For Adult recs, check out this post.
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
Queen of Faces by Petra Lord
Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore and Elliott McLemore
The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa
Devil’s Like Us by L.T. Thompson
Tag Archives: Gabe Cole Novoa
Happy 250th Birthday, Jane Austen!
RIP, Jane – you would’ve really loved how much queer literature is explicitly gaying up your work.
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For generally Austen-inspired work, check out:
I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner
George has major problems: They’ve just inherited the failing family estate, and the feelings for their best friend, Eleanor, have become more complicated than ever. Not to mention, if anyone found out they were secretly dressing in men’s clothes, George is sure it would be ruination for the family name.
Eleanor has always wanted to do everything “right,” including falling in love—but she’s never met a boy she was interested in. She’d much rather spend time with her best friend, George, and beloved cousin Charlotte. However, when a new suitor comes to town, she finds her closest friendships threatened, forcing her to rethink what “right” means and confront feelings she never knew she had.
Happy Latine Heritage Month 2025!
Happy Latine Heritage Month! We’re celebrating as we do with books by Latine authors, mostly starring Latine main characters, and if you want even more recs, check out past years’ posts!
Middle Grade
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?
Fave Five: Historical Trans YA
The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore
The Duke Steals Hearts and Other Body Parts by Elias Cold
Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa
This Wretched Beauty by Elle Grenier
Happy International Nonbinary Day 2025!
Happy International Nonbinary Day! We’re celebrating as we do with great books starring nonbinary protagonists or love interests. For even more recs, check out past years’ posts!
Children’s
Robin’s Worlds by Rainie Oet (text) and Mathias Ball (illustration)
A nonbinary child is whisked off on a spellbinding adventure for their birthday in this dazzling tale of friendship, community, and self-love.
It’s Robin’s eighth birthday and it seems like everyone has forgotten. But things take a sudden turn when the Cat-Headed Wanderer shows up and sweeps Robin away to a magical party in a fantastical treehouse. It’s a joyful celebration full of song, dance, and newfound friends, but Robin soon realizes there’s another reason they’ve been brought there. To uncover that reason, all Robin needs to do is walk through the half-open door in the back—but what lies beyond?
Fave Five: YA Fantasy with Nonbinary MCs
For Middle Grade, click here.
Costumes for Time Travelers by A.R. Capetta
The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa
Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore and Elliott McLemore
Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon
Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens
Bonus: Coming in 2026, The Bloody and the Damned by Rebecca Coffindaffer
New Releases: May 27, 2025
Middle Grade
The Glade by Naseem Jamnia
Pina’s first trip to summer camp is a chance to escape her overbearing parents and finally go on an adventure with her best friend, Jo. But Camp Clear Skies hides a secret: a clearing in the deep woods the older kids call “the Glade.” After falling asleep here, Pina and Jo are able to enter one another’s dreams, transforming into superheroes and knights in shining armor, fighting back their nightmares in epic adventures.
At first, the friends think they’ve discovered a secret more exciting than any video game—until Pina’s nightmares start leaking out into waking life. Worse, something seems to have followed them back from those dreams…and whatever it is, it’s taking over Jo. Jo has always been the superhero in their friendship, but Pina can’t just abandon them to their fate.
To save her friend, Pina journeys deeper into the Glade than she ever has before, facing the worst of her own fears and Jo’s. There, she must confront the consciousness trying to steal her friend’s body and learn what happened twenty years ago that shut down Camp Clear Skies and changed the Glade forever.
Fave Five: Gay YA Historical Fiction, Part I
Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig (Medieval)
Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa (Regency)
Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson (Edwardian)
The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros (1890s)
I’ll Take Everything You Have by James Klise (Depression)
Happy (Upcoming) Trans Day of Visibility 2024!
March 31st is Trans Day of Visibility, and we’re celebrating as we do by highlighting a whole bunch of wonderful trans books! For even more recs, check out previous years’ posts.
Books to Read Now
Middle Grade
Magical Princess Harriet by Leiah Moser
“To put it simply, Harris Baumgartner was late to school on the first day of the seventh grade because something he saw in the abandoned lot at the end of his street changed his life forever…”
Middle school can be tough, especially when you can’t figure out whether you’re supposed to be a boy or a girl. Homework and gym class are hard enough to deal with, but what exactly do you do when a pushy angel shows up insisting you’re a magical princess and that it’s your job to defend your school from the forces of darkness? For Harris Baumgartner, only one thing is certain — life is about to get a lot more complicated!
Continue reading Happy (Upcoming) Trans Day of Visibility 2024!
Better Know an Author: Gabe Cole Novoa
This author and I go waaaay back, so I’m thrilled to be chatting today with Gabe Cole Novoa, who’s made a serious name for himself in trans YA both historical and fantastical. He recently released two YAs back-to-back, the Remixed Classic Most Ardently and the fantasy The Diablo’s Curse, and he’s here to talk about both of those, getting The NYT Call, what comes next, and more. Welcome, Gabe!