Bonus: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour, which features a non-narrating major bisexual character, and the upcoming (2018) And She Was by Jessica Verdi, which features a non-narrating major transgender character (though her POV is present via e-mail throughout)
Bonus: For shorter reads, check out novellas Full Exposure by Amy Jo Cousins (m/m), Fearless by Shira Glassman (f/f), and Lioness in Blue by Shira Glassman (m/f, B)
Double Bonus: Not a Romance, but Another Word For Happy by Agay Llanera has a gay main character who’s a piano prodigy
Bonus #2: Over You by Amy Reed‘s main character is out, but not in her new setting. Ditto the main character in Christina Lauren’s upcoming Autoboyography.
As you can probably guess, I am super excited to be revealing the cover of A&B, the newest queer YA by J.C. Lillis, author of one of my all-time faves, How to Repair a Mechanical Heart. I have been dying to see what Lillis can do with a queer-girl YA, and ta da! My prayers have been answered! Best part of this cover reveal, besides the absolutely adorable cover itself? THE BOOK COMES OUT IN FIVE DAYS. And you better believe there are buy links below! But first, the blurb and brand-spankin-new cover:
Eighteen-year-old Barrie Krumholtz is a super-tall optimist hell-bent on a single goal: securing a slot on Pop University, a reality show for singer-songwriters helmed by her #1 musical idol. When she humiliates herself on national TV and loses a spot in the finals to smug balladeer Ava Alvarez, the door to Barrie’s well-hidden dark side swings open. Never a quitter, she uses her bitter envy of Ava to shape a bold new artistic direction, and people love it. But when Ava ropes her into a secret collaboration, it sparks feelings neither girl expected—feelings that might threaten their creative identities and distract them from their professional goals. Can love and ambition live side by side? Is happiness an art-killer? They’ll figure it out with the help of a blue guitar named Fernando, a keyboard named Rosalinda, and a few new friends who feel like home.
(Rated R for Rivalry, Romance, and Really Neat Subplot featuring Brandon and Abel from How to Repair a Mechanical Heart.)
J.C. Lillis is the author of contemporary YA novels HOW TO REPAIR A MECHANICAL HEART, WE WON’T FEEL A THING, and A&B, plus various other stories about fandom, friendship, love, and art. She lives in Baltimore with her patient family, a possibly haunted dollhouse, and a cat who intends to eat her someday.
How amazing is that?? Are you a fan of Lillis’s previous works, or are you thinking of trying her books for the first time? Do you love this cover as much as we do? Sound off in the comments!
Obviously one of the toughest things with regard to LGBTQIAP+ YA is accessibility, which manifests in a whole bunch of different ways. It’s tough to afford, it’s tough to find, it’s tough sometimes to know what’s queer, it’s tough to buy or borrow the stuff that is queer when you aren’t in a safe environment… it’s a lot.
To help with the “What is queer?” part, especially books you can safely buy/borrow without anyone being the wiser, make sure you check out the Under the Gaydar feature.
To help find some stuff that’s more affordable than your average $10+ book, check out the below (all links go to Amazon Affiliates link):
(Please note that half these titles link to paperbacks, not ebooks)
