Check out our Book Lists! Sonoma County Library's Teen Services Librarians are obsessed with reading YA and we are excited to share our favorites with you! These lists are thoughtfully crafted and regularly updated to make sure that you have access to the best new titles. Whether you are looking for a spine tingling horror novel to get you in the mood for fall, a queer love story to give you all the feels, or some much needed BIPOC representation, we’ve got you covered!
¿Buscas tu próximo libro favorito?
¡Puedes consultar nuestras listas de libros recomendados! ¡Los bibliotecari@s para jóvenes de la Biblioteca del Condado de Sonoma están obesionados con la lectura para jóvenes y nos da tanto gusto compartir nuestros libros favoritos contigo! Estas listas están cuidadosamente diseñadas y actualizadas periódicamente con los mejores libros nuevos. Ya sea que estés buscando una novela de terror escalofriante que lo ponga de humor para el otoño, una historia de amor queer que le dé todas las sensaciones, o una representación de gente BIPOC muy necesaria, ¡lo tenemos!
The Sonoma County Library has you covered! It’s TeenTober and our teen librarians have rounded up their favorite books just for you. Check out their recommendations and more below.
Trigger Warning: violence and abuse, suicide ideation, discussion and references to sexual assault.
A fictional reimagining of Wu Zetian challenging the injustices she faces in a futuristic reinterpretation of Medieval China.”
— Jodi, Teen Services Librarian
“My recommendation is Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White. This book was gruesome, heartbreaking, and disturbing in the best possible ways. Benji will do anything to escape the religious fundamentalist cult that he grew up in. In Benji's attempt to escape, he meets up with people from the Acheson LGBTQ+ Center. Benji has to work alongside them to try to prevent the world from collapsing before his body rejects humanity and takes on the form of the monster he was forced to become. The author is queer, trans, and autistic and includes strong representation for each of these identities within the book. This is definitely one that you should pick up if you like horror, dark themes, and dystopian futures. Get ready to be spooked!”
— Emily, Teen Services Librarian
“This TeenTober, I am recommending Gender Queer, a graphic memoir about growing up nonbinary and asexual by Maia Kobabe. As the #1 banned book of 2021, reading this book is an act of rebellion and celebrates the freedom to read. Kobabe is a Sonoma County resident, so reading and sharing this book helps support a local author and illustrator. LGBTQ voices not only deserve to be heard but amplified, so crack open a book and open your mind.”—
If you love the new A League of Their Own series, you MUST read this book!
Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a phenomenal historical fiction novel about Lily Hu, a young Chinese American teenager living in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1950s. This is a dazzling love story between two young women set against the backdrop of the Red Scare, which actively threatens the safety and livelihood of Lily's family. In the underground lesbian bar called The Telegraph Club, Lily finds not only love, but also a sense of community, belonging, and freedom.
This book won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2021) and absolutely deserved it. This is my favorite young adult book that has been published in the last two years and I highly recommend it for teens and adults alike!”
— Terra, Teen Services Librarian
Want more?
Our Teen Book Lists offer more suggestions for what to read next.
The Sonoma County Library observes Banned Books Week September 18-24, 2022. First established in the 1980s, Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and highlights resistance to book censorship in schools and public libraries. The censorship of books by librarians or community members violates the first amendment protection of free speech and conflicts with the American Library Association Code of Ethics. Thanks to vigilant library workers, teachers, parents, students, and free speech champions, attempted book bans often fail.
The desire to protect others from inappropriate or challenging ideas, frequently the children of concerned parents, is commonly cited as the reason for a book challenge. The removal of a book isn’t an expression of protection but an attack on other people’s freedom of information. Surveys suggest that most book challenges aren’t reported and often go unnoticed by the news media. Most book challenges occur in public libraries and happen in school classrooms, school libraries, and academia. You can help promote intellectual freedom by reading banned books and reporting censorship attempts to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Additional Resources
Check out these websites for more information and resources on Banned Books Week and censorship.
Did you know that Californians throw away six pounds of trash every day, equivalent to almost 2,200 pounds every year, roughly the weight of a subcompact car? What role can libraries play in creating or mitigating waste?
In his book, Seven Wonders: Everyday Things for a Healthier Planet, John Ryan states, “a 100 percent reused library book produces no waste and consumes no energy.” He lists the public library as one of the Seven Wonders.
As an environmentally-minded community stakeholder, the Sonoma County Library has been a member of the Zero Waste North Bay Task Force for over five years and proudly participates in the first annual North Bay Zero Waste Week!
From Sunday, July 24, through Saturday, July 30, organizations and community groups across Sonoma County will be hosting different events to raise awareness about the environmental impacts of waste, and offer actionable ways to live a zero waste lifestyle.
