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Celebrate Pride Month with these books!

We’re celebrating Pride Month this June with some amazing books! Here is a list of titles that would make perfect additions to any Pride month-themed readings.
Picture Book
  • I‘M NOT A GIRL by Maddox Lyons and Jessica Verdi; illustrated by Dana Simpson (Roaring Brook Press, August 4, 2020, Ages 3-7): Based on a true transgender identity journey, the picture book I’M NOT A GIRL is an empowering story from writers Maddox Lyons and Jessica Verdi about a boy who is determined to be himself
  • ODDBIRD by Derek Desierto (Feiwel & Friends, On Sale May 25, 2021, Ages 2-5): A picture book by New York Times bestselling illustrator Derek Desierto about a bird who doesn’t fit in…at first! The story was in part informed by Derek’s experience growing up as a gay individual and feeling pressured to dress, speak, and act like his peers. 
  • SMALL KNIGHT AND THE ANXIETY MONSTER by Manka Kasha (Feiwel & Friends, On Sale August 10, 2021, Ages 3-6): This debut picture book, featuring a nonbinary main character in a storyline that does not revolve around their identity, has the feel of a modern classic. Like The Paper Bag Princess, it takes familiar tropes such as princesses and knights, dragons and quests, and twists just enough to make it feel fresh and new.
Middle Grade
  • A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE by Phil Bildner (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, February 25, 2020, Ages 10-13): A nominee for the Lambda Literary Award, and an NYPL Best Book of the Year!A heartfelt and personal middle-grade novel from Phil Bildner, about a boy’s experience of coming to terms with his sexuality and being true to himself.
  • SPIN WITH ME by Ami Polonsky (Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), November 10, 2020, ages 8-12): This is a thoughtful LGBT middle-grade novel that carefully traverses an early romance between a girl and a gender non-binary tween.
  • NO ONE RETURNS FROM THE ENCHANTED FOREST by Robin Robinson (First Second, May 25th, 2021, ages 8-12): A charming middle grade take on Labyrinth, this graphic novel is full of adventure, sibling bonding, and light LGBTQ themes–perfect for fans of epic adventures like The Hobbit.

 

Young Adult

 

Fantasy/Dystopian/Magical Realism
  • CEMETERY BOYS by Aiden Thomas (Swoon Reads, September 1, 2020, Ages 13-18): In this New York Times bestselling YA paranormal romance debut that Entertainment Weekly calls “groundbreaking,” a trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave.
  • THE MIDNIGHT LIE by Marie Rutkoski (Trade Paperback, Square Fish, on sale 5/11/21, Ages 14-18): Set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Winner’s Trilogy, Marie Rutkoski’s The Midnight Lie is an epic LGBTQ romantic fantasy about learning to free ourselves from the lies others tell us–and the lies we tell ourselves.
  • THE MIRROR SEASON by Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel & Friends, on sale March 16, 2021, Ages 13 and up): When two teens discover that they were both sexually assaulted at the same party, they develop a cautious friendship through her family’s possibly magical pastelería, his secret forest of otherworldly trees, and the swallows returning to their hometown.
  • GEARBREAKERS by Zoe Hana Mikuta (Feiwel & Friends, on sale June 29, 2021, Ages 13-18): Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they’re fighting for a common purpose—and falling for each other—in Zoe Hana Mikuta’s high-octane debut Gearbreakers, perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu’s Legend series.
  • IN THE RAVENOUS DARK by A.M. Strickland (Imprint, May 18, 2021, Ages 15-18): A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead, in this dark YA fantasy by A.M. Strickland, author of Beyond the Black Door, whom Richard Kadrey calls “a storyteller of both grace and power.”
Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
  • ACE OF SPADES by Faridah Abike-Iyimide (Feiwel & Friends, Ages 14 – 18): Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two Black students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully at the prestigious Niveus Private Academy.
  • THE SEA IS SALT AND SO AM I by Cassandra Hartt (Roaring Brook Press, On Sale June 8, 2021, Ages 14 – 18): Set in a coastal Maine town that’s eroding into the ocean, this stunning YA contemporary debut asks if the secrets we keep and the people we love can change who we are.
  • MAY THE BEST MAN WIN by ZR Ellor (Roaring Brook Press, on sale 5/18/2021, Ages 14-18): A trans boy enters a throw-down battle for the title of Homecoming King with the boy he dumped last summer in ZR Ellor’s contemporary YA debut.
  • SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY by Kelly Quindlen (Roaring Brook Press, April 20, 2021, ages 12-18): High school nemeses fall in love in Kelly Quindlen’s She Drives Me Crazy, a queer YA rom-com perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Casey McQuisten.

 

Non-Fiction

 

  • ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE by George M. Johnson (Farrar, Staus and Giroux (BYR), April 1, 2020, Ages 14-18): We have received rave reviews for LGBTQIA activist and journalist George M. Johnson’s debut. The New York Times called it “exuberant” and “unapologetic.” Huffington Post called it “empowering” and “unflinching.” Bith Magazine called it “a game-changer.” And everyone’s favorite celebrity Gabrielle Union just tweeted that she “cannot recommend All Boys Aren’t Blue enough.”
 
Horror/Thriller
  • WHAT BIG TEETH by Rose Szabo (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, on sale February 2, 2021, Ages 14-18): Rose Szabo’s thrilling debut What Big Teeth is a dark fantasy YA novel about a teen girl who returns home to her strange, wild family after years of estrangement.
  • SHE’S TOO PRETTY TO BURN by Wendy Heard (Henry Holt BYR, on sale March 3, 2021, Ages 13 and up): New love spirals into lethal danger for two girls in this expertly plotted psychological thriller weaving fine art with performance art, politics, love, power, arson, and murder. For fans of Wilder Girls, Broken Things, and People Like Us.

 

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