so here’s a list of books I’ve read for my project to read as many gay YA books as I can, as requested by @arabian-batboy and an anon friend, these will be listed in order by author’s last name, if I don’t link the book it’s because I didn’t think it’s worth reading, I’ll make comments on the one’s I think are best :) hope this is useful :)
1. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (very good, re-read a few times now)
2. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
3. No Strings by Sara Alva
4. Social Skills by Sara Alva
5. Silent by Sara Alva (good book, there’s stuff about abuse and such, if you like sad but beautiful and happy at the end book, a go to)
6. The Island of Beyond by Elizabeth Atkinson (all the gay stuff is subtext, but cute coming of age)
7. One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva (cute re-read a few times now)
8. Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak (yes read it, now)
10. Something Like Summer by Jay Bell
11. Kamikaze Boys by Jay Bell
12. Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman
13. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (if you liked “I’ll Give You the Sun” this is a must read, I view those books as spirt twins, go read this now)
14. That One Kid Who Freaked Out, Or Whatever by A.J.J. Bourque
15. For a Price by Hallie Burton
16. Gives Light by Rose Christo (first in a series, kinda goes off the rails latter on with drama overload, but this first one was very good)
17. Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn/David Levithan
18. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn/David Levithan (not gay as such, but queer characters make up the background of the book, worth reading if you’ve never really enjoyed a straight romance)
19. Invisibility by Andrea Cremer/David Levithan (again not gay, but a main supporting character is and his queerness is a big part of the story)
20. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
21. Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan (mental health is the theme and it’s the only book with an autistic main character I haven’t felt offended by so there’s that)
22. Aaron’s Story by Mason Dodd
23. Braden’s Story by Mason Dodd
24. Superhero by Eli Easton
25. Rosie and the Quarry Ghost by Rachel Eliason
26. Caged in Myth by J.T. Fairfield
27. The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle
28. The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second by Drew Ferguson
29. Being True by Jacob Z. Flores
30. Eagle Peak by Elizabeth Fontaine
31. Sweaters & Cigarettes by Mika Fox
32. All The Colors Of Love by Jessica Freely
33. The Battle for Jericho by Gene Gant
34. Lucky Linus by Gene Gant
35. Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
36. The Boy’s Own Manual to Being a Proper Jew by Eli Glasman
37. Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath by Steven Goldman
38. The Mariposa Club by Rigoberto González
39. Tales from Foster High by John Goode (something of a classic)
40. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green/David Levithan
41. Half Bad by Sally Green (will make you sad)
42. Half Wild by Sally Green (will make you cry)
43. Half Lost by Sally Green (will break your heart and step on the pieces and you’ll never be ok again)
44. None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
45. The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon
46. Geography Club by Brent Hartinger
47. Totally Joe by James Howe (OMG one of my all time favorite books ever, if you love adorable, fluff, heartfelt, or were ever a little gay boy in middle school this is a must must read, must)
48. After School Activities by Dirk Hunter
49. The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson
50. We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
51. Problems I’m Having by Sam Isaacs
52. The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly Straight by Jeff Jacobson (loved this but there likely won’t be a sequel so if you can live never knowing go for it)
53. Haffling by Caleb James (loved it, magic, gays, growing up poor)
54. T.E.D. by Jayson James
55. Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson
56. On the Right Track by Sam Kadence
57. Intervention by Mia Kerick
58. The Red Sheet by Mia Kerick (I loved this one a lot)
59. Us Three by Mia Kerick
60. Inclination by Mia Kerick
61. Not Broken, Just Bent by Mia Kerick
62. The Lightning-Struck Heart by T.J. Klune (why aren’t you reading this? you need to be reading this book, like now! it’s basically grown in a lab to be the book for Tumblr!)
63. Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg (I need to go re-read this)
64. Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg
65. Absolutely Positively Not by David LaRochelle
66. Every Day by David Leviathan
67. Boy Meets Boy by David Leviathan (Classic maybe the first LGBT YA book to really make it or be published, it amazes me that it’s already 12 years old but it’s still special and true after all these years)
68. How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lillis (a book about gay nerds and shipping, you know you want to read it)
70. A Broken Kind of Life by Jamie Mayfield (I liked it but it’s very intense with rather upsetting themes)
71. When Ryan Came Back by Devon McCormack (ghost boyfriends!)
72. Vivaldi in the Dark by Matthew J. Metzger
73. The Before Now and After Then by Peter Monn
74. Hero by Perry Moore (Moore’s death shortly after writing this book is one of the greatest losses that gay lit or superhero fiction could suffer)
75. Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz
76. Marco Impossible by Hannah Moskowitz
77. hidden by Tomas Mournian
78. Heavyweight by M.B. Mulhall
79. Birds on a Wire by Ellen Mulholland
80. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (every time I bring up that I like gay/queer YA books this one comes up, so I assume it doesn’t need me cheerleading it)
81. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (really cute and funny spoof of your standard YA hero story, but also has a lot of heart and soul)
82. More Than This by Patrick Ness
83. Fearless by Chris O'Guinn
84. Unintended by M.J. O'Shea
85. I’ll Always Miss You by Raine O'Tierney
86. M or F? by Lisa Papademetriou/Chris Tebbetts
87. Play Me, I’m Yours by Madison Parker (loved it, re-read it a lot)
88. Here’s to You, Zeb Pike by Johanna Parkhurst
89. Outtakes of A Walking Mistake by Anthony Paull
91. Band Fags! by Frank Anthony Polito
92. Drama Queers! by Frank Anthony Polito
93. When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid (cries and cries, sad ending)
94. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan (why yes its a Percy Jackson book with a bi/pansexual main character and a gay teenage boy couple as major characters, why haven’t you read it yet?)
95. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (awesome book, amazing, must read, go read it now!)
96. My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan by Seth Rudetsky
98. The God Box by Alex Sanchez
99. Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez (another early classic got me through high school)
100. So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez (my favorite thing Sanchez has ever done, adorable)
101. Getting It by Alex Sanchez
102. Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa
103. Drag Teen by Jeffery Self
104. Playing by the Book by S. Chris Shirley
105. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera (heart breaker)
106. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
107. Freak Show by James St. James (oh my god, James you beautify man you thanks for all you do)
108. Wrestling with Desire by D.H. Starr
109. Ray of Sunlight by Brynn Stein (I’m not crying you’re crying!)
110. Imaginary by Jamie Sullivan
111. Rock by Anyta Sunday
112. (In)visible by Anyta Sunday
113. 366 Days by Kiyoshi Tanaka (honestly my favorite book on here, I can re-read it in like 3 hours because I won’t stop for anything, that said it’s also maybe the darkest and most intense book here, not to say there aren’t cute and sweet moments lots of those, but also darkness, you’ve been warned)
114. Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas (great book)
115. Just Between Us by J.H. Trumble
116. The Price of Falling by Melanie Tushmore
117. Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
118. Teenage Rewrite by Brandon Williams
119. What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson
120. Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
121. Turning 16 by Perie Wolford
122. A Boy Like Me by Jennie Wood
123. Suicide Watch by Kelley York (another good but dark book)
hope this is helpful to some one and I hope you find a book you enjoy, let me know I’d love to hear what people think when they read something from this list :)
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