Cover of 19 Love Songs
19 Love Songs
by David Levithan
 
With fiction, nonfiction, and a story in verse, there’s
something for every reader in this short story collection. Witty, romantic, and honest, Levithan celebrates all kinds of love, including a story set in the world of his book, Two Boys Kissing.
TEEN ROMANCE LEVITHAN DAVID
Cover of All Out
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages
by Saundra Mitchell

Seventeen YA authors across the LGBT+ spectrum contribute to this dazzling story collection. From a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in war-torn 1870s Mexico featuring a trans soldier, to two girls falling in love while mourning the death of Kurt Cobain, All Out brings diverse stories to light.
TEEN HISTORICAL ALL
Cover of Out Now
Out Now: Queer We Go Again!
by Saundra Mitchell
 
This follow-up features seventeen new short stories from queer YA authors. With everything from vampires to romance to barbershops to skateboards, Out Now has a story for every reader and surprises with each turn of the page.
TEEN REALISTIC OUT
Teen Books Featuring Lesbian Characters
Grades 7-9
Cover of Annie on My Mind
Annie on My Mind
by Nancy Garden

From the moment Liza meets Annie at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she knows there is something special between them. Despite  pressures from family and school that threaten their relationship, the girls promise to be true to each other and their feelings.
TEEN ROMANCE GARDEN NANCY
Cover of Ash
Ash
by Malinda Lo

In this Cinderella retelling, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that others have sought to suppress—and eventually, she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her, and the King’s Huntress whom she’s grown to love.
TEEN FANTASY LO MALINDA
Cover of Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World
Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World
by Ashley Herring Blake

When a tornado rips through twelve-year-old Ivy’s town, her house is destroyed—and what’s worse, her secret notebook filled with drawings of girls holding hands has gone missing. When notes begin appearing in her school locker, Ivy hopes the mysterious writer is her crush.
TEEN REALISTIC BLAKE ASHLEY
Cover of The Mighty Heart of Sunny Saint James
The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James
by Ashley Herring Blake

When Sunny receives a new heart, she begins a “New Life Plan,” hoping to do amazing things she could never do before, find a new best friend, and kiss a boy for the first time—but after meeting new best friend Quinn, Sunny questions whether she really wants to kiss a boy at all.
TEEN REALISTIC BLAKE ASHLEY
Cover of One True Way
One True Way
by Shannon Hitchcock
 
Allison finds a friend in school basketball star Samantha, something she needs badly since her brother died and her father left. When their friendship becomes something more, the girls face challenges from their 1970s southern town.
TEEN HISTORICAL HITCHCOCK SHANNON
Cover of P S I Miss You
P.S. I Miss You
by Jen Petro-Roy
 
Evie, crushing on a new friend and questioning her sexuality, is heartbroken when her strict Catholic parents send her pregnant sister, Cilla, away. When Cilla doesn’t answer Evie’s forbidden letters, Evie takes matters into her own hands.
TEEN REALISTIC PETRO-ROY JEN
Grades 10-12
Cover of Amelia Westlake Was Never Here
Amelia Westlake Was Never Here
by Erin Gough
 
Harriet, a prefect elite at Rosemead Grammar, risks her perfect life to join forces with bad-girl Will in a hoax to expose school secrets--and they find love while they’re at it.
TEEN ROMANCE GOUGH ERIN
Cover of Clap When You Land
Clap When You Land
by Elizabeth Acevedo
 
Separated by distance and their Papi’s secrets, two
sisters are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead, they learn of each other, and their lives are forever changed. 
TEEN REALISTIC ACEVEDO ELIZABETH
Cover of The Falling in Love Montage
The Falling in Love Montage
by Ciara Smyth
 
Cynical Saoirse isn’t looking for a relationship--until
mischievous Ruby invites her to share in a summer of cliché rom-com reenactments that will end with no hurt feelings upon the arrival of fall...unless the characters fall in love, for real.
TEEN ROMANCE SMYTH CIARA
Cover of From Dust, a Flame
From Dust, a Flame
by Rebecca Podos

When she begins to mutate on her 17th birthday, Hannah discovers a family she never knew--all while searching for the truth, and a history linked to Jewish mysticism and legend which holds the key to breaking the curse and saving those she loves most.
TEEN FANTASY PODOS REBECCA
Cover of Happily Ever Island
Happily Ever Island
by Crystal Cestari

While testing out Disney's "Happily Ever Island," an immersive vacation destination where guests can become their favorite Disney character for a week, Madison and her best friend Lanie start drifting apart as they each have different, and unexpected, experiences.
TEEN ROMANCE CESTARI CRYSTAL
Cover of The Henna Wars
The Henna Wars
by Adiba Jaigirdar
 
