The Library Is Open 

LGBTQ+ Books You’ll want to read.

Is there anything better than getting cosy with a good book? We researched what you might want to rainbow up your bookshelves this summer.

Girl Crushed by Katie Heaney

What it’s about: When Quinn’s girlfriend, Jamie, dumps her, she’s utterly devastated, especially because they seemed to be the only two lesbians at school. But when it turns out they weren’t, and that the girl of Quinn’s dreams is both bisexual and interested, it looks like she might finally have found the perfect way to fix her broken heart. Except being with Ruby only makes her miss Jamie more. How do you move on when your heart is still with your first love? Heaney’s first YA turn is an ode to queer community, amending preconceived notions, and above all, being beautifully messy with your feelings.

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown

What it’s about: This twisty lesbian thriller stars a girl named Sydney whose psychiatrist father has just died in a car crash. Her father’s death is confusing enough without one of the most beautiful, popular girls at school showing up at his funeral. Sydney knows that likely means June was one of her father’s patients. As their shared grief and consternation turns into a friendship with an underpinning of crackling chemistry, Sydney can’t help but wonder why exactly June’s so invested. Unfortunately, she isn’t the only one wondering, and it seems that danger and death might not be done with her family just yet…

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

What it’s about: Callender’s groundbreaking sophomore YA stars a Black trans boy named Felix who’s looking for love and instead finds himself on a quest for revenge when someone publicly blasts his deadname and pre-transition photos. But his catfishing plan goes awry when he starts to fall for the very person he’s supposed to be destroying, and he already has enough confusion with figuring out why despite being so confidently trans, he doesn’t feel all male, all the time. Full of nuanced looks at how relationships can be both toxic and supportive, loving and confusing, and exciting but brief, this is definitely not a book to be missed.

The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos

What it’s about: Sam’s small town may not like magic, but that won’t stop him and his magic club, consisting of his best friends, James and Delia. Sam’s feelings for James and Delia’s growing frustrations might, though. And James’s shady behavior might too. This means it’s up to Sam to figure out how to keep them going before the thing that brought them together becomes the thing that tears them apart.

Date Me, Bryson Keller! by Kevin van Whye

Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new. The first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Kai Sheridan, a kid who’s still trying to find his way out of the closet makes sure he’s number one in line to ask out Bryson but as the days go by, he discovers there’s more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing.

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

What it’s about: A UK import, this novel is about a mixed-race gay teen who finds himself through the Drag Society. Throughout Michael’s entire life, he’s struggled with not being Black enough for his father’s Jamaican side of the family and not being Greek enough for his mum’s Greek-Cypriot side. But when he gets to university, he finally finds a way to express himself that works: drag. And thus he becomes the Black Flamingo, different and unexpected and beautiful.

This Coven Won’t Break by Isabel Sterling

Hannah Walsh just wants to finish high school. It’s her senior year, so she should be focusing on classes, hanging out with her best friend, and flirting with her new girlfriend, Morgan. But it turns out surviving a murderous Witch Hunter doesn’t exactly qualify as a summer vacation, and now the rest of the Hunters seem more intent on destroying her magic than ever. 

The Boy in the Red Dress by Kristin Lambert

New Year’s Eve, 1929. Millie is running the show at the Cloak & Dagger, a swinging speakeasy in the French Quarter, while her aunt is out of town. The new year is just around the corner, and all of New Orleans is out to celebrate, but even wealthy partiers’ diamond earrings can’t outshine the real star of the night: the boy in the red dress.