Tag Archives: Girl Mans Up

Fave Five: Butch MCs in YA

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler

Radical by EM Kokie

Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin

Fave Five: Canadian YA

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

Past Tense by Star Spider

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

Way to Go by Tom Ryan

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston

Bonus: Coming in 2020, check out When You Get a Chance by Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson, set at Toronto Pride!

Happy Lesbian Day of Visibility!

Books to Read Now

Note: Books that have already been featured on the site are listed separately below. Also, a lot of these authors have large catalogs, so seek them out!

Casting Lacey by Elle Spencer

37765959Coming out is easier when you’ve got someone by your side. At least that’s how the hyper-private Quinn Kincaid sees it. When her publicist suggests a good old-fashioned sham of a Hollywood relationship, Quinn reluctantly agrees. And that’s how the star of Jordan’s Appeal, TV’s highest rated legal drama, ends up with a fake girlfriend – the very real, very sexy and very gay soap star, Lacey Matthews.
In Casting Lacey, Elle Spencer gives us a hilarious new take on a classic storyline, complete with nosy mothers, fawning assistants and two beautiful actresses who might learn about true love. If they don’t kill each other first.

Buy it: IndieboundAmazon | B&N

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

The Weight of the StarsRyann Bird dreams of traveling across the stars. But a career in space isn’t an option for a girl who lives in a trailer park on the wrong side of town. So Ryann becomes her circumstances and settles for acting out and skipping school to hang out with her delinquent friends.

One day she meets Alexandria: a furious loner who spurns Ryann’s offer of friendship. After a horrific accident leaves Alexandria with a broken arm, the two misfits are brought together despite themselves—and Ryann learns her secret: Alexandria’s mother is an astronaut who volunteered for a one-way trip to the edge of the solar system.

Every night without fail, Alexandria waits to catch radio signals from her mother. And its up to Ryann to lift her onto the roof day after day until the silence between them grows into friendship, and eventually something more . . .

In K. Ancrum’s signature poetic style, this slow-burn romance will have you savoring every page.

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

28217802All Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she’s always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it? They think the way she looks and acts means she’s trying to be a boy—that she should quit trying to be something she’s not. If she dresses like a girl, and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty. But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words. Old-world parents, disintegrating friendships, and strong feelings for other girls drive Pen to see the truth–that in order to be who she truly wants to be, she’ll have to man up.

Buy it: IndieboundAmazon | B&N 

Pulp by Robin Talley

32970644In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. It’s not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself—and Marie—to a danger all too real.

Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can’t stop thinking about her senior project and its subject—classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby’s own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires and tragedies of the characters she’s reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity.

In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we’ve come and how much farther we have to go.

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

28243032You go through life thinking there’s so much you need…

Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.

Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit, and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner

35795929Brynn Haper’s life has one steadying force–Rachel Maddow.

She watches her daily, and after writing to Rachel for a school project–and actually getting a response–Brynn starts drafting e-mails to Rachel but never sending them. Brynn tells Rachel about breaking up with her first serious girlfriend, about her brother Nick’s death, about her passive mother and even worse stepfather, about how she’s stuck in remedial courses at school and is considering dropping out.

Then Brynn is confronted with a moral dilemma. One student representative will be allowed to have a voice among the administration in the selection of a new school superintendent. Brynn’s archnemesis, Adam, and ex-girlfriend, Sarah, believe only Honors students are worthy of the selection committee seat. Brynn feels all students deserve a voice. When she runs for the position, the knives are out. So she begins to ask herself: What Would Rachel Maddow Do?

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

Bliss by Fiona Zedde

1208294When You Want It All, You’ve Got To Give It AllFrom the outside, Bliss Sinclair’s life seems very glamorous–a high-profile job with a publishing house, a fashionable boyfriend who looks good on her arm, and ultra-chic parties where the come-ons are as hot and thrilling at night as they are empty as an air-kiss greeting the next day. It’s a world Bliss wanders through with blinders on, all the while craving more. And she finds it in the most unlikely of places.

Embarking on a series of carnal adventures with a notorious bad girl as her guide, Bliss opens herself to every new experience and every taboo. In abandoned warehouses, private fetish clubs, even her own office, Bliss is skating on the thin ice of desire–until her world comes crashing in.