When Nishat, an Irish girl of Bengali heritage, sees her old friend Flâavia again, she feels attracted; but their feelings are complicated as they enter a school contest as henna artists.
TEEN ROMANCE JAIGIRDAR ADIBA
Cover of Home Field Advantage
Home Field Advantage
by Dahlia Adler

When it is discovered that the new quarterback Jack Walsh is actually Jaclyn, chaos breaks loose, and cheerleader Amber must take a stand for this girl with whom she is falling head over heels in love.
TEEN ROMANCE ADLER DAHLIA
Cover of Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
by Malinda Lo

When Lily realizes she has feelings for a girl in her math class, it threatens Lily's oldest friendships and even her father's citizenship status while Red-Scare paranoia threatens Chinese Americans. Eventually, Lily must decide if owning her truth is worth changing everything she has ever known.
TEEN HISTORICAL LO MALINDA
Cover of The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali
The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali
by Sabina Khan

When seventeen-year-old Rukhsana’s conservative Muslim parents catch her kissing her girlfriend, Ariana, Rukhsana is whisked away to Bangladesh, where arranged marriage is commonplace, and she must courageously fight to choose her own path.
TEEN REALISTIC KHAN SABINA
Cover of Love and Other Natural Disasters
Love & Other Natural Disasters
by Misa Sugiura
 
When the gorgeous and glamorous Willow enlists Nozomi to pose as her new girlfriend to make her ex jealous, Nozomi plans to show Willow that she's better than a stand-in and turn their fauxmance into something real.
TEEN ROMANCE SUGIURA MISA
Cover of The Mermaid the Witch and the Sea
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea
by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
 
Disguising herself as a male pirate to escape poverty, Flora’s strict survival code is challenged by her unexpected feelings for a noblewoman on her way to a dreaded arranged marriage.
TEEN FANTASY TOKUDA-HALL
Cover of Not Your Sidekick
Not Your Sidekick
by C.B. Lee

Resigned to a life without superpowers in a world full of them, Jess takes a paid internship...for the world’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks might have a secret of her own.
TEEN FANTASY LEE C.B.
Cover of Rise to the Sun
Rise to the Sun
by Leah Johnson

Olivia and Toni arrive at the Farmland music festival hoping to forget about their problems. When a scavenger hunt brings them together, each girl discovers herself and a blooming romance between them. 
TEEN ROMANCE JOHNSON LEAH
Cover of Ruinsong
Ruinsong
by Julia Ember
 
In a world where magic is sung, Cadence, a powerful mage, has been forced by her ruthless queen to torture disgraced nobility. When she is reunited with a friend, an alluring noblewoman with ties to the underground rebellion, the two must work together to unite their country while wrestling with feelings for each other.
TEEN FANTASY EMBER JULIA
Cover of She Gets the Girl
She Gets the Girl
by Rachael Lippincott

When shy, awkward Molly Parker and outspoken Alex Blackwood devise a five-step plan to get the girls they like to fall for them, they both begin to wonder if maybe they're the ones falling for each other.
TEEN ROMANCE LIPPINCOTT RACHAEL
Cover of The Summer of Jordi Perez
The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles)
by Amy Spalding
 
Fashion-obsessed seventeen-year-old Abby Ives runs a plus-size style blog while pursuing an internship at a boutique where she falls for photographer Jordi Perez, a fellow intern—and Abby’s competition for a paid job at the internship’s conclusion.
TEEN ROMANCE SPALDING AMY
Cover of The Summer of Impossibilities
The Summer of Impossibilities
by Rachael Allen
 
Forced to spend time together at a lake house while their best-friend mothers reconnect, four girls navigate crushes and secrets, including an escalating health problem, during a transformative summer.
TEEN REALISTIC ALLEN RACHAEL
Cover of Tell Me How You Really Feel
Tell Me How You Really Feel
by Aminah Mae Safi
 
Cheerleader Sana has had a crush on Rachel for years--but when she tried to ask her out, it went very badly. Film buff Rachel, despite not being able to stand Sana, casts her in her senior project when she realizes that Sana is perfect for the role.
TEEN ROMANCE SAFI AMINAH
Books Featuring Gay Characters
Grades 7-9
Cover of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
 
With a brother in prison, Ari lives in a state of near constant anger. Dante is a know-it-all geek with a gentle soul. The boys have nothing in common, but develop a friendship that changes lives and lasts a lifetime.
TEEN ROMANCE SAENZ BENJAMIN
Cover of The Best Man
The Best Man
by Richard Peck

Archer finds his sixth grade year filled with change and revelations, including his role as best man for his beloved Uncle Paul’s wedding to his favorite student teacher, Mr. McLeod.
TEEN REALISTIC PECK RICHARD
Cover of Better Nate than Ever
Better Nate Than Ever
by Tim Federle

