YA LGBT Books discussion
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Looking for a YA book about...

I'm also okay with a lesbian book equivalent to that so a badgirl and a ..."
Trust Me. Sort of a bad boy/nerd book. A couple of Jeff Erno's Dumb Jock series would fit. Mark Roeder also has several books that fit. (He doesn't have very many listed in GR, but has written a couple dozen novels. The more recent books are more NA than YA, be forewarned.) Rounding Third. I'll try to think of a few more.

thanks, tbh if it's more adult then I'll probably like it more, I actually asked this same question over on mm romance group so if you have any non-YA recommendations then I'd absolutely love to hear them, but u might wanna answer over there instead. :)



Vivaldi in the Dark - One MC had previous attempts and then the second and third books in the series (which are a little more NA than YA) his depression worsens again.
Suicide Watch was very good;
We have 11 books on the group "self-injury" bookshelf and 23 on "suicide"

on the disability front, 2 books with mute major characters, one with a deaf main character but to date none with blind people, or people in wheelchairs, one with an Autistic main character and lots with stress disorders, PTSD etc, but so far no other metal illnesses etc

I put a couple of recs into the "What are you looking for in YA" thread, including The Thunder in His Head
This is our "disabilities" shelf /group/books... -
And our "mental Illness" shelf - /group/books...
I haven't read most so I can't speak to the content
We don't have a "minority MC" shelf, but it's not a bad idea to start one. Representation is definitely lacking.
Gives Light is a great series with a Native American MC; also Falling From The Sky

It really is, and I'm always on the lookout for books with minorities as MCs. They're so few and far between. I think a Minority/POC MC shelf would be a great idea.

It really is, and I'm always on the lookout for books with minorities..."
It looks like we have a Hispanic-latino shelf with 2 books; also a "poc" shelf with 100, which surprises me. I don't know enough about the books on it to know if they really all have minority main characters, or a poc character somewhere in them even if minor... Rainbowheart added many of them though, and she tends to be fairly diligent in her cataloging.

It r..."
Thanks! I'll go poking through those. :)

1. mc acts happy (and is possibly popular) but is actually depressed.
2. (similar to #1) mc acts like they're unaffected by anything but is actually affected by a lot of stuff
3. A person (possibly mc) who acts confident but you find out they had in the past attempted suicide or self harmed, but they're better now.
4. feminine/delicate looking character (can be female but doesn't have to be) acts masculine or takes part in something that's considered masculine/rough (such as fighting, football, hockey, etc.)
any recs for something similar-ish r welcome :)

1. mc acts happy (and is possibly p..."
well, maybe try Vivaldi in the Dark not sure it hits everything you're looking for but I think it covers a lot

I can't think of anything that fills all four of those examples, but I can think of a few that follow the general theme of what you're looking for.
Mia Kerick's The Red Sheet. Take this rec' with a grain of salt (because it is one of my favorites and I will never not recommend it). The main character is not what I expected.
Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun An award winning title and fits well with the keeping secrets theme.
Nina Rossing's Fjord Blue This one is brand new and fits the keeping secrets and 'masculine' activities.
Andrew Smith's Stick The MC is not the one with the secret, his brother is, and then everything falls apart. (This one needs lots of trigger warnings: Abuse, rape, drug use, and murder; but it has a HFN ending)
I'm sure others will chime in with more suggestions.

1. mc acts happy (and is possibly p..."
idk if this is fits with people being not what they seem, but there are secrets and its one of my all time favorites so 366 Days read it, its emotional rough so be warned

I confess to having no idea what these abbreviations stand for (Happy Ever After, maybe?), but my novel EDUCATING SIMON is written in the first person by a gay teen who thinks he has it all figured out, thinks he knows exactly who he is and what he wants, and really by the end of the book (which does have a happy ending) realizes he was all wrong.
/book/show/1...

And Educating Simon would fit as a HFN in my opinion.

I can't think of anyt..."
I'll Give You the Sun, looks delightful, gonna add that one. Thanks!

If anyone's looking for a short, no-drama, feel good story about two girls falling for each other, I wrote this story a little while ago vaguely based on my very first love. I'd be happy to read any criticism / comments at all.

If anyone's looking for a short, no-drama, feel good story about two girls falling for each other, I wrote this story a little while ago vaguely based on my very fir..."
If it's a freebie, feel free to put a link in the "free reads" thread - FREE YA BOOK giveaways and posted stories - /topic/show/...

