14 Queer Books to Read for International Pride Day
Happy International Pride Day!
Even though Pride month is almost over, it’s important to read queer stories all year long especially with the uptick of banning books and attacks on the queer community. So I’ve compiled a list of 14 queer books to read this International Pride Day and beyond. There’s a little bit of something for everyone from Sapphic queer awakenings to queer horror. From Trans retellings of classic stories and a memoir about what it is to be non-binary.
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Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko
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Read my full review here.
Girls Like Girls follows Coley, a 17 year-old about to enter her senior year of high school, as she moves to rural Oregon to live with her father after her mother dies by suicide. Coley hasn’t seen or talked to her father since she was three so you can imagine how difficult that transition is.
Kiyoko’s debut is a quick, easy read that had me and my inner teenager full on sobbing at one point. As a queer teen girl (although I didn’t know it at the time), this book would have been everything to me in high school. I wish I could time travel to give it to 17-year-old Ilona. It definitely would have helped me come to terms with my queerness a lot sooner, and would have saved me a lot of pain over the years. It’s not perfect but it’s an excellent addition to the queer canon.
Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink
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Two years after Keisha Lewis’s wife, Alice, is presumed dead, Keisha starts seeing her in the background of news reports everywhere. In order to solve this mystery, Keisha gets a job as a long-haul trucker and follows clues that lead her down the path of a dark conspiracy.
Written by one of the authors of Welcome to Night Vale, Alice Isn’t Dead is a queer horror that will have you questioning if what you see is real. There’s plenty of weird and creepy to go around to which fans of WtNV are no stranger.
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
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Please check content and trigger warnings before reading this book.
As a gay, Black student attending a 99% white private school, high school has not been easy for Jake Livingston. Being able to see ghosts doesn’t exactly make things easier. When Sawyer, a vengeful spirit who died by suicide after commiting a school shooting, decides to use Jake to carry out the rest of his violent plans, things take a turn for the worst.
Douglass does an excellent job addressing tough topics like racism, homophobia, school shootings, and suicide in this queer coming-of-age horror. It doesn’t hold back when it comes to the mental health issues that can be caused by different types of trauma.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
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Felix is a Black, queer, trans student in his last year of high school desperate to fall in love. When a fellow student publicly deadnames Felix and he starts receiving transphobic messages on Instagram, Felix comes up with a plan for revenge on the person he suspects was behind the attack.
Felix Ever After is an uplifting story about finding young love and finding yourself along the way. One of the few books I’ve read to bring me to tears in a positive way opposed to the emotional devastation I’m used to.
Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore
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What happens when you take The Great Gatsby but add in several layers of complexity by making several characters queer and Latinx? You get the beautifully, tender story that is Self-Made Boys.
Without giving away too much of how this retelling is different from the original novel, Self-Made Boys is a story about how important it is to create a life for yourself and create space for yourself when the rest of the world refuses to do so.
That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey
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Read my full review here.
Garland Moore and her sister, Dara, have never been to summer camp so when a couple of Garland’s rideshare passengers tell her about their newly reopened adult summer camp, the sisters jump at the chance to go. Garland thinks it will be a nice distraction from her recent painful divorce. She arrives at camp ready to push herself into new experiences including one she never expected: falling for her cabin roommate.
This adult queer awakening was like a warm hug under the summer stars complete with twinkling fireflies. That Summer Feeling is more than just a fun summer romance. It’s a testament to the importance of staying true to yourself and living your life on your own terms instead of living according to other people’s expectations
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
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After Mars’s twin sister, Caroline, dies under horrific circumstances, Mars decides to return to Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy to uncover the truth of what happened to their once-close sister. What follows is a horror novel full of twists and turns that upend gender constructs and the horror of trying to fit into those constructs as a non-genderconforming person.
This is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde
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Waverly is a queer, autistic teen attending a prestigious NYC private school on scholarship. All of her classmates are part of the 1% and they never miss a chance to remind her she doesn’t belong. So when one of her tutoring students, Caroline, suggests Waverly attends the annual masquerade fundraiser in her place, she jumps at the chance to be part of NYC high society for a night. A dream come true, that is, until she discovers a nefarious plot that puts her and her friends’ lives at risk.
Gossip Girl meets the Apocalypse in this Sapphic coming-of-age thriller that was super fun to read despite its somewhat predictable plot. It’s an action packed, wild ride with diverse and inclusive representation.
Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia
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An eye-opening, at times heart-wrenching, at times funny, memoir about what it is to be assigned male at birth all the while not fitting into the gender binary. Jacob Tobia delivers a memoir for anyone who might be looking to understand more about themselves and those around them.
I read this book during the 2020 pandemic shutdown and it was quite literally life-changing. It truly made me think about my own gender identity in a way that I had never considered before. I was surprised at how many moments that I connected with and I ultimately had the revelation that I didn’t fully consider myself female in the traditional sense.
These Sanguine Tides by E.S. Barrison
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Do you like magic? What about pirates? Revenge stories? Lesbians? What about magical lesbian pirates looking for revenge? If you answer yes to any of the above then you’ll like These Sanguine Tides, a classic high-seas adventure written for today’s audience.
Death By Society by Sierra Elmore
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Please check content and trigger warnings before reading this book.
Described as Mean Girls meets It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Death by Society asks “what is the actual cost of popularity and bullying?” It was a tough read at times due to its subject matter but it’s a good exploration of the realities of how bullying affects mental health and how you never really know what someone is struggling with behind closed doors.
The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown
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Andrea is determined to have the best summer ever. She and her best friend Hailee have come up with a list to make sure that happens with Andrea adding one secret item: fall out of love with Hailee.
Messy, queer teen girls? Count me in. This sweet YA romance has all the diversity and inclusion you could possibly want with a sweet message to go with it. I definitely could have used a book like this when I was growing up as a queer teen who had no sense of identity with very little queer representation to look to for answers.
Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
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Imogen prides herself on being The Best Ally Ever. She’s a member of her school’s Pride Alliance, she has two queer best friends, and she’s up-to-date on all of the best queer media. So when she visits her best friend, Lilli, at college and spends time with Lilli’s queer friend group, what’s the harm in telling a little white lie and letting them think Imogen is also queer?
Imogen, Obviously is the bisexual awakening book I needed when I was in high school. So much of Imogen’s journey mirrored my own it was almost painful seeing how in denial she was about her own feelings. There’s a lot of great discussion–albeit repetitive at times–about who decides who’s allowed in queer spaces.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
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Check content and trigger warnings before reading this book.
The Handmaid’s Tale meets Pacific Rim in this sci-fi reimagining of the life of Chinese Empress Wu Zetian. Determined to get revenge on her sister’s killer, Zetian becomes a concubine pilot–girls who are partnered with male pilots of Chrysalises, giant robot fighting machines, who are often killed in battle. When Zetian survives her first battle, and her co-pilot does not, she sees this as an opportunity to take down the misogynist, patriarchal practice.
Iron Widow is a refreshing take on the YA dystopian novel. It allows its female lead to fully act on her rage instead of internalizing it and playing it down for the sake of other people. It’s also a nice change of pace from the traditional love triangle trope. Instead of having to choose between two male love interests, they all choose each other in a polyamorous relationship.
Hopefully out of those 14 books you’ve found something to add to your reading list outside of June. Pride month is a great time to read LGBTQIA+ books but there are so many diverse queer stories to read it’s impossible to fit them all into thirty days so you might as well be reading them every other month of the year!
What other queer books have you read? Drop them in the comments!
