Below are some resources and recommendations for YA books with LGBT themes!

Blogs and Reading Lists

• Don’t Mind Me and My Big Gay Book Spam!: A massive list of books on LBGT themes, YA and adult. Poor And Tango Makes Three (2005), most challenged, yet snubbed for being a picture book!
• Great Gay Teen Books: A list of teen novels, poetry anthologies, and nonfiction books with LGBT characters and themes, compiled by author Alex Sánchez.
• I Have Numbers!: Malinda Lo’s blog entry of statistics on LGBTQ books published until 2011, including Christine Jenkins’ thorough list of books published 1969-2009, and Lo’s list of books published 2009-2011. Her graphics of books published by publisher and books published per category (L, G, B, T) are very instructive for those interested in these things. Both Jenkins’ and Lo’s booklists include many more books than I have here.
• Queer YA: Fiction for LGTBQ Teens: Reviews of current teen fiction. Currently on hiatus as of 2014.

 

Books

• Amelia Atwater-Rhodes – Wolfcry (2006).
• Marion Dane Bauer (Editor) – Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence (1994).
• Steve Berman (Editor) – Boys of Summer (2012).
• Holly Black – Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale (2002), Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie (2005), Ironside: A Modern Faery’s Tale (2007).
• Francesca Lia Block – Weetzie Bat (1989), Baby Be-Bop (1995), I Was a Teenage Fairy (1998), and more.
• Marion Zimmer Bradley – One of the most legendary writers in fantasy (and considered an adult writer), Bradley introduced readers first to gay heroes, and then to characters with other sexuality, starting with the books set in her science fiction Darkover universe. I don’t think it’s too extreme to say that she opened the door for all of us when it comes to writing about LBGT characters. Some may disagree and argue that it was Ursula Le Guin with The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), but I hated that book and didn’t take “alternative sexuality” from it, so I don’t see it that way. It was MZB first for me and then, more broadly, Mercedes Lackey.
• Libba Bray – A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003) and other books in the Gemma Doyle trilogy (2003-2007), Going Bovine (2009), Beauty Queens (2011).
• Jacqueline Carey – Santa Olivia (2009).
• Stephen Chbosky – The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999).
• Cassandra Clare – City of Bones (2007), City of Ashes (2008), City of Glass (2009), City of Fallen Angels (2011).
• Rachel Cohn – Gingerbread (2002), Shrimp (2005), Cupcake (2007).
• Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2006).
• Tanuja Desai Hidier – Born Confused (2002).
• Alex Flinn – Fade to Black (2005).
• Nancy Garden – Annie on My Mind (1982), The Year They Burned the Books (1999).
• Alison Goodman – Eon (2008), Eona (2011).
• Molly Beth Griffin – Silhouette of a Sparrow (2012).
• Brent Hartinger – Geography Club (2003), The Order of the Poison Oak (2005), Grand & Humble (2006), Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (2007), Shadow Walkers (2011).
• Karen Healey – Guardian of the Dead (2010), The Shattering (2011).
• James Howe – The Misfits (2001), Totally Joe (2005).
• Maureen Johnson – Bermudez Triangle (2004).
• Gordon Korman – Born to Rock (2006).
• Mercedes Lackey – She’s considered an adult author. For a very long time, Lackey was the writer who introduced my generation and subsequent generations of fantasy readers to books with LGB characters (I don’t recall any trans ones). The only writer with more of an impact when it comes to opening the minds of modern adults on this subject in science fiction and fantasy is Marion Zimmer Bradley.
• David Levithan – Boy Meets Boy (2003), The Realm of Possibility (2004), Wide Awake (2006), How They Met, and Other Stories (2008), Love is the Higher Law (2009).
• David Levithan & Billy Merrell – The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities (2006).
• Malinda Lo – Ash (2009), Huntress (2011).
• Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (2007).
• Perry Moore – Hero (2007).
• Lauren Myracle – Kissing Kate (2003), Shine (2011).
• K. E. Payne – me@you.com (2012).
• Julie Anne Peters – Keeping You a Secret (2003), Far from Xanadu (2005), It’s Our Prom (So Deal With It) (2012).
• Carol Plum-Ucci – What Happened to Lani Garver (2002).
• Cheryl Rainfield – Scars (2010).
• Sarah Rees Brennan – The Demon’s Lexicon (2009), The Demon’s Covenant (2010), The Demon’s Surrender (2011).
• Kristopher Reisz – Tripping to Somewhere (2006).
• Charles Rice-González – Chulito: A Novel (2011).
• Alex Sánchez – Rainbow Boys (2001), Rainbow High (2003), Getting It (2006), The God Box (2007), Boyfriends with Girlfriends (2011).
• Amy Sonnie (Editor) – Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (2000).
• Robin Wasserman – Frozen (2008), Shattered (2009), Torn (2010).
• Ellen Wittlinger – Hard Love (1999), Parrotfish (2007), Love & Lies: Marisol’s Story (2008).
• Paul Yee – Money Boy (2011).