Reading the Rainbow

A reading guide for LGBTQIA+ YA Literature. This is part of a university assignment by Stephanie Tamburrino. If you like this blog, follow me on destroyyaa.

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Welcome!

Welcome to the wonderful reading the rainbow guide! This guide serves as an introduction to LGBTQIA+ history, some useful advice from queer older siblings, and fictional stories from a variety of voices and identities. Ready to start your rainbow reading journey? Jump right in with the non-fiction recommendations!

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Weblinks

A variety of stories and resources for you to explore Queer identities and stories.

Out-spoken by headspace

Listen to fellow adolescents describe their experiences with being LGBTQIA+ through headspace’s Out-Spoken video series. Headspace provides forums for queer youth to speak candidly about their experiences and seek support when struggling with mental health and relationships.

Headspace. (2026). Out-Spoken. https://headspace.org.au/our-impact/campaigns/lgbtiqaplus/

Victorian Pride Centre Events

Looking for something to do with your friends on the weekend? Head on over to the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda, Victoria, to enjoy a sausage sizzle. Maybe afterwards, explore all the Victorian Pride Centre has to offer including the book store Hares & Hyenas. Free and open to all.

Victorian Pride Centre. (2026). Saturday sizzle. Retrieved May 28th, 2026 from https://pridecentre.org.au/event/saturday-sizzle-pride-month/

Teen Vogue, 55 Best LGBTQ Movies to Watch

Indecisive on your next movie night? Explore this list of fifty-five movies curated by Jill Gutowitz and Marilyn La Jeunesse to discover new movies, old movies, and movies from a variety of queer experiences. Maybe even read the books some of these movies are based on?

Gutowitz, J., & La Jeunesse, M. (2025, June 27). 55 Best LGBTQ movies to watch. Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/best-lgbtq-movies-to-watch

Amie Kaufman on Writing: A Podcast

Did you enjoy Lady’s Knight and want to write like Amie Kaufman? Well Kaufman has a podcast series on her writing process. Answering questions submitted to her website, Kaufman spends roughly 10 minutes explaining the processes for writing. Great for when you are struggling with developing characters or world building.

Kaufman, A. (2020-2024). Amie Kaufman on writing: A podcast  [Audio podcast]. https://amiekaufman.com/podcast/

ABC News Mardi Gras Coverage

Feeling lost in your small town, no fear! Together in Pride are here! A small group of volunteers detail their events and organisation around Mardi Gras 2026, and the sense of community it can bring to small towns that often have the reputation of being close minded. An uplifting read showing that people will support you from all walks of life.

Smyrk, K. (2026, February 28). Mardi Gras spirit shines and Pride prevails at regional parade viewing parties. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-28/mardi-gras-viewing-parties-regional-communities/106392866

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Weaving Us Together by Lay Maloney

As emotional as the main character Jean, Weaving Us Together by Lay Maloney follows Jean through many ups and downs adolescents face. Follow Jean, Seraphina and the rest of the crew along four years of their teenage lives, growing up and changing together, while also entering a phase of self-discovery. Although this book has many tragic points, the overall story is not one of despair, but one of community and hope. Jean explores many facets of their identity; the love they have for their friend Seraphina, their gender identity between their Indigenous cultural background and white colonial expectations of gender, and their late discovery of the country their father is from. This story portrays realistic depictions of depression and police brutality, so take a breath and pause reading if the heavy topics are too much for you, dear reader. Through love for country and family, Maloney explores Jean’s life through a contemporary lens and lets readers experience a queer life of a young Indigenous person.

Maloney, L. (2025). Weaving us together. Lothian Children’s Books.

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Tim Te Maro And The Subterranean Heartsick Blues by H. S. Valley

Are you disappointed by a certain English wizard boy series and want something with more diverse representation? Welcome Tim Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues by H. S. Valley into your life. Set in a boarding school underneath a glacier in Aotearoa, Tim and his high school friends navigate regular and magical classes. However, through one assignment sees Tim and friends raising magical egg babies, and Tim must raise Meggan with none other than his nemesis Elliott. Originally a bully of Tim, Elliott has recently broken up with his boyfriend and did not want to raise a bouncing baby egg with him. Elliott instead chose Tim – also recently broken up with by his girlfriend – as his egg baby’s father. Tim explores his bisexuality while also reckoning with his father’s disappearance, an event that has negatively impacted his mental health that he has not had the time to fully process. Over the course of this eBook, come to love Tim, Elliott, Meggan, and their gaggle of friends getting up to teenage nonsense all while in the backdrop of a magical school with Māori roots.

