A mix of new and popular titles that amplify young LGBTQ+ voices and experiences.
In this booklist:
Middle Grade Titles
A week-long amusement park road trip becomes a true roller coaster of emotion when Dalia realizes she has more-than-friend feelings for her new bestie.
A coming-of-age story about transgender tween Obie, who didn't think being himself would cause such a splash. Obie is ready to prove he can be one of the fastest boys in the water-to his coach, his critics, and his biggest competition: himself.
Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, 12-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl--and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.
In the summer of 1987 in Venice, California, ten-year-old Bug and her new friend Frankie learn important lessons about life, family, being your true self, and how to navigate in a world that is not always just or fair.
Eleven-year-old Rick Ramsey has generally gone along with everybody, just not making waves, even though he is increasingly uncomfortable with his father's jokes about girls, and his best friend's explicit talk about sex; but now in middle school he discovers the Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities can express themselves--and maybe among them he can find new friends and discover his own identity, which may just be to opt out of sex altogether.
Thirteen-year-old nonbinary tiger spirit Sebin must decide where their loyalties lie when their traitorous uncle hijacks the battle cruiser that happens to be Sebin's first assignment in the Cadet Program.
The first LGBTQA+ anthology for middle-graders featuring stories for every letter of the acronym, including realistic, fantasy, and sci-fi stories.
After Brian and his brother are placed in foster care, Brian starts having panic attacks. Ezra wants to help, but he worries if he's too nice to Brian, his friends will realize that he has a crush on him. But when Brian and his brother run away, Ezra has no choice but to take the leap and reach out. Both boys have to decide if they're willing to risk sharing parts of themselves they'd rather hide. Told in a dual point-of-view and a moving story, this is about finding your community and learning to trust your heart.
Rahul Kapoor is heading into seventh grade in a small town in Indiana. The start of middle school is making him feel increasingly anxious, so his favorite person in the whole world, his grandfather, Bhai, gives him some well-meaning advice: Find one thing you're really good at and become the BEST at it. This is a story about friendship, family, and the courage it takes to live your truth.
This explores identity, gender fluidity, and the power of friendship and acceptance in this dual-narrative story about two kids who join forces to save a dog but wind up saving each other.
Héctor Muñoz doesn't feel like he belongs at his new school. When he flees from bullies, he discovers a magical closet that not only provides him sanctuary, but also unites him with two other kids facing similar problems at their own schools, helping them find friendship and strength in each other.
Best friends Kenzie "Kenzilla" and Shelly "Bombshell" dream of becoming roller derby superstars one day, but when a junior league forms and they must recruit teammates, will their friendship survive?
Middle Grade Graphic Novels
Damian is the new kid at school, and he has a foolproof plan to avoid the bullying that's plagued him his whole childhood: He's going to stop talking. Starting on the first day of seventh grade, he won't utter a word. If he keeps his mouth shut, the bullies will have nothing to tease him about, right?
Shy thirteen-year-old Lilla discovers a book of magic that reveals she is a witch, but also draws the attention of an ancient evil hidden in the woods.
Twelve-year-old goblin and witch-in-training Beetle enlists her former best friend, Kat Hollowbones, to help stop Kat's sorceress aunt from demolishing the mall where Beetle's friend Blob Ghost is trapped.
After a terrible political coup usurps their noble house, Hawke and Grayson flee to stay alive and assume new identities, Hanna and Grayce. Desperation and chance lead them to the Communion of Blue, an order of magical women who spin the threads of reality to their will.
After witnessing a violent attack at school, Manuel struggles with anxiety but his cell phone camera helps him find anchors when he dissociates, and an unexpected friendship opens up new possibilities.
In this modern retelling, Anne is fostered into the West Philly home of siblings Marilla and Matthew, and while she initially has a hard time at school, she ends up joining the robotics team and competes for a spot in an elite STEM program.
YA Titles
Clem and her best friend, Nina, live in the haunted town of Moon Basin, known for its accidents and murders that are linked to the now-abandoned coal mine, but when they join their new friend, Piper, and her dad on a trip into the mine, they find themselves haunted by strange dreams and experiences afterwards.
This is about a bi Black boy finding first love and facing the return of the mother who abandoned his preacher family when he was nine.
Noah Ramirez has a popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah's world unravels. The only way to save the Diary is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn't have any proof. Then Drew walks into Noah's life, and the pieces fall into place: Drew is willing to fake-date Noah to save the Diary.
Olivia is an expert at falling in love and at being dumped. A crush-free weekend at Farmland Music and Arts Festival with her best friend is just what she needs to get her mind off the senior year that awaits her. Toni is heading back to the music festival that changed her late father’s life in hopes that following in his footsteps will help her find her own way forward. As they work together, the festival becomes so much more complicated than they bargained for. Olivia and Toni will find that they need each other, and music, more than they ever could have imagined.
Darius Kellner has everything he thought he wanted. He has a new boyfriend, a new internship, and a spot on the soccer team but growing up makes him question everything.
Felicity Morrow returns to the Dalloway School after her girlfriend's tragic death, only to meet Ellis Haley, a new student and a teenage literary prodigy, who enlists Felicity's help in researching the school's bloody, occult history for her new book.
A supernatural murder mystery that takes place in a United States that has Fairy Ring Transportation Centers, endless fields of scarecrows with human eyes and a rich history of Lipan Apache ghost whisperers. -Shelf Awareness
Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. Then an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, who have sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns. Will is thrust into a world of magic, where he starts training for a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark
High school seniors Aristotle and Dante find ways to spend time together despite being at different schools, having to keep their love secret, and nightly news of gay men dying from AIDS.
Emry, the daughter of the famed wizard Merlin, must disguise herself as her twin brother to learn magic in Prince Arthur's court, where she finds scandal, danger, and romance.
After being cast as Romeo in the school play, Dean realizes he wants everyone to see him as he really is, a male, and not just play one on the stage, despite the risk of losing everything.
YA Graphic Novels
It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes--but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.
Take a trip through time with Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray as they fall in love at church bingo in 1963, break up because of pressure from their families, and reunite nearly fifty years later.
What does someone do when they're born as one gender, but feel themselves to be another? With this graphic novel, Maison boldly shares her story of transitioning, so that other kids with gender dysphoria and related conditions will no longer feel so isolated, hopeless, or lost.
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.
Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band--if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn't ruin everything.
Jake Hyde yearns for the ocean and is determined to leave his hometown in New Mexico for a college on the coast, and while his family and friends encourage him to stay, he must deal with his secrets of being gay and some strange new blue markings on his skin giving him a glow when he touches water.
With nowhere else to go, Dez is living in a group home. On top of everything else, Dez is navigating her identity as a Two-Spirit person alongside a new relationship. Unfortunately, Miikwan doesn't really understand what her best friend is going through. Will Dez be comfortable expressing her full identity? And will her community be able to celebrate her for who she is?
Five best friends spending the summer at Lumberjane scout camp defeating yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons: what's not to love? There are additional volumes plus bonus editions.
Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley's dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There's just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend. This graphic novel asks readers to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.
Tié̂n still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tié̂n, he doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he's going through? Is there a way to tell them he's gay?
Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!
Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who's under pressure to join the cheerleader squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser--a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to keep their support of her transition. Through the rigors of squad training and amped up social pressures, the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they'd lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them.
Morgan's biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl.Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn't seem so stifling anymore. But Keltie has some secrets of her own. As the girls start to fall in love, everything they're each trying to hide will find its way to the surface.