Recommended Reading for LGBTJews in the Federal City

For those interested in learning more about the LGBTQ+ and Jewish LGBTQ+ experiences, we offer the following list of books for children and families, young adults, adults, and parents.

★  Indicates a title written by a DC author and/or exploring DC stories.

 

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES 

• Havdalah Sky by Chris Barash
  Tags: Fiction, Shabbat, Same-Sex relationships, Diverse Jewish families 

• Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer
  Tags: Diverse families, Same-sex relationships, Young Readers 

• She Persisted: Rachel Levine by Lisa Bunker and Chelsea Clinton
  Tags: Nonfiction, Transgender, Feminism, History 

• The Flower Girl Wore Celery by Meryl G. Gordon
  Tags: Fiction, Same-sex weddings, Jewish weddings, Diverse Jewish Families 

• I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel
  Tags: Fiction, Transgender, Coming Out, Educational 

• The Purim Superhero by Elizabeth Kushner
  Tags: Fiction, Purim, Same-sex parenting, Peer pressure 

• When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff
  Tags: Fiction, Transgender, Coming out, Family 

• The Heart of the Storm: A Biography of Sue Bird by Sharon Mentyka
  Tags: Nonfiction, Biography, Gay figure  

• Love Remains: A Rosh Hashanah Story of Transformation by Rabbi Ari Moffic and Jessica Leving
  Tags: Fiction, Transgender children, Transition, Rosh Hashanah, Family  

• The Boy Who Cried Fabulous by Lesléa Newman
  Tags: Fiction, Self-expression, Identity, Diversity 

• Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman
  Tags: Fiction, Same-sex relationships, Diverse families 

• Joyful Song: A Naming Story by Lesléa Newman
  Tags: Fiction, diverse Jewish families, Jewish traditions, same-sex parents 

• In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Pollaco
  Tags: Fiction, Same-sex relationships, Diverse families 

• Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders
  Tags: Biography, Activism, History, Rainbow flag, Death 

• The Last Place You Look by J Wallace Skelton
  Tags: Fiction, Passover, Same-sex relationships, Diverse Jewish families, Transgender 

 

BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS 

• The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli
  Tags: Jewish values, Queer activism, Intersectionality, Identities 

• The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow
  Tags: Fiction, Middle school, Lesbian, Chronic illness, Community 

• Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf  by Deke Moulton 
  Tags: Middle grade fantasy, Antisemitism, Racism, Diverse Jewish identities, Homosexuality 

• Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros 
  Tags: Middle grade fantasy, Gay, Mixed religion family, Jewish mythology, Bullying 

• Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
  Tags: Fiction, Nonbinary, Autism, Middle school, Friendship 

• Just Shy of Ordinary by A.J. Sass
  Tags: Middle grade fiction, Nonbinary, Mental illness, Family, COVID 19 Pandemic 

• You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman 
  Tags: Fiction, Bisexuality, Mental health, High school romance, American Jewish family 

 

BOOKS FOR ADULTS 

 

• ★ A Queer Capital: A History of Gay Life in Washington D.C. by Genny Beemyn
  Tags: Local history, Non-fiction, Same-sex relationships 

• ★ Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians by Joan E Biren
  Tags: Nonfiction, Lesbian, Photography, Personal stories 

• Queer Theory and the Jewish Question Edited by Daniel Boyarin, Daniel Itzkovitz, and Anne Pellegrini
  Tags: Essays, Intersectionality, LGBTQ+, Jewish Identities 

• Mentsh: On Being Jewish and Queer Edited by Angela Brown
  Tags: Essays, Identity, Personal stories, Judaism 

• The Deviant’s War by Eric Cervini 
  Tags: History, LGBTQ institutions, Historical figures, Government, Gay activism 

• Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer
  Tags: The Torah, Compilation, Judaism, Allyship, LGBTQ+ 

• Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in the Jewish Community Edited by Noach Dzmura
  Tags: Autobiographical essays, Transgender, Jewish community, Judaism 

• Mishkan Ga’avah: Where Pride Swells Edited by Denise Eger
  Tags: Compilation, Creative writing, Spirituality, Judaism, Diversity 

• Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg
  Tags: Fiction, Transgender, Mid-life crisis, Trauma, Activism, Hope, Community, Identity, Substance abuse 

• Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
  Tags: Fiction, Marginalized communities, Trauma, Gender affirming care, queer relationships 

• Willa & Hesper by Amy Feltman
  Tags: Fiction, Lesbian, Romance, Judaism, Forced Migration, #MeToo Movement 

• Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA by Roberta Kaplan
  Tags: Marriage equality, Law, Government 

• Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders by Joy Ladin
  Tags: Autobiography, Orthodox Judaism, Transgender, Transition, Faith 

• The Rabbi who Prayed with Fire by Rachel Sharona Lewis
  Tags: Lesbian, Detective Drama, Synagogue community, Fiction 

• The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros 
  Tags: Gay, Gothic thriller, Historical Fiction 

• Found Tribe by Laurence Schimel
  Tags: Essays, Gay men, Judaism, Coming out 

• Queer Jews Edited by David Shneer and Caryn Aviv
  Tags: Identity, Jewish communities, Essays, Memoir 

• A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts From the First Century to 1969 by Noam Sienna
  Tags: Compilation, History, Creative writing, Intersectional identities 

• Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Stein
  Tags: Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, Transition, Coming out, Transgender, Faith 

• Trans Talmud: Androgynes and Eunuchs in Rabbinic Literature by Max K. Strassfeld
  Tags: Transgender, Nonbinary, Judaism 

• Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia
  Tags: Nonbinary, Transgender, Autobiographical memoir, Coming of age 

• The Right Thing to Do at the Time by Dov Zeller 
  Tags: Fiction, Transgender, Romance 

 

BOOKS FOR PARENTS 

• In Jewish Texas: A Family Memoir by Stanley E. Ely
  Tags: Autobiographical memoir, Coming of age, Coming out, Family, Migration 

• Oddly Normal: One Family’s Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality by John Schwartz
  Tags: Jewish community, Parenting, Homophobia, Bullying, Suicide