YA LGBT Books discussion

There's no shame in being ill and needing help for a change, Iamshadow, but that sounds like it sucks otherwise. Hope you feel better soon!

Hey guys, I'm just wondering if anyone has come across any books with a lesbian (or tbf any wlw though I have lez preference due to my own orientation) protag that has like a positive and pleasant relationship with her father fairly central? I'm not sure how I'd even begin to look so I thought it best to ask the hive mind. I've always been a daddy's girl and I lost him recently and I think having some lit like that would be super what I need right now. Thanks people x

Iamshadow wrote: "Sammy Goode wrote: "Iamshadow, I’m sending you a gentle hug and hopes that you are feeling much better soon!"

Thank you. Right now, I'm just sore, miserable, and a bit effed up from the drugs, whi..."

I love LEGO Harry Potter 1-4 and I hope you enjoyed playing even though the soft tissue in your back is being a pain. I hope your back and hip heal asap!

Blue wrote: "Hey guys, I'm just wondering if anyone has come across any books with a lesbian (or tbf any wlw though I have lez preference due to my own orientation) protag that has like a positive and pleasant ..."

Good question - so much of YA seems to either relegate the parents to very minor roles, or purely antagonists. I'll be interested to see if anyone has a recommendation. (I'm not coming up with one, but I read less wlw than gay and trans protags.)

Blue wrote: "I'm just wondering if anyone has come across any books with a lesbian (or tbf any wlw though I have lez preference due to my own orientation) protag that has like a positive and pleasant relationship with her father fairly central?"

I think Our Own Private Universe would fit the bill. The MC has a pretty close relationship with her dad, and he's an important character in the book.

Rainbowheart wrote: "Blue wrote: "I'm just wondering if anyone has come across any books with a lesbian (or tbf any wlw though I have lez preference due to my own orientation) protag that has like a positive and pleasa..."

awesome, thank you it's on my to read list.

Hey guys! I’m kinda new here! I haven’t been out for very long and am only now gathering the courage to go to the library and ask for books with queer female MCs. Though I didn’t love the results they had. Sooo I was wondering if anyone has any suggestion for ya or adult, its fine if it has sex, just not hetero- with a f/f romance? The girls can be any range of sexualities and identification, Just interested in f/f. Thanks so much❤️❤️
Also I really fell in love with how to lgbtq+ community was represented in You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and was wondering if y’all have any suggestions on how I can find my people in that community. Thanks!!😁 I wish you all a lovely day!

Molly wrote: "Sooo I was wondering if anyone has any suggestion for ya or adult, its fine if it has sex, just not hetero- with a f/f romance?"

My lesbian favorites are Annie on My Mind, Girl Mans Up, and The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

Molly wrote: "Hey guys! I’m kinda new here! I haven’t been out for very long and am only now gathering the courage to go to the library and ask for books with queer female MCs. Though I didn’t love the results t..."

Waving the intersectional sci-fi series flag - Not Your Sidekick (and its sequel, though the MC in that is not either of the couple from the first book), Dreadnought/Sovereign, and Santa Olivia/Saints Astray! Identities in those include (off the top of my head) bisexual, lesbian, transgender, Chinese/Vietnamese American, Black, biracial, and Latinx. All have female MCs who are not straight who have LIs who identify as female. (And all have drama, but no fridging/bury your gays trope of the main characters or love interests.)

Molly wrote: "Hey guys! I’m kinda new here! I haven’t been out for very long and am only now gathering the courage to go to the library and ask for books with queer female MCs. Though I didn’t love the results t..."

Hi, Molly!
As far as YA fiction goes, I'm more into fantasy/sci-fi novels, but out of those can recommend Otherbound, The Raven and the Reindeer, The City of Woven Streets, The Abyss Surrounds Us and The Scorpion Rules.

Hiya Molly! On top of the books you’ve already been recommended I wanted to add How To Male A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake, the focus isn’t the FF romance but it’s very heart warming romance with a bittersweet setting ^^.

