YA LGBT Books discussion

After getting a book I haven't started yet at the library starring an intersex character. 99% of the people I know identify as cisgender, I realized how few non cis people there are even in lgbt books. Anybody know of any books right off? We can make this thread a little list!

I think we might already have a topic like this in our book-banter section, but representation is always a topic worth revisiting.

Off the top of my head, there is the Micah Grey series.

I know we have a few lists (overhead listopia thread
And we have a specific list for Trans* characters

There's also a list for non-binary and genderqueer characters.

Some of my favorite YA books with non-cis-gender characters include
Freakboy
Luna
I am J
Parrotfish

And on my TBRs I want to read
Golden Boy
Pantomime
and Beautiful Music for Ugly Children

I've written some trans and genderqueer stories here on the group - the longest is probably my fantasy for this prompt - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

For non-fiction, feel free to post in the transgender and gender spectrum narratives thread in Hot Topics.

I moved this thread to the "Book Related Banter" folder where we discuss books in general. It's a great topic - one of the things I am seeing in the last few years is a much broader range of characters in YA LGBT books, but we still need more protagonists who aren't middle-class white gay boys and lesbians, but who represent the far wider rainbow.

We've talked about some. Here's a thread about books with Intersex characters - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Here about F2M characters - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Both of those haven't had a post for a while. I'd love to hear about any new stories you can suggest.

Or if there's something you wish our authors would write about, mention that too.

The one that made me think about this was called None of The Above about a girl who discovers she's intersex after 17 years and struggles to adjust to her new identity. It was really good.
And thanks for moving this to where it should be. There's just soooo many topic folders and threads it can be a bit overwhelming for a noob like me XD

Darby wrote: "The one that made me think about this was called None of The Above about a girl who discovers she's intersex after 17 years and struggles to adjust to her new identity. It was really good.
And than..."

I'll have to check that one out. None of the Above

Also saw a link to a cool-sounding kids' book:

Once Upon A Time, A Trans Prince Transformed Into A Princess In A Magical New Kid’s Book

http://www.mtv.com/news/2683408/royal...

I hope it will get more notice in this folder - the group does have a lot of topics to it. :)

From Jesse, I moved a post where he writes -
"A review for Picture (Im)perfect, a YA novel which has a transgender character in it and who plays a central role. Overall, it's a positive review, and the reviewer gives her own views on what is a very important topic, that of understanding and acceptance. "
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kaje wrote: "From Jesse, I moved a post where he writes -
"A review for Picture (Im)perfect, a YA novel which has a transgender character in it and who plays a central role. Overall, it's a positive review, an..."
---

Thanks for telling me about this section, Kaje. It's a little confusing to navigate this forum at times. :)

Yeah - maybe we need a better directory system. But I'm swamped just keeping up. One day...

Recommendations with trans rep!:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Juuso wrote: "Recommendations with trans rep!:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2......"

Thanks! BTW, I'm not sure if it works on the app, but you can link books here via the "add book/author" search - the green link above the comment box.

Felix Ever After
Cemetery Boys
If I Was Your Girl
I Wish You All the Best
Boys Run the Riot, Vol. 1

Our tastes obviously match, because the first 4 of those have been books of the month reading for us here on the group.

I'll definitely have to check out the last one. Thanks for the link <3

Kaje wrote: "Thanks! BTW, I'm not sure if it works on the app, but you can link books here via the "add book/author" search - the green link above the comment box. "

The app is still lacking that feature but if you have the URL you can use the number in the URL to generate a book link in the format: [[book:Felix Ever After|51931067] (remove the first square bracket)

Boys Run the Riot is a manga. It's kind of remarkable for the genre because one of the MC's is transmasc and the series is categorized as shonen, recognizing the character as male and the product intended for male teens. Which is a vast departure from the treatment trans characters normally receive in the genre; usually transmasc characters are relegated to the seinen genre and their identity treated as a confused girl and transfem characters are treated in way I can't mention in our Rated-T group.

Some other YA graphic works featuring trans and non-binary characters:

Magical Boy Volume 1: A Graphic Novel by The Kao {Also available on Tapas}

Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Vol. 1 by Yuhki Kamatani. I cannot over-hype this series; it has queer rep across the board. The main plot is achillean, but there's significant development for all of the secondary characters, including a gender non-conforming youth (who's likely transfem, but the book doesn't explicitly say).