LGBTQIA+ people haven't been showing up in YA literature for very long (and we've still got a while to go with some of the identities in that acronym!). This list celebrates some of the trailblazing work of those authors who started writing diverse characters into their books for teens when it was still a publishing risk to do so. Read these to remember where we've been, and celebrate how far we've come, and to imagine what's next as well. Check out the 'Classics' list in the Adult Pride Reading Guide too! We use the hashtag #ownvoices when the author and the main character share an identity.
First published in 1982, 'Annie On My Mind' is a story of two young women in New York whose friendship grows into love, despite pressures from their school and families to end the relationship. This book caused a lot of controversy in the…
In a similar vein to 'Annie On My Mind', 'Dare Truth or Promise' is a story of two young women in Dunedin who fall in love, despite their doubts and fears, and pressure from school and family to keep them apart. When it was released here…
You can tell from the cover hairstyles that this book was published in the early 2000s! 'Rainbow Boys' follows three young men at the same school who are at various stages of coming out, to themselves, their families, and at school. Told…
In 'Boy Meets Boy', author David Levithan imagines a utopia of a small town in America that is accepting, diverse, celebratory, and fabulous. So while the story might be simple - boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy tries to win boy back -…
'Skim' is a graphic novel about an outcast at a private girls' school. Kimberley ("Skim") stands out for a number of reasons, and when her classmates' ex-boyfriend commits suicide, the collective mourning of the people around her only…
Two strangers who share the same name cross paths one cold Chicago night and their lives intertwine in totally unexpected ways. Will Grayson and Will Grayson may be the names on the cover, but the true hero of this book is the flamboyant,…
Reece is away from home with her debate partner David, and their coach when disaster strikes across the country - birds fly into planes, crashing dozens. With planes grounded, they are forced to road trip home, and things get weirder from…
Set in the 80's in Texas, about Aristotle, an angry teen with a brother in prison, and Dante, a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But a…
Set in the early 90's, this story follows a young woman, Cam, who is dealing with the grief of losing her parents alongside the guilt because of the relief she experienced knowing they'll never know she had been kissing a girl when they…
Former boyfriends Harry and Craig attempt to beat the world record of longest kiss, and work out where their feelings for each other are going as they do so. Meanwhile, they become a focal point in the lives of other young, queer folks…