Molly wrote: "Hey guys! I’m kinda new here! I haven’t been out for very long and am only now gathering the courage to go to the library and ask for books with queer female MCs. Though I didn’t love the results t..."

If you want cutsey romance with a happy ending (agreed some lesbiangst mixed in) I would heavily suggest most of Julie anne Peters' work and also Lilac Mines: a novel bc I just read it and its great. as a way to get going.

It's oft the case that libraries don't have a great selection of lgbt fiction (I know this as a lesbian librarian) but sometimes looking at their online catalogue with a list of "top lesbian fiction" goodreads has one. is a great way to start. I've been out for ages but have only recently gotten back into reading so lesfic is a fairly new world for me for a different reason to you but I can totally offer my still fresh knowledge of what's good starting out.

Although several years old, we had a thread where people gave their F/F recommendations here - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Molly wrote: "Hey guys! I’m kinda new here! I haven’t been out for very long and am only now gathering the courage to go to the library and ask for books with queer female MCs. Though I didn’t love the results t..."

There’s Leah on the Offbeat, Dreadnought and Sovereign by April Daniels, and the Lumberjanes series for YA.
For adult, there’s The Color Purple and Meddling Kids

Hey everyone! I'm new here and I was wondering if anyone had YA book recommendations with a wlw MC who is also a woman of colour- specifically Asian but I'm open to all other ethnicities. I read It's not like It's a Secret and I enjoyed it because it talked about how race intersects with LGBT identity, but I didn't like all the internalized racism the MC had about other ethnicities. I appreciate any tips :)

Amber wrote: "Hey everyone! I'm new here and I was wondering if anyone had YA book recommendations with a wlw MC who is also a woman of colour- specifically Asian but I'm open to all other ethnicities. I read It's not like It's a Secret and I enjoyed it because it talked about how race intersects with LGBT identity, but I didn't like all the internalized racism the MC had about other ethnicities. I appreciate any tips :) "

I personally love Not Your Sidekick, which has a Vietnamese/Chinese American lead.

The Abyss Surrounds Us/The Edge of the Abyss have a MC of Chinese heritage.

Not Asian, but Santa Olivia/Saints Astray has an incredibly diverse cast, with plenty of Black and Latinx characters.

Radio Silence has a biracial MC of colour. (Ethiopian/English)

Huntress has an Asian MC, but it's in a fantasy setting.

Queens of Geek has a Chinese/Australian MC with a Hispanic LI.

Probably one of the best books I've read that deals with intersectionality is Juliet Takes a Breath which has a Puerto Rican MC.

Amber wrote: "Hey everyone! I'm new here and I was wondering if anyone had YA book recommendations with a wlw MC who is also a woman of colour- specifically Asian but I'm open to all other ethnicities. I read It..."

Otherbound has two MCs, one of who is a bisexual woman of colour.

Anna-Marie McLemore's recent books have queer female Latino MCs, some of who wind up in wlw relationships.

And seconding The Abyss Surrounds Us.

Wondering if anyone on here has read Junior Hero Blues, and if so, what you thought of it? I stumbled across it by accident and it sounds super cute. I like superhero narratives, but a lot of them tend towards the dark at times (Dreadnought, Santa Olivia). Which is fine! But I like a little lightness, too. This sounds a bit more like Not Your Sidekick.

I hadn't heard of that one - I'll be interested in your take.

Hi, looking for YA MM fantasy books where the series is completed, no cliffhangers. Urban fantasy is preferred, and I absolutely love the trope of “transported to another world”. Ending must be happy/satisfying, doesn’t have to be all sunshine’s and rainbows but just a hint that the future is optimistic is fine enough.

Rhea: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is one of my new favorites and matches that farely well!

Carry On is great, but the series isn't completed yet. Wayward Son is coming out later this year.

Oh darn, I forgot about that part of their request. True! And I'm excited about it!

Rhea wrote: "Hi, looking for YA MM fantasy books where the series is completed, no cliffhangers. Urban fantasy is preferred, and I absolutely love the trope of “transported to another world”. Ending must be hap..."

