Open Agenda: Bank Square's Queer Little Free Library

Open Agenda is our queer little free library, if you will, inspired by the Pay it Forward program from Category Is Books in Glasgow. Open Agenda is both a selection of books that have been pre-purchased for anyone to take home and an opportunity for customers with extra funds to help increase access to queer literature for young readers. Open Agenda focuses on LGBTQIA+ titles for readers of YA and Middle-Grade titles, but queerness is intersectional, and so are the titles donated.


Looking for a way to give back?

1. Choose a book you'd like to donate
2. Purchase as usual
3. Let the bookseller know it's for Open Agenda OR, if you're ordering online, write in the comment section that this is for Open Agenda
4. Know you've provided a book for someone in need to take home
5. Feel extra super-duper rainbow-y

Looking to get a book?

Simply head to the decorated box and pick out a title! You don't have to explain to anyone or give a reason, though we're always happy to help you pick!

What if I’m not out?

We understand that not everyone wants to or can safely be out in their community or spaces. If you’re looking to take a book home discreetly, just ask one of our staff members and we’ll pick something out for you and bag it up - we can even specifically grab you a title that doesn’t look outwardly queer.

The following titles are bookseller recommendations but you may purchase any queer book of your choosing. Just make sure to write "for Open Agenda" in the order comments field at checkout!

Staff Pick Badge
I Kissed Shara Wheeler: A Novel By Casey McQuiston Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250244451
Availability: Currently On Hand In Store
Published: Wednesday Books - May 3rd, 2022

*INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
*INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER*
*INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER*

From the New York Times bestselling author of One Last Stop and Red, White & Royal Blue comes a romantic comedy about chasing down what you want, only to find what you need...


Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex By Angela Chen Cover Image
$26.95
ISBN: 9780807013793
Availability: Ships to Our Store in 2-8 Days
Published: Beacon Press - September 15th, 2020

An engaging exploration of what it means to be asexual in a world that’s obsessed with sexual attraction, and what the ace perspective can teach all of us about desire and identity.


Loveless By Alice Oseman Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781338751932
Availability: Currently On Hand In Store
Published: Scholastic Press - March 1st, 2022

For fans of Love, Simon and I Wish You All the Best, a funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of a girl who realizes that love can be found in many ways that don't involve sex or romance.

From the marvelous author of Heartstopper comes an exceptional YA novel about discovering that it's okay if you don't have sexual or romantic feelings for anyone . .


Tarnished Are the Stars By Rosiee Thor Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781338312270
Availability: Ships to Our Store in 2-8 Days
Published: Scholastic Press - October 15th, 2019

The Lunar Chronicles meets Rook in this queer #OwnVoices science-fantasy novel, perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer and Sharon Cameron.

A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher's chest: an illegal clockwork heart.


From Gay to Z: A Queer Compendium By Justin Sayre Cover Image
$24.95
ISBN: 9781452178028
Availability: Currently On Hand In Store
Published: Chronicle Books - May 10th, 2022

This illustrated compendium celebrates LGBTQIA+ history and culture, written by and according to culture icon Justin Elizabeth Sayre!


Summer Sons By Lee Mandelo Cover Image
$28.99
Currently Unavailable
ISBN: 9781250790286
Published: Tordotcom - September 28th, 2021

Lee Mandelo's debut Summer Sons is a sweltering, queer Southern Gothic that crosses Appalachian street racing with academic intrigue, all haunted by a hungry ghost.


Staff Pick Badge
Once & Future By Cory McCarthy, A. R. Capetta Cover Image
$10.99
ISBN: 9780316449267
Availability: Ships to Our Store in 2-8 Days
Published: Jimmy Patterson - February 4th, 2020

King Arthur as you've never seen her! This bold, sizzling YA novel reimagines the Once and Future King as a teenage girl determined to save the universe from an evil curse. My name is Ari Helix. I have a magic sword, a cranky wizard, and a revolution to start. I've been chased my whole life.


Cattywampus By Ash Van Otterloo Cover Image
$7.99
ISBN: 9781338561609
Availability: Ships to Our Store in 2-8 Days
Published: Scholastic Press - February 1st, 2022

The magical story of a hex that goes haywire, and the power of friendship to set things right!

In the town of Howler's Hollow, conjuring magic is strictly off-limits. Only nothing makes Delpha McGill's skin crawl more than rules. So when she finds her family's secret book of hexes, she's itching to use it to banish her mama's money troubles.


Home Field Advantage By Dahlia Adler Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250765840
Availability: Currently On Hand In Store
Published: Wednesday Books - June 7th, 2022

"Home Field Advantage has it all. A swoony romance, characters you will be cheering for from start to finish, and a plot that sucks you in from the very first page.


Juliet Takes a Breath By Gabby Rivera Cover Image
$12.99
ISBN: 9780593108192
Availability: Ships to Our Store in 2-8 Days
Published: Dial Books - May 11th, 2021

A People magazine Best Book of Fall 2019
An Amazon Best Young Adult Book of 2019
"F***ing outstanding."--Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author


Staff Pick Badge
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School By Sonora Reyes Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780063060234
Availability: Ships to Our Store in 2-8 Days
Published: Balzer + Bray - May 17th, 2022

National Book Award Finalist * William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Walter Honor Award Winner * Pura Belpré Honor Book * Lambda Literary Award Winner for LGBTQ+ Young Adult


On a Sunbeam By Tillie Walden Cover Image
$22.99
ISBN: 9781250178138
Availability: Currently On Hand In Store
Published: First Second - October 2nd, 2018

“Tillie Walden is the future of comics, and On a Sunbeam is her best work yet. It’s a ‘space’ story unlike any you’ve ever read, with a rich, lived-in universe of complex characters.” —Brian K. Vaughan, Saga and Paper Girls

Two timelines. Second chances. One love.


Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me By Mariko Tamaki Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781626722590
Availability: Currently On Hand In Store
Published: First Second - May 7th, 2019

One of FORBES Best Graphic Novels of 2019
On BCCB 2019 Blue Ribbons List
One of NPR's Best Books of 2019
Booklist 2019 Editors' Choice
One of Bitch Media’s Best Queer YA Novels of 2019


Staff Pick Badge
Man o' War By Cory McCarthy Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780593353707
Availability: Ships to Our Store in 2-8 Days
Published: Dutton Books for Young Readers - May 31st, 2022

A Stonewall Honor Book

An achingly honest and frequently hilarious coming-of-age novel about an Arab American trans teen fighting to keep their head above water in a landlocked Midwestern town.


Cemetery Boys By Aiden Thomas Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250250469
Availability: Currently On Hand In Store
Published: Swoon Reads - September 1st, 2020

A trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave in Aiden Thomas's New York Times-bestselling paranormal YA debut Cemetery Boys, described by Entertainment Weekly as "groundbreaking."

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him.