Nate, who dreams of performing in a Broadway musical, concocts a plan to run away to New York and audition for the role of Elliot in the musical version of E.T.
TEEN REALISTIC FEDERLE TIM
Cover of Flamer
Flamer
by Mike Curato
 
It’s the summer between middle and high school, and Aiden 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.
TEEN GRAPHIC CURATO
Cover of The Gravity of Us
The Gravity of Us
by Phil Stamper
 
Cal, an aspiring journalist, reluctantly moves from Brooklyn to Houston when his volatile father is picked to become an astronaut for NASA’s mission to Mars. When Cal looks for a story to report, he finds an ally (and crush) in Leon, the son of another astronaut.
TEEN ROMANCE STAMPER PHIL
Cover of The Whispers
The Whispers
by Greg Howard

Riley believes in the whispers, magical fairies that grant wishes in exchange for tributes, and he has a lot of wishes: that bullies will stop picking on him; that Dylan, his crush, liked him; and most of all, that his missing mother will come home.
TEEN FANTASY HOWARD GREG
Grades 10-12
Cover of The Black Flamingo
The Black Flamingo
by Dean Atta
 
Michael, a mixed-race gay teen in London, has never felt quite Greek or Black enough. Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs and the Black Flamingo is born.
TEEN REALISTIC ATTA DEAN
Cover of Bloom
Bloom
by Kevin Panetta

Dreaming of leaving his family’s bakery to become a musician in the city, Ari unexpectedly falls for Hector, who has been hired to replace him. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom...that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.
TEEN GRAPHIC PANETTA
Cover of Boy Meets Boy
Boy Meets Boy
by David Levithan

In this wonderfully accepting world, everyone is free to be their best self. When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for—until he blows it, and Paul must find a way to get him back and make everything right once more.
TEEN ROMANCE LEVITHAN DAVID
Cover of Camp
Camp
by Lev AC Rosen
 
Randy loves taking to the stage in the big musical at Camp Outland for queer teens. It’s where he fell for Hudson--who’s only into straight-acting guys. Randy is determined to get Hudson to fall for him, even if it means giving up show tunes and unicorn bedsheets. As they grow closer, Randy has to ask himself: How much is he willing to change for love?
TEEN ROMANCE ROSEN L.C.
Cover of Carry On
Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow
by Rainbow Rowell

Simon Snow is the chosen one who just so happens to be one of the worst wizards at Watford School of Magicks. Just ask his evil nemesis, Baz, who may not be so evil and who just might have some romantic feelings for Simon.
TEEN ROMANCE ROWELL RAINBOW
Cover of Check Please
Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey
by Ngozi Ukazu

Eric Bittle, a junior figure skating champion and dedicated vlogger, lands a spot in his co-ed college hockey team which challenges him to overcome his fear of getting hit—while desperately falling in love with his moody captain.
TEEN GRAPHIC CHECK 1
 
Cover of The Dangerous Art of Blending In
The Dangerous Art of Blending In
by Angelo Surmelis

Seventeen-year-old Evan falls for his best friend, Henry, who makes him believe that he deserves more than his mother’s harsh words and terrifying abuse, and Evan must find his voice in a world where he has survived so long by being silent.
TEEN REALISTIC SURMELIS ANGELO
Cover of Date Me, Bryson Keller
Date Me, Bryson Keller
by Kevin Van Whye

The king of Fairvale Academy, Bryson, accepts a dare to date a new person every week when he is unexpectedly asked out by Kai, a boy...even though he’s straight. They agree to a secret five-day relationship that quickly becomes more real than anticipated.
TEEN ROMANCE VANWHYE KEVIN
Cover of Destination Unknown
Destination Unknown
by Bill Konigsberg

In 1987 NYC, when Micah and C.J. start dating after meeting at a club, their relationship is tested, strained, pushed and pulled as their lives become more and more entangled in the AIDS epidemic laying waste to their community. 
TEEN HISTORICAL KONIGSBERG
Cover of Fan Art
Fan Art
by Sarah Tregay

In this sweet, lighthearted read, Jamie is in love with his best friend, Mason, and unsuccessfully hides his affections from the giggling girls in his art class who work as matchmakers to bring the couple together.
TEEN ROMANCE TREGAY SARAH 
Cover of The Fell of Dark
The Fell of Dark
by Caleb Roehrig
 
Trying to keep his head down in a supernatural community of mostly vampires, August is unexpectedly attracted to a mysterious vampire boy who arrives with a cryptic warning of ancient and terrible power--and Auggie seems to be the only one who can stop it.
TEEN SUPERNATURAL ROEHRIG CALEB
Cover of How Not to Ask a Boy to Prom
How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom
by S. J. Goslee