Now, broken and wanting, Bliss decides to spend a summer in her birthplace, Jamaica, where she hopes to reconcile with her estranged father and rediscover herself. There, in a land of lush ripeness, of heat, warm breezes, easy smiles, and the family she left behind, Bliss will discover what she didn’t know was missing. It’s a journey that will awaken every one of her senses and take her to the edge of known pleasure and far beyond it, to a love that is as sexy as it gets, as real as can be, and more surprising than she can imagine–a place of total bliss.

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman

34732711Small-batch independent yarn dyer Clara Ziegler is eager to brainstorm new color combinations–if only she could come up with ideas she likes as much as last time! When she sees Danielle Solomon’s paintings of Florida wildlife by chance at a neighborhood gallery, she finds her source of inspiration. Outspoken, passionate, and complicated, Danielle herself soon proves even more captivating than her artwork…

Fluffy Jewish f/f contemporary set in the author’s childhood home of South Florida.

Buy it: Amazon

Dreadnought by April Daniels

30279514Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero.

Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl.

It should be the happiest time of her life, but Danny’s first weeks finally living in a body that fits her are more difficult and complicated than she could have imagined. Between her father’s dangerous obsession with “curing” her girlhood, her best friend suddenly acting like he’s entitled to date her, and her fellow superheroes arguing over her place in their ranks, Danny feels like she’s in over her head.

She doesn’t have much time to adjust. Dreadnought’s murderer—a cyborg named Utopia—still haunts the streets of New Port City, threatening destruction. If Danny can’t sort through the confusion of coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia in time, humanity faces extinction.

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler

22719283Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents’ wealth, and the occasional modeling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls … opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he’s trying to charm her, of course.) Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he’s in the spotlight—on everyone’s terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.

Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents’ disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she’s painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van’s life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she’ll have to choose between the one thing she’s always loved … and the person she never imagined she could.

Buy it: B&N | Amazon

Style by Chelsea Cameron

30332310Kyle Blake likes plans. So far, they’re pretty simple: Finish her senior year of high school, head off to a good college, find a cute boyfriend, graduate, get a good job, get married, the whole heterosexual shebang. Nothing is going to stand in the way of that plan. Not even Stella Lewis.

Stella Lewis also has a plan: Finish her senior year as cheer captain, go to college, finally let herself flirt with (and maybe even date) a girl for the first time and go from there.

Fate has other plans for Kyle and Stella when they’re paired up in their AP English class and something between them ignites. It’s confusing and overwhelming and neither of them know what to do about it. One thing they do know is that their connection can’t be ignored. The timing just isn’t right.

But is there ever a good time for falling in love?

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

Waiting in the Wings by Melissa Brayden

11103746If you don’t get lost, there’s a chance you may never be found. Jenna McGovern has spent her whole life training for the stage. She’s taken dance classes, voice lessons, and even earned her performance degree from one of the most prestigious musical theater programs in the nation. At graduation, she’s stunned when a chance audition lands her a prime supporting role in the hottest Broadway touring production in the country. In more exciting news, Jenna discovers acclaimed television star Adrienne Kenyon is headlining the production.

Jenna settles easily in to life on tour and has a promising career laid out in front of her, if only she plays her cards right. She’s waited for this opportunity her entire life and will let nothing stand in her way. The one thing she didn’t prepare for, however, was Adrienne. Her new costar is talented, beautiful, generous, and the utmost professional. As the two women grow closer onstage and off, they must learn how to fit each other into a demanding lifestyle full of unexpected twists and difficult decisions. But is Jenna ready to sacrifice what she’s worked so hard for in exchange for a shot

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

36362234Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder to do. She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer.

But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective.

Rukhsana realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing everyone and everything in her life?

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

Paper Love by Jae

40946457Susanne Wolff isn’t thrilled when her mother sends her all the way across the country to Freiburg to save her uncle’s stationery store from bankruptcy. Freiburg is too provincial for her taste, and besides, pen and paper are outdated anyway.

Anja Lamm, Paper Love’s only full-time employee, takes an instant dislike to the arrogant, digital-loving snob who’s supposed to be her temporary boss.

But thanks to a meddling cat, a business trip to a stationery fair, and an armada of origami boats, Anja soon starts to see beneath Susanne’s aloof exterior, and Susanne discovers how sexy pens and notebooks can be—at least when Anja handles them.

