It’s Disability Pride Month, and we’re celebrating with books that have queer disabled main characters! For more books with queer disabled MCs, or to look for specific conditions, check out our Disability/Neurodivergence page, linked here, as well as past year’s posts.
If you have a visual disability and are looking for more accessible titles, you can find lists on the site of books available in Large Print, Braille, and/or Audio under the Access dropdown.
Note: For Autism rep specifically, please check out this year’s Autism Acceptance Month post. For Cerebral Palsy rep, check out this World Cerebral Palsy Day post.
Middle Grade
Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors by Gail D. Villanueva
Lulu Sinagtala can’t wait for a fun Christmas break. She’s excited to hang out with her sister, Kitty, and best friend, Bart; to reenact her favorite legends from Tagalog folklore (like the amazing tale of Bernardo Carpio); and, of course, to eat as much yummy street-side inihaw as possible!
But when a vicious wakwak attacks her neighborhood and kidnaps Mom, Lulu discovers the creatures and deities of Tagalog myth are real and that two additional Realms exist beyond our own. To make it worse, Lulu has superhuman strength and the ability to wield magic, meaning she’s the only one powerful enough to stop the evil spirit who’s determined to rule the three Realms at all costs. No pressure, right?
Lulu, Kitty, and Bart set off on a quest to rescue Mom, where they outsmart cunning enemies, battle vengeful beings, and form unlikely alliances. Soon they find themselves swept into a centuries-long fight, unraveling secrets about Lulu and her past that threaten to upend everything and throw the whole universe into chaos. Can Lulu muster the strength (superhuman or not) to find out who she really is and who she can trust to save Mom and the three Realms before it’s too late?
Splinter & Ash by Marieke Nijkamp
Ash—or Princess Adelisa—is the youngest child of the queen, recently returned to the city of Kestrel’s Haven after spending six years on the other side of the country. Ash was hoping for a joyous reunion, but the reality is far from it. Her mother is holding the kingdom together by a thread; her brother has only taunts and jibes for her; and court is full of nobles who openly mock and dismiss Ash, who uses a cane and needs braces to strengthen her joints.
Splinter is the youngest child of one of Haven’s most prominent families. She’s fierce, determined, and adventurous, and she has her sights set on becoming a knight just like her older brother. Even if everyone says she can’t because she’s not a boy. So what? She’s not a girl, either.
A chance encounter throws Ash and Splinter into each other’s orbits and changes the course of the kingdom’s history. The princess and her new squire will face bullies, snobs, gossips, and their own disapproving families. But when they uncover a shadowy group of nobles plotting to overthrow the queen, they will show everyone how legends are born. Together.
Accidental Demons by Clare Edge
Conjuring demons seems like something you should totally not be able to do by accident, right? Well, normally it isn’t. But Bernadette Crowley is the perfect storm of magical accidents.
For the youngest in a long line of witches, demons used to be no big deal. A spell and a quick prick of the finger, and a witch like Ber could summon a demon to do anything she needed—clean a mess, send a message, you name it.
But that was before Ber was diagnosed with diabetes. Now each time she tests her blood sugar, accidental demons are slipping into the human dimension…and causing absolute chaos.
Good thing Ber and her older sister, Maeve, know that every magical problem has a magical solution. They’ll just conjure a low-order demon to monitor her blood sugar! Bonus: they only have to bend one or two teeny, tiny rules. But before they know it, they’ve stumbled into deeper, more mysterious magic than they ever could have predicted. And soon it’s not just Ber’s magic but her entire coven that’s in danger.
It’s All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango
All these months of staring at the wall?
All these months of feeling weak?
It’s ending—
I’m going back to fencing.
And then it’ll be
like nothing ever happened.
No one knows hard work and dedication like Valentina Camacho. And Vale’s thing is fencing. She’s the top athlete at her fencing gym. Or she was . . . until the accident.
After months away, Vale is finally cleared to fence again, but it’s much harder than before. Her body doesn’t move the way it used to, and worst of all is the new number one: Myrka. When she sweeps Vale aside with her perfect form and easy smile, Vale just can’t accept that. But the harder Vale fights to catch up, the more she realizes her injury isn’t the only thing holding her back. If she can’t leave her accident in the past, then what does she have to look forward to?
Young Adult
Climate of Chaos by Cassandra Newbould
In dystopic Seattle, storms have devastated Earth’s population, a new virus is spreading, and the privileged live inside domes controlled by Aegis Corp. Healthcare is earned by hours accrued working in Aegis’s pharmaceutical factories. If you run short on hours, you’re sent to Harvest House for debt collection—a place from which no one returns.
