Here are 100 books that Obie Is Man Enough fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’m an accidental sports writer. While I played a few sports as a child and went as Sporty Spice for one ill-advised Halloween, I didn’t grow up on a steady diet of sports stories. I just didn’t get it. Sure, I heard stories of triumphant soccer seasons and rag-tag baseball teams, but they didn’t capture my interest. But then I grew up… and books became more diverse. I started revisiting sports novels after writing my debut novel. Seeing authors use sports as a way to explore queerness has changed my understanding of sports stories and given me a new appreciation for the genre. I can’t get enough!
This was the first published book I read with a nonbinary main character. That alone makes it one of the most personally important books I have ever read. The fact that I encountered it just after writing my own novel about a nonbinary figure skater made this beautiful book hit even harder.
It showed me that even though two books may have the same hook and some of the same basic ingredients, the execution can be diverse and take those ingredients in directions you never expected. It sparkles, both in its descriptions of figure skating and in its nuanced and honest exploration of identity. It also makes for an excellent read-aloud book.
Twelve-year-old Ana-Marie Jin, the reigning US Juvenile figure skating champion, is not a frilly dress kind of kid. So, when Ana learns that next season's program will be princess themed, doubt forms fast. Still, Ana tries to focus on training and putting together a stellar routine worthy of national success.
Once Ana meets Hayden, a transgender boy new to the rink, thoughts about the princess program and gender identity begin to take center stage. And when Hayden mistakes Ana for a boy, Ana doesn't correct him and finds comfort in this boyish identity when he's around. As their friendship develops,…
I’m an accidental sports writer. While I played a few sports as a child and went as Sporty Spice for one ill-advised Halloween, I didn’t grow up on a steady diet of sports stories. I just didn’t get it. Sure, I heard stories of triumphant soccer seasons and rag-tag baseball teams, but they didn’t capture my interest. But then I grew up… and books became more diverse. I started revisiting sports novels after writing my debut novel. Seeing authors use sports as a way to explore queerness has changed my understanding of sports stories and given me a new appreciation for the genre. I can’t get enough!
I will never get sick of hearing people’s roller derby names. I absolutely flew through this book. I mean, as sports go, roller derby has gotta be one of the coolest! The first in this series follows Dynamic Duo Kenzie (aka Kenzilla) and Shelly (aka Bomb Shell) as they round out their derby team. They both have big expectations for how everything will come together, but, of course, getting more girls involved in a duo leads to new, thorny dynamics.
I particularly love the ensemble cast of this book as it builds for the series to follow. Derby Daredevils also comes with a lot of great interior illustrations throughout the story—it’s not quite a graphic novel, but it scratches that itch.
A highly illustrated middle-grade series that celebrates new friendships, first crushes, and getting out of your comfort zone
Ever since they can remember, fifth-graders Kenzie (aka Kenzilla) and Shelly (aka Bomb Shell) have dreamed of becoming roller derby superstars. When Austin's city league introduces a brand-new junior league, the dynamic duo celebrates! But they'll need to try out as a five-person team. Kenzie and Shelly have just one week to convince three other girls that roller derby is the coolest thing on wheels. But Kenzie starts to have second thoughts when Shelly starts acting like everyone's best friend . .…
I’m an accidental sports writer. While I played a few sports as a child and went as Sporty Spice for one ill-advised Halloween, I didn’t grow up on a steady diet of sports stories. I just didn’t get it. Sure, I heard stories of triumphant soccer seasons and rag-tag baseball teams, but they didn’t capture my interest. But then I grew up… and books became more diverse. I started revisiting sports novels after writing my debut novel. Seeing authors use sports as a way to explore queerness has changed my understanding of sports stories and given me a new appreciation for the genre. I can’t get enough!
Look, if this book had been around when I was in middle school, it would have been a game changer (pun absolutely intended). This book has it all: lesbian-enemies-to-the-middle-school-equivalent-of-lovers, heart-pounding descriptions of soccer, complex family dynamics, and fraught friendships! Yes, all of those trope-y pieces might feel like a delightful, frothy treat, but this book packs a real emotional punch.
The dual point-of-view gives readers the chance to understand the complex relationship between Mel and Tory—and fall in love with both characters! Becker also sprinkles in some great conversations about self-expression. Beware: this is a read-in-one-sitting kind of book!
From debut author Erin Becker comes an action-packed but tender novel about first romance, queer identity, and learning how to be brave when it matters the most.