As the end of Susanne’s three-month stay approaches, will she stick to her plan to leave, or will she open her heart to more than just paper love?

Buy it: B&NIndieboundAmazon

Perfect Pairing by Rachel Spangler

Hal Orion is an accomplished chef and food truck owner. She loves her life, her longtime sous chef and best friend, and the food she shares with the residents of her beloved city of Buffalo. Her life is exactly how she wants it: no strings, no commitments, and no roots—just great grilled cheese and a whole lot of freedom on the side.

Quinn Banning is an investment banker, and the dividend she seeks is a resurgence of the once-great city of Buffalo. Putting together her next business venture, she recognizes Hal’s talent and charm as necessary assets for success—her good looks don’t hurt, either. But Hal’s transient ways are in direct opposition to the stability Quinn craves. Relying on their shared love of Buffalo, Quinn makes Hal an offer she can’t refuse—a restaurant under her own name, complete creative control, and secure financial backing. It’s every chef’s dream. But Hal utters the one word Quinn can’t stand to hear, “No.”

Will their physical attraction grow cold as they argue over their ideals, or will they find that the most distinctive ingredients often make for the perfect pairing?

Buy it: Indiebound | B&NAmazon

Books to Preorder

Going Off Script by Jen Wilde (May 21, 2019)

Seventeen-year-old Bex is thrilled when she gets an internship on her favorite tv show, Silver Falls. Unfortunately, the internship isn’t quite what she expected… instead of sitting in a crowded writer’s room volleying ideas back and forth, Production Interns are stuck picking up the coffee.

Determined to prove her worth as a writer, Bex drafts her own script and shares it with the head writer―who promptly reworks it and passes it off as his own! Bex is understandably furious, yet…maybe this is just how the industry works? But when they rewrite her proudly lesbian character as straight, that’s the last straw! It’s time for Bex and her crush to fight back.

Buy it: B&N | Amazon | Indiebound

These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling (May 28th, 2019)

Hannah’s a witch, but not the kind you’re thinking of. She’s the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she’s ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans.

But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah’s concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire. Evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, and Hannah’s sure it’s the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: Veronica.

While the pair attempt to smoke out the Blood Witch at a house party, Hannah meets Morgan, a cute new ballerina in town. But trying to date amid a supernatural crisis is easier said than done, and Hannah will have to test the limits of her power if she’s going to save her coven and get the girl, especially when the attacks on Salem’s witches become deadlier by the day.

Buy it: B&N | Amazon | Indiebound

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas (June 4th, 2019)

In Samsboro, Kentucky, Kalyn Spence’s name is inseparable from the brutal murder her father committed when he was a teenager. Forced to return to town, Kalyn must attend school under a pseudonym . . . or face the lingering anger of Samsboro’s citizens, who refuse to forget the crime.

Gus Peake has never had the luxury of redefining himself. A Samsboro native, he’s either known as the “disabled kid” because of his cerebral palsy, or as the kid whose dad was murdered. Gus just wants to be known as himself.

When Gus meets Kalyn, her frankness is refreshing, and they form a deep friendship. Until their families’ pasts emerge. And when the accepted version of the truth is questioned, Kalyn and Gus are caught in the center of a national uproar. Can they break free from a legacy of inherited lies and chart their own paths forward?

Buy it: Indiebound | B&N | Amazon

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett (June 4th, 2019)

One morning, Jessa-Lynn Morton walks into the family taxidermy shop to find that her father has committed suicide, right there on one of the metal tables. Shocked and grieving, Jessa steps up to manage the failing business, while the rest of the Morton family crumbles. Her mother starts sneaking into the shop to make aggressively lewd art with the taxidermied animals. Her brother Milo withdraws, struggling to function. And Brynn, Milo’s wife—and the only person Jessa’s ever been in love with—walks out without a word. As Jessa seeks out less-than-legal ways of generating income, her mother’s art escalates—picture a figure of her dead husband and a stuffed buffalo in an uncomfortably sexual pose—and the Mortons reach a tipping point. For the first time, Jessa has no choice but to learn who these people truly are, and ultimately how she fits alongside them.  

