LGBT+ History Month 2022

What is LGBT+ History Month?

LGBT+ History Month 2022 is a month-long, annual, celebration and remembrance of LGBT+ history. It looks at the history of LGBT+ people and all of the amazing things they have achieved whilst promoting equality and diversity.

LGBT+ History Month has been an annual event in the UK since 2005 and has had a yearly theme since 2011 - this years theme is Politics in Art in connection with the school subject, Art and Design, as well as all of the amazing work being done with Black Lives Matter, Me Too and climate change movements. More info on this years theme can be found here: https://www.theproudtrust.org/schools-and-training/secondary-resources/lgbt-history-month/

To celebrate, we have put a list of 28 titles together for each day of the month. Written by, or about, LGBT+ people. All titles can be found on Accessit or ePlatform.

1. What's the T? Juno Dawson

'Discover what it means to be a young transgender or non-binary person in the twenty-first century in this frank and funny guide for 14+ teens. Stonewall ambassador, trans author and former PSHE teacher Juno Dawson defines a myriad of labels and identities and offers uncensored advice on coming out, sex and relationships with her trademark humour and lightness of touch. Juno has also invited her trans and non-binary friends to make contributions, ensuring this inclusive book reflects as many experiences as possible, and features the likes of Travis Alabanza and Jay Hulme.'

2. Proud : stories, poetry and art on the theme of pride

'A stirring, bold and moving anthology of stories and poetry by top LGBTQ+ YA authors and new talent, giving their unique responses to the broad theme of pride. Each story has an illustration by an artist identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community.'

3. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson

Older readers

'This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts. At sixteen, Jeanette decides to leave the church, her home and her family, for the young woman she loves. Innovative, punchy and tender, 'Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit' is a few days ride into the bizarre outposts of religious excess and human obsession.'

4. If I Was Your Girl, Meredith Russo

'Amanda Hardy is the new girl at school. Like everyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is holding back. Even from Grant, the guy she's falling in love with. Amanda has a secret. At her old school, she used to be called Andrew. And secrets always have a way of getting out...'

5. One in Every Crowd, Ivan E. Coyote

'Comprised of new stories and others culled from previous collections, One in Every Crowd is for anyone whohas ever felt different or alone in their struggle to be true to themselves. Included are stories about Ivan's own tomboy past in Canada's north, where playing hockey and wearing pants were the norm; and about her adult life in the big city, where she encounters both cruelty and kindness in unexpected places. Then there are the tales of family and friends who live their lives by example, like Francis, the curly-haired little boy who likes to wear dresses, and the brave kids she meets at queer youth camp.'

6. Cemetery Boys, Aiden Thomas

'Bestowed by the ancient goddess of death, Yadriel and the gifted members of his Latinx community can see spirits: women have the power to heal bodies and souls, while men can release lost spirits to the afterlife. But Yadriel, a trans boy, has never been able to perform the tasks of the brujas - because he is a brujo. When his cousin suddenly dies, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. [...] However, the ghost he summons is not his cousin. It's Julian Diaz, the resident bad boy of his high school, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves...'

7. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz

'Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison.

Dante is a know-it-all who has a unique perspective on life.

When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they develop a special friendship – the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about the universe, themselves and the kind of people they want to be.'

8. Carry On, Rainbow Rowell

'Simon Snow just wants to relax and savour his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he'll be safe. Simon can't even enjoy the fact that his room-mate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can't stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you're the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savour anything.'

9. Felix Ever After, Kacen Callender

'Felix Love has never been in love - and, yes, he's painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it's like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What's worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he's one marginalisation too many - Black, queer and transgender - to ever get his own happily-ever-after. When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages - after publicly posting Felix's deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned - Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. But he didn't count on what would happen next...'

10. They Both Die at the End, Adam Silvera

'On September 5th, 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 different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: there's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure - to live a lifetime in a single day.'

11. What is Gender? How Does It Define Us? And Other Big Questions for Kids, Juno Dawson

'What's the difference between sex and gender? What does it mean to be defined by your gender? Are there only two genders? This informative book helps kids to explore these questions and more, explaining that there are differences of opinion and that answers are not always straightforward. A range of views are on hand from people who have thoughtfully considered the concept of gender in their own lives.'

12. Giovanni's Room, James Baldwin

Older readers

'David, a young American in 1950s Paris, is waiting for his fiancée to return from vacation in Spain. But when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, the two men are drawn into an intense affair. After three months David's fiancée returns and, denying his true nature, he rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man, eventually bringing tragedy.

A landmark of gay writing, James Baldwin caused outrage as a black author writing about white homosexuals, yet for him the issues of race, sexuality and personal freedom were eternally intertwined.'

13, Carol, Patricia Highsmith

Older readers

'Therese is just an ordinary sales assistant working in a New York department store when an alluring woman in her thirties walks up to her counter. Standing there, Therese is wholly unprepared for the first shock of love. She is an awkward nineteen-year-old with a job she hates and a boyfriend she doesn't love;

Carol is a sophisticated, bored suburban housewife in the throes of a divorce and a custody battle for her only daughter. As Therese becomes irresistibly drawn into Carol's world, she soon realises how much they both stand to lose . . .'

