Celebrate Pride With These 20 New Reads for Teens

by Miriam Zoila Pérez

When anxious, queer Latina Camila Nuñez receives an ominous tarot reading, she believes it when the cards portend terrible things to come and must reckon with how her fear about the future is ruining her life. 

by Dean Atta

Kai wants to come out but stays closeted, while Matt, his best school friend who’s also queer, is afraid of repercussions from his parents, while nonbinary Vass feels Matt’s a negative influence, in a novel about identity told in verse. 

by Sawyer Lovett

Most people in Canon, West Virginia, care about God, country and football, but Brian likes being a mystery host of the Shampoo Unicorn podcast, which brings him and two others together, in a story about a rainbow pocket in a red state.

by Alice Lin

When Angela Wu offers Lynda Fan the chance to design characters for her Otome game, Lynda discovers things she never knew about herself or her heart

by Tanya Boteju

When a former friend reenrolls at their Catholic high school a few years after a homophobic bullying incident, Cassie decides to start an underground Gender and Sexuality Alliance, exploring her own sexuality in the process.

by Matthew Hubbard

When the mayor of a small Alabama town starts targeting Pride events, bad boy Zeke begins hosting a series of "Pride Speakeasies."

by Harry Trevaldwyn

Patch Simmons has decided that this is the year he will get a boyfriend. Unfortunately, the only other "out" boys in his school year are dating each other, so finding a boyfriend isn't going to be easy... Until fate finally intervenes and two new mysterious boys join drama club. Whether or not they actually like boys or him is a problem for later.

by K. Ancrum

Hollis Brown feels trapped in his struggling small town but then meets Walt, a spirit adrift for generations, who takes over Hollis’ body and mind, but Walt and Hollis start to work together and an unspeakable bond grows between them. 

by E.M. Anderson

Cursed to wander far from home, immortal ghost hunter Peter Shaughnessy must choose between protecting his new friends in Harrington, Ohio, and confronting the heartbreak of staying with the found family he never expected.

by Edward Underhill

In the midst of cross-country moves, Arden and Gabe randomly meet in the lobby of a motel and it feels like fate. Both are trans, but more importantly, both are huge fans of the band Damaged Pixie Dream Boi. Clearly, the universe is trying to tell them something. Right? Parted after one incredible evening, both boys struggle to adjust to their new homes, their thoughts keep being drawn back to their time together. Is one perfect night enough to bring Arden and Gabe back to each other?

by Mikki Daughtry

Against her parents' wishes, 19-year-old Libby uses her college savings to buy an old Victorian house and teams up with Tish to fix it, but as they navigate their own struggles with family, they uncover a journal revealing a forbidden love story from a century ago that mirrors their growing connection.

by Kazimir Lee

Forced to move to small-town Vermont for her mom's job, 15-year-old Azar's only friends are fellow misfits: an aging sci-fi writer and his nonbinary teen. When her queerness throws her life out of balance, Azar realizes some secrets can't be escaped forever. Somewhere in the abandoned malls, lakes, and comic conventions that fill her new life, Azar fights to find herself. 

by Page Powers

Transgender teen Charlie's plan to keep a low profile at his boys' boarding school becomes jeopardized when he starts rooming with his former summer camp fling from before he transitioned.

by Zakiya N. Jamal

Rochelle “The Shell” Coleman gets a job working at Horizon Cinemas, the Black-owned movie theater, to boost her chance of getting into her dream school, but her nemesis and academic competitor, Amira Rodriguez, will be her boss.

by Eric Geron

Leo Martino's hunt for love has been a total flop. By senior year, he concludes he must be unlovable. But when he finds himself obsessing over the irresistible Lincoln Chan, Leo decides to give love one last shot—and this time, he has a plan. He's going to change everything about himself to become the "perfect boyfriend." 

by Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy

Gender-nonconforming 18-year-old Sully is stuck in their small town and after discovering a vintage bag at the local thrift store, finds themself haunted by the ghost of a drag performer, prompting them to delve into the history of the town they want to escape. 

by Elba Luz

Eighteen-year-old Amelia revisits her past relationships to break her family's relationship curse, become the ideal girlfriend, and seek revenge on the ex who broke her heart, only to face unexpected complications along the way.

by Brian Selznick

Daniel is spending his 16th summer in Rome and encounters a shadow, who becomes a voice who becomes a boy his age, Angelo, and soon they have an affection and a closeness and fear of what happens next.

by Andrew Wheeler

Mark is a good Catholic boy and struggles to reconcile his feelings for another boy with his faith as the weight of centuries of shame and judgment—and his fear of his parents' response—presses on his shoulders. Mark seeks advice from his priest and a local drag performer, but also receives unexpected input from key figures in Catholic history and lore, including Joan of Arc, Michelangelo, St. Sebastian, and Savonarola. Ultimately, only Mark can answer the question: Is it possible for him to be both Catholic and gay?

by Laura Gao

After Kirby Tan breaks her arm at the rock-climbing invitationals she joins the newspaper club, where she meets and falls for astrology-obsessed Bex and then struggles to balance her queer identity with her obligations to family and community.