Golden Boy - A secretly intersex teen deals with family pressures and their own coming of age

Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin

Max Walker is a golden boy. Attractive, intelligent, and athletic, he's the perfect son, the perfect friend, and the perfect crush for the girls in his school. He's even really nice to his little brother. Karen, Max's mother, is determined to maintain the facade of effortless excellence she has constructed through the years, but now that the boys are getting older, she worries that the facade might soon begin to crumble. Adding to the tension, her husband Steve has chosen this moment to stand for election to Parliament. The spotlight of the media is about to encircle their lives.

The Walkers are hiding something, you see. Max is special. Max is different. Max is intersex. When an enigmatic childhood friend named Hunter steps out of his past and abuses his trust in the worst possible way, Max is forced to consider the nature of his well-kept secret. Why won't his parents talk about it? What else are they hiding from Max about his condition and from each other? The deeper Max goes, the more questions emerge about where it all leaves him and what his future holds, especially now that he's starting to fall head over heels for someone for the first time in his life. Will his friends accept him if he is no longer the Golden Boy? Will anyone ever want him--desire him--once they know? And the biggest one of all, the question he has to look inside himself to answer: Who is Max Walker, really?

Winner of numerous awards, including the 2014 Alex Award, being a 2014 Lambda Literary Award Finalist, a Booklist top 10 First Novel of 2013, and a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013.
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Waiting For Walker - A Gay Teen Falls For An Teen Who Is Intersex

Waiting For Walker by Robin Reardon

Micah Jaeger's life is a mess. His folks have split, and his mother is seeing a medium to communicate with Micah's older brother, killed in Afghanistan. He had to change schools for his junior year, and he retreats further into himself, hiding behind his camera—and hiding that he's gay.

One sunny day in June, as he's shooting a dead seagull on the shore of Long Island Sound, a mysterious guy appears in a beautiful sailboat. At first, the guy's boat shoes are the image that stays with Micah. But soon it's the person himself, Walker Donnell, who haunts Micah's dreams.

Walker's life looks perfect to Micah. His wealthy parents adore him. He has everything he could want. He's gorgeous and generous. And he falls hard for Micah. But he has a secret: Walker is intersex.

The closer Walker and Micah grow, the more Walker feels the need to be sure of himself in ways he hasn't fully faced before, and now it's his turn to retreat. Micah knows Walker is worth waiting for, so he waits. And waits.

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The Case of Nikki Pagan - Three Teen Lives Collide... in the Hospital (With An Intersex Character)

The Case Of Nikki Pagan by Rachel Eliason

When Jason’s pickup tires first begin sliding across the gravel of the country road, he is still his small town’s high school prize running back and one of the school’s “A-list” popular kids. He is looking forward to one more year of high school and then, he hopes, being picked up by a Big Ten team. But after the Jaws of Life tear him from the wreckage of his drunk-driving accident, he wakes up post-surgery in the University of Iowa Hospital’s long-term pediatric ward, wondering if he will ever walk again.

Bobby McGin only wants one thing out of life, to be a normal teen with normal friends. But when your last-possible round of chemo fails to stem the spread of the tumors ravaging your body’s soft tissue, it’s hard to be normal.

Nikki Pagan is the glue that holds the two boys together. She is a bright and precocious fifteen-year-old girl. Why is she on the long-term ward? Why won’t she talk about what is wrong with her? And why is it so important she follow “the rules for being Nikki”?

This book was published by the author. Add your review of "The Case of Nikki Pagan" in comments!

Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite - an Intersex Novel

Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite by Lianne Simon

Born between the sexes, Jamie can be a boy after minor surgery and a few years on testosterone. That’s what his parents always say, but he sees an elfin princess in the mirror. To become the man his parents expect, Jamie must leave behind the dreams of a young girl.

When a medical student tells Jamie he should have been raised female, Jamie discovers the life he can have. The elfin princess can thrive, but will she risk losing her family and her education for a boyfriend who may leave her, and a toddler she may never be allowed to adopt?

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Girl Goddess #9 - A GLBTQ Teen Short Story Collection

by Francesca Lia Block

Published in 1998 by Harperteen


In Francesca Lia Block’s Girl Goddess #9 each character is modern and relatable. Every story is beautifully told and I found myself reading even the ones that did not have GLBTQ characters. This is a great, fun, and beautiful summer read. Here are the summaries of the stories that did have queer content...


Blue
La is a little girl dealing with her mother’s suicide. With mean girls at school and a grief-stricken drunk dad, La has no one to turn to until she finds Blue in her closet. Blue is a slender being with a skin color of (you guessed it) blue. Blue shows La many things: Blue’s unique body, and the fact that remembering La’s mother will help her touch many lives.


Dragons in Manhattan
Tuck Budd lives with her two bohemian moms, Izzy and Anastasia, in Manhattan. The three of them always had fun going to plays and museums and many ethnic restaurants, but one day at school a boy teases Tuck about her moms. After finding clues in a baby book, Tuck runs away to San Francisco to find who her real father is, but little does she know that her father has been there all along.


Winnie and Cubby
When Winnie starts dating Cubby it seems that everything is perfect. Cubby is a hot skateboarder who loves her and loves that they both wore matching tuxes to prom. But on a trip to San Francisco, Cubby must confront his best friend and girlfriend Winnie about who he really is.

--Posted by Hannah