This is an opportunity for participants to learn new skills, build community, and create sustainable habits through the lens of zero waste. Focusing on solutions for reducing, reusing, redesigning, repurposing, repairing, recycling and composting to limit landfill, water, and energy waste!
On Wednesday, July 27, POP for a Porpoise, an interactive program educating kids about the plastic ocean pollution epidemic, will be held at the Rincon Valley Library at 11 a.m. The Sonoma County Library also has books and resources available all year round. Check out the list below, stop by your local library branch, or explore at sonomalibrary.org.
What happens to everything we use after we throw it away? We’re breaking down the issue of waste and sustainability piece by piece to answer one of the most important questions facing the world today: How do we save our planet?
Jeremy Irons sets out to discover the extent and effects of the global waste problem, as he travels around the world to beautiful destinations tainted by pollution. This is a meticulous, brave investigative journey that takes Irons (and us) from skepticism to sorrow and from horror to hope.
In The Zero Waste Solution, author and scientist-turned-activist Paul Connett profiles the most successful zero-waste initiatives around the world, showing activists, planners, and entrepreneurs how to re-envision their community’s waste-handling process by doing the following: consuming less; turning organic waste into compost; recycling and reusing other waste; demanding non-wasteful product design; and, creating jobs and bringing community members together in the process.
An urgent call for climate justice from Teen Vogue, one of this generation’s leading voices, using an intersectional lens—with critical feminist, indigenous, antiracist, and internationalist perspectives.
Join us in celebrating Pride Month this June, which serves as a time to promote the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of the LGBTQ+ community.
The last several years have posed significant challenges for our queer community members. In addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBTQ+ people across the United States have also faced widespread anti-trans and anti-queer legislation, as well as book bans. The condemnation and erasure of queer lives and experiences comes with a devastating cost to the mental health, physical health, and well-being of the queer community.
It has been over 50 years since the Stonewall Riots, but the fight for queer rights is still ongoing. To help ensure that queer joys and struggles are never erased, Sonoma County Library is launching new opportunities for queer people to add to the shared history of our county and to connect with each other. We are also actively working to make sure that our collections, programs, and services reflect, represent, and uplift the lives and experiences of queer people. Our library branches are spaces where the queer community will always be welcomed and celebrated, not just during Pride Month, but every day.
Check out the following projects, events, book lists, and resources compiled by librarians at Sonoma County Library to help you celebrate Pride this year!
Here + Queer, Sonoma County collects, archives, and amplifies the histories of Sonoma County’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities. Throughout history, LGBTQ+ people have fought for equality, representation, and dignity in society.
Here + Queer strives to uncover the rich and dynamic stories of queer culture and activism, documenting the struggles and joys of queer life.
This project accepts digital content in the form of personal narratives, essays, anecdotes, photographs, creative works, audiovisual material, and more. The project actively seeks submissions from all ages and backgrounds, from all time periods in Sonoma County history. Anonymous submissions are supported, as well as submissions in English and Spanish.
Your stories will empower, enrich, and deepen our understanding of queer communities. This project launches this June 2022, and will continue beyond Pride Month.
Join librarians virtually to discuss books centering on LGBTQ+ voices. Meetings are on the second Wednesday of the month (January-December) from 6-7 pm. For more information please visit: https://sonomalibrary.org/queerbookclub
Physical copies of the book are available (while supplies last).
Come and craft at Roseland Regional Library! Snacks and all materials will be provided.
To celebrate Pride Month in June, this week's craft will be Pride Keychains! You can paint your pride flag, your pronouns, or whatever else makes you feel like celebrating Pride.
This week we will be celebrating Pride Month again by making rainbow wall hangers! Using rope, yarn, felt, and twine, we will create a colorful rainbow that you can hang anywhere!
Join us on our little patio off the children's area in the Guerneville Library for a Storytime Celebrating Families of all shapes, colors and sizes! We'll sing some songs about L-O-V-E and make something crafty to celebrate Pride Month.
Join us for a Pride Month event - Pride at the Movies, screening the documentary "Southern Pride". This documentary features people from two towns in Mississippi organizing gay and Black pride events in in the wake of the 2016 US Presidential Elections. Limited seating.
Reading Justice is a program designed to give families an opportunity to talk about potentially challenging topics. Each month we will feature a different book on a topic and offer registrants access to the video of Adriel Ahern, Children’s Librarian at the Sebastopol Regional Library reading a book and discussing it. For the Month of June we will be featuring books about Gay Pride and Gender Identity.
Join the Guerneville Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the local library community for songs, stories and a little outdoor revelry in celebration of Pride Month!
Join us on our little patio off the children's area in the Guerneville Library for a Storytime all about the Colors of the Rainbow, and how it takes all colors to make the world beautiful. Learn the rainbow song and create a rainbow heart banner to help spread the love of all colors!
