Category Archives: Happy Holigays

Happy LGBT History Month 2026!

Happy LGBT History Month! We are, of course, celebrating as we celebrate everything over here – with books! Specifically, with both fiction and nonfiction that pay tribute to LGBT history. For even more recs, check out last year’s post.

Young Adult

Where You’ll Find Us by Jen St. Jude

Calla Quick has no future. At least, that’s how it feels. Her parents disowned her via text message, and now she can’t afford to go to an all-women’s college with her girlfriend Ramona like they planned. But Calla wonders if maybe that’s for the best-because even though Calla told Ramona her parents disowned her because they found out she’s gay, the truth is, Calla has been questioning whether she’s a girl at all.

Calla wishes she had more time to figure everything out, and one night, her wish is seemingly granted. When Calla and Ramona stumble upon a mysterious farmhouse the woods, they meet five teens who claim they’ve lived there for decades. The land, which they call Amaranth, acts as a safe haven for queer kids throughout history-a place free of hate, free of violence, free of time itself. Here, Calla can be Cal, and they feel instantly accepted. They don’t have to worry about the future because at Amaranth, it will never come-until one night when the clock strikes twelve. Now under a literal ticking clock, the housemates must find a way to stop time again or face going back to their harsh realities, but as Cal learns everyone’s story, they begin to wonder what queer people lose when their history is lost to time.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Happy Bi Visibility Day 2026!

Today’s post is sponsored by me and Going Bicoastal, available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio narrated by Mara Wilson!

“This is the most bisexually structured book I’ve ever read.”—Book Riot, “Our Queerest Shelves

Bookshop | Amazon | Libro.fm | The Well Red Damsel (signed paperback)

***

Middle Grade

Not Just a Stage by Kelsey Toney (April 20, 2027)

Sunny Cavendish knows exactly who she is onstage.

Actually… she knows who she is on two stages. By day, Sunny is a musical theater powerhouse, fresh off her final middle school show and chasing a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to an elite summer workshop that could change her future forever. By night, she’s the lead singer of The Pulled Petals, an all-girl rock band on the verge of their biggest break yet.

The problem? Both dreams want everything. When Sunny’s band lands a career-making audition the exact same week she earns a callback for the workshop, Sunny decides to do the impossible: she won’t choose. She’ll juggle it all. Sneak between rehearsals. Say yes to every opportunity. Make everyone happy. What could go wrong?

As exhaustion mounts, lies pile up, friendships strain, and a crush on two very different people complicates everything, Sunny is forced to confront a truth she’s been avoiding: sometimes chasing every dream means risking the ones that matter most.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | PRH

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Happy Latine Heritage Month 2026!

Happy Latine Heritage Month! We’re celebrating as we do with books by Latine authors,  starring Latine main characters, and if you want even more recs, check out past years’ posts!

Middle Grade

Sol Goes for Goal! by Julio Anta, illus. by Gabi Mendez

Welcome back to Hillside Valley-this time it’s Game On for Sol!

Twelve-year-old Sol is a great friend, a model student, a beloved daughter and a star soccer player. At least that’s what everyone always expects of her. But when the soccer team captain Lily walks by, Sol starts to lose focus. What’s with this heart fluttering feeling she has around Lily?! And how can she stay the star player–the star everything–that people see her as if she can barely remember her name (much less how to play soccer) around Lily? Is Sol destined to let everyone down, including herself? Or can she figure out how to be the Sol she wants to be…on and off the field.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Happy National Translation Month 2026!

Join us in celebrating National Translation Month with these queer novels translated into English, organized by language of origin! Looking for translations of English-language works to other languages? Click here for MG/YA and here for Adult fiction.

Afrikaans

Fathers and Fugitives by S.J. Naudé, translated by Michiel Heyns

Daniel is a worldly and urbane journalist living in London. His relationships appear to be sexually fulfilling but sentimentally meager. A young gay man with no relationships outside of sexual ones, he can seem at once callow and, at times, cold to the point of cruel with his lovers. Emotionally distant from his elderly, senile father, Daniel nonetheless returns to South Africa to care for him during his final months. Following his father’s death, Daniel learns of an unusual clause in the old man’s will: he will only inherit his half of his father’s considerable estate once he has spent time with Theon, a cousin whom he hasn’t seen since they were boys, who lives on the old family farm in the Free State. Once there, Daniel discovers that the young son of the woman Theon lives with is seriously ill. With the conditions bearing on Daniel’s inheritance shifting in real time, Theon and Daniel travel with the boy to Japan for an experimental cure and a voyage that will change their lives forever.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Happy International Nonbinary Day 2026!

Happy International Nonbinary Day 2026! We’re celebrating, as we do, with books starring nonbinary main characters and/or love interests! For even more recs, check out past years’ posts.

Early Reader

Witchycakes #1: Sweet Magic by Kara LeReau and Ariane Moreira

Welcome to the most magical bakery — Witchycakes! Little Blue, a witch-in-training, delivers baked goods all over their town, and helps their neighbors with a touch of magic. Cozy up with this sweet chapter book with irresisitible full-color art on every page!

In a magical bakery called Witchycakes there’s a young witch-to-be named Blue. Blue’s Mama bakes with magic and Blue makes the deliveries! They ride their bike all over town with their basket filled with magical scones, tartes, and pies to deliver. There’s always something going on in Shelville and Blue loves to help their neighbors — especially if helping them means they get to use a little bit of magic.