Buy it: IndieboundAmazon | B&N

All Eyes on Us by Kit Frick (June 4th, 2019)

FrickPretty Little Liars meets People Like Us in this taut, tense thriller about two teens who find their lives intertwined when an anonymous texter threatens to spill their secrets and uproot their lives.
PRIVATE NUMBER: Wouldn’t you look better without a cheater on your arm?
AMANDA: Who is this?
The daughter of small town social climbers, Amanda Kelly is deeply invested in her boyfriend, real estate heir Carter Shaw. He’s kind, ambitious, the town golden boy–but he’s far from perfect. Because behind Amanda’s back, Carter is also dating Rosalie.
PRIVATE NUMBER: I’m watching you, Sweetheart.
ROSALIE: Who IS this?
Rosalie Bell is fighting to remain true to herself and her girlfriend–while concealing her identity from her Christian fundamentalist parents. After years spent in and out of conversion “therapy,” her own safety is her top priority. But maintaining a fake, straight relationship is killing her from the inside.When an anonymous texter ropes Amanda and Rosalie into a bid to take Carter down, the girls become collateral damage–and unlikely allies in a fight to unmask their stalker before Private uproots their lives.
PRIVATE NUMBER: You shouldn’t have ignored me. Now look what you made me do…

Buy it: Indiebound | Amazon | B&N

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi (June 11th, 2019)

Sana Khan is a cheerleader and a straight A student. She’s the classic (somewhat obnoxious) overachiever determined to win.

Rachel Recht is a wannabe director who’s obsesssed with movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. As she’s casting her senior film project, she knows she’s found the perfect lead – Sana.

There’s only one problem. Rachel hates Sana. Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out, but Rachel thought it was a cruel prank and has detested Sana ever since.

Told in alternative viewpoints and inspired by classic romantic comedies, this engaging and edgy YA novel follows two strongwilled young women falling for each other despite themselves.

Buy it: B&N | Amazon | The Ripped Bodice

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite (June 25th, 2019)

As Lucy Muchelney watches her ex-lover’s sham of a wedding, she wishes herself anywhere else. It isn’t until she finds a letter from the Countess of Moth, looking for someone to translate a groundbreaking French astronomy text, that she knows where to go. Showing up at the Countess’ London home, she hoped to find a challenge, not a woman who takes her breath away.

Catherine St Day looks forward to a quiet widowhood once her late husband’s scientific legacy is fulfilled. She expected to hand off the translation and wash her hands of the project—instead, she is intrigued by the young woman who turns up at her door, begging to be allowed to do the work, and she agrees to let Lucy stay. But as Catherine finds herself longing for Lucy, everything she believes about herself and her life is tested.

While Lucy spends her days interpreting the complicated French text, she spends her nights falling in love with the alluring Catherine. But sabotage and old wounds threaten to sever the threads that bind them. Can Lucy and Catherine find the strength to stay together or are they doomed to be star-crossed lovers?

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Avon | Google

The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World by Amy Reed (July 9, 2019)

Billy Sloat and Lydia Lemon don’t have much in common, unless you count growing up on the same (wrong) side of the tracks, the lack of a mother, and a persistent loneliness that has inspired creative coping mechanisms.

When the lives of these two loners are thrust together, Lydia’s cynicism is met with Billy’s sincere optimism, and both begin to question their own outlook on life. On top of that, weird happenings including an impossible tornado and an all-consuming fog are cropping up around them—maybe even because of them. And as the two grow closer and confront bigger truths about their pasts, they must also deal with such inconveniences as a narcissistic rock star, a war between unicorns and dragons, and eventually, of course, the apocalypse.

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Malaprop’s

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (September 10, 2019)

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

Buy it: IndieboundB&N | Amazon

Books to Add on Goodreads

Lesbian Books Featured on the Site

Lesbian Rec Lists

Better Know a (Lesbian) Author

2017 Good News Roundup of LGBTQ Reads

Continuing in the tradition that’s been happening on this blog since…last year, I’m documenting some of the many literary accolades that’ve been heaped on incredible LGBTQIAP+ works this year, partly to help you find great books but mostly just so we can bask in the joyous glory. Without further ado, check out what’s been deemed this year’s best of the best!

