LGBTQ+ Young Adult Books
LGBTQ+ young adult fiction follows teenage characters figuring out love and identity — coming-of-age contemporaries, sweet romances, and a growing shelf of queer YA fantasy. The Stonewall Book Award's children's and young adult category is a good guide to standout titles.
This list collects 367 books tagged LGBTQ+ Young Adult by 283 authors, published between 1887 and 2026. 1 is free to read. Books are ranked by how many readers have shelved, rated or downloaded them.
Common tropes in LGBTQ+ Young Adult
Red, White & Royal Blue
Casey McQuiston
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
They Both Die at the End
Adam Silvera
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Becky Albertalli, Victoria Simó Perales
The Sun and the Star
Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro
The house in the Cerulean Sea
T. J. Klune
Loveless
Alice Oseman
Carry On
Rainbow Rowell
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Patrick Ness, Nick Podehl
Annie on My Mind
Nancy Garden
Cemetery Boys
Aiden Thomas
Cinderella Is Dead
Kalynn Bayron
Some Girls Do
Jennifer Dugan
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Malinda Lo
Every Heart a Doorway
Seanan McGuire
This Winter
Alice Oseman
I Was Born for This
Alice Oseman
If I Was Your Girl
Meredith Russo
The Raven King
Nora Sakavic
The Foxhole Court
Nora Sakavic
We Are Okay
Nina LaCour
The Girl from the Sea
Lee Knox Ostertag
The miseducation of Cameron Post
Emily M. Danforth
Two Boys Kissing
David Levithan
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
Mackenzi Lee
Crier's War
Nina Varela
The Red Scrolls of Magic
Wesley Chu, Cassandra Clare
Felix Ever After
Kacen Callender
More Happy Than Not
Adam Silvera
Girls of Paper and Fire
Natasha Ngan
Keeping You a Secret
Julie Anne Peters
Melissa
Alex Gino
The Darkest Part of the Forest
Holly Black
Autoboyography
Christina Lauren
The King's Men
Nora Sakavic
Of Fire and Stars
Audrey Coulthurst
Boy Meets Boy
David Levithan
The Raven King
Maggie Stiefvater
If You Could Be Mine
Sara Farizan
The Court of the Dead
Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro
Scars
C. A. Rainfield, Cheryl Rainfield
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me
Mariko Tamaki
Any Way the Wind Blows
Rainbow Rowell
Dance on My Grave
Aidan Chambers
Ash
Malinda Lo
In Other Lands
Sarah Rees Brennan
The Henna Wars
Adiba Jaigirdar
Heather Has Two Mommies
Lesléa Newman, Laura Cornell
Top LGBTQ+ Young Adult authors
- Julie Anne Peters6 books
- Malinda Lo6 books
- C. B. Lee5 books
- Adam Silvera4 books
- Becky Albertalli6 books
- Nora Sakavic5 books
- Lesléa Newman10 books
- Alex Sánchez5 books
- Robin Talley5 books
- K. E. Payne7 books
- Rick Riordan38 books
- Alice Oseman3 books
- Rainbow Rowell4 books
- Aiden Thomas3 books
- David Levithan4 books
- Kacen Callender3 books
Related genres
Frequently asked questions
What are the most popular LGBTQ+ Young Adult books?
By reader shelving on Open Library and downloads, the most popular include Red, White & Royal Blue (2019), Six of Crows (2015), They Both Die at the End (2017), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015) and The Sun and the Star (2023).
Are there free LGBTQ+ Young Adult books?
Yes — 1 lgbtq+ young adult titles are in the public domain and free to read, including Left to Themselves: Being the Ordeal of Philip and Gerald.