If you do find you like Carry On, try A Hero at the End of the World. It's got a similar kind of Potter-esque feel. It's a stand-alone novel, so there are no cliffhangers.

I will say about Carry On, don't let the fact that there's a sequel coming out dissuade you; it was written originally as a stand-alone (with loose ties to Rowell's contemporary YA novel Fangirl) and works perfectly well on its own.

Lord of the White Hell might also be a good choice. It's similar to Carry On. Two volumes released, and the series is completed.

Rhea wrote: "Hi, looking for YA MM fantasy books where the series is completed, no cliffhangers. Urban fantasy is preferred, and I absolutely love the trope of “transported to another world”. Ending must be hap..."

A series that starts urban and then is transported to another world is
Distant Rumblings - the series is complete with 4 books, although the ending is... a bit indeterminate so if you like things rounded off, you might feel it wasn't as solid as you like (good writing though.) But it might trigger the "cliffhanger" limit.

Luck in the Shadows series isn't specifically YA but one character begins as a teen, and there is no on-page sex except in one short story that could be skipped. It is complete with a HEA. High fantasy

Guardian trilogy has one MC who seems like a teen (but is later revealed to be older) and is fine for YA. Complete with HEA. High fantasy.

I second Lord of the White Hell (one minor on-page sex scene) and the sequel duology too - high fantasy and big favorites of mine.

Rikke wrote: "I feel like there are too few LGBT books with happy endings.

Anyone know of any?"

Sculpt Yourself is great

https://www.audible.com/pd/B07PX38XBN...

I'm looking for a queer teen crime/suspense/thriller/mystery. Like Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig, but preferably without so much sexual content or coarse language.

theStorykeeper wrote: "I'm looking for a queer teen crime/suspense/thriller/mystery. Like Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig, but preferably without so much sexual content or coarse language."

If you're happy to take something very different in tone, I think the Wells & Wong Detective series, beginning with Murder Most Unladylike: A Wells & Wong Mystery, is really great. Think boarding school literature mashed up with Agatha Christie mysteries. Lots of incidental queer characters, especially in books one and four, and in the most recent book one of the main characters comes out somehow (I haven't read it yet, so I don't know which one.) It should fit the content request, as it's marketed as suitable for about 10+ years of age.

EDIT: lgbtqbooks has a list of YA murder mysteries HERE, but I haven't read any of them so no idea about the content.

theStorykeeper wrote: "I'm looking for a queer teen crime/suspense/thriller/mystery."

Off the top of my head I'd suggest Malinda Lo's A Line in the Dark , Tim Floreen's Willful Machines , and Kelley York's Made of Stars .

Iamshadow wrote: "If you're happy to take something very different in tone, I think the Wells & Wong Detective series, beginning with Murder Most Unladylike: A Wells & Wong Mystery, is really great...."

I have that marked as want-to-read, but didn't know it was queer! (Apparently they changed the name of the US edition to Murder is Bad Manners. Weird.) Thanks for the link to the list, too!

Kim wrote: "Off the top of my head I'd suggest Malinda Lo's A Line in the Dark , Tim Floreen's Willful Machines , and Kelley York's Made of Stars .

I'll check those out - thanks! I have heard of A Line in the Dark before, but the cover creeped me out lol.

P.S. I wanted to clarify that any recommendations with a crime-based storyline and/or suspenseful tone are welcome, too, no actual mystery required. :)

theStorykeeper wrote: "I have that marked as want-to-read, but didn't know it was queer! (Apparently they changed the name of the US edition to Murder is Bad Manners. Weird.) Thanks for the link to the list, too!"

Yeah, read the UK editions if you can. They went through and Americanised a bunch of the language in the US editions, which was just super weird, given it was meant to be a bunch of 1930s British schoolgirls. They wouldn't be using American terms. It's annoying, because I had free access to digital editions of the first few books with my Scribd subscription, but they were the US ones, so I ended up having to borrow the physical copies from my library to get the UK text. I don't know why the US publishers think it's necessary; it's not like American people are incapable of code-switching like the rest of the world does when they watch American TV.