14. Heartstopper, Alice Oseman

'Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they've never met ... until one day when they're made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised.

By Alice Oseman, winner of the YA Book Prize, Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie's lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.'

15. The Black Flamingo, Dean Atta

'This is not about being ready, it's not even about being fierce, or fearless, IT'S ABOUT BEING FREE.

Michael waits in the stage wings, wearing a pink wig, pink fluffy coat and black heels.

One more step will see him illuminated by spotlight.

He has been on a journey of bravery to get here, and he is almost ready to show himself to the world in bold colours...

Can he emerge as The Black Flamingo?'

16. Cinderella is Dead, Kalynn Bayron

'Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she's tiny until the night she's sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball … are forfeit.

But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen – she's in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia's night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella's tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world …'

17. A Line in the Dark, Malinda Lo

'Jess Wong is Angie Redmond’s best friend. And that’s the most important thing, even if Angie can’t see how Jess truly feels. Being the girl no one quite notices is OK with Jess anyway. If nobody notices her, she’s free to watch everyone else. But when Angie begins to fall for Margot Adams, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can see it coming a mile away. Suddenly her powers of observation are more a curse than a gift...'

18. The World's Wife, Carol Ann Duffy

Older readers

'Who? Him. The Husband. Hero. Hunk.

The Boy Next Door. The Paramour. The Je t'adore.

Behind every famous man is a great woman - and from the quick-tongued Mrs Darwin to the lascivious Frau Freud, from the adoring Queen Kong to the long-suffering wife of the Devil himself, each one steps from her counterpart's shadow to tell her side of the story in this irresistible collection.'

19. Ramona Blue, Julie Murphy

'Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever. Since then, it’s been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she’s fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she’s destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. [...] The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. [...] But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected...'

20. Red Dust Road, Jackie Kay

'From the moment when, as a little girl, she realizes that her skin is a different colour from that of her beloved mum and dad, to the tracing and finding of her birth parents, her Highland mother and Nigerian father, Jackie Kay’s journey in Red Dust Road is one of unexpected twists, turns and deep emotions. In a book remarkable for its warmth and candour, she discovers that inheritance is about much more than genes: that we are shaped by songs as much as by cells, and that what triumphs, ultimately, is love.'

21. These Witches Don't Burn, Isabel Sterling

'Hannah's a witch, but not the kind you're thinking of. She's the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she's ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans...'

22. Loveless, Alice Oseman

'Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day. [...] Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight... But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever.'

23. Rick, Alex Gino

'Eleven-year-old Rick Ramsey has generally gone along with everybody, just not making waves, even though he is increasingly uncomfortable with his father's jokes about girls, and his best friend's explicit talk; but now in middle school he discovers the Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities can express themselves - and maybe among them he can find new friends and discover his own identity...'

24. The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Emily M. Danforth

'Cameron Post feels a mix of guilt and relief when her parents die in a car accident. Their deaths mean they will never learn the truth she eventually comes to - that she's gay. Orphaned, Cameron comes to live with her old-fashioned grandmother and ultraconservative aunt Ruth. There she falls in love with her best friend, a beautiful cowgirl. When she’s eventually outed, her aunt sends her to God’s Promise, a religious conversion camp that is supposed to “cure” her homosexuality. At the camp, Cameron comes face to face with the cost of denying her true identity.'

25. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli

'Straight people should have to come out too. And the more awkward it is, the better.

Simon Spier is 16 and trying to work out who he is - and what he's looking for. But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated. Because for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal.... It's a holy freaking huge awesome deal.'

26. Leah on the Offbeat, Becky Albertalli

'The only child of a single mum, and her life is less privileged than her friends.

Her mum knows she's bisexual, but Leah hasn't mustered the courage to tell her friends.

Not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

Prom and college are on the horizon, and tensions are running high.

Can Leah still strike the right note, when the people she loves are fighting?

And how can she cope knowing that she might love one of her friends more than she ever intended?'

27. Juliet Takes a Breath, Gabby Rivera

'Juliet's head is spinning with questions.

Will her beautiful, chaotic Puerto Rican family still love her when they find out she's gay?

Will an internship with her favourite author help her understand what kind of feminist she wants to be? And why won't her girlfriend return her calls?!

In a summer full of queer dance parties, a fling with a motorcycling librarian and intense explorations of sexuality and identity, Juliet's about to learn what it means to really come out - to the world, to her family, to herself.'

28. Boy Meets Boy, David Levithan

'To be together with someone for twenty years seems like an eternity. I can’t seem to manage twenty days…

How do you stay together?

Paul has been gay his whole life and he’s confident about almost everything. He doesn’t have to hide his feelings like best friend Tony or even cope with loving the wrong guy like his other best friend Joni.

But heartbreak can happen to anyone. Falling in love changes everything.'