After a storm killed seventeen-year old Fox LaRosa’s parents and left her disabled, Fox and her younger sister, Rabbit, join their fugitive aunt’s mercenary group Still Alive. Their mission is to restore the imbalance of medical access for post-storm survivors.
But when a med supply heist goes south, Rabbit is taken captive, and Still Alive refuses to rescue her. Fox must choose between duty and family, and leaves home to infiltrate Aegis’s interior domes where Rabbit is being held hostage. The more Fox learns about life in the domes, though, the more she realizes Still Alive isn’t as altruistic as they claim. In a world where everyone is out for themselves, Fox must rely on those she trusts least in order to reunite with her sister and expose those in power for who they really are.
Icarus by K. Ancrum
Icarus Gallagher is a thief.
He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target, revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t get caught.
Until one night, he does. Not by Mr. Black, but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous—a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus’s rules.
As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the bars of the gilded cage that has trapped both of their families for years. One Icarus is determined to escape. But his father’s thirst for revenge shows no sign of fading, and soon it may force Icarus to choose: the escape he’s dreamed of, or the boy he’s come to love. Reaching for both could be his greatest triumph—or it could be his downfall.
Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham
Riverdale meets Stranger Things in this debut queer YA graphic novel, developed from a hit webcomic. Set in the haunted town of Blackwater, Maine, two boys fall for each other as they dig for clues to a paranormal mystery.
Tony Price is a popular high school track star and occasional delinquent aching for his dad’s attention and approval. Eli Hirsch is a quiet boy with a chronic autoimmune disorder that has ravaged his health and social life. What happens when these two become unlikely friends (and a whole lot more . . .) in the spooky town of Blackwater, Maine? Werewolf curses, unsavory interactions with the quarterback of the football team, a ghostly fisherman haunting the harbor, and tons of high school drama.
The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes (September 16, 2025)
Seventeen-year-old Cesar Flores is finally ready to win back his ex-boyfriend. Since breaking up with Jamal in a last-ditch effort to stay in the closet, he’s come out to Mami, his sister, Yami, and their friends, taken his meds faithfully, and gotten his therapist’s blessing to reunite with Jamal.
Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for The Thoughts—the ones that won’t let all his Catholic guilt and internalizations stay buried where he wants them. The louder they become, the more Cesar is once again convinced that he doesn’t deserve someone like Jamal—or anyone really.
Cesar can hide a fair amount of shame behind jokes and his “gifted” reputation, but when a manic episode makes his inner turmoil impossible to hide, he’s faced with a stark choice: burn every bridge he has left or, worse—ask for help. But is the mortifying vulnerability of being loved by the people he’s hurt the most a risk he’s willing to take?
Try Your Worst by Chatham Greenfield (September 23, 2025)
I Kissed Shara Wheeler meets The Agathas in this cozy mystery about two rivals who must team up to find out who has been framing them for crimes they didn’t commit.
Sadie Katz and Cleo Chapman have been rivals since birth. Literally. They entered the world competing to be the first baby born in the new year, and ever since Cleo beat out Sadie for that title, she has been nonchalantly beating Sadie at just about everything–and making it look easy.
Now in the fall of their senior year, Sadie and Cleo are neck-and-neck for valedictorian. But then a string of increasingly serious pranks take over their high school, and all signs point to Sadie and Cleo as the perpetrators. Suddenly expulsion is on the line, and the only way to clear their names is to team up and find out who is framing them. It’s not only suspects the girls are questioning, though. Sadie’s ivy league dream isn’t feeling as appealing as it once did, and Cleo is wondering if it’s about time she start fighting for what she really wants instead of just accepting whatever comes easiest. With their futures on the line, the two grow closer, and both begin to wonder: Could it be that Sadie and Cleo weren’t meant to be rivals at all, and were instead destined to be something more?
Someone to Daydream About by Sydney Langford (March 24, 2026)
Natalie is Demiromantic.
This is what dreams are made of.
Every teenager in America knows eighteen-year-old Felix Song, the lead singer of the most popular boy band since One Direction. Unfortunately, Natalie Nielsen is no exception. Though she thinks of him more as an annoying rich kid from her hometown than a heartthrob.
