YA by Trope/Theme

*Upcoming
^Allocishet protag
For Romance tropes, click here.

Adoption

  • Far From the Tree by Robin Benway
  • Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
  • Epically Earnest by Molly Horan
  • How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters

Bisexual Discourse

Topics include biphobia and/or compulsory heterosexuality

  • Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
  • *Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
  • Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales
  • Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar
  • We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia
  • Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley
  • Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi

Body Swapping

Celebrity

Colonialism

  • Mirage by Somaiya Daud
  • She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Coming Out

Lesbian

Gay

Bisexual/Queer/Pansexual

Transgender/Non-Binary

Asexual/Demisexual

Conversion Therapy

Crime

Drag

Epistolary Communication

Fandom

Found Family

Friendship

Parentheticals are genders of friends in central friendship + number of queer characters in said friendship, e.g. (M/F, 2) means it’s about a male-female friendship and both are queer.

Friendship Breakups

Gaming

Gender Identity

See also: “Questioning (Gender)”

Gentrification

Grieving/Mourning

Parent

Sibling

Partner

Grandparent

Friend

HIV/Aids

Hollywood

Immigration and/or Deportation

  • Indivisible by Daniel Aleman
  • *Kween by Vichet Chum
  • We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
  • The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

Intergenerational

Mental Health

Female Protag

Male Protag

Non-Binary Protag

Music

Poetry

  • *Kween by Vichet Chum (Slam)

Politics

  • The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson
  • *Something Like Possible by Miel Moreland
  • The (Un)popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez

Pregnancy/Reproductive Rights

Pride

Prom

  • How to Ask a Boy to Prom by SJ Goslee
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • The Prom by Saundra Mitchell
  • Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

Queer History

  • Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
  • Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore
  • Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
  • Pulp by Robin Talley

Questioning (Gender)

  • Sasha Masha by Agnes Borinsky
  • Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
  • This is How We Fly by Anna Meriano
  • Where I End & You Begin by Preston Norton
  • Birthday by Meredith Russo
  • And They Lived by Steven Salvatore
  • Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz
  • Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve

Questioning (Sexuality)

Female MC

Male MC

Racism

  • Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
  • The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

Religion

Retelling/Reimagining

Classic Literature

  • His Hideous Heart ed. by Dahlia Adler (various works by Edgar Allan Poe)
  • That Way Madness Lies ed. by Dahlia Adler (various works by Shakespeare)
  • Nothing Happened by Molly Booth (Much Ado About Nothing)
  • I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre (Much Ado About Nothing)
  • Ruinsong by Julia Ember (The Phantom of the Opera)
  • The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake (Twelfth Night)
  • Epically Earnest by Molly Horan (The Importance of Being Earnest)
  • A Clash of Steel by CB Lee (Treasure Island)
  • *Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney (Jane Eyre)
  • *Self Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore (The Great Gatsby)
  • Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed (The Great Gatsby)
  • Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim (The Count of Monte Cristo)
  • As I Descended by Robin Talley (Macbeth)
  • Two Winters by Lauren Emily Whalen (Winter’s Tale)
  • Take Her Down by Lauren Emily Whalen (Julius Caesar)

Fairy Tales

Historical Figures

  • Lizzie by Dawn Ius (Lizzie Borden)

Legend and Mythology

Revenge

Road Trip

Royalty

Contemporary

Fantasy

School Violence

Secret Relationships

Sexual Assault

Sexual Education

Siblings

Sliding Doors (aka Parallel Timelines)

Social Justice

Social Media

Includes books about blogs, vlogs, influencers, and podcasts

Space

Sports

Female MC

Male MC

Survival

Theatre

Time Travel

Toxic Parenting

Toxic Relationships

  • People Like Us by Dana Mele
  • Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve

Unrequited Love

Queering up your shelf, one rec at a time!

%d bloggers like this: