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Books with LGBTQ+ Characters
Let’s Not Do That Againby Grant GinderRepresentative Nancy is hard at work campaigning for a Senate seat, so she sends her son, Nick, to find her daughter, Greta, who was just caught on camera protesting in Paris. | The Boy with a Bird in His Chest by Emme LundPart literary fiction, part magical realism: Owen has a bird in his chest (Gail) leaves home and finds family, love, and some danger in Washington. | ||
The Death of Vivek Ojiby Akwaeke EmeziAlthough it begins with Vivek’s death, this powerful story set in Nigeria focuses on Vivek’s life and relationships. | Memorialby Bryan WashingtonMike, a Japanese American chef, and Benson, a Black day care teacher, are in a relationship. But when Mike leaves for Osaka to visit his dying father, Benson ends up living with Mike’s mother. | ||
Detransition, Babyby Torrey PetersReese and Ames end their relationship when Ames detransitions. After Ames finds out his lover, Katrina, is pregnant with his baby, the three think about creating a family together. | Girl, Woman, Otherby Bernardine EvaristoThis book explores living in Britain as a Black person through twelve different perspectives. Themes include colonialism, sexuality, gender, and race. |
Mademoiselle Revolutionby Zoe SivakJust before the Reign of Terror, biracial heiress Sylvie leaves Saint-Dominique at the beginning of the Haitian Revolution for Paris at the beginning of the Haitian Revolution, where she meets Robespierre and his mistress. | My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed NewsonIn this coming-of-age story about a young gay Black man, Trey leaves his wealthy Indianapolis family behind for NYC and becomes a member of ACT UP in the 1980s. | ||
The Merciesby Kiran Millwood HargraveIn 1617 Norway, Maren lives in a community of women after all the men were drowned in a storm. When a man comes and rules tyrannically over the town, Maren connects with his wife Ursa. | The Sweetness of Waterby Nathan HarrisAs the Civil War ends, two brothers who were previously enslaved are hired by white homesteaders to work their farm. Meanwhile, two Confederate soldiers return home and continue their romantic relationship in secret. | ||
The Pull of the Starsby Emma DonoghueSet in 1918 Ireland, the lives of three women working with quarantined pregnant women at a hospital intertwine over the course of three days. | On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean VuongLittle Dog writes a letter to his mother exploring their family's history in Vietnam and sharing with her parts of his life as well. |
One Last Stop by Casey McQuistonAugust moves to NYC and sees a beautiful girl on the train – Jane. The issue? Jane is actually from the 1970s. | I'm so (Not) Over Youby Kosoko JacksonEx-boyfriends Kian and Hudson pretend to date for an important wedding in order to maintain Hudson’s reputation and further Kian’s journalism career. | ||
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis HallAssumed dead after the Battle of Waterloo, Viola lives finally as herself, with the cost of her companionship with the Duke of Gracewood.
| Yerba Buena – Nina LaCourStretching across a decade, this story follows two women through their pasts, presents, and love. | ||
Take a Hint, Dani Brownby Talia HibbertDani, a bisexual PhD candidate, enters into a fake relationship with security guard Zafir to raise publicity for a children’s sports charity. But while Dani just wants a friends-with-benefits scenario, Zafir is a romantic. | Mistakes Were Madeby Meryl WilsnerDuring parent's weekend, college senior Cassie accidentally sleeps with her best friend's mom. |
Priory of the Orange Treeby Samantha ShannonA jam-packed epic fantasy about a divided world told from three main perspectives: Queen Sabran the Ninth, ruler of Inys; Ead, a lady-in-waiting with secret magic abilities; and Tane, a dragonrider. | The Deep by Rivers SolomonA novella about memory and identity. When the memories that Yetu holds for her people, the underwater community of the descendants from pregnant African women thrown overboard slave ships become too much, she leaves for the water’s surface. | ||
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi VoIn this novella, In-yo travels away from her home to enter a political marriage and grows close with Rabbit, a handmaiden. | A Marvellous Lightby Freya MarkseBaronet Robin discovered the existence of magic by accident when he is appointed liaison to Edwardian England’s magical society, to the magical liaison to Parliament’s dislike. Regardless, Robin and Edwin must work together to uncover a potentially sinister plot. | ||
Jade City by Fonda LeeThe first in an urban fantasy series. A war is breaking out between the two main clans of the island of Kekon, both of which can use jade as a source of magical powers. | The Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinA post-apocalyptic fantasy that begins with the collapse of an economic center, the murder of a child, and the falling of ash from the sky. |
Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky ChambersRosemary joins an interspecies crew on a spaceship often tasked with dangerous missions across deep space and learns about finding family.
| This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max GladstoneOn opposite sides of a war that transcends time and space, Blue and Red begin to write letters for one another. | ||
The Immortality Thiefby Taran HuntTo escape prison or military service, Sean chooses to collect data for immortality experiments from an abandoned spaceship filled with unknown dangers. | Light from Uncommon Starsby Ryka AokiAn urban science fiction featuring Shizuka, a violinist who made a deal with the devil. She meets Katrina, a young transgender woman and fellow violinist, and starts to fall for Lan, a retired starship captain and mom. | ||
A Memory Called Empireby Arkady MartineMahit discovers that the previous ambassador from her mining Station to the Teixcalaanli Empire was murdered during a time of instability across multiple space systems. | We Are Satellites by Sarah PinskerSociety is quickly adopting a new implant called The Pilot, causing Val and Julie to ask hard questions with regards to themselves and their children, David and Sophie. |
Summer Sons by Lee MandeloAndrew was all set to join his best friend Eddie in Nashville for Eddie’s graduate program, but Eddie commits suicide before Andrew arrives. What exactly happened to Andrew at Vanderbilt? | Plain Bad Heroinesby Emily M. DanforthBeginning with the two members of The Plain Bad Heroine Society, more people die strange deaths at the Brookhants School for Girls and the school closes. A century later, the film adaption of the school’s story brings an entire cast and crew back through its doors. | ||
Last Call at the Nightingaleby Katharine SchellmanIn 1924 New York, Vivian frequents a dance hall called The Nightingale and finds a dead body there one night. | We Are Watching Eliza Brightby A. E. OsworthAfter sharing her workplace sexual harassment story with a journalist, video game coder Eliza is fired. She’s also made the male gamers of the internet very angry, which threatens to blur the line between the internet and in-person life even further. | ||
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul TremblayAt a rural cabin, seven-year old Wen is approached by strangers while on vacation with her fathers. | Firewatching by Russ ThomasA Detective Sargent assigned to the Cold Case Unit is on the trail of a financier's murderer, but he discovers he had previously hooked up with the main suspect. |