Being LGBTQIA+ can bring with it a sense of otherness that many of us struggle with from early on in life, particularly when it intersects with other aspects of our identities. Even now, there remains a sense that queer characters and stories are sometimes tolerated rather than celebrated. We all deserve the chance to write, see, and be main characters in our own adventures, and for this to be embraced by others. I love stories about inner-strength, resilience, and joy, with self-actualisation and found-family (you may already know this if you’ve read mine!). I hope that my books, and those on this list take your heart on an incredible journey.
Oscar Tundale is not a hero. Anxious, indecisive, and awkward, he can barely get through a normal day. Now he’s about to find out monsters are real. Oscar’s friends: brave, stubborn Zara, and hyperactive, paranoid Marcus, might help discover what hunts him, and unravel the truth about the handsome doctor he pines for. But only heroes can save the world, so maybe the best Oscar can hope for is to not end it by accident. The Lesser Known Monsters series is a dark queer fantasy featuring diverse characters on a found family adventure. Perfect for fans of horror and paranormal romance who seek LGBTQ+ heroes.
Need a book that will give you all the feels, only to wring you out, then immerse you in that bath of hopeful salty tears once more? Queer teen Connor Major’s life is blown apart when his mother sends him to a remote conversion camp. Now, he and the other LGBTQ+ ‘guests’ at ‘Nightlight’ band together to expose the camp’s terrible truths and take it down. Trauma, despair, resilience, joy, and hope make this a riveting and memorable YA adventure thriller. This book made me cry so ugly that my iPhone wouldn’t recognise my face to tell people about it for like an hour after...
Connor Major’s summer break is turning into a nightmare.
His SAT scores bombed, the old man he delivers meals to died, and when he came out to his religious zealot mother, she had him kidnapped and shipped off to a secluded island. His final destination: Nightlight Ministries, a conversion therapy camp that will be his new home until he “changes.”
But Connor’s troubles are only beginning. At Nightlight, everyone has something to hide—from the campers to the “converted” staff and cagey camp director—and it quickly becomes clear that no one is safe. Connor plans to escape and bring the other…
A beautiful graphic novel series about a boy who is touched by magic and has a crush on the castle groundskeeper’s son. Problem is, that magic is forbidden in the Kingdom, and now Wynd is being hunted down and must flee for his life...and perhaps the good of the kingdom. Strong themes of oppression, and the internal struggle of marginalized youth to feel ‘normal’ in a hostile world. This series has action, adventure, wonder, and heart.
The team of award-winning superstars James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas present the first graphic novel in the all-new fantasy epic about a boy who must embrace the magic within himself if he wants to save his friends from the shocking dangers that await!
TO FIND YOUR HOME, FIRST YOU HAVE TO FIND YOURSELF
In a world where magical heritage is punishable by death, a young boy named Wynd must hide his true identity - and pointy ears - from everyone in Pipetown, even if it means he'll never have the normal life he wants. But when his secret is…
Ever felt like the plants and trees around you are more alive than you’d originally thought? This story follows a couple of grad students trapped in the Amazon rainforest, who are starting to realise just that. This book features an unconventional modern hero in the form of anxiety-riddled disaster bi, David, and headstrong pragmatic voice in the chaos Marisol. Creepy, smart, fascinating, and brilliantly crafted adventure thriller about overcoming the odds. Imagine if Michael Crichton wrote Jumanji, then make it queer.
Dr. Julia Morrow and her graduate students, David and Marisol, embark on a research trip to explore a remote section of the Amazon rainforest. When their trails seem to change direction at will and they find themselves lost and without communication, the trio worry they may be in for more than just the latest scientific discovery.
After strange circumstances divide the group, they're left deciding which is more important - finding out why the rainforest seems like it’s alive or getting back home in one piece. The deeper they travel into the jungle in search of answers, the more they…
Ever posted something bold on social media having had a few drinks? Then you’ll get it when in this YA novel Julián Luna comes out on Twitter during a fun night out, and his life plans are thrown into disarray. Though things aren’t easy—particularly at home—Julián now has the opportunity to be his authentic self as his friends solidify as a found family around him. Perhaps most unexpected is the cute guy in his DM’s though, with whom everything just seems to click. The problem? He’s fifteen hundred miles away. What follows is a sweet, beautiful story of longing, romance, and overcoming obstacles that will stay with you for many more miles to come.
A poignant, funny, openhearted novel about coming out, first love, and being your one and only best and true self.
Julian Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life.
Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown-literally-out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his…
This YA follows Felix Love, a Black, queer, and trans teen, navigating his identity, discovering himself, and falling in love for the first time. YA is such a wonderful space for stories like this, that tackle a difficult time in life whilst expressing the compounding issues of intersectional identities and difficult life circumstances. Complex, emotive, honest, and compelling, this story and others like it shine a light for youth today and can be incredibly valuable for older readers to feed their inner teens and heal some of that trauma from being forced to conform and a lack of stories like this when they were growing up.
A Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time
From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.
Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too…
Virologist Dr. Rachel Bisette sees visions of a Kachina and remembers the plane crash that killed her parents and the Dine medicine woman who saved her life. Rachel is investigating a new and lethal hantavirus spreading through the Four Corners, and believes the Kachina is calling her to join the work against the spreading pandemic.
She finds Eva Yellow Horn, a medicine woman with the key to fighting the pandemic. When Eva demonstrates ancient healing powers beyond science, Rachel recognizes her as the medicine woman who saved her life years before. Eva reveals that Rachel’s father was investigating the 1979 nuclear disaster in Church Rock, when his plane crashed, killing her parents. Now, Rachel undertakes a new investigation, but she is not alone.
“Visions of kachinas guide doctor to spiritual healing in pandemic.”
2014 Finalist in the Willa Literary Award
This is a book that once closed and last line read, my mind wandered to explore certain character motivations and potential follow-up responses. I don’t think an author has to answer every possibility, art comes into play best when the reader’s own imagination can wander within the story.
Dr. Rachel Bisette is drawn to the Four Corners to lead the search for a vaccine against a lethal pandemic. One elusive indigenous woman, Eva Yellow Horn, carries the gift of immunity. In her search…