Middle Grade

The Pants Project by Cat Clarke: Kirkus’s Best Middle-Grade School and Friendship Stories of 2017

Felix Yz by Lisa Bunker: NPR’s Best Books of 2017

Young Adult

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater: a New York Public Library Best Book of 2017, a B&N Best Book of 2017, School Library Journal‘s Best Nonfiction of 2017, a Kirkus Best Teen Nonfiction of 2017,

The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller: NPR’s Best Books of 2017

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson: Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library

Dreadnought by April Daniels: a New York Public Library Best Book of 2017, a Kirkus Best Teen Fantasy of 2017

Sovereign by April Daniels, a Kirkus Best Teen Fantasy of 2017

Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens: a Kirkus Best Contemporary Teen Reads of 2017

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway: National Book Award winner, New York Times bestseller, Publishers Weekly Best YA of 2017, one of Bustle‘s 17 Best YA Novels of 2017, a Kirkus Best Contemporary Teen Reads of 2017, Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library, a B&N Best Book of 2017B&N Teen Blog’s Best YA of 2017, NPR’s Best Books of 2017

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: New York Times bestseller, Publishers Weekly Best YA of 2017, Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth 2017, a Kirkus Best Teen Books of 2017 with a Touch of Humor, Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library, one of Bustle‘s 17 Best YA Novels of 2017, a New York Public Library Best Book of 2017, a B&N Best Book of 2017NPR’s Best Books of 2017, New York Magazine‘s 10 best YAs of 2017

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard: Lambda Literary Award for YA Fiction

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera: one of Time‘s best YAs of 2017

Ida by Alison Evans: shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2018

I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin: Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo: Stonewall Award (YA)

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan: B&N Teen Blog’s Best YA of 2017

It’s Not Like it’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura: a Kirkus Best Teen Romances of 2017

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore: Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public LibrarySchool Library Journal Best YA of 2017, B&N Teen Blog’s Best YA of 2017

Like Water by Rebecca Podos: B&N Teen Blog’s Best YA of 2017

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo: Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library, a Kirkus Best Teen Mysteries and Thrillers of 2017, New York Magazine‘s 10 best YAs of 2017

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert: a Kirkus Best Teen Romance of 2017, one of Bustle‘s 17 Best YA Novels of 2017, New York Magazine‘s 10 best YAs of 2017, Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth 2017

Noteworthy by Riley Redgate: a New York Public Library Best Book of 2017

Now I Rise by Kiersten White: B&N Teen Blog’s Best YA of 2017

Pride: Celebrating Diversity & Community by Robin Stevenson: Stonewall Honor (YA)

Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager: a New York Public Library Best Book of 2017

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman: Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy: Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library, a Kirkus Best Teen Romance of 2017

Release by Patrick Ness: Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library, a Kirkus Best Teen Romance of 2017

Spinning by Tillie Walden: Publishers Weekly Best YA of 2017, a New York Public Library Best Book of 2017, Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth 2017, a B&N Best Book of 2017Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2017 via Autostraddle,

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee: Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera: New York Times bestseller, School Library Journal Best YA of 2017, Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth 2017, one of Bustle‘s 17 Best YA Novels of 2017, a Kirkus Best Teen Sci-Fi of 2017

This is Where it Ends by Marieke NijkampNew York Times bestseller

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham: Stonewall Honor (YA)

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour: Publishers Weekly Best YA of 2017, B&N Teen Blog’s Best YA of 2017, Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth 2017, one of Bustle‘s 17 Best YA Novels of 2017, a New York Public Library Best Book of 2017, a B&N Best Book of 2017: Teens

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore: Stonewall Honor (YA)

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemoreSchool Library Journal Best YA of 2017, a Kirkus Best Teen Romance of 2017,  Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth 2017Best Teen Fiction of 2017 by Chicago Public Library

Manga/Graphic Novel

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi: a B&N Best Book of 2017NPR’s Best Books of 2017

Adult Fiction

Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly: B&N Sci-Fi’s Best SFF Books of 2017

The Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine: Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney: Elle‘s Best Books of 2017Slate‘s Best Books of 2017, one of Buzzfeed’s 24 Best Fiction Books of 2017

