LGBTQIA2S+ Young Adult Fiction
Celebrate Pride Month
Young adult LGBTQIA+ fiction encompasses a vibrant and diverse genre of literature that explores the experiences, identities, and relationships of LGBTQIA+ youth. Novels feature protagonists who navigate the complexities of adolescence while grappling with questions of gender identity, sexual orientation, and self-acceptance. Through their writing, authors contribute to the ongoing dialogue about identity, acceptance, and inclusion, ultimately fostering a more empathetic and equitable society.
Always the almost : a novel
Underhill, Edward, author.
2023
Sixteen-year-old trans boy Miles Jacobson's New Year resolutions include winning back his ex-boyfriend and winning the Midwest's biggest classical piano competition, but when a new, proudly queer boy moves to town, Miles reconsiders who he was and who he is now.
Autoboyography
Lauren, Christina, author
2017
High school senior Tanner Scott has hidden his bisexuality since his family moved to Utah, but he falls hard for Sebastian, a Mormon mentoring students in a writing seminar Tanner's best friend convinced him to take.
The bone spindle
Vedder, Leslie, author
2022
When she pricks her finger on a bone spindle, treasure hunter Fi is stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose, a prince under a sleeping curse, and must team up with a tough-as-dirt girl warrior to free the prince--and herself.
Café con Lychee
Lee, Emery, author
2022
Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno have always been at odds. Their parents own rival businesses--an Asian American café and a Puerto Rican bakery--and Gabi's lack of coordination has cost their soccer team too many games to count. Stuck in the closet and scared to pursue his own dreams, Gabi sees his parents' shop as his future. Stuck under the weight of his parents' expectations, Theo's best shot at leaving Vermont means first ensuring his parents' livelihood is secure. So when a new fusion café threatens both shops, Theo and Gabi realize an unfortunate truth--they can only achieve their goals by working together to cook up an underground bakery operation and win back their customers. But can they put aside their differences long enough to save their parents' shops or will the new feelings between them boil over?
Cemetery boys
Thomas, Aiden, author
2020
Yadriel, a trans boy, summons the angry spirit of his high school's bad boy, and agrees to help him learn how he died, thereby proving himself a brujo, not a bruja, to his conservative family.
Check, please!. Book 1, #Hockey!
Ukazu, Ngozi, author, artist
2018
Eric Bittle ('Bitty') may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia. First of all? There's checking (anything that hinders the player with possession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then there is Jack--his very attractive but moody captain.
Cold
Tamaki, Mariko, author
2022
Todd Mayer is dead. Now he's some sort of ghost, hovering over his body, which has just been found in the town park, naked and frozen in the snow. As detectives investigate Todd's homicide, talking to the very people who are responsible for how he died, Todd replays the events that lead him to his end in the park. Georgia didn't know Todd. But she can't stop thinking about him. Maybe it's because they're both outcasts at their school, or because they're both queer. It might also be because Georgia has a feeling she's seen Todd somewhere before, somewhere he wasn't supposed to be.
Cool for the summer
Adler, Dahlia, author
2021
Seventeen-year-old Lara's dream of catching Chase Harding's eye finally comes true even as Jasmine, with whom she just spent a confusing, oddly romantic summer, reenters her life.
Coven
Dugan, Jennifer, author
2022
After members of her coven are murdered, sixteen-year-old Emsy moves across the country with her parents to master her neglected craft in order to find the killer and protect her coven.
A dark and hollow star
Shuttleworth, Ashley, author
2021
"A queer cast of characters-a half-fae teenager, a temperamental ex-Fury, a fae prince, and his brooding guardian-must track down a serial killer whose disturbing murders are threatening to expose the hidden faerie courts to the human world"-- Provided by publisher.
Felix ever after
Callender, Kacen, author
2020
Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend.
Friday I'm in love
Garrett, Camryn, author
2023
"After not being able to have a sweet sixteen party, Mahalia decides to throw a coming out party to celebrate love and herself"-- Provided by publisher.
Heartstopper. Volume 1
Oseman, Alice, author, artist
2020
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn't think he has a chance. But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.
Most ardently : a Pride & Prejudice remix
Novoa, Gabe Cole, author
2024
"Oliver Bennet, trapped by societal expectations to live as female, discovers the possibility of love and freedom when he forms a connection with Darcy, but is faced with the choice of living a secure but inauthentic life or risking everything for true self-expression and love."--Provided by publisher.
Otherworldly
Lukens, F. T., author
2024
In a land where the supernatural is believed to be real, non-believer Ellery and familiar Knox from the Other World form an unexpected alliance to strike a deal that could alter their lives forever.
The perfect guy doesn't exist
Gonzales, Sophie, 1992- author
2024
"A fanfic writer brings her favorite TV character to life in this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers novel full of humor and heart" - provided by publisher.
Pet
Emezi, Akwaeke, author
2019
There are no monsters anymore. In the city of Lucille, Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. Then Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood. Pet has come to hunt a monster-- and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist? -- adapted from jacket
She gets the girl
Lippincott, Rachael, author
2022
Alex Blackwood is really good at getting the girl she wants, but coming from a broken home with an alcoholic mother she finds commitment difficult, even when she thinks she is in love; impossibly awkward Molly Parker has a crush on the cool Cora Myers, but she does not know how to even start a conversation, much less make a connection; now they are all at college in Pittsburgh Alex decides to "help" Molly get the girl, while proving to her own flame that she is not just totally selfish--but things do not work out as the two have planned.
Skater boy
Nerada, Anthony, author.
2024
"Stonebridge High's resident bad boy, Wesley "Big Mac" Mackenzie, is failing senior year--thanks to his unchecked anger, rowdy friends, and a tendency to ditch his homework for skateboarding and a secret photography obsession. So when his mom drags him to a production of The Nutcracker, Wes isn't interested at all . . . until he sees Tristan Monroe. Mr. Nutcracker himself. Wes knows he shouldn't like Tristan; after all, he's a ballet dancer, and Wes is as closeted as they come. But when they start spending time together, Wes can't seem to get Tristan out of his head. Driven by a new sense of purpose, Wes begins to think that--despite every authority figure telling him otherwise--maybe he can change for the better and graduate on time."-- Provided by publisher.
Sofi and the bone song
Tooley, Adrienne, author
2022
After losing everything to an undeserving rival, a sixteen-year-old musician sets out to expose that her rival's newfound musical abilities stem from an illegal use of magic--but what she discovers will rock everything she knows about her family, music, and the girl she thought was her enemy.
Transmogrify! : 14 fantastical tales of trans magic
2023
"Transness is as varied and colorful as magic can be. In Transmogrify!, you'll embark on fourteen different adventures alongside unforgettable characters who embody many different genders and expressions and experiences--because magic is for everyone, and that is cause for celebration"-- Provided by publisher
The valkyrie's daughter
Warner, Tiana, 1988- author
2022
When a vision shows her a greater destiny is possible, teenage stable hand Sigrid makes an alliance with an enemy Valkyrie with whom she forms a powerful friendship--and possibly something more--as they search for the truth about Sigrid's birthright.
You should see me in a crown
Johnson, Leah (Young adult author), author
2020
Liz Lighty has always done her best to avoid the spotlight in her small, wealthy, and prom-obsessed midwestern high school. Her family is black and rather poor, especially since her mother died. Liz has concentrated on her grades and her musical ability in the hopes that it will win her a scholarship to elite Pennington College and their famous orchestra where she plans to study medicine. When that scholarship falls through she is forced to turn to her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. Soon Liz is plunged into the gauntlet of social media (which she hates) and led to discoveries about her own identity and the value of true friendships.