On the soccer field, Magic Mel is in her element. She's ready to lead her team to victory at the city championship in her new role as captain. Off the field, however, is a totally different story. Mel can't get a handle on her class presentation, her friend group has completely dissolved, and her ex-friend-current-teammate, Tory, is being the worst. The only place she feels like herself is in her text conversations where…
I’m an accidental sports writer. While I played a few sports as a child and went as Sporty Spice for one ill-advised Halloween, I didn’t grow up on a steady diet of sports stories. I just didn’t get it. Sure, I heard stories of triumphant soccer seasons and rag-tag baseball teams, but they didn’t capture my interest. But then I grew up… and books became more diverse. I started revisiting sports novels after writing my debut novel. Seeing authors use sports as a way to explore queerness has changed my understanding of sports stories and given me a new appreciation for the genre. I can’t get enough!
This is one of those books that bends time. It opens a conversation between the here and now of baseball-loving, closeted Silas’s life and 1977 when gay baseball player Glenn Burke invented the high five—a conversation that is absolutely absorbing.
This book surprised me in the best way. It crackled off the page and was a deeply enjoyable read while also sparking important conversations around the stories we choose to tell, how we create community, and what it means to share our true selves with the people around us. This is one of those books that makes me feel cared for as a reader.
When Silas Walker does a school presentation on former Major League Baseball player Glenn Burke, it's more than a report on the inventor of the high five. Burke was a black gay baseball player in the '70s - and for Silas, the presentation is his own first baby step toward coming out as gay. Soon he tells his best friend Zoey, but the longer he keeps his secret from his baseball teammates, the more he suspects that they know something's up. Kids get pulled from the team, fingers point at Silas, and he stages one big cover-up with terrible consequences.…
Coming-of-age stories fascinate me because they are all so different. While we each experience many of the same events, each person’s story is unique. I like to read about how they first understood love or how they met their best friend. I like to try on their life for a bit, walk around in their shoes, and then return to my reality with the person I’ve worked so hard to become. The more I read other people’s stories of growing up, the more I feel we all harbor the same worries about ourselves and our future. We all struggle with similar problems while becoming who we’re meant to be.
SPOILER: the best part of this book is the resolution.
I wasn’t sure how Spencer’s team would respond when they discovered he was trans, but the acceptance he experiences is what I wish for all trans kids. I want to believe that Spencer’s acceptance is how society will respond in the (near) future to all trans people. No one will have a problem with you, but if anyone does, we’re all behind you.
In addition, I liked that Fitzsimons included Justice’s family’s views since they are the reality for far too many people. But like so many families, Justice’s family will need to accept people who are different if they don’t want to lose him.
Love, Simon meets Bend It Like Beckham in this feel-good contemporary romance about a trans athlete who must decide between fighting for his right to play and staying stealth.
“A sharply observant and vividly drawn debut. I loved every minute I spent in this story, and I’ve never rooted harder for a jock in my life.” – New York Times bestselling author Becky Albertalli
Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He's also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets…
I’m a trope-obsessed author who counts found family among her favorite Ao3 tags. I cannot get enough of books which read like fanfiction, and I’ll recommend my favorites every chance I get. I also do my part to put more queer found family books into the world—my debut adult fantasy The Sins On Their Bones is being published by Random House Canada in May 2024. When I’m not writing, I’m a full-time servant to my two enormous cats.
If you’re looking for the best-found family in the most stunning dragon book ever, look no further than the Den in this book, a queer Jamaican-inspired book about magic-wielders and dragon-riders defending their island from colonizers.
I cheered Elara, Faron, and the rest of the cast on as the book soared to thrilling heights and completely swept me away. I came for the world, magic, and dragons and stayed for the banter, found family, touching story of love and loss—and dragons. I firmly believe that this one will become a classic of YA fantasy.
I’m a trope-obsessed author who counts found family among her favorite Ao3 tags. I cannot get enough of books which read like fanfiction, and I’ll recommend my favorites every chance I get. I also do my part to put more queer found family books into the world—my debut adult fantasy The Sins On Their Bones is being published by Random House Canada in May 2024. When I’m not writing, I’m a full-time servant to my two enormous cats.
I was immediately enthralled by this queer Jewish-found fantasy book, pitched as Scorpio Races meets Peaky Blinders.
The daughter of a renowned family facing impending ruin teams up with a rogue enchanter and an ambitious heir to win a deadly horse race using forbidden magic.
As I read this book in a single sitting, my heart felt like I was the one running a race. I loved the entire gang, as well as the star of this particular found family—the cat.
Enter the corrupt world of Veradell, where warring monarchs vie for a kingdom full of forbidden magic, illicit romance and cut-throat horse racing. Steeped in Jewish folklore, this fast-paced YA fantasy by Kalyn Josephson is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows.
Mikira Rusel is out of options. With her father imprisoned and facing rising debts, there's only one way to save her family from ruin: enter the Illinir, a high-stakes, cross-country horse race known for its high death toll as much as its flashy prize money.
