June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the history, achievements, and contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. At the Lynnfield Library, we believe that everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in the stories they read and the resources they access. That’s why we’re proud to highlight our Pride Collection this month and throughout the year.
Our collection features books for readers of all ages, from picture books that celebrate diverse families and identities to young adult novels, memoirs, biographies, and fiction that explore the rich experiences of LGBTQ+ people. Whether you’re looking to learn more about LGBTQ+ history, discover a new favorite author, or find stories that reflect your own experiences, there’s something for everyone to explore.
Adult Fiction
The Lilac People- Todd M
In 1932 Berlin, a trans man named Bertie and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. MagHnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond. But everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The Institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation is to flee to the United States.Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an unknown moment of World War II and trans history.
Young Mungo: A Novel by Staurt Douglas
Douglas Stuart’s first novel Shuggie Bain is one of the most successful literary debuts of the century so far. It was awarded the 2020 Booker Prize, and is now published or forthcoming in forty territories, having already sold more than a million copiesworldwide. Now Stuart returns with Young Mungo, his extraordinary second novel. Five years in the writing, it is both a page-turner and literary tour de force, a vivid portrayal of working-class life and a deeply moving and highly suspenseful story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James. Born under different stars-Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic-they should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all. Their environment is a hyper-masculine and sectarian one, for gangs of young men and the violence they might dole out dominate the Glaswegian estate where they live. And yet against all odds Mungo and James become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds. As they fall in love, they dream of finding somewhere they belong, while Mungo works hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his big brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. And when several months later Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, together with two strange men whose drunken banter belies murky pasts, he will need to summon all his inner strength and courage to try to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future. Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism and giving full voice to people rarely acknowledged in the literary world, Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the bounds of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much”
Book Large Print Audiobook CD Ebook EAudiobook
My Government Means To Kill Me- Rasheed Newman
NATIONAL BESTSELLER · A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK · A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR’S CHOICE · 2023 LAMBDA LITERARY PRIZE FOR GAY FICTION FINALISTThe debut novel from television WRITER/PRODUCER OF THE CHI, NARCOS, and BEL-AIR tells a fierce and riveting queer coming-of-age story following the personal and political awakening of a young, gay, Black man in 1980s New York City. “Consistently engrossing.” —New York Times Book Review“Full of joy and righteous anger, sex and straight talk, brilliant storytelling and humor… A spectacularly researched Dickensian tale with vibrant characters and dozens of famous cameos, it is precisely the book we’ve needed for a long time.” —Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less Earl “Trey” Singleton III arrives in New York City with only a few dollars in his pocket. Born into a wealthy Black Indianapolis family, at 17, he is ready to leave his overbearing parents and their expectations behind. In the city, Trey meets up with a cast of characters that changes his life forever. He volunteers at a renegade home hospice for AIDS patients, and after being put to the test by gay rights activists, becomes a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Along the way Trey attempts to navigate past traumas and searches for ways to maintain familial relationships—all while seeking the meaning of life amid so much death.Vibrant, humorous, and fraught with entanglements, Rasheed Newson’s My Government Means to Kill Me is an exhilarating, fast-paced coming-of-age story that lends itself to a larger discussion about what it means for a young gay Black man in the mid-1980s to come to terms with his role in the midst of a political and social reckoning.
Time to Shine- Rachel Reid
For Landon Stackhouse, being called up from the Calgary farm team is exciting and terrifying, even if, as the backup goalie, he rarely leaves the bench. Superstar Casey treats Landon like an old friend, even though they’ve only interacted briefly in the past. He’s endlessly charming and completely laid-back in a way that Landon absolutely can’t relate to. They couldn’t have less in common, but Landon needs a place to live that’s not a hotel room and Casey has just bought a massive house–and hates being alone. As roommates, Casey refuses to be defeated by Landon’s one-word answers. As friends, Landon comes to notice a few things about Casey, like his wide, easy smile and sparkling green-blue eyes. Spending the holidays together only intensifies their bromance-turned-romance. But as the new year approaches, the countdown to the end of Landon’s time in Calgary is on.
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in. As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things? This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it” (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).
One Last Stop by Casey Mcquinston
For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train. Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.
Is This a Cry for Help? – Emily Austin
Darcy’s life turned out better than she could have ever imagined. She is a librarian at the local branch, while her wife Joy runs a book binding service. Between the two of them, there is no more room on their shelves with their ample book collections, various knickknacks and bobbles, and dried bouquets. Rounding out their ideal life is two cats and a sun-soaked house by the lake. But when Darcy receives the news that her ex-boyfriend, Ben, has passed away, she spirals into a pit of guilt and regret, resulting in a mental breakdown and medical leave from the library. When she returns to work, she is met by unrest in her community, and protests surrounding intellectual freedom, resulting in a call for book bans and a second look at the branch’s upcoming DEI programs. Through the support of her community, colleagues, and the personal growth that results from examining her previous relationships, Darcy comes into her own agency and the truest version of herself. Is This a Cry for Help? not only offers a moving portrait of queer life after coming of age but also powerfully explores questions about sexuality, community, and the importance of libraries.
