In honor of recognizing the impact that LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual) individuals have on our culture and history, we asked educators, tweens, teens, and parents to recommend their favorite books celebrating the LGBTQIA+ experience. Here’s what they shared with us.
FANTASTIC FICTION
In the mood for something unique? Try these fresh takes on sci-fi and historical fiction.
Adaptation
By Malinda Lo
Ages 15+
Set in the near future, Adaptation pays homage to X-files storytelling and features a queer/questioning teenage girl searching for truth amid a vast global conspiracy.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316197984
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages
By Saundra Mitchell, Malinda Lo, Robin Talley
Ages 13+
This diverse historical fiction anthology contains stories by seventeen young adult authors who self-identify across the queer spectrum. Stories range from fairytale retellings to romance on rollerskates, traversing culture, time, and identity.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335146816
Missing school drama during summer break? These books have plenty.
Anger Is a Gift
By Mark Oshiro
Ages 14+
In his sophomore year of high school, Moss finds himself and his classmates subjected to new rules, random locker searches, intimidation, and the police officers stationed in school hallways. When the students decide to organize and push back against the administration, tragedy strikes and Moss must decide whether to be immobilized by his fear and hate or use his anger to bring positive change.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250167033
Flamer
By Mike Curato
Ages 14+
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, he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250756145
I Kissed Shara Wheeler
By Casey McQuiston
Ages 13+
Chloe Green has spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical school administration. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler. A month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250244451
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
By Becky Albertalli
Ages 14+
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers saving his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062348685
You Should See Me in a Crown
By Leah Johnson
Ages 12+
Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, and too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay—Liz has a plan to get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and then become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down… until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781338503296
Feel like cheering for LGBTQIA+ middle schoolers discovering themselves? These books deserve a whole cheerleading squad.
A High Five for Glenn Burke
By Phil Bildner
Ages 10+
A heartfelt and relatable novel weaving the history of Glenn Burke—the first professional baseball player to come out as gay—into the story of a middle-school kid learning to be himself.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250763280
The Best at It
By Maulik Pancholy
Ages 8+
Twelve-year-old Rahul Kapoor, an Indian-American boy growing up in small-town Indiana, struggles to come to terms with his identity. The start of middle school is making him feel increasingly anxious, so his grandfather gives him advice: find one thing you’re really good at and become the BEST at it.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062960511
Zenobia July
By Lisa Bunker
Ages 10+
The critically acclaimed author of Felix Yz crafts a bold and heartfelt story about a trans girl solving a cyber mystery and coming into her own.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780451479402
REAL LIFE
In the mood for inspiring stories of LGBTQIA+ shining stars?
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto
By George M Johnson
Ages 14+
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780374312718
Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen
By Jazz Jennings
Ages 12+
Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399554674
Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian Avenger
By Kelly Cogswell
Ages 14+
Eating Fire is a witty and urgent coming-of-age memoir spanning two decades, from the Culture War of the early 1990s to the War on Terror. Cogswell’s story is an engaging blend of picaresque adventure, a how-to activist handbook, and a rigorous inquiry into questions of identity, resistance, and citizenship.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780816691166
When We Rise: My Life in the Movement
By Cleve Jones
Ages 14+
A vibrant memoir from Cleve Jones, a hero to the LQBTQIA community, telling the story of a full and transformative American life.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316315418
Want to learn more about the history of gay rights? These books tell authentic stories.
Not Straight, Not White: Black Gay Men from the March on Washington to the Aids Crisis
By Kevin J. Mumford
Ages 15+
Traces the major movements of the times—from civil rights to black power to gay liberation to AIDS activism—and how they shaped the history of black gay men from the 1950s to the 1990s.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781469652214
Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets
By Gayle E Pitman
Ages 10+
Recounts the Stonewall Riots, a series of spontaneous, often violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBTQ+) community in reaction to a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781419737206
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
By Dashka Slater
Ages 12+
This riveting nonfiction book for teens about race, class, gender, crime, and punishment, tells the true story of an agender teen who was set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, California.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780374303235
The Stonewall Reader
By New York Public Library, Jason Baumann, Edmund White
Ages 15+
This anthology chronicles the tumultuous fight for LGBTQ rights in the 1960s and the activists who spearheaded The Stonewall uprising, considered the most significant event in the gay liberation movement, and the catalyst for the modern fight for LGBTQIA+ rights in the United States.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143133513
Queer Brown Voices: Personal Narratives of Latina/o LGBT Activism
By Uriel Quesada, Letitia Gomez, and Salvador Vidal-Ortiz.
Ages 14+
Queer Brown Voices is the first book published documenting the efforts of LGBT Latina/o activists.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781477307304
Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World
By Sarah Prager
Ages 13+
Queer author and activist Sarah Prager delves deep into the lives of 23 people who fought, created, and loved on their own terms.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062474322
What Is the AIDS Crisis? (What Was)
By Nico Medina, Tim Foley
Ages 8+
In this addition to the New York Times bestselling series, readers learn how incredible activists made the public aware of AIDS and spurred medical breakthroughs.
Need LGBTQIA+ encouragement from those who know what you’re going through? This book is for you.
It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living
By Dan Savage, Terry Miller
Ages 14+
A collection of essays from celebrities, everyday people, and teens who posted videos of encouragement.
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780452297616
Ready to be mesmerized? The pictures in this book will do the trick.
Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus
By Rachelle Lee Smith, Candace Gingrich, Graeme Taylor
Ages 12+
In this photographic essay, a diverse group of queer young people, ages fourteen to twenty-four, explore a wide spectrum of their unique experiences.