Nolan Grant is very, very single, and plans to spend the rest of junior year with his art, working at the greenhouse, and avoiding school spirit—but his big sister has other plans, trying to set him up for prom. 
TEEN ROMANCE GOSLEE S.J.
Cover of Like a Love Story
Like a Love Story
by Abdi Nazemian
 
When Reza moves to NYC in 1989, he’s terrified of being outed; all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS. He begins dating aspiring fashion designer Judy, but struggles with feelings for Judy’s best friend, Art, an out and proud teen who documents the AIDS crisis through his photographs.
TEEN HISTORICAL NAZEMIAN ABDI
Cover of The Loophole
The Loophole
by Naz Kutub

Sy, a seventeen-year-old gay Muslim boy, travels the world for a second chance at love after a possibly magical heiress grants him three wishes.
 TEEN REALISTIC KUTUB NAZ
Cover of The Magic Fish
The Magic Fish
by Trung Le Nguyen
 
Real life isn’t a fairytale. But Tin still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents. It’s hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tin, he doesn’t even have the right words. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he’s going through? Is there a way to tell them he’s gay?
TEEN GRAPHIC NGUYEN
Cover of Only Mostly Devastated
Only Mostly Devastated
by Sophie Gonzales
 
Ollie never expected his summer fling with Will to survive after vacation, but when his aunt’s illness keeps him in North Carolina, he lets himself hope. At school, a bro-y jock (and closeted) version of Will breaks Ollie’s heart, and he would have to be an idiot to trust him with it again...right?
TEEN ROMANCE GONZALES SOPHIE
Cover of Picture Us in the Light
Picture Us in the Light
by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Daniel, a Chinese-American teen, must grapple with his plans for the future, his feelings for his best friend Harry, and his discovery of a family secret that could shatter everything.
TEEN REALISTIC GILBERT KELLY
Cover of The Sky Blues
The Sky Blues
by Robbie Couch
 
Openly gay high school senior Sky Baker organizes an over-the-top invitation to ask his crush to the prom. When he is targeted by an anonymous homophobic viral e-blast, his friends encourage him to fight back by exposing his attacker. 
TEEN REALISTIC COUCH ROBBIE
Cover of What if it's Us
What if it's Us
by Becky Albertalli

When Arthur, a summer intern from Georgia, meets Ben, a native New Yorker, it seems like fate--but after three failed attempts at dating, they wonder if the universe is pushing them together or apart.
TEEN ROMANCE ALBERTALLI BECKY
Books Featuring Bisexual Characters
Grades 7-9
Cover of Like Water
Like Water
by Rebecca Podos
 
Vanni feels stuck in her hometown after her father is diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, distracting herself with boys and work as a water park mermaid. Her new friendship with Leigh dares Vanni to ask herself big questions and make new plans. 
TEEN ROMANCE PODOS REBECCCA
Cover of Star-Crossed
Star-Crossed
by Barbara Dee
 
In an eighth-grade production of Romeo and Juliet, star student Mattie is cast as Romeo and finds herself increasingly attracted to newcomer Gemma, who plays Juliet, causing Mattie to question whether she can be attracted to both boys and girls. 
TEEN REALISTIC DEE BARBARA
Grades 10-12
Cover of Autoboyography
Autoboyography
by Christina Lauren

High school senior Tanner Scott has hidden his bisexuality since his family moved to Utah. When his best friend dares him to take a prestigious writing seminar, Tanner meets his Mormon mentor, Sebastian--and it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.
TEEN ROMANCE LAUREN CHRISTINA
Cover of The Coldest Touch
The Coldest Touch
by Isabel Sterling

Knowing with every touch exactly when someone will die, Elise Beaumont must sacrifice her future to secure vampire Claire’s help to learn how to control her rare Death Oracle power in order to stop a teacher’s imminent murder. 
TEEN SUPERNATURAL STERLING ISABEL
Cover of The Dark Tide
The Dark Tide
by Alicia Jasinska
 
Lina sacrifices herself to her sinking island’s Witch Queen, Eva, to save her brother Finley and secret crush Tomas from capture, but when she and Eva fall in love, everyone is in danger. 
TEEN FANTASY JASINSKA ALICIA
Cover of Deposing Nathan
Deposing Nathan
by Zack Smedley
 
After meeting Cam, Nate questions his faith and begins to accept himself—but when the boys reach their breaking points, Nate is ordered to give a statement that could send his best friend to prison, even though the story isn’t as simple as everyone thinks. 
TEEN REALISTIC SMEDLEY ZACK
Cover of Fireworks
Fireworks
by Alice Lin

When her childhood friend, K-pop star Kite Xu, returns home from South Korea, 17-year-old Lulu Li finds herself falling for him, but fame and friendship soon complicate matters of the heart. 
TEEN REALISTIC LIN ALICE
Cover of Flip the Script
Flip the Script
by Lyla Lee

