Reddit mentions: The best teen friendship fiction books

Most queer coming-of-age stories are young adult (YA) literature, a genre I've liked since I was an actual young adult. These days YA writing is better than ever and most books are only classified as YA because the protagonists are young adults.

One of my favorites is Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg. Ben's story isn't the typical struggle with sexual identity and Ben is a character I'd actually like to know in real life and I'm sure I'll read Honestly Ben again. Honestly Ben is actually a sequel to Openly Straight. Openly Straight is also very good (with a modern twist of an openly gay teen tired of being The Gay Kid and wanting to have a "normal" high school life) so read it first (though you don't have to, Honestly Ben, which I think is the best of the two books, can stand alone).

Another favorite is True Letters From a Fictional Life by Kenneth Logan . It's a well written coming-of-age story featuring a guy who is just an ordinary guy dealing well but not simply with the fact that he's gay. The dialog between he and his friends was particularly good.

The Year of Ice by Brian Malloy. Senior year of a gay guy in 1978. The main character's thoughts and issues (which are minor) were realistic and somewhat humorous.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera is a sort of sc-ifi novel, though the slight sci-fi bit is there to facilitate a story of identity and self acceptance.

Silvera's History Is All You Left Me is a well written sad tale of dealing with loss. And, as I said, it's a sad tale, but it's really good,

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchison is another sci-fi novel that isn't exactly sci-fi. Hutchinson's We Are the Ants is a similar novel. Both are good reads, and essentially deal with similar issues. I liked Universe better.


The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle isa good read. Somewhat funny.


David Levithan has written or co-written several coming-of-age books. He's very popular but I haven't really liked any of his books except You Know Me Well which is co-written with Nina Lacour.

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Dave Holmes's Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs is a good coming-of-age memoir that mostly focuses on college years and shortly after. The book is enjoyable without any knowledge of who Holmes is, I'd never heard of him until I read this book. (Holmes was an MTV VJ in the late 90s and is now co-host of the really great podcast Homophilia.)


I found all of these books via libraries. I'd probably never have stumbled on any of them just by searching book sellers.

I love my job. I absolutely adore my one tennant. She's adorable although she loves to drool all over me. :) Yea I'm a SAHM right now. I do love it, but I'm getting ready to get back out in the work field which I'm really ready for! :)

I'd love this book if I win! I hear it is amazing!

1. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher -- or really, almost anything by him. Good, rich characters, facing adversity. He was a family therapist and his writing feels authentic while touching on real issues.
   
   
2. Though everyone talks (rightfully) about The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (bonus: movie coming out, starring the girl from Divergent), Paper Towns is pretty phenomenal, well developed, current, etc. For new fiction, John Green is doing about as good a job as anyone managing the YA / Adult transition, introducing tough topics with good - not intimidating - writing.
   
   
3. Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen is short but an amazing look at war from a young kid's perspective. A good compliment to all those fluffy (though enjoyable) we will win the war if i find my boyfriend! books that are so popular....
   
   
4. Also,The Book Thief by Zusak. Because.... for just about every reason.
   
   
5. If you think you are going to have a hard time un-sticking from the fantasy thing - The Night Circus is a creative alternative with better writing than the others.
   
   
6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime shifted my perspective through shifting the voice -- the main character is autistic. Having this sort of unique narrator was a first & helped teach me about the role of voice (helpful, when your favorite author winds up being Faulkner...)
   
   Of course there are others (non fiction: Krakauer, Hillenbrand, come to mind; deeper: Tim O'Brien, Saramago; more fantastic: Guy Kay, Herbert, etc. ) but, trying to stay within age range / contemporary, and gender neutral... that's where I started! if any of these seem like the right thread, let me know, and i can give you a bucket more.

I immediately thought of the name Dash when I saw the picture. He is adorable!!

On the extremely off chance I win:

$5 - used hardcover copy

$10 - used hardcover copy

Thanks for the contest! And good luck choosing a name! :)

/u/suckinonmytitties Is so lovely. I 'ran' into her on an earlier comment thread and it reminded me of just how awesome of a person she is <3

I love my ability to always give support and encouragement to others. I would do it all day everyday if I could.

