Happy Tuesday y’all! This week Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl is asking us to share some of our favorite books with summer vibes. The drawback is that I have done that already; you can find a list of summer titles here and a list of summer covers here. Instead, I decided to celebrate pride with a list of ten books.
All titles will take you to Goodreads, where all of the synopsis are from.
Now let’s celebrate Pride with a list of ten books!
Melissa (previously published as George) by Alex Gino
- Genre: Middle Grade, LGBTQ
- Release Date: August 2015
BE WHO YOU ARE. When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl.
George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part… because she’s a boy.
With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte—but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.
Anne of Greenville by Mariko Tamaki
- Genre: YA, LGBTQ, Retelling
- Release Date: October 2022
In this modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables, Anne is an ABBA-loving singer/actor/writer of disco-operas, queer, Japanese-American who longs to be understood for her artistic genius. Recently relocated to middle-of-nowhere Greenville and starting at a new school, Anne has a tendency to A) fall in love quickly, deeply, and effervescently and B) fly off the handle in the face of jerks. Both personality quirks quickly come into play when the soccer team boos the premiere of her disco performance, which—in a roundabout way—introduces her to her new BFF, Berry, and she soon after meets the girl of her dreams, Gilly.
Falling quickly into that age-old trap of ignoring the best friend for the new crush, Anne soon becomes embroiled in a series of dramatic and unfortunate events, and quickly finds herself wrapped up in a love triangle she never expected. Is she MTB with Gilly? Or is Berry her true soul mate? Only time (or 304 pages) will tell.
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar
- Genre: YA, LGBTQ, Romance
- Release Date: May 2021
Everyone likes Humaira “Hani” Khan—she’s easy-going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she’s in a relationship…with a girl her friends absolutely hate—Ishita “Ishu” Dey. Ishu is the complete opposite of Hani. She’s an academic overachiever who hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for college. But Ishita agrees to help Hani if Hani will help her become more popular so that she stands a chance of being elected head girl.
Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.
When You Get the Chance by Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson
- Genre: YA, LGBTQ, Contemporary, Road Trip
- Release Date: May 2021
As kids, Mark and his cousin Talia spent many happy summers together at the family cottage in Ontario, but a fight between their parents put an end to the annual event. Living on opposite coasts — Mark in Halifax and Talia in Victoria — they haven’t seen each other in years. When their grandfather dies unexpectedly, Mark and Talia find themselves reunited at the cottage once again, cleaning it out while the family decides what to do with it.
Mark and Talia are both queer, but they soon realize that’s about all they have in common, other than the fact that they’d both prefer to be in Toronto. Talia is desperate to see her high school sweetheart Erin, who’s barely been in touch since leaving to spend the summer working at a coffee shop in the Gay Village. Mark, on the other hand, is just looking for some fun, and Toronto Pride seems like the perfect place to find it.
When a series of complications throws everything up in the air, Mark and Talia — with Mark’s little sister Paige in tow — decide to hit the road for Toronto. With a bit of luck and some help from a series of unexpected new friends, they might just make it to the big city and find what they’re looking for. That is if they can figure out how to start seeing things through each other’s eyes.
Fan Art by Sarah Tregay
- Genre: YA, LGBTQ, Contemporary, Romance
- Release Date: June 2014
Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.
As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?
This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.
Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard
- Genre: YA, Contemporary, LGBTQ
- Release Date: September 2016
All Pen Oliveira 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.
Pen makes tough choices, has her friends’ backs, and is done feeling bad about who she is. 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.
People Change by Vivek Shraya
- Genre: Nonfiction, Essay, LGBTQ
- Release Date: January 2022
Vivek Shraya knows this to be true: people change. We change our haircuts and our outfits and our minds. We change names, titles, labels. We attempt to blend in or to stand out. We outgrow relationships, we abandon dreams for new ones, we start fresh. We seize control of our stories. We make resolutions.
