrace of our sexual differences. Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character of In One Person, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a "sexual suspect," a phrase first used by John Ir

Death of a FriendFirst LoveSexual OrientationLGBTQ+ Protagonist
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They Both Die at the End

Adam Silvera · 378 pages

Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day. On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for

First LoveSexual OrientationDeath of a FriendLGBTQ+ Protagonist
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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Ocean Vuong · 256 pages

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once

Death of a FriendSexual OrientationFirst LoveNonlinear Narrative
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky · 216 pages

Charlie writes letters to an unknown mail recipient, detailing his struggles with high school, family, and finding his place in the world. Full of beautiful quotes and written with such sincerity, this is a book that makes the reader reflect on their purpose in life, while simultaneously reminding us about the power music, friendships, and "feeling infinite" can have on our life. Read this book.

Death of a FriendFirst LoveSexual OrientationGrief and Mourning
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Looking for Alaska

John Green · 262 pages

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Ala

Death of a FriendFirst LoveNonlinear NarrativeGrief and Mourning
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Benjamin Alire Saenz · 368 pages

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

First LoveSexual OrientationLGBTQ+ ProtagonistDeath of a Friend
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Love Letters to the Dead

Ava Dellaira · 327 pages

When Laurel starts writing letters to dead people for a school assignment, she begins to spill about her sister's mysterious death, her mother's departure from the family, her new friends, and her first love.

First LoveSexual OrientationComing of AgeBittersweet
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Swimming in the Monsoon Sea

Shyam Selvadurai · 274 pages

From back cover: ... it is the season of monsoons. 14 year old Amrith is submerged in the cheerful, well-to-do lifestyle in which his vibrant Auntie Bundle and kindly Uncle Lucky have raised him. Still, Amrith can't seem to shake the blurred memories of his life "before," when his doting mother was still alive. School is out for the summer and Amrith's holiday plans seem unpromising. Until, like a

Sexual OrientationFirst LoveLGBTQ+ ProtagonistGrief and Mourning
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Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Carol Rifka Brunt · 384 pages

It is 1987, and only one person has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus -- her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June's world is turned upside d

Death of a FriendSexual OrientationGrief and MourningBittersweet
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Every Day

David Levithan · 330 pages

Every morning A wakes in a different person's body, in a different person's life, learning over the years to never get too attached, until he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.

Sexual OrientationFirst LoveLGBTQ+ ProtagonistComing of Age
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The Truth About Forever

Sarah Dessen

The summer following her father's death, Macy plans to work at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where she makes new friends and finally faces her grief. After her father's death, Macy waits for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp and goes to work at a catering business where she makes new friends and finall

Death of a FriendFirst LoveGrief and MourningTeen Protagonist
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Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

Ann Brashares · 400 pages

With unraveled embroidery and fraying hems, the Traveling Pants are back for one last, glorious summer. Lena: Immerses herself in her painting and an intoxicating summer fling, fearing that the moment she forgets about Kostos will be the moment she sees him again. Carmen: Falls under the spell of a sophisticated college friend for whom a theatrical role means everything and the heritage of the

Death of a FriendFirst LoveGrief and MourningComing of Age
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More Than This

Patrick Ness · 480 pages

A boy called Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he is here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unt

Death of a FriendSexual OrientationGrief and MourningComing of Age
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Tin Man

Sarah Winman · 224 pages

"This is almost a love story. But it's not as simple as that. Ellis and Michael are twelve-year-old boys when they first become friends, and for a long time it is just the two of them, cycling the streets of Oxford, teaching themselves how to swim, discovering poetry, and dodging the fists of overbearing fathers. And then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more. But then we f

Death of a FriendSexual OrientationLGBTQ+ ProtagonistNonlinear Narrative
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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Becky Albertalli · 336 pages

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the bo

First LoveSexual OrientationLGBTQ+ ProtagonistComing of Age
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We Were Liars

E. Lockhart · 240 pages

A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends -- the Liars -- whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. Spending the summers on her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged

Death of a FriendNonlinear NarrativeGrief and MourningFirst Love
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My Tiki Girl

Jennifer McMahon · 240 pages

Maggie was looking for a friend in Dahlia. She never guessed shed find love, too.All the tenth-grade girls hate Dahlia Wainwrighta smart, natural beauty and freaky outsider all in one. And thats exactly what Maggie Keller is drawn to, for she herself is an outsider, having withdrawn from the high school elite crowd after a car accident that killed her mother - an accident for which she blames hers

Sexual OrientationFirst LoveLGBTQ+ ProtagonistGrief and Mourning
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Winger

Andrew Smith

Two years younger than his classmates at a prestigious boarding school, fourteen-year-old Ryan Dean West grapples with living in the dorm for troublemakers, falling for his female best friend who thinks of him as just a kid, and playing wing on the Varsity rugby team with some of his frightening new dorm-mates.

Death of a FriendSexual OrientationLGBTQ+ ProtagonistBittersweet
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Will Grayson, Will Grayson

John Green, David Levithan · 331 pages

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and D

Sexual OrientationFirst LoveLGBTQ+ ProtagonistComing of Age
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I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip.

John Donovan · 189 pages

Thirteen-year-old Davy has a difficult time adjusting to his grandmother's death and life in New York with his erratic mother. He becomes close friends with a male classmate at his new school. The friendship later turns sexual, eventually causing Davy to struggle with feelings of guilt. It was one of the first mainstream teen novels to deal with homosexuality.

Sexual OrientationLGBTQ+ ProtagonistGrief and MourningComing of Age
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All the Bright Places

Jennifer Niven · 408 pages

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at s

First LoveDeath of a FriendGrief and MourningBittersweet
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Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir

Maggie Thrash · 272 pages

Maggie Thrash has spent basically every summer of her fifteen-year-old life at the one-hundred-year-old Camp Bellflower for Girls, set deep in the heart of Appalachia. She's from Atlanta, she's never kissed a guy, she's into Backstreet Boys in a really deep way, and her long summer days are full of a pleasant, peaceful nothing . . . until one confounding moment. A split-second of innocent phys

First LoveSexual OrientationLGBTQ+ ProtagonistComing of Age
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I'll Give You the Sun

Jandy Nelson · 400 pages

A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three y

First LoveSexual OrientationLGBTQ+ ProtagonistGrief and Mourning
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The Hours

Michael Cunningham

Sexual OrientationNonlinear NarrativeDeath of a FriendLGBTQ+ Protagonist
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