Kaje wrote: "I thought I would start a thread for people to request help finding particular themes in YA books. So if you want a YA fantasy with a female MC, or a F2M trans book or any other sub-category, post ..."

Do you know and LGBTQ or M/M books in Spanish?

The Art of Being Normal is good and has a Spanish translation - El arte de ser normal

George is more middle school but also has a Spanish version - George. Simplemente sé tú mismo

Call Me By Your Name is translated into Spanish (although borderline YA, despite the age of the character) - Llámame por tu nombre

Something Like Summer is also borderline sex content for YA, but is in translation -
Como si fuera verano

Loca juventud I have seen but know nothing about. (Including heat level) but it seems to be about a teen boy.

Sadly, I don't find a lot of books in Spanish, although we have some good ones by Hispanic authors including Alex Sanchez and Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Maybe someone here who reads in Spanish will have more options for you.

Kaje wrote: "Sadly, I don't find a lot of books in Spanish, although we have some good ones by Hispanic authors including Alex Sanchez and Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Maybe someone here who reads in Spanish will have more options for you"

Being Australian I'm really not terribly knowledgeable about Spanish language versions, but if you're interested in stepping outside mlm, I'm sure there must be Spanish language versions of Zoraida Córdova and Anna-Marie McLemore's books.

Noah wrote: "Do you know and LGBTQ or M/M books in Spanish?"

Yo, Simon, Homo Sapiens (Becky Albertalli's Simon VS The Homo Sapiens Agenda)

Te daría el mundo (Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun)

¿Y si fuéramos nosotros? (Albertalli and Silvera's What If It's US?)

Kaje wrote: "The Art of Being Normal is good and has a Spanish translation - El arte de ser normal

George is more middle school but also has a Spanish version - ..."

Thanks, I'll get some of those books.

Well Patrick...it is sometimes hard to find those two things combined given the age range of the genre. I will say that in my latest book, "Paradormancy" which is on the higher age scale of YA, there is at least one scene that stands out that I can think of. I would be honored if you gave it a chance!

Paradormancy

Suzanne wrote: "Just read a fantastic dystopian novel featuring a male bisexual protagonist. The entire premise is that the government uses music to control the masses. It's a great read and the sexuality of the c..."

Hi Suzanne,

I can't wait to read the book that you recommended; I currently am reading "The Daemonic", but happy to have a next in line. Since you seem to like dystopian, I am going to plug my book "Paradormancy". I am currently working on the sequel so I would love if I could get your take on the first book. It's free on Kindle Unlimited.

Paradormancy

David wrote: "Well Patrick...it is sometimes hard to find those two things combined given the age range of the genre. I will say that in my latest book, "Paradormancy" which is on the higher age scale of YA, the..."

I think you're responding to requests at the very beginning of this thread from 2013...

You're allowed to recommend your book when it fits requests on this thread, but I'd advise doing so sparingly, when it really fits. (As long as your book doesn't go over the limit of YA in that one scene you mentioned to Patrick.)

If you're new to Goodreads - most links to threads will take you to the first page of the thread, no matter how old it is. Click on the "newest" link at the top right below the thread title (next to "date") to go to the new posts. Or click the highest page number along the top left above the first comment.

Hi, I'm looking for YA or NA MM Science Fiction or fantasy book/completed book series with a happy ending. Like time travel, dystopia, urban fantasy or anything really. Long stories if possible. (If one of the MCs is Russian it's even better, that's so rare). Would you happen to know some along those lines?

LionD'argent wrote: "Hi, I'm looking for YA or NA MM Science Fiction or fantasy book/completed book series with a happy ending. Like time travel, dystopia, urban fantasy or anything really. Long stories if possible. (I..."

