Queer Summer Reads for Pride Month

Happy Pride Month!
Here’s a curated list of diverse LGBTQIA+ books to read as you enjoy your summer vacation!

“Heartstopper – vol 1” by Alice Oseman

Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more…?
Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn’t been too great, but at least he’s not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He’s heard a little about Charlie – the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months – but he’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.
They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner…
(Goodreads.com – Heartstopper)

Genres: Graphic Novel, Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQ
Age rating & Content Warnings: 12+ | Emotionally Abusive Relationship, An incident of a non-consensual kiss, and Brief references to past homophobia (including slurs) & past bullying (aliceoseman.com)

“Felix Ever After” by Kacen Callender

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 many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
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. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle…
But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.
“Felix Ever After” is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.
(Goodreads.com – Felix Ever After)

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQ > Transgender
Age rating & Content Warnings: Young Adult | Bullying (Cyberbullying), Racism, Transphobia, Homophobia, Deadnaming
(BookTriggerWarnings.com – Felix Ever After)

“The Henna Wars” by Adiba Jaigirdar

When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants—as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family. And her life only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life.
Flávia is beautiful and charismatic and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat choose to do henna, even though Flávia is appropriating Nishat’s culture. Amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on Flávia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQ
Age rating & Content Warnings: Young Adult | Instances of Racism, Homophobia, Bullying, and a character being outed
(BookTriggerWarnings.com – The Henna Wars)

“Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo

“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.
America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
(Goodreads.com – Last Night at the Telegraph Club)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, LGBTQ > Lesbian
Age rating & Content Warnings: Young Adult | Homophobia, Racism, Racial Slurs, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Sex (not graphic)
(BookTriggerWarnings.com – Last Night at the Telegraph Club)

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

Dante can swim. Ari can’t. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair-skinned. Ari’s features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself.
But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other―and the power of their friendship―can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.
(Goodreads.com – Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe)

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age, LGBTQ
Age rating & Content Warnings: Young Adult | Alcohol & Drug Use, Car Accident, Hospitalization, PTSD, Homophobia, Death (off-page), Depression (mild) (BookTriggerWarnings.com – Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe)

I hope you enjoy your reading!