What did gender non-conformity look like in this area during the 1970s and 80s? How did Sonoma County help stop a national anti-LGBT movement? Why did teenage girls at Los Guillicos riot in the early 1950s?
Explore the community building, cultural and social change forged by local LGBTQI+ people during the years 1947 – 2000, and join us for a lively discussion about community and other topics important to North Bay LGBTQI+ life.
Presented by Tina Dungan and Shad Reinstein, LGBTQI+ Historians who together created the Sonoma County LGBTQI+ Timeline.
This program will be in-person at Central Santa Rosa Library, and though registration is encouraged, it is not required. This presentation is intended for teens and adults.
Join other teens in this weekly club to discuss books and other media that showcase queer voices and experiences. June’s theme is All Things Pride! You can select a book or other media that fits that theme based on recommendations by librarians or choose your own. This club is a great way to make friends, foster community building, and discover queer media all at the same time!
Register to receive a free pride-themed craft kit! You will receive the necessary Zoom information 30 minutes before the session starts.
Explore Pride at Your Library
In-Person @ Sebastopol Regional Library
Visit the Sebastopol Regional Library all month long to participate in a rainbow craft station and scavenger hunt for school aged children. Visit or contact the Sebastopol Regional Library for more information!
June Take & Make Craft Kits: Rainbow Jinglers
Available at all 14 library branch locations! Kits are available on a first come, first served basis. While supplies last. For ages 5 & up w/ adult supervision.
Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt
Register for the Sonoma County Library's family friendly virtual community scavenger hunt (June 6th to August 13) and look for a Pride themed activity along the way!
Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa
Parade: 11:00am-12:00pm
Festival: 12:00pm-5:00pm
Come visit us at the Pride festival! We will have fun giveaways and the Library’s Bibliobus will be stocked full of LGBTQ+ library materials for you to check out!
West County High School GSA, Positive Images, LGBTQ Connection, and the Sonoma County Library are proud to present Sonoma County Queer Prom 2022! Tickets are $25 but no one will be turned away for lack of funds; if you need a scholarship ticket, email info@posimages.org.
Who: Sonoma County High School Students, 14-18 years old (Attendees must bring a form of ID for entry, no exceptions to age range)
When: June 11, 2022, 6:30-10:30pm
Where: The Barlow, Sebastopol, CA
Theme: Fairytale
Attire: Dress up, dress down, costumes, cosplay - all attire is welcome.
During the event, visit the Library’s “Chill Space” area to unwind, read a book, make a craft, or just hang out in a comfy space.
Held on the Town Green on Saturday, June 25, join us for a day of music, food, games and colorful surprises. This family-friendly event celebrating love in Windsor among all people, including the LGBTQIA community, will be Free and Open to All.
Live performances at the Music Fest, fun activities in the KidZone, resources at the Community Fair, food and Drinks at the Street Fair.
Browse through eBooks & eAudiobooks in our new LGBTQ+ guide, now available in the Libby app! This guide will stay up all year and refreshes with new books as they are added to the collection.
Drawing from their incredible library of LGBTQ+ films, Kanopy has curated a collection for Pride Month. To view these films that cover everything from historical events to pioneers bravely taking a stand against injustice, visit go.kanopy.com/pride.
Community Partners
Visit the websites of our fantastic community partners for more events and resources for June and beyond!
Please save the date for APT's annual Give Out Day Fundraiser at The Block in Petaluma. All are welcome. Family friendly, DJ, dancing, food, local raffle prizes, games & more!
For more information on their ongoing projects and plans, you can click the following links:
Wine Country’s LGBTQI Film Festival brings to Sonoma County outstanding films that explore the vast diversity of our community and celebrates our unique history. They show a monthly film on the third Thursday of the month at Rialto Cinemas,Sebastopol.
This summer they will be showing the following films:
Poppy Field - June 9, 1pm & 7pm at the Rialto Cinema, Sebastopol
This film weaves themes of freedom, art, repression and identity as a Romanian police officer Cristi fights his internal and external identity. His private and public persona is challenged when his unit is called to a volatile anti-LGBTQ+ protest at cinema. The tension between his life with boyfriend Hadi and his in-uniform image spills over during a night of suspense. His ability to hide his sexual orientation challenged by an audience member who recognizes him from a previous encounter. The film is based on an actual event in 2017.
Mama Bears - June 16, 7PM at the Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol
This film follows three conservative Christian families confronting the bigotry that is negatively impacting their LGBT+ children by supporting and advocating for them. The film’s subjects are part of the support group named “Mama Bears'' because of the fierceness with which its members fight for their offspring’s rights in statehouses, at school board meetings, and in their places of worship. This film by award-winning director Daresha Kyi is a powerful and poignant story of the transformative power of unconditional love.
