Stuff for the Teen Age, LGBTQ at NYPL

12 Classic LGBTQ Titles for YA Readers

Happy Pride Month! Every year I wait for June so I can talk about these classic LGBT YA books, but you can enjoy them any time of the year. Almost all of these books are available in a variety of formats such as large print, e-books, and audiobooks. Also, check out our Staff Picks: Trans, Nonbinary, and GNC reads for Teens.

Cover Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
This is one of only two books to make me cry in public.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz 

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

 

 

 

 

Cover of the 10th anniversary edition of Ash
Malinda Lo is a staple of any queer YA list.

Ash by Malina Lo

In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King's Huntress whom she loves.

 

 

 

 

 

Cover of the 10th anniversary edition of Boy Meets Boy
Like Malinda Lo, you can't have a list of queer YA classics without this author.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan 

This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance. When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.

 

 

 

Hockey
Originally a webcomic that captured hearts, this story helped launch the genre of sports-themed LGBTQ manga.

Check, Please! Book 1: Hockey! by Ngozi Ukazu

Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There's checking (anything that hinders the player with possession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then, there is Jack— his very attractive but moody captain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover of Darius the Great is Not Okay
A relative newcomer, but still a classic in my eyes.

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Clinically-depressed Darius Kellner, a high school sophomore, travels to Iran to meet his grandparents, but it is their next-door neighbor, Sohrab, who changes his life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover of Felix Ever After
Also  a newcomer to the classic list, but it absolutely deserves to be here.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender 

Felix Love has never been in love, painful irony that it is. He desperately wants to know why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. He is proud of his identity, but fears that he's one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender. When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix's deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. He didn't count on his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi-love triangle.

 

 

 

 

 

cover of I Wish You All The Best
Another newcomer to our shelves, but this book about a nonbinary teen is already a classic.

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver 

After coming out as nonbinary, Ben must leave home and goes to live with their estranged sister and her husband to finish the last year of high school.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cover of If I was Your Girl
One of the first books by a trans author to also have a trans model on the cover.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school in Lambertville, Tennessee. Like any other girl, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret. There's a reason why she transferred schools for her senior year, and why she's determined not to get too close to anyone. And then she meets Grant Everett. Grant is unlike anyone she's ever met—open, honest, kind—and Amanda can't help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself ... including her past. But she's terrified that once she tells Grant the truth, he won't be able to see past it. Because the secret that Amanda's been keeping? It's that she used to be Andrew.

 

 

 

 

Cover of The Letter Q
One of the first queer books I ever read and still one of the most important ones on my shelf.

The Letter Q : Queer Writers' Notes to Their Younger Selves edited by Sarah Moon

If you received a letter from your older self, what do you think it would say? What do you wish it would say? That the boy you were crushing on in History turns out to be gay too, and that you become boyfriends in college? That the bully who is making your life miserable will one day become so insignificant that you won't remember his name until he shows up at your book signing? In this anthology, sixty-three award-winning authors make imaginative journeys into their pasts, telling their younger selves what they would have liked to know then about their lives as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered people. Through stories, in pictures, with bracing honesty, these are words of love and understanding, reasons to hold on for the better future ahead. They will tell you things about your favorite authors that you never knew before. And they will tell you about yourself.

 

 

Cover of Nimona
Another author that a classic LGBTQ list would be remiss to not include!

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona, a young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy, and Lord Ballister Blackheart, a villain with a vendetta, set out to prove that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his friends are not the heroes everyone thinks they are, but Lord Blackheart soon realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past, and her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

 

 

 

 

 

Cover of Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Albertalli took the world by storm with this sweet romance that got turned into the movie Love, Simon.

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save 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. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

 

 

 

 

Cover of The Song of Achilles
The only other book to make me cry in public.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper—despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

 

 

 


Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.