To make the ratings of Hana's K-drama skyrocket, the producers create a love triangle using her former best friend and crush. As they compete for the lead actor's affection on-screen, they fall in love behind the scenes, which could end their careers. 
TEEN ROMANCE LEE LYLA
Cover of Follow Your Arrow
Follow Your Arrow
by Jessica Verdi
 
For years, CeCe and her girlfriend Silvie have entertained thousands of fans as social media influencers, posting about fashion and relationship goals. After their sudden breakup, CeCe meets Josh, a new boy uninterested in online profiles but very interested in her. CeCe finds herself in an online storm where her public and private lives collide.
TEEN ROMANCE VERDI JESSICA
Cover of Girl Made of Stars
Girl Made of Stars
by Ashley Herring Blake
 
When Mara’s twin brother, Owen, is accused of rape by her friend Hannah, Mara is forced to confront her feelings about her family, her sense of right and wrong, a trauma from her past, and the future with her girlfriend, Charlie.
TEEN REALISTIC BLAKE ASHLEY
Cover of How it Feels to Float
How It Feels to Float
by Helena Fox
 
Biz sees her father every day, though he died when she was seven. When he suddenly disappears, she must learn to navigate grief and inter-generational mental illness while also finding hope.
TEEN REALISTIC FOX HELENA
Cover of I Kissed Shara Wheeler
I Kissed Shara Wheeler
by Casey McQuiston

When Chloe Green's rival, Shara Wheeler, kisses her and disappears, Chloe's hunt for answers throws her into an unlikely alliance with Smith, Shara's longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara's bad boy neighbor. Shara's cryptic notes lead the trio to realize that there might be more to Shara--and to this small town--than they thought.
TEEN ROMANCE MCQUISTON CASEY
Cover of I'll Be the One
I'll Be the One
by Lyla Lee
 
Skye has heard it all: fat girls shouldn’t dance, wear bright colors, or call attention to themselves. To join the glittering world of K-Pop, she’ll shatter expectations in an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-Pop star.
TEEN ROMANCE LEE LYLA
Cover of In Other Lands
In Other Lands
by Sarah Rees Brennan
 
In a fantasy world that upends traditional gender roles, sarcastic thirteen-year-old Ellie begins magic school where he copes with the complexities of adolescence—his bisexuality, making friends, and establishing his identity—while fighting for world peace.
TEEN FANTASY BRENNAN SARAH
Cover of Leah on the Offbeat
Leah on the Offbeat
by Becky Albertalli
 
In the midst of drama over prom and graduation, Leah struggles to come out as bisexual to her fracturing friend group—despite her best friend, Simon, being openly gay, and her mother’s acceptance of her identity.
TEEN ROMANCE ALBERTALLI BECKY
Cover of Little and Lion
Little & Lion
by Brandy Colbert
 
Returning home to Los Angeles from boarding school, Suzette considers staying home for good to be near her friends, her crush, and her recently diagnosed brother with bipolar disorder, a situation complicated by her growing feelings for the girl her brother loves.
TEEN REALISTIC COLBERT BRANDY
Cover of Nothing Burns as Bright as You
Nothing Burns as Bright as You
by Ashley Woodfolk

Two girls. One wild and reckless day. Years of tumultuous history. They were best friends, until their affections grew and the blurry lines became dangerous. The girls will learn that hearts, like flames, aren't so easily tamed.
TEEN REALISTIC WOODFOLK ASHLEY
Cover of Sawkill Girls
Sawkill Girls
by Claire Legrand
 
Three unlikely friends—Marion, a lovesick newbie; Zoey, a grief-stricken pariah; and Val, a ruthless queen bee—join to destroy an insidious monster that has been preying upon the girls of Sawkill Rock for decades. 
TEEN SUPERNATURAL LEGRAND CLAIRE
Cover of This is Kind of an Epic Love Story
This is Kind of an Epic Love Story
by Kacen Callender
 
Sixteen-year-old aspiring screenwriter, Nate, believes that happy endings only happen in films—but his conviction is tested when his childhood best friend and crush, Oliver, moves back to town.
TEEN ROMANCE CALLENDER KACEN
Cover of Who I Was With Her
Who I Was With Her
by Nita Tyndall
 
Secretly dating a rival team captain, cross-country runner Corinne is not yet ready to come out and hides her heartbreak when her girlfriend dies suddenly. To make things even more complicated, the only person she can turn to is her girlfriend’s ex, Elissa, the only person who understands how she is feeling.
TEEN REALISTIC TYNDALL NITA
Cover of You Don't Live Here
You Don't Live Here
by Robyn Schneider
 