Valley, H. S. (2021). Tim Te Maro and the subterranean heartsick blues. Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing. https://share.libbyapp.com/title/6437615

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The Boy From the Mish by Gary Lonesborough, narrated by Meyne Wyatt

Looking for a change of pace from the American or UK queer books dominating the queer space in literature? Why not try The Boy From the Mish by Gary Lonesborough, a story of an Indigenous Australian boy named Jackson from the New South Wales coast getting into the usual trouble teenagers do. Every Christmas, Jackson’s Aunty comes to visit him on the Mish with all his cousins in tow, but this time Tomas tags along – another teen with a mysterious background and a love for writing. Together, Tomas and Jackson go to teen parties, write a comic book together, and find their first true loves together. Focusing on gay male relationships, Lonesborough balances this story with exploring toxic masculinity and expectations of not just teen boys, but teen boys that are already marginalised by the systemic colonialism which exists within Australia. Meyne Wyatt narrates this story wonderfully, giving a youthful voice to the plight of Jackson and Tomas in a story that is serious at times.

Lonesborough, G. (2021). The boy from the mish (M. Wyatt, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Bolinda Audio. https://mooneevalley.borrowbox.com/product/BOL_1562123/title/the-boy-from-the-mish

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Leap by Simina Popescu

Leap by Simina Popescu explores how two teenagers navigate complicated feelings in a competitive and conservative dance school in Bucharest, Romania. Ana is trying to keep her relationship with the beautiful ballerina Carina a secret because Carina is scared of facing the homophobic backlash in the classical ballet stream, much to Ana’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Ana’s roommate Sara is confused about her feelings towards women, and wants to understand who she is amongst the greater world. The roommates must work together with their friends to find their community and discover who they are. Although the characters are drawn in muted colours throughout the novel, Popescu uses full colour drawings to show the vibrancy of the character’s personalities when they dance, bringing them out of their shells. Facing homophobia, secrecy, and questioning, Sara and Ana must introspect and work together to find out who they really are. Even in eBook form, this graphic novel stands out as a thorough exploration of teenage troubles and finding community.

Popescu, S. (2024). Leap. Roaring Brook Press. https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/leap-43

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Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner, narrated by Helen Keeley and Barbara Rosenblat

Lock up your knights, Lady Isobelle is here to scheme and encourage women’s badassery in ye olde England. Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner follows Lady Isobelle, a noblewoman set to marry a man of ‘good’ stature, and Gwen, the daughter of a blacksmith who dreams of competing in the upcoming jousting tournament. Both shackled by societal expectations, the two girls meet cute during market day where Gwen is selling her and her father’s wares and Isobelle becomes entranced by the craftsmanship. Isobelle and Gwen have chemistry, but will this chemistry help them save the kingdom? A strongly feminist tale, this story exemplifies strong friendships, working together, and smashing the patriarchy, all whilst being in love with very pretty women. Additionally, in this audiobook Helen Keeley and Barbara Rosenblat bring Gwen and Isobelle to life, and add to their inner thoughts through their emotive narration. If you want more medieval knight adventures after Gwen And Art Are Not In Love, then Lady’s Knight is for you!

Kaufman, A., Spooner, M. (2025). Lady’s knight (H. Keeley, & B. Rosenblat, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Bolinda Audio. https://mooneevalley.borrowbox.com/product/BOL_7554424/title/ladys-knight 

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Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

Ever felt like the world is telling you who you should be, who you should be with, and  like you have been shoved in a personality box so people can do what they want with you? Because Gwen and Art have both felt that way. Gwen and Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher is a medieval adventure where despite being betrothed, Gwen and Art despise each other. With a supportive cast of characters, Gwen slowly discovers her burgeoning sexuality by watching the dashing knight Sir Bridget compete in the tournament of knight champions – all the while Art is busy pining over Gwen’s brother, Gabriel. Why not try this as an immersive read? Listen to the audiobook while reading either an eBook or paperback for an immersive experience, hearing the characters come to life through the voices both narrators provide. Self-discovery, familial expectations, with a dash of feminism and LGBTQIA+ rights in the kingdom of Camelot, this novel does not pull any punches with plot or character development. If you love medieval fantasy, destroying expectations, and forging bonds, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is for you.