Cottonmouths by Kelly J. Ford: a Los Angeles Review‘s Best Book of the Year

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado: National Book Award finalist, a Los Angeles Review‘s Best Book of the Year, winner of the Bard Fiction Prize, Kirkus Prize finalist, #1 Indie Next Pick for October 2017, Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2017 via Autostraddle, one of New York Times’ Critics’ Top Books of 2017, one of Washington Post‘s 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2017, Los Angeles Times’ Best Books (Fiction) of 2017, Publishers Weekly Best Fiction of 2017, Chicago Tribune‘s Best Books of 2017, Kirkus’s Best Fiction of 2017, Boston Globe‘s Best Books of 2017, Elle‘s Best Books of 2017, NPR‘s Best Books of 2017, Slate‘s Best Books of 2017, Library Journal‘s Best Books (Short Stories) of 2017, Bustle‘s Best Fiction Books of 2017, Entropy Magazine‘s Best of 2017: Fiction Books, Huffington Post‘s The Best Fiction Books of 2017, one of Buzzfeed’s 24 Best Fiction Books of 2017, Commonweal‘s Top Books of 2017

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn: Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction

Into the Blue by Pene Hanson: Lambda Literary Award for Gay Romance

Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith: Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction

Not One Day by Anne Garréta (trans. by Emma Ramadan): Entropy Magazine‘s Best of 2017: Fiction BooksAlbertine Prize 2018 nominee

Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg: Kirkus’s Best Fiction to Get Your Book Club Talking of 2017

Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang: Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction

Soul to Keep by Rebekah Weatherspoon: Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Erotica

The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley: B&N Sci-Fi’s Best SFF Books of 2017, Kirkus’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2017

Wanted, a Gentleman by KJ Charles: a B&N Best Book of 2017

Poetry

Thief in the Interior by Philip B. Williams: Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry

play dead by francine j. harris: Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry (tie)

The Complete Works of Pat Parker edited by Julie R. Enszer: Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry (tie)

Reacquainted with LifeKOKUMO: Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen: Library Journal‘s Best Books of 2017 (Poetry)

Non-Fiction

How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS, David France: Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Nonfiction

Black Dove: Mama, Mi’jo, and Me by Ana Castillo: Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction

Life Beyond My Body: A Transgender Journey to Manhood in China by Lei Ming and Lura Frazey: Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction

Mean by Myriam Gurba: Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2017 via Autostraddle, Library Journal‘s Best Books of 2017 (Memoir)

To My Trans Sisters, ed. by Charlie Cregg: Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2017 via Autostraddle

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life: Essays by Samantha Irby: Autostraddle’s Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2017, one of New York Times’ Critics’ Top Books of 2017, Chicago Tribune’s Best Books of 2017, Elle‘s Best Books of 2017, NPR’s Best Books of 2017,

Fave Five: LGBTQ YAs Featuring First-Generation Americans

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard (Portuguese)

A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith (Japanese)

Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before by Karelia Stetz-Waters (Estonian)

 One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva (Armenian)

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan (Persian)

Rainbow heart

New Releases: September 6, 2016

Today is a huuuuge day in LGBTQ YA releases, so get your wallets and library cards ready and check out what’s now out in the world! (And congrats to all the authors!)

As I Descended by Robin Talley

28218948Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

Buy it: Amazon * B&N * Indiebound

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

28217802All Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she’s always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it? They think the way she looks and acts means she’s trying to be a boy—that she should quit trying to be something she’s not. If she dresses like a girl, and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty. But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words. Old-world parents, disintegrating friendships, and strong feelings for other girls drive Pen to see the truth–that in order to be who she truly wants to be, she’ll have to man up.

Buy it: Amazon * B&N * Indiebound

Not Your Sidekick by CB Lee

29904219Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.

Buy it: Amazon * B&N

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

27969081Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can’t trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland…

Buy it: Amazon * B&N * Books of Wonder

It Looks Like This by Rafi Mittlefehldt

24755394A new state, a new city, a new high school. Mike’s father has already found a new evangelical church for the family to attend, even if Mike and his plainspoken little sister, Toby, don’t want to go. Dad wants Mike to ditch art for sports, to toughen up, but there’s something uneasy behind his demands.

Then Mike meets Sean, the new kid, and “hey” becomes games of basketball, partnering on a French project, hanging out after school. A night at the beach. The fierce colors of sunrise. But Mike’s father is always watching. And so is Victor from school, cell phone in hand.

Buy it: Amazon * B&N * Indiebound

And yesterday marked the release of yet another YA and an m/m Romance!

Assassins: Discord by Erica Cameron

29618746Kindra’s moral compass has never pointed north, but that’s what happens when you’re raised as an assassin and a thief. At sixteen, she’s fantastic with a blade, an expert at slipping through the world unnoticed, and trapped in a life she didn’t chose. But nothing in her training prepares her for what happens when her father misses a target.

