Even as pride month comes to an end, continue celebrating LGBTQ identities with these titles! Here are some of my favorite new and recently published YA novels that should definitely be on your radar!
Beating Heart Baby
Min, Lio, author.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Min Lio
LGBTQ+
Seventeen-year-old Santi Arboleda finally feels settled in his new life in Los Angeles with a growing found family and a relationship with musical prodigy Suwa--until Suwa is offered the chance to step into the spotlight that he has always denied himself and they must finally face their dreams, their pasts, and their futures, whether together or apart.
You don't have a shot
Marie, Racquel, author.
ON ORDER BOOK
Seventeen-year-old Valentina jeopardizes her future when she gets into an altercation with her rival, Leticia, during a soccer game, so the two girls must co-captain a soccer team to redeem themselves and what starts as a shaky alliance of necessity blossoms into something more.
This is such a fun rom-com about two enemies who must learn to work together when they end up co-captaining the same team at soccer camp.
- Bailey
Ode to my first car
Gow, Robin, author.
ON ORDER BOOK
Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual who might be in love with her best friend, gets a summer job at a local nursing home where an eighty-eight-year-old lesbian helps Claire grow more confident in her identity.
Written in verse, this novel has so much going for it: a sapphic love triangle, an amazing queer elder, two siblings finding their way back to another, and at the center a girl figuring herself out after losing the thing that gave her freedom and independence is gone.
- Bailey
The wicked bargain
Novoa, Gabe Cole, author.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Novoa Gabe
On Mar León de la Rosa's sixteenth birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship. When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up their soul to save their father by the harvest moon, or never see him again. The task is impossible--Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there's no way their magic is a match for el Diablo. Then Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate--and the captain's son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption--or it could mean certain death.
If you're also highly anticipating the next season of "Our Flag Means Death," I highly recommend checking out this book to fill the queer pirate void.
- Bailey
Imogen, obviously
Albertalli, Becky, author.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Albertal Becky
"Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but shes got the Worlds Greatest Ally title locked down. She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili--newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends. Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in. Even if that means bending the truth, just a little. Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero--not even Lilis best friend, Tessa. Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with..." --
This book reminds us how our identities are never set in stone--there's always more to learn about ourselves! The chemistry and love the entire friend group has for one another really brought this book up another level, with such authentic and loveable characters and fast-paced writing that made me fly through this one.
- Bailey
Fake dates and mooncakes
Lee, Sher, author.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Lee Sher
Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs--in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt's struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn. Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan's stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons. In Theo's glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend . . . but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo's relatives reveal their true colors--but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can't risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems. Can Dylan save his family's business and follow his heart--or will he fail to do both?
This was such a positive, funny, and light-hearted romcom perfect for when you need a pick-me-up!
- Bailey
Love Letters for Joy.
See, Melissa.
ON ORDER BOOK
Less than a year away from graduation, seventeen-year-old Joy is too busy overachieving to be worried about relationships. She’s determined to be Caldwell Prep’s first disabled valedictorian. And she only has one person to beat, her academic rival Nathaniel.
While I haven't read this one yet, I am so excited to see a book about a queer girl with cerebral palsy!
- Bailey
Self-made boys : a Great Gatsby remix
McLemore, Anna-Marie, author.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION McLemore Anna-Marie
New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Minnesota, has no interest in the city's glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future--and his life as a man--and benefit his family. Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom--and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latina heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white. Nick's neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all for the benefit of impressing a girl from Jay's past--Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender. As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick's feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay's openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.
The Great Gatsby gets way more interesting in this modern, queer twist. I love the Remixed Classics series, and this one takes the cake for me so far!
- Bailey
This is without a doubt one of the best YA novels I've ever read and it definitely deserves more readership! Perfect for lovers of music, art, anime and friends-to-lovers arcs,
- Bailey