Next Time Will Be Our Turn- Jessie Q Sutanto
Izzy Chen is dreading her family’s annual Chinese New Year celebration, where they all come together at a Michelin-starred restaurant to flaunt their status and successes in hopes to one up each other. So when her seventy-three-year-old glamorous and formidable grandmother walks in with a stunning woman on her arm and kisses her in front of everyone, it shakes Izzy to her core. She’d always considered herself the black sheep of the family for harboring similar feelings to the ones her Nainai just displayed.Seeing herself in her teenage granddaughter’s struggles with identity and acceptance, Magnolia Chen tells Izzy her own story, of how as a teen she was sent by her Indo-Chinese parents from Jakarta to Los Angeles for her education and fell in love with someone completely forbidden to her by both culture and gender norms—Ellery, an American college student who became Magnolia’s best friend and the love of her life. Stretching across decades and continents, Magnolia’s star-crossed love story reveals how life can take unexpected turns but ultimately lead you to exactly who you’re meant to be.
Jean a novel- Madeline Dunnigan
Seventeen-year-old Jean, a troubled Jewish boy caught in the countercultural swirl of 1970s London, arrives at Compton Manor, a rural alternative boarding school for boys with “problems.” Dyslexic, antisocial, and prone to violent outbursts, Jean has never made friends easily and school has never been a place of safety or enjoyment.
Compton Manor is his last chance, but even here, despite the unconventional teaching methods, Jean is marked by difference. The other boys are fee-paying, while Jean is on a grant; they have good, English families, while Jean’s mother, Rosa, is a German-Jewish refugee and his father is an absent memory. Having broken the rules several times, Jean is on thin ice. But there is only one summer to get through and then Jean will pass his exams and get out.
All of a sudden, he is befriended by Tom—confident, charming, buoyed by years of good breeding and privilege—and it seems as if Jean’s world might change. When things turn romantic, Jean is tipped into a heady, overwhelming infatuation. Now Jean skips class to venture into the woods, or sneaks across moonlit fields to see Tom, wondering whether the relationship might offer a way out of a life marked by alienation. But what if the only true path to freedom is to disappear altogether
Spellbinding and evocative, Jean is a meditative narrative of loss and escape distilled into the heartrending story of an intense and dangerous adolescent love.
Adult Nonfiction
Pageboy- A Memoir by Elliot Page
It was two months before the world premiere of Juno, and Elliot Page was in his first ever queer bar. The hot summer air hung heavy around him as he looked at her. And then it happened. In front of everyone. A previously unfathomable experience. Here he was on the precipice of discovering himself as a queer person, as a trans person. Getting closer to his desires, his dreams, himself, without the repression he’d carried for so long. But for Elliot, two steps forward had always come with one step back.With Juno’s massive success, Elliot became one of the world’s most beloved actors. His dreams were coming true, but the pressure to perform suffocated him. He was forced to play the part of the glossy young starlet, a role that made his skin crawl, on and off set. The career that had been an escape out of his reality and into a world of imagination was suddenly a nightmare.As he navigated criticism and abuse from some of the most powerful people in Hollywood, a past that snapped at his heels, and a society dead set on forcing him into a binary, Elliot often stayed silent, unsure of what to do. Until enough was enough.
It Came from the Closet: queer reflections on horror
Horror movies hold a complicated space in the hearts of the queer community: historically misogynist, and often homo- and transphobic, the genre has also been inadvertently feminist and open to subversive readings. Common tropes—such as the circumspect and resilient “final girl,” body possession, costumed villains, secret identities, and things that lurk in the closet—spark moments of eerie familiarity and affective connection. Still, viewers often remain tasked with reading themselves into beloved films, seeking out characters and set pieces that speak to, mirror, and parallel the unique ways queerness encounters the world.
The Loves of my Life- A Sex Memoir by Edmund White
I’m at an age when writers are supposed to say finally what mattered most to them-for me it would be thousands of sex partners.The 85-year-old “paterfamilias of queer literature” (New York Times) recounts the sixty-plus years of sexual escapades that have inspired his many masterpieces. He explores the sex he had with other closeted boys of the 50s Midwest, with women as a young man trying to be straight, the sex he’s paid for and been paid for, sex during the Stonewall and HIV eras, and in the age of the apps. Through tales of transactional sex, mutual admiration, open relationships, domination, submission, love, and loss, he paints an indelible portrait of queer history in America and abroad in a way only someone who has lived through it can. Written with White’s signature honesty, irreverence, and wit, The Loves of My Life is the culmination of a legend’s life and work, a delightful and moving tour of over seventy years of being unabashedly gay and in love with love in all its forms.