To have any chance of success she'll have to recruit Ari,…
As a former journalist, I was trained to look at all sides of a story. When I read, I am drawn to books that have multiple characters with their own narratives. Sometimes the stories intersect with an “aha!” moment, and sometimes they’re told side-by-side inside each character’s head. Either way, it’s intriguing to have different perspectives—especially in a mystery or thriller. That’s why I use the points of view of three wives in An Inconvenient Wife to give my readers insight into each of these fascinating women.
This book isn’t a traditional mystery or thriller, but crime is its central theme, which is why I’m including it.
Alice Diamond is the Queen of London’s most notorious women’s gang in the 1920s. She’s trying to stay one step ahead of police Inspector Lilian Wyles, as is 10-year-old Hira, a runaway with a delightful little dog named Biscuit. Each of them brings the mean streets of London to life, and I found myself rooting for all three.
"A rollicking ride through the criminal underbelly of post-WWI London. Gritty at times and tender at others, Queens of London unmasks the most lawless—and likeable—gang of women you've never heard of." —Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary
Maybe women can have it all, as long as they're willing to steal it.
1925. London. When Alice Diamond, AKA "Diamond Annie," is elected the Queen of the Forty Elephants, she's determined to take the all-girl gang to new heights. She's ambitious, tough as nails, and a brilliant mastermind, with a plan to create a dynasty the likes…
True confession: I’m not a baker, but I love it when other people bake. It’s riveting to watch how they transform the humblest of ingredients into desserts that are beautiful and delicious. I get super excited to see this creative process unfold, which is why I adore The Great British Baking Show and other competitive reality baking programs. They inspired me to write Marvelous Jackson because my main character desperately wants to snag a coveted audition spot on The Marvelous Midwest Kids Baking Championship. He relishes the frenetic energy and noise of a kitchen packed with ambitious and talented people—just like I do!
Janowitz’s romp of a story centers on twelve-year-old Tristan, who loves reading cookbooks and making desserts. Life is sweet—until Tristan’s parents announce they’re leaving New York City and moving to the middle of nowhere. When he learns there are zero bakeries in his new town, Tristan pledges to bring back the famous Petersville chocolate cream doughnut, which sets him on an unexpected and entertaining adventure. He learns how to craft a business plan, buy ingredients in bulk, and manage demanding customers.
Spoiler alert number one: l like that even though Tristan nails the renowned doughnut, he puts his own delicious spin on things. Spoiler alert number two: this book will make you very hungry. Prepare accordingly.
Superfudge meets The Lemonade War in this funny, heartwarming book about change, adventure, family, and of course, doughnuts. Tristan isn't Gifted or Talented like his sister Jeanine, and he's always been okay with that because he can make a perfect chocolate chip cookie and he lives in the greatest city in the world. But his life takes a turn for the worse when his parents decide to move to middle-of-nowhere Petersville-a town with one street and no restaurants. It's like suddenly they're supposed to be this other family, one that can survive without bagels and movie theaters. His suspicions about…
I love cities, and as a former Mayor, I understand their vibrant complexity. Like all of us, I am deeply worried about planetary breakdown, but unlike most, I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand the great work that leading mayors are undertaking globally to address the climate crisis. It's my belief that if more of us knew what is happening in some cities, and therefore what is possible in all, we would not only see that it is possible to avoid climate breakdown but fuelled by that hope, we would demand change from those we elect. You can hear more in the podcast I lead, Cities 1.5, or read more in my occasional newsletter on substack.
I absolutely loved this book. Michael Crummy is an incredibly clear writer and tells an incredibly clear and compelling story about life in a Newfoundland outport (Mockbeggar) in the 1800s, focusing on a sibling rivalry between merchants, the widow Caine, and her brother Abel Strapp.
Life there is hasty, brutish, and short. The descriptions of daily life, including violence, made everyone in our book club squirm. But what I liked most was that he takes the reader right to Mockbeggar (and its neighbour, Nonsuch) - within a page or two, you feel like you are inside a church in Mockbeggar. From that point on, you never leave the outport and its way of life.
An enthralling novel about the corruption of power and the power of corruption from one of our greatest writers, the award-winning, bestselling author of THE INNOCENTS (Extraordinary”—Wall Street Journal)
"A FLAWLESSLY CRAFTED NARRATIVE" —Wall Street Journal
"ONE OF OUR BEST WRITERS" —Booklist (Starred Review)
In an isolated outport on Newfoundland's northern coastline, Abe Strapp is about to marry the daughter of a rival merchant to cement his hold on the shore when the Widow Caines arrives to throw the wedding and Abe's plans into chaos.