Grieving her mother, photography-loving Sasha moves in with her estranged grandparents who would rather her be a lawyer, ten pounds skinnier, and dating a boy from a good family like Cole. While trying to make everything work, she takes interest in magnificently clever Lily and wants to follow her off the beaten path.
TEEN REALISTIC SCHNEIDER ROBYN
Cover of You Asked for Perfect
You Asked for Perfect
by Laura Silverman
 
Ariel’s life is dedicated to being the valedictorian, the perfect college applicant, and a future Harvard graduate. When a failed calculus test is only the beginning of a dangerously slipping grade, he resorts to getting a tutor, Amir—who is definitely crush-worthy.
TEEN REALISTIC SILVERMAN LAURA
Books Featuring Asexual Characters
Grades 10-12
Cover of Before I Let Go
Before I Let Go
by Marieke Nijkamp
 
While Corey explores her asexuality, she examines her best friend, Kyra’s, suspicious death in a mysterious, snow-covered Alaskan town. Corey uncovers chilling secrets about the townspeople and their treatment of Kyra prior to her death.
TEEN MYSTERY NIJKAMP MARIEKE
Cover of Hull Metal Girls
Hullmetal Girls
by Emily Skrutskie

Aisha Un-Haad, seventeen, and Key Tanaka, eighteen, have risked everything for new lives as mechanically enhanced soldiers, and when an insurrection forces dark secrets to surface, the fate of humanity is in their hands.
TEEN SCI-FI SKRUTSKIE EMILY
Cover of The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
by Mackenzi Lee

Felicity Montague travels incognito with a mysterious benefactor in the hope of securing a job assisting her idol, Dr. Alexander Pratt, who is marrying her former best friend. 
TEEN HISTORICAL LEE MACKENZI
Cover of Loveless
Loveless
by Alice Oseman

Surrounded by the narrative that dating + sex = love, Georgia, who doesn't have sexual or romantic feelings for anyone, comes to understand herself as asexual/aromantic and learns that there are plenty of other ways to find love and connection. 
TEEN REALISTIC OSEMAN ALICE
Cover of Raybearer
Raybearer
by Jordan Ifueko

Raised in isolation by a mysterious mother known only as "The Lady," lonely Tarisai is dispatched to join the Crown Prince's trusted council, whose members forge deep bonds with each other, before her mother's nefarious motivations are revealed.
 TEEN FANTASY IFUEKO JORDAN
Cover of The Sound of Stars
The Sound of Stars
by Alechia Dow
 
After an alien invasion kills one-third of the world’s population, human emotional expression through books, music, and art, is grounds for execution. In NYC when an alien discovers Ellie’s secret library, he finds himself drawn to human music, and the two embark on a wild adventure to save humanity. 
TEEN SCI-FI DOW ALECHIA
Cover of Tarnished Are the Stars
Tarnished are the Stars
by Rosiee Thor

The son of a tyrannical commissioner searches for an elusive distributor of black-market medical technology to the city’s sick and injured, while a skilled assassin risks her heart to uncover the commissioner’s dangerous secrets.
TEEN SCI-FI THOR ROSIEE
Cover of Tash Hearts Tolstoy
Tash Hearts Tolstoy
by Katie Ormsbee
 
When a shout-out by a famed vlogger causes her web-series to go viral, Tash embarks on an ambitious project marked by her love of Tolstoy, adoring fans, high pressure, a cyber-flirtation with a fellow award nominee, and her secret asexual orientation.
TEEN ROMANCE ORMSBEE KATIE
Books Featuring Diverse Gender Identities
Grades 7-9
Cover of The Deep and Dark Blue
 
The Deep & Dark Blue
by Niki Smith
 
When a political coup usurps their noble house, Hawke and Grayson flee for their lives and assume new identities before joining an order of magical women—before their quest for vengeance is compromised by Grayson’s longing to remain behind and finally live as a girl.
TEEN GRAPHIC SMITH
Cover of The Hammer of Thor
The Hammer of Thor
by Rick Riordan
 
Book two of the Magnus Chase series introduces Alex Fierro, a trans genderfluid character who joins the hunt to retrieve Thor’s lost hammer from enemy hands before the Nine Worlds burn. Unfortunately, this means negotiating with the gods’ worst enemy, Loki—and the price he wants is very high.
TEEN FANTASY RIORDAN RICK
Cover of Lily and Dunkin
Lily and Dunkin
by Donna Gephart
 
Lily, born Timothy, is a girl—but being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy, especially in the eighth grade. Norbert, nicknamed Dunkin, has bipolar disorder and just moved to Lily’s school. Being the new kid is hard enough, but he holds a painful secret. When the two meet, their lives change forever.
TEEN REALISTIC GEPHART DONNA
Cover of The Other Boy
The Other Boy
by M. G. Hennessey
 