Me talk Pretty One Day- David Sedaris
A new collection from David Sedaris is cause for jubilation. His recent move to Paris has inspired hilarious pieces, including Me Talk Pretty One Day, about his attempts to learn French. His family is another inspiration. You Cant Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one hones a finer fury in response to such modern annoyances as restaurant meals presented in ludicrous towers and cashiers with 6-inch fingernails. Compared by The New Yorker to Twain and Hawthorne, Sedaris has become one of our best-loved authors. Sedaris is an amazing reader whose appearances draw hundreds, and his performancesincluding a jaw-dropping impression of Billie Holiday singing I wish I were an Oscar Meyer weinerare unforgettable. Sedariss essays on living in Paris are some of the funniest hes ever written. At last, someone even meaner than the French! The sort of blithely sophisticated, loopy humour that might have resulted if Dorothy Parker and James Thurber had had a love child. Entertainment Weekly on Barrel Fever Sidesplitting Not one of the essays in this new collection failed to crack me up; frequently I was helpless.
Marsha: the joy and defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline
“Thank god the revolution has begun, honey.” Rumor has it that after Marsha P. Johnson threw the first brick in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, she picked up a shard of broken mirror to fix her makeup. Marsha, a legendary Black transgender activist, embodied both the beauty and the struggle of the early gay rights movement. Her work sparked the progress we see today, yet there has never been a definitive record of her life. Until now. Written with sparkling prose, Tourmaline’s richly researched biography Marsha finally brings this iconic figure to life, in full color. We vividly meet Marsha as both an activist and artist: She performed with RuPaul and with the internationally renowned drag troupe The Hot Peaches. She was a muse to countless artists from Andy Warhol to the band Earth, Wind & Fire. And she continues to inspire people today.Marsha didn’t wait to be freed; she declared herself free and told the world to catch up. Her story promises to inspire readers to live as their most liberated, unruly, vibrant, and whole selves.
Young Adult
Heartstopper Volume 1
“Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player NIck Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn’t think he has a chance. But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.”
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
Sixteen-year-old Mexican American Yami Flores starts Catholic school determined to keep her brother out of trouble and keep herself closeted, but her priorities shift when Yami discovers that her openly gay classmate Bo is also annoyingly cute.
Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens
A guide that helps LGBT teens come out to friends and family, navigate their new LGBT social life, figure out if a crush is also queer, and rise up against bigotry and homophobia
I Wish you The Best by Mason Deaver
After coming out as nonbinary, Ben must leave home and goes to live with a sister and her husband to finish the last year of high school.
Children’s
Two Grooms on a Cake- The Story of America’s First Gay Wedding by Cathro Robbie
Long before marriage equality was the law of the land, two grooms stood on a wedding cake with their feet firmly planted in fluffy white frosting. That cake belonged to Jack Baker and Michael McConnell, who were wed on September 3, 1971, becoming the first same-sex couple in America to be legally married. Their struggle to obtain a marriage license in Minnesota and their subsequent appeals to the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States is an under-told story of LGBT history. This beautiful book celebrates the love story of two pioneers of marriage equality for all through the baking of their wedding cake!
Pride Puppy by Robin Stevenson
A rhyming alphabet book featuring a family who have lost their dog at a Pride parade
Pride Colors by Robin Stevenson
Through gentle rhymes and colorful photographs of adorable children, Pride Colors is a celebration of the deep unconditional love of a parent or caregiver for a young child. The profound message of this delightful board book is you are free to be whoever you choose to be; you’ll always be loved.
We are the Rainbow!: The Colors of Pride by Claire Winslow
What does the rainbow mean to you? Learn the meanings behind the colors of the LGBTQ+ pride flag!
The Book of Awesome Queer Heroes: How The Lgbtq+ Community Changed The World For The Better by Eric Rosewood
A positive affirmations book with invaluable information for all queer teens Inspirational and motivational quotes and information. Queer Cheer provides advice and words of wisdom encouraging teens to find-and keep-their inner rainbow. Covering topics relevant to lgbt+ teens today, this instructional book includes everything ranging from bullies and discrimination to acceptance and advocating change.
I Have Lost my Way by Gayle Foreman
Three teengers, Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel feel lost in various ways and when they collide in Central Park, they begin to find purpose in their lives
DVDs
Carol (2015) directed by Todd Haynes
Two women from very different backgrounds find themselves in an unexpected love affair in 1950s New York. As conventional norms of the time challenge their undeniable attraction, an honest story emerges to reveal the resilience of the heart in the face of change. A young woman in her twenties, Therese is a clerk working in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol, an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage.