In the week-long aftermath, Kindra breaks rank for the first time in her life. She steals documents, starts questioning who their client is and why the target needs to die, botches a second hit on her father’s target, and is nearly killed. And that’s before she’s kidnapped by a green-eyed stranger connected to a part of her childhood she’d almost forgotten.

Kindra has to decide who to trust and which side of the battle to fight for. She has to do it fast and she has to be right, because the wrong choice will kill her just when she’s finally found something worth living for.

Buy it: Amazon * B&N * Riptide

Shatterproof by Xen Sanders

30306399Grey Jean-Marcelin wants to die. He thought painting his passion—vivid portrayals of Haitian life and vodou faith—would be enough to anchor him to this world. But it isn’t. And when the mysterious man known only as Saint saves Grey from a suicide attempt, it’s more curse than blessing—until Grey discovers that Saint isn’t just an EMT. He’s a banished fae, and can only survive by draining the lives of those he loves.

All Saint needed was a simple bargain: one life willingly given for another. But as Saint’s feelings for Grey grow deeper, centuries of guilt leave him desperate to save a man who doesn’t want salvation, even if Grey’s life means Saint’s death.

When Grey’s depression consumes him, only he can decide if living is worth the struggle. Yet his choice may come too late to save his life . . . or Saint’s soul. And whatever choice he makes, it may shatter them both.

Buy it: Amazon * B&N * Riptide

TBRainbow Alert #2

For those of you who feel like you’ve already read every LGBTQIAP+ book in existence, not to worry – there’s plenty still to come! Every TBRainbow Alert will have a mix of five LGBTQIAP+ titles to make sure are on your radar, along with three reasons why you should know them. If you missed the first alert, you can check out those titles here. And now, a few more coming up in 2016!

Title: Fast Connection (July 11)
Authors: Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell
Genre/Category: Contemporary Romance
Rainbow details: m/m, both bi
Why put it on your radar?
1. This is the follow-up to Strong Signal, which was so hot my brain combusts just thinking about it.
2. Bi rep! In m/m!
3. Megan Erickson. Santino Hassell. Writing together. I mean, hi.

Title: Of Fire and Stars (November 22)
Author: Audrey Coulthurst
Genre/Category: YA Fantasy
Rainbow details: f/f – one lesbian, one bi
Why put it on your radar?
1. f/f Fantasy is one of the rarest things in YA, and if you’ve been desperately waiting for the answer to “What do I read after Ash?” Ta da!
2. Horses! If you are a horse person (as I know the author is), this book is seriously gonna be your jam.
3. Cute, hot, sexy…Coulthurst gets in all of it between Mare and Denna, and the thought of teen girls finally getting a romance this sweet between princess made me hug this book when I was done.

Title: A Darkly Beating Heart (October 4)
Author: Lindsay Smith
Genre/Category: YA Time-Travel Fantasy
Rainbow details: bi female MC
Why put it on your radar?
1. The code phrase for this book before it had an official title was “Angry Bisexual Japanese Revenge Fantasy.” If that’s not the best “Describe your book in 5 words” you’ve ever heard…
2. This is Smith’s first novel with a queer main character, but you may already know/love her from “City of Angels,” her contribution to A Tyranny of Petticoats, which featured a Native lesbian MC.
3. It’s so. Freaking. Good. Dark and brutal and raw and honest and compelling and page-turning and awesomely infused with Japanese culture/food/setting.

Title: Girl Mans Up (September 6)
Author: M-E Girard
Genre/Category: Contemporary YA
Rainbow details: butch lesbian MC
Why put it on your radar?
1. I honestly didn’t register how unheard this POV was in YA until I read the book, and I suspect it’ll be one lots will be grateful to finally see.
2. Gamer girls! Both the MC and LI!
3. I think this may also be the first Portuguese MC I’ve read in YA, and the book is heavily infused with culture and language.

Title: Not Your Sidekick (September 6)
Author: C.B. Lee
Genre/Category: YA Sci-Fi
Rainbow details: bi female MC
Why put it on your radar?
1. The main character is an intern. To a super villain. Like. Come on.
2. Queer girl of color by queer author of color! Queer girl of color by queer author of color!
3. I’ll just direct you back to that premise. I cannot imagine what else is needed here.