In fact, nobody knows this better than Vivek, who’s made a career of wearing many hats: artist, performer, musician, writer, model, teacher. In People Change, she reflects on the origins of this impulse, tracing it to childhood influences from Hinduism to Madonna. What emerges is a meditation on change itself: why we fear it, why we’re drawn to it, what motivates us to change, and what traps us in place.
At a time when we’re especially contemplating who we want to be, this slim and stylish handbook is an essential companion–a guide to embracing our many selves and the inspiration to discover who we’ll become next.
Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
- Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ
- Release Date: May 2018
“You’re gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine” is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling novel. Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living.
Self-ordained as an NDN glitter princess, Jonny has one week before he must return to the “rez,” and his former life, to attend the funeral of his stepfather. The next seven days are like a fevered dream: stories of love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and the heartbreaking recollection of his beloved kokum (grandmother). Jonny’s world is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages–and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life. Jonny Appleseed is a unique, shattering vision of Indigenous life, full of grit, glitter, and dreams.
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
- Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ
- Release Date: May 2021
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is honestly a bit out of his league.
So when tragedy strikes, and Maisie and Grant lose their mother, and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting—even if temporary—isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
- Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ
- Release Date: October 2020
In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.
And that is my list of books to celebrate Pride. Have you read any of these? What are some of your favorite LGBTQ books?
Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.
Discover more from Read! Bake! Create!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Wonderful list!
Happy Pride! I love this list.
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
I’ve not read any of these but a lot of them look fun!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/06/06/top-ten-tuesday-423/
What a great time to share this list! I haven’t read any of them yet, but the last two are on my list. I love those authors.
Great list! I haven’t heard of many of these but I also had The Guncle on my list today 😃 I’ve heard so many great things about that book. I can’t wait to read it!
I very much want to read Steven Rowley’s books, The Guncle and his new release. Thank you for sharing!
Anne of Greenville sounds like a fun retelling <3 I listened the audiobook of The Guncle last year and was lovely
I may have to try the audiobook too. I actually had to DNF The Guncle at first because the grief was hitting too close to home (it was only a couple of months after my dad passed).
Bookmarking this list. Thank you!
Great list! I haven’t read any of these yet, but Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, The Guncle and The Once and Future Witches are on my TBR.
I hope you enjoy them when you get the chance.
What a great list. I’ve been wanting to read Harrow. I read a short story by her and it was fantastic. :9
Great list! I haven’t read any of these yet, but I’m looking forward to reading The Once and Future Witches.
My TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2023/06/06/top-ten-tuesday-sunny-books/
I love your choice of list idea this week! I’ve read (and adored) The Once and Future Witches, but I have yet to read quite a few of these which are on my TBR.
I hope you enjoy them when you get the opportunity!
Thank you!
Wonderful choices! Happy Pride!
That’s so cool I had no idea that they renamed Melissa that is so exciting!
These look good. The Once and Future Witches book has been on my list for a while. I wanted to read it over Halloween but never got round to it!
Have a great week!
Actually, I found it to be a fantastic spring read.
I’ll have to reconsider it and see if I have time to read it before Autumn!
I haven’t read any of these yet. *Sigh* So many books, so little time…
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Isn’t that the truth! I don’t think any of us will ever read all of the books we want. But it’s still fun to think we can!
I haven’t read any of these, but I’ll check them out!
Ooh nice list! These are some new to me ones for sure!
Thanks for visiting my TTT yesterday!
Loved The Once and Future Witches! The Guncle has been on my radar for ages, but I feel like I need to brace myself against some of the trigger warnings for grief before I give it a go, haha.
I actually had to stop reading it because of the grief (it was only a couple of months after my dad passed away that I tried to read it). But I do plan on giving it another shot.
See, that was my worry, too. I’m glad you want to give it another go, and that you took the self-care precaution there!
I loved The Once and Future Witches, such a good story and great characters.
Oooh, nice twist this week! I haven’t read any of these yet, but I’ve heard great things. Happy Pride!
So many great looking books on your list.
Thanks for sharing and thanks for stopping by my wintery TTT this week!
This is a great list!! I loved Guncle sooo much!! It is such an underrated book!