[Link] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ANSS5K/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1JZ9YT455ZCAF&coliid=IOITDNYTUXRTT)

Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are.

Thanks for the contest!

Happy anniversary! :D Don't be afraid to be more active. You already know the people here are incredibly awesome.

And I'll just leave this here.

I read this, and loved it. There is a free preview here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G8BQA72/ref=pe_245070_24466410_M1T1DP

I enjoyed the preview enough to buy the book. I'm curious to know how long it will be for the follow up...

Also, if you enjoy the cover artwork, the same illustrator did the cover for Under the Egg, which also just came out.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18060008-under-the-egg

Have you read Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher? It's a hella good novel about two teenagers who grow apart, one a bit more drastically than the other.

I think that you should give it a read. If nothing else, it may help you see your friend's side a little better. And/or, it'll be cathartic for you.

Spencer!

I keep hearing this name, so I'm gonna go with this (hope it hasn't been said yet!)

I'm completely in love with anything by John Green :)

The first books I remember really enjoying were the Encyclopedia Brown books, but the first one I loved was The Planet of Junior Brown.

3. My favorite book to movie adaptation is Harry Potter! While there were a few things different, it was really well done and magical!
   
   
4. My least favorite adaptation was City of Bones... I mean they really screwed up this movie! They left out so much and changed so many things that I really don't know how they're going to make the next movie!
   
   E-books:
   
   Glimmer
   
   Paper Towns
   
   The Giver
   
   Four: The Transfer
   
   Thank you for the contest!

It might be Tripping to Somewhere by Kristopher Reisz.

>Going nowhere fast until the night some freak wanders into the convenience store where Sam and Gilly are hanging out. He lets them in on a secret: The Witches' Carnival is nearby. If they travel fast, they might catch it. It's everyone's glittery fantasy turned real: to follow the Carnival's mystic band of beautiful people as they defy every limit and dance through history, all in search of a good time.

You like strong female characters and coming-of-age stories? Read The Fault in our Stars, and/or Paper Towns., both by John Green.

Just finished Ally Carter's Not If I Save You First and started Eileen Cook's You Owe Me A Murder.

The Circle by Sara B. Elfgren and Mats Strandberg was one of the best books I read last year. The sequel Fire might even have been the best. I haven't enjoy YA that much since The Prisoner of Azkaban.

there's two kind of flowers, described by this meme. which one is prettier? which one gets sold in flower shops (that is equal to being desirable)

even if you told your grantparents (i assume) they can go die, they probably knew that was just you being a frustrated idiot. A quote that really stuck with me was "all good things must come to an end.", it's true. so, try to make that story have a really good ending. after all, this story is written by the world and you're a part of it.

understanding myself helped a lot going from "oh shit i have this problem" to "ugh this problem's annoying again". in a book (Paper towns, it's great, read it), there's a game described, where on a road trip you'd watch people you pass on a highway and imagine stories about their lives. surprisingly, this says a lot about the person describing. try to do that each day (and don't go and "i think that person likes metal what does that say about me")

I'd suggest Paper Towns by John Green. I'm a 16 year old boy that likes the same kind of things, and I also rarely read, but I liked it so much I finished it in a day (300 pages).

It's YA, but fits the bill: Female of the Species.

Blood On My Hands?

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Hands-Thrillogy-Todd-Strasser/dp/1606842285/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417918331&sr=1-1&keywords=blood+on+my+hands+-+todd+strasser

Did anyone else immediately think of Paper Towns?

"Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

PSA: If you don't get it, you have some research to do.

I like it too, but you should know that there is a book by Francesca Lia Block titled Violet and Claire.

Have you ever read any of John Green's work?

Looking for Alaska

Paper Town

The Fault in Our Stars

Buying a book is not about obtaining a possession, but about securing a portal.

The Ask and the Answer

The second in the Chaos Walking Series. I got The Knife of Never Letting Go from the reddit gifts book exchange and I am dying to read the next one but no bookstores near me have it! You should read it if you haven't, it is amazing!

How do you explain your need to talk shit about it then?

Or do you also talk shit about Paper Towns?

The Bible is just fiction, right?