Say The Word - A Teen Novel with a Lesbian Mom and Homophobia Theme

By Jeannine Garsee


Shawna is 17 and works hard at being "perfect."

But then her estranged Mom - who left Shawna and her dad seven years ago for a woman - dies, and her Mom's widowed partner and their two children come smashing into Shawna's life.

Shawna's super-controlling Dad finds out one of Shawna's half-brothers is actually his biological child, and as things get nasty and difficult and "perfect" is long gone, Shawna struggles to figure out what's the "right" thing to do.


My thanks to Palisades Charter High School librarian Andrea King for the recommendation. Check out Lulu's awesome Nerds Heart YA review of "Say The Word" here, and leave your review in comments!