Category: Mormonism

Pale Winter Sun

By Michael Collins

Pushed from their homes for being queer, Mark and Trevor must try and cope with themselves and a cold winter. Can their friendship survive?

Publisher’s Description:

Isolation in the cold of winter.  That’s all Mark Jensen has as he fights to survive.  Living in the small Mormon community of Grason, Idaho, Mark and his best friend Trevor have no one but themselves. Both are shunned from their families for simply trying to live open and honestly as homosexual.  When Trevor is kicked out of his home it starts a chain reaction that leads Mark to the same place. Cold and queer, the boys make do with what little they can, counting on no one but themselves in the stark Idaho countryside.

Mark’s problems only escalate as he is afraid of confiding even in his last friend.  The growing realization that he is bisexual confuses and conflicts him and it leaves him feeling more alone than ever. New friends are made but all they do is fuel Trevor’s penchant for self-destruction.

Friendships are redefined and stretched to the limit as the two young men scratch by and they wonder; can they survive each other?  Back in Grason, their families ask the same questions of themselves as they deal with the decisions they have made and try to live their lives without their sons.

Genre: Contemporary

Representation:

Gender:
Cis girls: Jennifer, Leslie, Hannah, Fabiana
Cis boys: Mark, Trevor, Jeordie, Ryan
Trans girls: Anissa

Sexuality:
Gay: Trevor, Ryan, Jeordie
Lesbian: Hannah, Leslie (closeted)
Bisexual: Mark, Anissa

Romantic Orientation:
Not mentioned in the book.

Race/Ethnicity:
White: Mark, Trevor, Hannah, Jennifer, Ryan, Jeordie
Latinx: Fabiana, Anissa

Religion:
Christianity: Fabiana, Anissa
Mormonism: Mark, Trevor, Jennifer, Hannah, Ryan, Jeordie

Location: Idaho

Trigger Warnings: Swearing, Drug use, exile from home and community

Ownvoices: Bisexual rep and rural LGBT rep.

Ending: Ultimately positive, but open.

 

The Way He Lived (Formerly All Better Now)

By Emily Wing Smith

Different people knew different sides of Joel, and when he dies suddenly, those people step up to tell their stories of him. The six teens closest to him reveal what they knew and mourn what they’ve lost.

Publisher’s Description:

Besides living in the same Mormon community in Utah, Tabbatha, Adlen, Miles, Claire, Norah and Lissa have something else in common: each had a special connection to Joel Espen, who died of dehydration after giving away his water during a badly planned Boy Scout expedition. In vignettes showing the six teens differing points of view, first-time author Smith probes into the psychologies of the survivors to demonstrate Joels effect on their lives and their attempts to make sense of his death. Tabbatha, Joels overachieving older sister, accelerates her recovery from the nervous breakdown she suffered before Joel died, telling herself that each new effort is something her brother would have wanted from her; his best friend, a self-proclaimed bad kid, slashes the tires of the Scout leaders truck, using the knife Joel left him.

Genre: Contemporary

Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Joel

Sexual Orientation:
Gay/Queer: Joel

Romantic Orientation:
Not explicitly mentioned.

Race/Ethnicity:
White: Joel

Trigger Warnings:
Joel dies before the book has started and his story is told through the voices of the other characters.

Autoboyography

By Christina Lauren

Tanner is one year away from escaping his Mormon town in Utah and returning to the California lifestyle he’s more familiar with. But when he takes Seminar on a dare, he meets Mormon prodigy Sebastian and completely falls for him.

Publisher’s Description

Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.

But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.

It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.

Genre: Contemporary

Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Tanner, Sebastian

Sexual  Orientation:
Bisexual: Tanner
Gay/Queer: Sebastian

Romantic Orientation:
Biromantic: Tanner
Homoromantic: Sebastian

Race/Ethnicity:
White: Sebastian, Tanner

Religion:
Christianity (Mormon), Judaism

Trigger warnings: Homophobia, religious rejection