Since Shane moved to a new town, he’s hidden his trans identity, occupying himself with baseball and working on a graphic novel. When he’s threatened to be outed by a classmate, he begins a painful journey toward acceptance and empathy.
TEEN REALISTIC HENNESSEY M.G.
Cover of The Pants Project
The Pants Project
by Cat Clarke
 
Liv knows he’s truly a boy, but his new school’s dress code requires girls to wear only skirts. Cue Operation: Pants Project, as Liv fights to change not only the policy, but his life, finding the courage to tell his moms about his identity.
TEEN REALISTIC CLARKE CAT
Cover of The Prince and the Dressmaker
The Prince and the Dressmaker
by Jen Wang
 
While Prince Sebastian’s parents look for his future bride, he takes Paris by storm each night as fabulous fashion icon Lady Crystallia. His secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances, who dreams of greatness. 
TEEN GRAPHIC WANG
Cover of The Witch Boy
The Witch Boy
by Molly Ostertag
 
In Aster’s family, all the girls are raised to be witches and the boys shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross these lines is exiled. Aster still hasn’t shifted...and he’s fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.
TEEN GRAPHIC WITCH 1
Cover of Zenobia July
Zenobia July
by Lisa Bunker
 
In Zenobia’s new school, she lives openly as the girl she always knew she was. When someone anonymously posts hateful memes on her school’s website, Zenobia’s impressive coding and hacking skills solve the mystery.
TEEN REALISTIC BUNKER LISA
Grades 10-12
Cover of And They Lived
And They Lived...
by Steven Salvatore

Budding animator Chase is a hopeless romantic obsessed with Disney films and finding his true love, but he's plagued with the belief that he's not enough: he's recovering from an eating disorder and struggling with his gender identity. When pragmatic poet Jack, who is discovering his sexual identity, meets Chase, everything is thrown into question. Chase will have to learn to love--and be enough for--himself, while discovering what it means to truly live.
TEEN ROMANCE SALVATORE STEVEN
Cover of The Art of Being Normal
The Art of Being Normal
by Lisa Williamson
 
David, an outsider, prepares to come out as transgender. Leo has one goal: to be invisible at his new school, where nobody knows about his own transition. Together, they find support and the courage to decide for themselves what “normal”
really means.
TEEN REALISTIC WILLIAMSON LISA
Cover for Birthday
Birthday
by Meredith Russo

Born in the same hospital on the same day, cis boy Eric and trans girl Morgan grow up together as best friends. Emotions run high through six years of birthdays thanks to football pressure, confusing sparks, and the secret that could either divide them forever or bring them closer than ever.
TEEN ROMANCE RUSSO MEREDITH
Cover for Can't Take That Away
Can't Take That Away
by Steven Salvatore

When Carey Parker, a genderqueer teen who dreams of being a diva like their hero Mariah Carey, is cast as the female lead in the school musical, they must fight against discrimination and injustice from their closed-minded school administration.
TEEN REALISTIC SALVATORE STEVEN
Cover of Cemetery Boys
Cemetery Boys
by Aiden Thomas
 
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.
TEEN SUPERNATURAL THOMAS AIDEN 
Cover of Dreadnought
Dreadnought
by April Daniels
 
After inheriting the powers of the world’s greatest superhero, Dreadnought, Danny’s hidden trans identity is brought into the open when her body transforms into what it’s truly meant to be. While coping with issues from her father, best friend, and fellow superheroes, she must also stop Dreadnought’s killer before humanity faces extinction.
TEEN ADVENTURE DANIEL APRIL
Cover of The Feeling of Falling in Love
The Feeling of Falling in Love
by Mason Deaver
 
Neil Kearney is prepared to fly across the country with his childhood friend, Josh, for his brother's wedding...until Josh professes his love for him--and Neil doesn't return the sentiment. Almost against his will, Neil's roommate Wyatt is recruited as his next date. At first, Wyatt (correctly) thinks Neil is acting like a jerk, but after landing in LA, they slowly begin to understand one another.
TEEN ROMANCE DEAVER MASON
Cover of Felix Ever After
Felix Ever After
by Kacen Callender
 
While Felix is proud of his Black, queer, and trans identity, he secretly fears that he may never get his own happily-ever-after. When Felix attempts revenge on an anonymous bully via catfishing, he lands in a quasi-love triangle with two unexpected people.
TEEN REALISTIC CALLENDER KACEN
Cover of I Wish You All the Best
I Wish You All the Best
by Mason Deaver
 
Thrown out of their parents’ home and moving in with their estranged sister after coming out as non-binary, Ben struggles to endure an anxiety disorder and the end of their senior year while bonding with a charismatic new friend.
TEEN REALISTIC DEAVER MASON
Cover of Lake Lore
Lakelore
by Anna-Marie McLemore