Uninterested in stardom, Natalie dreams of honoring her late dad’s legacy and making a positive impact on her beloved Deaf community by revamping her family’s run-down Deaf Center. The issue? She has no money. When Felix’s little sister’s hearing loss begins to accelerate, he gives Natalie a generous job offer that would help secure the Center’s future: but she must accompany him on tour this summer to teach him ASL.
What begins as a professional arrangement soon morphs into stolen kisses and late-night rendezvous. But as their connection deepens, so do the risks―and when their relationship suddenly takes center stage, it’s not only their hearts, but Felix’s career on the line. Amid relentless public scrutiny, contractual obligations, and meddling band members, Natalie must decide if their dreams can co-exist in the spotlight.
Adult Fiction
The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth
A magical serial killer is stalking the Occult town of Wrackton. Hypnotic whistling causes victims to chew their own tongues off, leading to the killer being dubbed the Whistler (original, right?).
Enter the Undetectables, a detective agency run by three witches and a ghost in a cat costume (don’t ask). They are hired to investigate the murders, but with their only case so far left unsolved, will they be up to the task?
Mallory, the forensic science expert, is struggling with pain and fatigue from her recently diagnosed fibromyalgia. Cornelia is suddenly stirring all sorts of feelings in Mallory. Diana is hitting up all her ex-girlfriends for information. And not forgetting ghostly Theodore: deceased, dramatic, and also the agency’s first – unsolved – murder case.
With bodies stacking up and the case leading them to mysteries at the very heart of magical society, can the Undetectables find the Whistler before they become the killer’s next victims?
When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley
Benigno “Benny” Caldera knows an orphaned Boricua blacksmith in 1910s New York City can’t call himself an artist. But the ironwork tank he creates for famed Coney Island playground, Luna Park, astounds everyone, especially the eccentric side-show proprietor who commissioned it. Benny’s work earns him an invitation to join the show’s eclectic crew of performers—his first welcome in the city—and share in their astonishing secret: the tank Benny built is a cage for their newest exhibit, a living, breathing, in-the-flesh merman stolen from the banks of the East River under a gleaming full moon.
The merman is more than a mythic marvel, though. Benny comes to know Río as a clever philosopher, an observant traveler, and a kindred spirit more beautiful and compassionate than any human he’s ever met. Despite their different worlds, what begins as a friendship of necessity deepens to love, leading Benny’s heart into uncharted waters where he can no longer ignore the agonizing truth of Río’s captivity—and his own.
A cage is no place for a merman to survive. Though releasing Río means betraying his new family, bankrupting their home, and losing his soulmate forever, Benny must look within for the courage to do what’s right, and find a love strong enough to free them both.
Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones
After the year from hell, Haf is ready to blow off steam at a Christmas party. A no-strings-attached kiss with a stranger under the mistletoe is just what she needs.
But by the next day, rumours have spread. Everyone believes she and Christopher are madly in love and spending the festive season with his family in the English countryside. To save her new friend from embarrassment – and with no better plans of her own – Haf agrees to go along with the ruse.
Until she meets Kit: Christopher’s mysterious, magnetic and utterly irresistible sister.
She can’t possibly fall for her fake boyfriend’s sister this Christmas… can she?
Non-Fiction
ed. by Alex Iantaffi
To be trans and disabled means to have experienced harassment, discrimination, loneliness, often poverty, to have struggled with feeling unworthy of love.
To be trans and disabled means experiencing ableism within our trans communities and transphobia within our disabled communities.
To be trans and disabled means to love our fellow trans and disabled people harder than we could ever love ourselves.
This anthology brings together vulnerable stories, poems, plays, drawings, and personal essays. They explore how we make sense of ourselves, our intersections of identities and experiences, of how we are treated, and how much love we are capable of, sometimes even for ourselves.
Notes from a Queer Cripple: How to Cultivate Queer Disabled Joy and Look Hot While Doing It by Andrew Gurza
How can I enjoy my hot disabled body whilst dealing with internalised ableism?
How can I best navigate my sex life with mobility issues or a carer?
Why are queer spaces so inaccessible – and what can I do about it?
Andrew Gurza is seriously hot. He’s also seriously disabled. Having spent a lifetime navigating the bars, clubs and apps of the queer scene, he’s learned a thing or two about sparking queer crip joy amidst the hellscape of ableism, microaggressions and ‘pity sex’.
With advice on everything from sexual autonomy and self-pleasure to date-prep and disability disclosure – this is both a self-care bible and an urgent call for the queer community to do better.
