Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!

Are you in or out?

According to 1994 stats, one out of every ten teens attempts suicide, and one out of every three try to kill themselves because they’d rather die than have anyone find out that they might be homosexual. Those are some seriously scary numbers. Being a teenager today means living day to day in a stifling atmosphere of conformity where being different is death, and for some that means literally. I know it’s comforting to look around at school and see cookie-cutter images of yourself, but adolescence is also a time of “trying on” different poses and attitudes and figuring out who and what you will be in the fast approaching adult future. And it’s not cool to dis someone because they may be “trying on” their sexuality, along with other aspects of their personality. So, gay or not, the awesome array of characters in these books will help you better understand homosexuality in teen life — from the inside “out”!