Comments on 2018 YA Books with LGBT Themes - page 1

Removed The Queen of Air and Darkness. Release date seems to have been pushed to 2019.

Removed A Line in the Dark, which got an earlier 2017 release.

Removed Semper Augustus, which got pushed to 2019.

FYI -- Number 61 (P.S. I Miss You) is MG, not YA.

so ... 2018 is the year for lesbians I see ... I just hope they're as good as they sound

Thanks, Erin. I updated the list description to make it inclusive of middle grade books, too.

Could you please include asexuality in the description and tags (as asexual characters are neither gay/lesbian, nor bisexual) ? Otherwise it could be hard to understand, if asexual characters are not welcome here (doesn't look so) or there are no books with them in order to be recognized (there are at least some). Thanks.

I'll update the description and tags to be more inclusive now. Thanks for pointing it out.

I would appreciate not altering the description of my list without asking first, since I am the list creator. I don't mind including asexual characters, but the primary focus of this list should be LGBT.

For Kristine and others who are interested, there is a list just for asexual characters here....

Asexuality in YA Fiction

@rainbowheart: sorry for taking over but i guess i just couldn't fathom why a list celebrating lgbt releases would be exclusive of those also on the spectrum.

No worries. I do think it should be inclusive of all, but for example a straight asexual relationship with no mention of being a sexual minority perhaps wouldn't be quite appropriate. In any case, we do have Let's Talk About Love on the list, and it has an asexual MC. There may be a few others with side characters. too.

@rainbowheart: i kinda understand what you are saying - and it is your list so i apologise for interfering - but asexual/aromantic people are part of the lgbtqia+ spectrum, no matter their partners/lis gender or sexuality. saying the only get to be included if their partner is lgbt+ seems a little demeaning. but i am genuinely sorry that i responded on your behalf. i'll leave those sorts of things to the oc from now on.

Again, no worries. I didn't necessarily mean it had to be a same-sex relationship, but say there was a relationship between a boy and a girl that simply didn't mention sexual attraction, for example, many old school teen romances or younger middle grade books today. I don't think any of those would be appropriate for the list if they did not have self-identified asexual characters. There are many books without sex or romance. I just wanted to avoid muddying the waters there.

@rainbowheart: oh, okay. i see what you mean now! if there is no mention of asexuality or it isn't made abundantly clear in the text, it shouldn't be added. i thought you meant you weren't including asexual/pansexual/nonbinary or other not L.G.B.T. but still lgbt+ characters on the list and was confused why. sorry.

Removed Troublemakers, which was originally released in 2017, and The Cerulean, which got pushed to 2019.

Removed:

You're You. 2017.
Rise as One. 2019.
What She Does Next Will Astound You. 2016.
Jokes About Dead Girls. 2019.
The Disappearing Boy.2019.

Thanks for helping to keep the list in good shape!

Hi Rainbowheart - just finished The Parker Inheritance and although it doesn't focus on LGBT issues, it deals with homophobia and a character comes out. Thnx.

Thanks for the info, Todd. I added it to the list!

Hi again, I just finished Tattered Planet by Kate Blair and one of the supporting character's parents are men. This info is only mentioned or appears a few times, but it's integral to who that character is. I highly recommend the book - murder/mystery, sci-fi future, evolution, space travel! - Todd

Removed Firestarter, which got pushed to 2019.

Feel free to vote for Tangled Planet, Todd! Sounds like it would also be a good addition to the YA Books with LGBT Parents list.

Removed The Weight of the Stars, which also got pushed to 2019.

Removed True Romantics and A Queer History of the United States for Young People, which both got pushed to 2019. Also deleted the Marlon Bundo picture book and several titles released prior to 2018.

Removed Bloom, which got pushed to 2019, and The Tower, publication date unknown.

Fresh Ink, Lamar Giles (ed) has several stories with LGBTQ+ stories and other marginalized identities.

Thanks, Todd. Please feel free to vote for anything that you'd like to see on the list.

Removed Starworld, Not Your Backup, and Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: Little Women, which all got pushed to 2019.

Hey, do you have lists from other years?

Yes, there are lists for every year since 2014!

2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

And for the future!

2019, 2020

Removed Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, which got pushed to 2019.

Also removed two adult novels and one pre-2018 release.

I've just finished Dream Country by Shannon Gibney and there is a lesbian character.

Thanks for the heads up, Todd. I added Dream Country.

Removed An Impossible Distance to Fall, which got pushed to 2019.

Someone inexplicably deleted Hullmetal Girls from this list. Please do not remove 2018 YA or middle grade releases with LGBT characters!

i assume you flagged the edit? i'm literally so done with people on this site atm

I didn't flag because I thought it could have been an honest mistake. It's happened to me a few times where I deleted something in error. I didn't recognize the person who did it, but it doesn't seem to be someone associated with the censorship brigade, so I'm giving the benefit of the doubt. There's way too much craziness over on the main YA list!

fair enough. there is so much drama about it. it's gone beyond ridiculous. did you see they were trying to get the whole list flagged? 🙄

I saw that! I messaged Jasmine to let her know in case she wasn't following the comments on her list. I doubt there's anything to worry about, but some people are indeed ridiculous.

Removed Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, and You Know Me Well. None of these are 2018 releases.

The Time Traveler's Guide to Modern Romance #42 is not a 2018 release as it comes out at March 4th 2019

Thanks for the heads up. I removed that one along with Flamer, still no release date, and Sarah. According to readers, this has adult characters.

Here is my YA book published in 2018 with a prominent gay character:

No Doubt In My Mind by Sheila Solomon Shotwell

I read Darius The Great is Not Okay recently, and the only canon LGBT characters are Darius's two paternal grandmas (who are not shown on page).

Darius never comes out, but it seems clear in the story that he is, indeed, gay.

Rainbowheart wrote: "Darius never comes out, but it seems clear in the story that he is, indeed, gay."

But does implied homosexuality really count as representation? Though Darius and Sohrab's friendship sometimes borders on romantic seeming, there is no actual on-page confirmation of either of their sexualities, nor confirmation by the author for that matter. Though I loved the book, I feel like I enjoyed it less due to the expectations I had based on the fact that the book was on this list. Ultimately, it is your decision but I strongly encourage you to remove it.

I would say things have progressed culturally to the point where an obviously gay character written by a gay author does qualify for inclusion on the list. It's not like it was in days of old when people had to search to find hidden homoerotic subtext in various works of literature. A dramatic coming out scene may no longer be be necessary. Plus, the two gay grandmothers are mentioned. I interpret "LGBT themes" rather loosely.

After some Internet Research, I discovered you were right! I did not realized Adib Khorram was gay, but he has said publicly multiple times that Darius was intended to be questioning and, in his mind, would eventually grow to be comfortable identifying as gay. Though I have some issues with authorial intent as representation—*cough* JK Rowling *cough*—knowing the representation in this case is own voices appeases me. LGBT themes indeed!

Grace wrote: "After some Internet Research, I discovered you were right! I did not realized Adib Khorram was gay, but he has said publicly multiple times that Darius was intended to be questioning and, in his mi..."

oh this was interesting to me. When I read the book I knew the author was gay... and I read Darius as definitely experiencing same-sex attraction! Now I'm wondering if I projected that because I knew the author's orientation.