The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling might fit your needs? It's high fantasy rather than urban, but still. It's complete, and begins with Luck in the Shadows. There is some dark content around the middle of the series, but the ending is by no means unhappy, and the only explicit sexual content is in the short story collection, Glimpses.

LionD'argent wrote: "Hi, I'm looking for YA or NA MM Science Fiction or fantasy book/completed book series with a happy ending. Like time travel, dystopia, urban fantasy or anything really. Long stories if possible. (I..."

I second Nightrunner - a good long series.

Lord of the White Hell, Book 1 is a two book series that is high fantasy - there is another companion 2 book follow-up although I can't remember if it's YA or NA re sex content.

Guardian is a three book fantasy series

Knight Errant is a space fantasy series - there are some more adult themes but the MC begins as a teen and there is no on-page sex.

Distant Rumblings is a trilogy that begins as urban fantasy and becomes high fantasy

Gives Light reads like contemporary at first, but one of the two MCs (Rafael) is Native American, and from his perspective there is much more mystical and paranormal going on. The series can be read two ways - 1,2,3 (Skylar's books) 5,6 (Rafael's) and then 4 (set 15 years later)
Or 1,5,2,6,3 - 4 (alternating Skylar and Rafael over comparable time frames.) I like this version better, since Rafael knows things that Skylar doesn't.

The Star Host is a colony and space SciFi trilogy.

A Light Amongst Shadows is a historical paranormal YA series - I believe there will be at least one more book coming though, so not complete yet. The books do have HFN endings.

I've read the Nightrunner series and Lord of the White Hell already. Thanks a lot for the other titles I'll check them out :)

LionD'argent wrote: "I've read the Nightrunner series and Lord of the White Hell already. Thanks a lot for the other titles I'll check them out :)"

Well, here are a few stand alone sf/fantasy titles that you might not have read.

Have you read Carry On? It's a lot of fun. There's A Hero at the End of the World, too, if you like that kind of thing.

Storyteller is good, but has a suuuuuper sad bit in the middle that I still am not okay about though it's a wonderful story. It's an older, less known book that I think was pretty early in giving gentle, uncomplicated queer teen rep. The super sad bit may be triggering for some; please contact me for spoilers if you need them if you plan to read this book.

I have Junior Hero Blues on my to-read pile, but I haven't got to it, yet, so I can't speak to how good it is.

There is also Amy Lane's Bitter Moon Saga - I haven't read them but I adore Amy Lane's characters in her adult books - you can get the series as a bundle (in the new versions) - Bitter Moon Saga Bundle - she always gives us happy endings so I'm sure this does too

Another good author although I haven't read the series - The Cat in the Cradle - Jay Bell's Loka Legends series

I've read Carry On a while ago and just started A Hero at the End of the World. I have In Other Lands waiting too, I heard it was good. Would you know of other books like these?

Never read anything by Amy Lane or Jay Bell, though. Thank you for the recommendations! ^^

LionD'argent wrote: "I've read Carry On a while ago and just started A Hero at the End of the World. I have In Other Lands waiting too, I heard it was good. Would you know of other books like these?"

The Mary Sue has an article right now on queerness in fantasy, might be of interest. Commenting on the books mentioned, I will say, though I love Mercedes Lackey, and she was one of the first writing gay characters on a major imprint, there is much Bury Your Gays in her Valdemar series. Don't look for your happy endings for gay characters there.

Hi everybody. My name is Laura and I'm new here. Been a lurker for some time now. :)

I am looking for good YA LGBT books with a page count in between 100 and 200 pages. Could someone here please help me and recommend me some?
Thank you! :))

Laura wrote: "Hi everybody. My name is Laura and I'm new here. Been a lurker for some time now. :)

I am looking for good YA LGBT books with a page count in between 100 and 200 pages. Could someone here please h..."

What kind of story? I can think of a dozen that would fit that length. What kind of MC identities are you interested in? (gay/lesbian/trans/intersex/etc. ) What genres? (Contemporary and fantasy are easiest, but there are some paranormal, sci fi, historical etc.)