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Fiction for Teens
Black Flamingo / Dean Atta.
Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. As he gets older, Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs, and the Black Flamingo is born.
Can’t take that away / Steven Salvatore.
Carey Parker dreams of being a diva, and bringing the house down with song. They can hit every note of all the top pop and Broadway hits. But despite their talent, emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother’s spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice.
Cemetery Boys / Aiden Thomas.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.
Felix Ever After / Kacen Callender.
Felix Love has never been in love, and even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many – Black, queer, and transgender – to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
I Wish You all the Best / Mason Deaver.
When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they’re thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister. Ben’s attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing.
Meet Cute Diary / Emery Lee.
Noah Ramirez thinks he’s an expert on romance. He has to be for his popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There’s just one problem – all the stories are fake.
Stay Gold / Tobly McSmith.
Pony plans to fly under the radar this year. Tired of getting too much attention at his old school after coming out as transgender, he’s hoping for a fresh start as a Hillcrest High senior. But it’s hard to live your best life with the threat of exposure lurking around every corner.
Mooncakes / Suzanne Walker; illustrated by Wendy Xu.
Nova Huang works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate supernatural occurrences. One night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a demon in the woods.
For Young Teens
Ana on the Edge / A. J. Sass.
When twelve-year-old Ana-Marie Jin, the reigning US Juvenile figure skating champion, meets Hayden, a transgender boy new to the rink, thoughts about gender identity begin to take center stage. As their friendship develops, Ana realizes that it’s tricky juggling two different identities on one slippery sheet of ice.
The Deep & Dark Blue / Niki Smith.
After a terrible political coup usurps their noble house, Hawke and Grayson flee and assume new identities, Hanna and Grayce. Grayce struggles to keep the threads of her new life from unraveling, and realizes she wants to stay in the one place that will allow her to finally live as a girl.
Snapdragon / Kat Leyh.
Jacks is a crocs-wearing, internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online–after doing a little ritual to put their spirits to rest. It’s creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it’s kind of cool, too. As Snap gets to know Jacks, she realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic – and a connection with Snap’s family’s past.
Zenobia July / Lisa Bunker.
When someone anonymously posts hateful memes on her school’s website, hacking whiz Zenobia knows she’s the one with the abilities to solve the mystery, all while wrestling with the challenges of a new school, a new family, and coming to grips with presenting her true gender for the first time.
Nonfiction
Beyond the Gender Binary / Alok Vaid-Menon.
Gender is a story, not just a word. Alok Vaid-Menon dares the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender non-conforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.
Gender Queer: A Memoir / Maia Kobabe.
Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, started Gender Queer as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual. This is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities / Mady G and J.R. Zuckerberg.
Covering essential topics like sexuality, gender identity, coming out, and navigating relationships, this guide explains the spectrum of human experience through informative comics, interviews, worksheets, and imaginative examples. A great starting point for anyone curious about queer and trans life, and helpful for those already on their own journeys!
Transmission: My Quest to a Beard / Alex Bertie.
Long before he became known for his YouTube videos, Alex Bertie was an isolated, often-afraid transgender teenager looking for answers. In this revolutionary memoir and valuable resource, Alex recounts his life, struggles, and victories as a young trans man.