Everyone who lives near the lake knows the stories about the world underneath it, an ethereal landscape rumored to be half-air, half-water...but Bastián Silvano and Lore Garcia are the only ones who've been there. Then the lines between air and water begin to blur. The world under the lake drifts above the surface. If Bastián and Lore don't want it bringing their secrets to the surface with it, they have to stop it and to do that, they have to work together.
TEEN FANTASY MCLEMORE ANNA-MARIE
Cover of The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester
The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester
by Maya MacGregor

Sam, an autistic nonbinary eighteen-year-old, moves to a new town and school with the support of their loving father and finds friends in an LGBTQ-plus club, but they all must come together to solve the decades-old murder of a teenage boy and confront the demons lurking in Sam's past.
TEEN MYSTERY MACGREGOR MAYA
Cover of Out of Salem
Out of Salem
by Hal Schrieve
 
Genderqueer Z Chilworth, who was previously a talented witch, must adjust to becoming a zombie after a car crash that killed their parents and sisters, finding support from an elderly witch, an unregistered werewolf, and a suspected fey.
TEEN SUPERNATURAL SCHRIEVE HAL
Cover for The Passing Playbook
The Passing Playbook
by Isaac Fitzsimons

When Spencer, a proud nerd and David Beckham in training, is bullied for coming out as trans, he transfers to the most liberal private school in Ohio--but at Oakley, Spencer is passing; no one knows he's trans. When a discriminatory law forces Spencer's soccer coach to bench him after discovering the "F" on his birth certificate, Spencer must choose to either cheer his team on from the sidelines, or publicly fight for his right to play--even if it means coming out to everyone...including the guy he's falling for.
TEEN REALISTIC FITZSIMONS ISAAC
Cover for So This is Ever After
So This is Ever After
by F. T. Lukens

Assuming the role of King of Ere, Arek discovers there is a magical catch: choose a spouse by your 18th birthday, or wither away into nothing. With the help of his mage, Arek desperately searches for the perfect candidate.
TEEN FANTASY LUKENS F.T.
Cover of Some Girls Bind
Some Girls Bind
by Rory James
 
Jamie knows that she isn’t like other girls—to feel more like herself, she binds her chest every day. Contemplating her identity and the idea of being genderqueer, Jamie wonders why she is afraid of telling her friends, who have their own secrets.
TEEN REALISTIC JAMES RORY
Cover of When the Moon Was Ours
When the Moon Was Ours
by Anna-Marie McLemore

Best friends Miel, who has roses growing from her wrist, and Sam, who paints moons to hang from the trees, run into trouble from the four beautiful Bonner girls, who are rumored to be witches and want the roses that grow from Miel's skin.
TEEN FANTASY MCLEMORE ANNA-MARIE
Cover for The Witch King
The Witch King
by H. E. Edgmon

Wyatt, a transgender witch hiding in the human world, must face the royal fiance he left behind and decide what is more important: his people or his freedom. 
TEEN FANTASY EDGMON H.E.
Need Support?
It Gets Better Project
itgetsbetter.org
Watch an endless stream of inspiring stories, visit the Get Help page to find local LGBT+ youth support services, or sign the pledge to commit to a world where all LGBT+ young people are free to live equally and know their worthiness and power as individuals.
LGBT National Youth Talkline
1-888-843-4564 |  help@LGBThotline.org  |  glbthotline.org/youth-talkline
Provides free confidential support via telephone, online chat, and email for LGBT youth up to age 25 and an LGBT resource database.
LGBT Network - Suffolk - The Hauppauge Center
631-665-2300  |  lgbtnetwork.org
125 Kennedy Dr., Suite 100, Hauppauge, NY 11788
Works to build community, provide a home and safe space for all, end anti-LGBT bullying, and prevent suicide through providing education, advocacy, empowerment, and social support services to LGBT youth and their families.
Pride for Youth - PFY Suffolk
24/7 Crisis Hotline: 1-516-679-1111
Suffolk PFY Services: 631-940-1694
longislandcrisiscenter.org/prideforyouth
628 Long Island Ave., Deer Park, NY 11729-4043
A service and advocate for LGBTQ young people through age 45.
Website features a free live chat with a counselor.
The Trevor Project
1-866-488-7386  |  Text START to 678678  |  thetrevorproject.org
The leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under 25.
HRC Glossary of Terms
Accessible online at hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms
Lesbian
A woman who is attracted to other women.
Gay
A person who is attracted to members of the same gender.
Bisexual/Pansexual
A person with the potential for attraction to people of more than one, or any, gender, though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree.
Transgender
An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation.
Asexual
The lack of a sexual attraction or desire for other people.
Genderfluid
A person who does not identify with a single fixed gender.
Non-Binary
A person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman, and may identify as being both, somewhere in-between, or as falling completely outside these categories.
Gender Identity
One's innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither--how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One's gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.
Sexual Orientation
An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people.
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