Cook up some love with Blue as they use magic and problem-solving to be the best helper they can be in their whimsical little town. And there’s a special magical recipe at the end of the book!

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Happy Disability Pride Month 2026!

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 years’ 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 or Braille under those hyperlinked words.

Note: For more Autism rep, check out this Autism Acceptance Month post. For more Cerebral Palsy rep, check out this World Cerebral Palsy Day post.

Middle Grade Fiction

Boundless ed. by Marieke Nijkamp (October 27, 2026)

A middle-grade short story anthology featuring disabled kids, written by disabled writers, and edited by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp. 

Imagine the boundless experiences of disabled kids: A Deaf Southerner who solves local mysteries. A young diabetic plant mage encountering magical mishaps. A girl with epilepsy discovering a hidden world in her grandmother’s garden. A chronically fatigued gamer saving the day―and their team―during an epic VR space race.

From juvenile arthritis to asthma and from wheelchairs to neurodiversity, Boundless: 17 Stories Starring Disabled Kids writes disability back into the mainstream narrative of the commercial genres we love, with an inclusive and intersectional lens.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Happy Aromantic Visibility Day 2026!

Young Adult

Shapes of Love by L.V. Peñalba

When nineteen-year-old Sasha’s first album throws her into stardom, her fans become obsessed with discovering who inspired her love songs. Except, Sasha is aroace-spec (aromantic, asexual), and she’s not interested in romance (unless it comes in the shape of a slowburn enemies-to-lovers book or a star-crossed-lovers manga). Her music is all about her favorite love stories, not her own.

After running into Kai, her estranged best friend who she hasn’t seen in two years, pictures of them together leak, and everyone assumes he’s Sasha’s muse, the “boyfriend” who broke her heart. Pressured by her label and fearing fan backlash, Sasha agrees to a PR relationship with Kai for six months – but her sense of self is put to the ultimate test. Where does she fit in a society that equates happiness with romantic love? One where even her closest friends prioritize their partners over her?

Under the guise of their faux romance, Sasha and Kai get a chance to rebuild their platonic bond and heal the wounds of their past. But when actor Asher Grish enters the scene, threatening to shake the foundation of Sasha’s PR relationship, she finds herself at a crossroads. Either she loses herself, or her career.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Happy Caribbean American Heritage Month 2026!

Happy Caribbean American Heritage Month! This year, we’re celebrating with books by Caribbean American authors and/or starring Caribbean characters! For even more recs, check out last year’s post.

Young Adult Fiction

The Lovers, the Liars, and Me by DeAndra Writes

Jaliya Powell has never had a real adventure, a real boyfriend, or spoken up for herself. She’s never even been kissed. Despite being valedictorian of her high school class, Jaliya is used to fading into the background.

But this summer will be different.

This summer, Jaliya is visiting her uncle and his family in Jamaica. Under the guise of one last vacation before college, she plans to find out more about her estranged mother, whose absence has remained an unspoken mystery. But things have changed in the seven years since Jaliya last visited. Her cousin has his own life and is reluctant to let Jaliya in, her childhood crush has only gotten hotter and more unavailable, and her aunt and uncle aren’t everything she remembered, either. Then she meets India, who’s vibrant, gorgeous, and free-spirited. And who makes Jaliya feel something she’s never felt before.

While searching for traces of her mother across the island, Jaliya finds herself entangled in complicated relationships, tricky secrets, and a passionate new love. As she navigates this perfectly complicated summer, Jaliya must choose between who she has always been or who she hopes to become.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Happy (Upcoming) Pan Visibility Day 2026!

Pan Visibility Day is coming up on May 24th, and we’re celebrating as we do with books starring pan protagonists! For even more recs, check out past years’ posts. 

Young Adult

Moth Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou

Sascia has always loved the Dark. Six years ago, when the world she knew collided with the world of the Dark, she found it thrilling rather than terrifying. Now, she spends her days studying Darkcreatures or seeking them out in the shadows where they thrive.

Then, one day, she—impossibly—pulls a person from the Dark. A person who shouldn’t exist. And they’re here to kill her. Nugau, the heir to the Darkworld, claims to be delivering a sentence for Sascia’s betrayal in a battle she’s never heard of, in a war that hasn’t happened.

Sascia escapes with her life—barely. But tensions are brewing between her world and the Dark, and it’s not long before she discovers that she and Nugau are bound together by forces they don’t understand. As they grow closer, crossing worlds and timelines, they must find a way to fight for peace—and for each other.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Happy Jewish American Heritage Month 2026!

Happy Jewish American Heritage Month! We’re celebrating as we do with books starring Jewish protagonists and/or by Jewish authors, and for more recs, check out previous years’ posts!

Picture Books

Shabbat is… by A.J. Sass (text) and Noa Kellner (illustration)

What does Shabbat mean to you?
Is it making a big meal with your relatives on Friday night?
Singing songs on Saturday morning?
Or maybe it’s seeing all your friends after services.

Shabbat can mean different things to different people, even for those who attend the same synagogue! This timeless story by award-winning author A. J. Sass explores the countless ways to celebrate the sabbath holiday through the wonderfully diverse fabric of Jewish life and experience.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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