If anyone's looking for a short, no-drama, feel good story about two girls falling for each other, I wrote this story a little while ago vaguely based on my very fir..."
Sweet! I'd love to read it. I don't do criticism however, so critique will have to come from someone else. I love freebies tho, thanks for sharing.


I'm still fairly new to lgbt books in general, but I also am looking for a good sci-fi or fantasy book(s) as well.
Don't know if it's any good or not but one that caught my eye the other day was Caleo by James Crawford. But I need suggestions as well.

I'm sti..."
I'm intrigued, adding it to my list! In exchange for the good find, I'd suggest Carry On, however since there is a high chance you've already heard on it I'll also just leave this here: Aspect of Winter!
Hope they peak your interest!


I bought that one the other day Linda, since you recommend I'll have to put in my priority-to-read shelf, thanks!

I actually liked her Tamir Triad series better, but I had some issues with how the trans* issues were handled. (Most of this series could be considered YA, but some of the material is pretty heavy, so I would only recommend it for older teens on up.)

I really enjoyed Knight Errant - there is sex as plot but not on page so the series is fine for YA readers. Light space-opera adventure gay romance.
Ethan of Athos is older but I enjoyed it.
Carnival has older protagonists so not really YA but would be fine for teen readers too.
In YA fantasy -
Lord of the White Hell, Book 1 is great,
The Student Prince is excellent free Merlin fanfic
-both have a little bit of on-page sex although not very erotic
Vintage: A Ghost Story
Distant Rumblings
Seidman - historical with a fantasy arc
Triane's Son Rising
Every Day
Swordspoint
Guardian
Or you can also browse our group shelf for YA LGBT fantasy which has 222 books on it /group/books...

I reall..."
Wow Kaje, thanks a bunch. Carnival looks really good. And a friend recommended Vintage to me the other day. Thanks again for the recs.

any recs are welcome even if they don't fit exactly what I described
TIA

I can only think of a handful remotely close (but that may just be my tendency to read the happy fluff)
Happy for Now
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley (sort of fails the 'popular' requirement)
Fjord Blue (fails the 'secretly' portion of the dealing with issues)

Maybe Tales from Foster High - Brad is a baseball star; he's not hiding a huge problem but there are issues at home.
I am sure there are others where the popular jock is hiding issues, but I'm blanking at the moment...


I liked this one

I enjoyed Trailer Trash - one MC is out, the other comes out
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - a little humor, a little angst
Maps - an Aspergers kid figures himself out
Social Skills
Know Not Why Not explicit and college age and light/funny
Freakboy - I loved this story of Brendan figuring out his gender identity, although I can't remember to what degree he came out. No real romance.
We need more books with Bi characters for YA - too often sexual orientation is presented as either or, despite the fact that more and more young people identify as pan or poly or bi.


TIA :)"
The Red Sheet has a bully and his victim.


I second your request!
I've never read a book that has a character that identified as pansexual, BUT I did read one book that has a mc that was basically pansexual (the mc refuses to identify himself as any specific sexuality, he instead states gender doesn't play a part in his attraction to someone)
here's the link to the book (it's free!)

One story that is kind of gender-doesn't-matter sexuality, although it's pretty empty of non-cis-gender characters, is the fantasy The Door Into Fire . Most of the characters in that book are open to same sex and opposite sex relationships, without much distinction between them.

Thank you so much for the link! I've found a mass list of bisexual books, with a few recs for characters that seem to be pansexual, but do not outright identify as pan. Here's the link:
I've also found this book which has a collection of LGBTQ characters, but also one who definitely identifies as pan! (I'm pretty sure his name is Lucas? But am not 100% positive) Seven Ways We Lie
@Kaje
Thanks for the rec! I'll have to see if I can find it soon.
It seems like in literature most authors who have elected to make a character bisexual, assume that if any are pan, they are actually bi because its 'essentially the same thing'. (One of the lists I found literally stated that exact phrase... Ughhh)

I am looking for science fiction books or comics with lgbtia themes and characters. It dosesn't have to be YA. I like dystopian or apocalyptic also but it has to have really good world building.

This is not YA-but I really enjoyed TJ Klune's WIthered + Sere. The second novel is coming out soon and it is called Crisped & Sere. Because its not YA I don;t want to link it here.

Wow. I saw that the book had illustrations. That's really cool. Are they in the book or separate? I wish more books had spot illustration.
Thanks so much for the recommendation.I'm not picky about if it is ya or not I just want a good book to listen to while I draw. I am definitely going to read it. Now I have no idea what I am going to read next.
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I'm also okay with a lesbian book equivalent to that so a badgirl and a cheerleader (or not a cheerleader but still popular).