Pride Month - Young Adult
Dive into these fictional stories featuring LGBTQ+ characters.
(All of these titles are available at the Westlock Library)
Blaine for the win
Couch, Robbie, author
2022
After his boyfriend Joey breaks up with him to pursue more "serious" guys, Blaine decides to run for senior class president as Joey's successor to prove his worth--but is Blaine willing to sacrifice everything about himself to do it?
Café con Lychee
Lee, Emery, author
2022
Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno have always been at odds. Their parents own rival businesses--an Asian American café and a Puerto Rican bakery--and Gabi's lack of coordination has cost their soccer team too many games to count. Stuck in the closet and scared to pursue his own dreams, Gabi sees his parents' shop as his future. Stuck under the weight of his parents' expectations, Theo's best shot at leaving Vermont means first ensuring his parents' livelihood is secure. So when a new fusion café threatens both shops, Theo and Gabi realize an unfortunate truth--they can only achieve their goals by working together to cook up an underground bakery operation and win back their customers. But can they put aside their differences long enough to save their parents' shops or will the new feelings between them boil over?
Epically earnest
Horan, Molly, author
2022
In this delightfully romantic LGBTQ+ comedy-of-errors inspired by Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, a high school senior works up the courage to ask her long-time crush to prom, all while deciding if she should look for her bio family.
Flash fire
Klune, TJ, author
2021
"Through bravery, charm, and an alarming amount of enthusiasm, Nick landed himself the superhero boyfriend of his dreams. Now instead of just writing stories about him, Nick actually gets to kiss him. But having a superhero boyfriend isn't everything Nick thought it would be-- he's still struggling to make peace with his own lack of extraordinary powers. When new Extraordinaries begin arriving in Nova City-- siblings who can manipulate smoke and ice, a mysterious hero who can move objects with their mind, and a drag queen superhero with the best name and the most-sequined costume anyone has ever had-- it's up to Nick and his friends Seth, Gibby, and Jazz to determine who is virtuous and who is villainous"-- Provided by publisher
Going bicoastal
Adler, Dahlia, author.
2023
Told in alternating timelines, Jewish seventeen-year-old Natalya spends one summer in New York with her dad, trying to muster the courage to talk to her girl crush, and the other in Los Angeles with her estranged mom, going for a guy she never saw coming.
The infinite noise
Shippen, Lauren, author
2019
Caleb Michaels is a sixteen-year-old champion running back. Other than that his life is pretty normal. But when Caleb starts experiencing mood swings that are out of the ordinary for even a teenager, his life moves beyond "typical." Caleb is an Atypical, an individual with enhanced abilities. Which sounds pretty cool except Caleb's ability is extreme empathy--he feels the emotions of everyone around him. Being an empath in high school would be hard enough, but Caleb's life becomes even more complicated when he keeps getting pulled into the emotional orbit of one of his classmates, Adam. Adam's feelings are big and all-consuming, but they fit together with Caleb's feelings in a way that he can't quite understand. Caleb's therapist, Dr. Bright, encourages Caleb to explore this connection by befriending Adam. As he and Adam grow closer, Caleb learns more about his ability, himself, his therapist--who seems to know a lot more than she lets on--and just how dangerous being an Atypical can be.
Infinity alchemist
Callender, Kacen, author
2024
Discovered practicing alchemy by apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash must help her find a sacred text of extraordinary power - a journey that forces him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he will go to seize it.
Jay's gay agenda
Jason June author
2021
"A hilarious and heartfelt romantic comedy by debut young adult author Jason June, that follows a boy named Jay after he moves to Seattle from his rural high school, introducing him to other queer teens for the very first time, and allowing him to finally cross items off his gay romance to-do list"-- Provided by publisher.
A little bit country
Kennedy, Brian D., author
2022
While working at country music legend Wanda Jean's amusement park, polar opposites Emmett and Luke become inseparable until a long-lost secret about Emmett's idol and Luke's grandmother, a disgraced singer, comes to light.
The lucky list
Lippincott, Rachael, author
2021
Rising high school senior Emily felt lucky until her mother's death, but now, with childhood friend Blake, she sets out to accomplish every exciting, scary, and intimidating task on her mother's bucket list.
The meaning of birds
Brown, Jaye Robin, author
2019
During her sophomore year, Jessica develops a relationship with Vivi which helps her deal with the anger she has felt since her father's death, only to be overwhelmed again when Vivi dies during their senior year.
Orpheus girl
Rebele-Henry, Brynne, 1999- author
2019
When sixteen-year-old, mythology-obsessed Raya and her true love, Sarah, are sent from their conservative Texas town to a re-education camp, Raya assumes the role of Orpheus to save them.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens agenda
Albertalli, Becky, author
2016
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn't play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone's business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he's been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon's junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated.
The stone rainbow
Shaw, Liane, 1959- author.
2019
Jack Pedersen's life becomes complicated after coming out of the closet when a new student named Benjamin arrives at school and Jack starts experiencing feelings he's never allowed himself before.
We are totally normal
Kanakia, Naomi, author
2020
Nandan’s got a plan to make his junior year perfect, but hooking up with his friend Dave isn’t part of it -- especially because Nandan has never been into guys. Still, Nandan’s willing to give a relationship with him a shot. But the more his anxiety grows about what his sexuality means for himself, his friends, and his social life, the more he wonders whether he can just take it all back. Is breaking up with Dave -- the only person who’s ever really gotten him -- worth feeling “normal” again?