Promise Me Something
This is an incredibly well done, very, very, very sad book about prejudice against L/B/G/T individuals and the deadly effects this can have.
Reyna is attending school. Her father is dating the woman who was involved in a car crash that nearly killed him. Another character we meet is Olive Barton who is very unconventional, very outspoken and very much disliked by other students. She also happens to be a lesbian.
One of their teachers is virulently anti-gay and makes statements in class that show the extent of his bigotry.
A third girl, Greta, is staying in a shed near the house where Olive lives. The girl is in severe emotional pain. Things get much worse when Reyna finds out Olive is a lesbian and that destroys their relationship. The school bullying gets worse and the one teacher gets worse.
It all becomes too much for one of the girls who ends up dying. Then it becomes a question of just how to make sure that the homophobic teacher is dealt with.
That's just a brief cover of the main events. The story is very in-depth, the characters all very realistic, the problems very current and the anti-bigotry message is loud and clear. One of the best books I have ever read on this subject.
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