2019 Upcoming YA Fiction With Transgender, Nonbinary and Gender Non-Conforming Characters!
My last list focused on LGBTQA Fiction with female-led characters. There arenāt many of those this year that also happen to have transgender characters, so Iāve decided to put all the novels covering this topic in one list. Itās unfortunate there arenāt as many stories about transgender characters, let alone #ownvoices stories, but we can all hope that in the next year weāll see even more! There are a few coming out stories, and a couple of romances in this batch of 2019ā²s LGBT fiction.
Below youāll find titles, summaries, and goodreads links. Warning for mentions of transphobia and transphobic violence.
The Hand, The Eye & The Heart by Zoe Marriott
Zhilan was assigned female at birth; despite an unusual gift for illusions, they know they will live out their life in the perfumed confines of the womenās quarters. But when civil war sets the country aflame, Zhilan is the only one who can save their disabled Father from death on the battlefield.
By taking his place.
Surviving brutal army training as a male recruit ā Zhi ā is only the first challenge. Soon Zhiās unique talents draw them into an even more perilous fight, in the glittering court of the Land of Dragons, where love and betrayal are two sides of the same smile. The fate of an Empire rests on Zhiās shoulders. But to win, they must first decide where their loyalty, and their heart, truly belongs.Ā
Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker
Zenobia July is starting a new life. She used to live in Arizona with her father; now sheās in Maine with her aunts. She used to spend most of her time behind a computer screen, improving her impressive coding and hacking skills; now sheās coming out of her shell and discovering a community of friends at Monarch Middle School. People used to tell her she was a boy; now sheās able to live openly as the girl she always knew she was.
When someone anonymously posts hateful memes on her schoolās website, Zenobia knows sheās the one with the abilities to solve the mystery, all while wrestling with the challenges of a new school, a new family, and coming to grips with presenting her true gender for the first time. Timely and touching, Zenobia July is, at its heart, a story about finding home.
In The Silences by Rachel Gold
When did life get so dangerous? Kaz Adams just wants to read comic books with her best friend, Aisha Warren. And maybe get up the nerve to ask her out, if Kaz turns out to be a gender that Aishaās into.
Kaz figured sheād be the target of violence for her gender nonconformity, but a fatal police shooting thirty miles from their town opens her eyes to the realities of racism. She watches as pressures at school and in their social group mount against Aisha. Kaz would try to stop a bullet for Aisha if she had to, but she has no idea how to stop the waves of soul-crushing disapproval and judgment. When she talks to the other white students and adults in her area, they donāt seem to understand what sheās talking about.
Aisha has helped Kaz find a place in the world, but that was about Kazās gender expression. Kaz canāt magically change the world for Aisha, but something has to change in their school system or sheāll lose the girl she loves.
I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver
When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, theyāre thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parentsā rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.
But Benās attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathanās friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.Ā
My Brotherās Name is Jessica by John Boyne
Sam Waverās life has always been pretty quiet. A bit of a loner, he struggles to make friends, and his busy parents often make him feel invisible. Luckily for Sam, his older brother, Jason, has always been there for him. Sam idolises Jason, who seems to have life sorted - heās kind, popular, amazing at football, and girls are falling over themselves to date him.
But then one evening Jason calls his family together to tell them that heās been struggling with a secret for a long time. A secret which quickly threatens to tear them all apart. His parents donāt want to know and Sam simply doesnāt understand.
Because what do you do when your brother says heās not your brother at all? That he thinks heās actuallyā¦ your sister?
Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith
Chris and Maia arenāt off to a great start.
A near-fatal car accident first brings them together, and their next encounters donāt fare much better. Chrisās good intentions backfire. Maiaās temper gets the best of her.
But theyāre neighbors, at least for the summer, and despite their best efforts, they just canāt seem to stay away from each other.
The path forward isnāt easy. Chris has come out as transgender, but heās still processing a frightening assault he survived the year before. Maia is grieving the loss of her older sister and trying to find her place in the world without her. Falling in love was the last thing on either of their minds.
But would it be so bad if it happened anyway?
Everything Grows by Aimee Herman
Fifteen-year-old Eleanor Fromme just chopped off all of her hair. How else should she cope after hearing that her bully, James, has committed suicide? When Eleanorās English teacher suggests students write a letter to a person who would never read it to get their feelings out, Eleanor chooses James.
With each letter she writes, Eleanor discovers more about herself, even while trying to make sense of his death. And, with the help of a unique cast of characters, Eleanor not only learns what it means to be inside a body that does not quite match what she feels on the inside, but also comes to terms with her own motherās mental illness.
Set against a 1993-era backdrop of grunge rock and riot grrl bands, EVERYTHING GROWS depicts Eleanorās extraordinary journey to solve the mystery within her and feel complete. Along the way, she loses and gains friends, rebuilds relationships with her family, and develops a system of support to help figure out the language of her queer identity.
Kings, Queens, And In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju
Perpetually awkward Nima Kumara-Clark is bored with her insular community of Bridgeton, in love with her straight girlfriend, and trying to move past her motherās unexpected departure. After a bewildering encounter at a local festival, Nima finds herself suddenly immersed in the drag scene on the other side of town.
Macho drag kings, magical queens, new love interests, and surprising allies propel Nima both painfully and hilariously closer to a self she never knew she could beāone that can confidently express and accept love. But sheāll have to learn to accept lost love to get there.Ā
WhatĀ Makes You Beautiful by Bridget Liang
Logan Osborne knows he likes boys, but has not come out to his family or at school, and no one knows that he likes to sometimes wear girlsā clothes and makeup. When he starts at a school for the arts he finds a wider range of gender and orientation being accepted. Logan is attracted to Kyle, who has gay dads. But Kyle is straight. Logan finds he doesnāt like the way gay boys treat him, and a disturbing hookup with a boy who is fetishistic about Loganās half-Asian background makes Logan even more confused about what he wants and who he is.
Encouraged and supported by his friends at school, Logan experiments with nail polish and more feminine clothes in public. Logan begins questioning his gender and decides to use they pronouns while trying to figure things out. Logan meets a classmateās chosen mother, who is a transgender Chinese woman, and begins to come to terms with their gender identity. Realizing they are not a gay boy, but a transgender girl, Logan asks for people to call them Veronica. As a girl, does Veronica stand a chance with Kyle?