Moonlight (2016)
Moonlight is a moving and transcendent look at three defining chapters in the life of Chiron, a young man growing up in Miami. His epic journey to adulthood, as a shy outsider dealing with difficult circumstances, is guided by support, empathy and love from the most unexpected places.
Chrissy Judy (2022)
When his best friend and creative partner suddenly couples off and moves away, an ambitious New York drag queen determined for the limelight must reinvent himself or risk becoming an irrelevant solo act both onstage and off.
Portrait of A Lady on Fire (2019)
On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.
Kanopy
I Saw the TV Glow (2024) Directed by Jane Schoenbraugh
Teenager Owen (Justice Smith) is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack. A once-in-a-generation horror from Jane Schoenbrun.
Close (2022) Directed by Lukas Dohnt
Leo and Remi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragically torn apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lukas Dhont’s second film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.
Bound (1996) Directed by the Wachowskis
There’s two million bucks in a suitcase on a desk in an apartment in Chicago. Caesar’s (Joe Pantoliano) a guy who launders money for the mob. Violet’s (Jennifer Tilly) the woman he’s been keeping the past five years. Corky’s (Gina Gershon) an ex-con who just got out of the joint. What’s the last thing that would come between a sleazy wise guy like Caesar and that money? A couple of women with brains to die for and bodies to match. Corky and Violet are about to learn what it’s like when you trust someone with your life. And Caesar? He’s about to learn a little something about women. The thing is that women bond. In a way that no man can possibly understand. It’s ancient mythic, powerful and unspoken. For Caesar, it’s all about one thing: two million bucks. For Corky and Violet, it’s about something else entirely. And in the end, it all comes down to the question: Who do you trust?
Lan Yu (2001) directed by Stanley Kwang
Lan Yu (Liu Ye), a young architecture student in need of money, ends up in the bed of a successful Beijing businessman, Chen Handong (Hu Jun). The boy falls in love with the man, who wants anything but an emotional entanglement. Chen staves off Lan Yu’s affections with more and more expensive gifts, gradually coming to acknowledge, as the years pass, that he can’t live without him.
Lesbian Space Princesses (2025) directed by Emma Haugh Hobbs
An introverted space princess is forced to leave her home planet on an inter-gay-lactic mission to save her ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens. An animated comedy like no other, Lesbian Space Princess is a riotous, candy-colored joy from start to finish
Maurice (1987) directed by James Ivory
Set against the stifling conformity of pre-World War I English society, MAURICE is a story of coming to terms with one’s sexuality and identity in the face of disapproval and misunderstanding. Maurice Hall (James Wilby) and Clive Durham (Hugh Grant) find themselves falling in love at Cambridge.
At a time when homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment, the two must keep their feelings for one another a secret. After a friend is arrested and disgraced for “the unspeakable vice of the Greeks,” Clive abandons his forbidden love and marries a young woman. Maurice, however, struggles with his identity and self-confidence, seeking the help of a hypnotist to rid himself of his undeniable urges. But while staying with Clive and his wife, Maurice is seduced by the affectionate servant Alec, an event that brings about profound changes in Maurice’s life and outlook.
Nominated for Best Costume Design at the Academy Awards. Winner of Best Actor, Best Score, the Silver Lion, and nominated for the Gold Lion at Venice Film Festival.
“Wilby cracks the character’s genteel surface, releasing bursts of fear, pride, and relief. His Maurice is neither martyr nor saint, radical only in his choice to pursue happiness.” – Serena Donadoni, Village Voice
Egoist (2022) directed by Daisuke Matusunaga
Based on Makoto Takayama’s semi-autobiographical novel, director Daishi Matsunaga’s EGOIST is a uniquely sexy and heartfelt drama about family. Kosuke, a mid-30s fashion magazine editor, and Ryuta, a personal trainer, fall in love. When tragedy strikes, Kosuke and Ryuta’s mother grow closer and must confront a new future together.
Libraries have long served as spaces for learning, connection, and discovery. By offering diverse collections, we help foster understanding, empathy, and a sense of belonging within our community. Reading stories from different perspectives allows us to broaden our horizons and deepen our appreciation for the many experiences that make up our world.
This Pride Month, we invite you to browse our displays, check out titles from our Pride Collection, and discover voices that inspire, educate, and entertain. Whether you’re a longtime advocate, an ally, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or simply curious to learn more, we welcome you to explore these meaningful stories.
In addition to all our offerings we are hosting a drive for NAGLY throughout this month and will have a table at Pride on Tuesday the 9th!
Join us in celebrating Pride through the power of books, knowledge, and community. Visit the Lynnfield Library to discover your next great read and celebrate the diversity that makes our community stronger.
Happy Pride Month from all of us at the Lynnfield Library!