Croucher, L. (2023). Gwen and Art are not in love (A. Singh, S. Ovens, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://share.libbyapp.com/title/9176176 

Croucher, L. (2023a). Gwen and Art are not in love. Bloomsbury YA.

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An Unexpected Party edited by Seth Malacari

Nineteen short stories, nineteen short looks into the imagination of the authors. An Unexpected Party, edited by Seth Malacari, takes you through different sci-fi and fantasy short stories all by Australian authors of different backgrounds. In some stories, gender and sexuality are circumstantial, in some stories, they are the cornerstone. The authors have chosen to represent a variety of people in a variety of situations, the only recurring theme being that the characters are LGBTQIA+. The most poignant story was The Excursion by Malacari, where a group of teenagers are on a school excursion and told not to swim over the fence protecting them from the mer-people of the ocean – an example of where the identities of the story are secondary to the major themes, The Excursion focuses heavily on environmentalism and how humans invade spaces not meant for them. For a lighter story, Sixteen Candles (but with demons) by Shaeden Berry follows a teen who has just turned 16, and in their angst summons a demon to spend their birthday with them; shenanigans ensue. There is a story for everyone in this eBook to enjoy!

Malacari, S., Berry, S., Demmers, A., Galea, J., Austin, L. E., Henderson, A. R., Low, L., Di Bernado, E., Bourke, E., Layton, J., Taylor, A., Lake, C., Te Pohe, A., Roser, L., Ott, A., Jacobson, A., Readman, E., Farnan, H., & Blythe, L. (2023). An unexpected party. Fremantle Press. https://go.borrowbox.com/productdetails/1505/IPG_5114200

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Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda Dewitt

For lovers of found family, conspiracy, espionage, and shenanigans, Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda Dewitt is an excitable romp where a group of teenage best friends devise a scheme to break into a rival casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jack Shannon, the heir to a casino empire, has his life turned upside down when his mother is arrested on suspicion of fraud by law enforcement. Together, with the help of his online all-asexual friendship group, Jack and his friends plan a heist into the rival casino, trying to dig up dirt on the shady owner who Jack thinks threw his mother under the bus for crimes they co-committed. But is the heist really worth it? Is it worth living up to the sinful standards of Vegas to throw away your future? Or is it worth sticking with your family, both found and blood, and making a legitimate future for yourself outside of the casino empire? Not only is the focus of this book trying to exonerate the Shannon family name, Dewitt also thoughtfully writes strong family relationships and friendships with open and clear communication. A fun fiction novel that takes the reader through flashy Las Vegas and the real people who operate the strip.

Dewitt, A. (2022). Aces wild: A heist. Peachtree Teen.

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Queerbook by Malcolm Mackenzie, illustrated by Emily A. Foster

Covering a comprehensive history of queer history and pop culture, Queerbook by Malcolm Mackenzie takes you through a journey of the craziest and most influential LGBTQIA+ icons of both the modern age and history. This eBook reminds us that being LGBTQIA+ is not just a new phenomenon, and that queer people have existed all throughout history, helping progress LGBTQIA+ rights to take us to where we currently sit in the modern world. Emily A. Foster adds character to the icons mentioned through quirky illustrations, giving a face to the names you may not immediately recognise. Queerbook discusses iconic locations such as the Stonewall Inn, and iconic people like David Bowie. While focusing more on the pop culture aspect of queer culture, this book provides you with the vocabulary and inspiration to enter into queer spaces and be in the know with what everyone has been watching and talking about. Ru Paul’s Drag Race? Check. Jean Paul Gaultier? Check. The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Check, check and check! For a comprehensive look at the history of queer culture, Queerbook is for you!

Mackenzie, M. (2024). Queerbook (E. A. Foster, Illus.). Red Shed. https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/queerbook

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Queer Up by Alexis Caught

Whether you are looking for some personal advice, or advice to help others, Queer Up by Alexis Caught feels like a deep, personal discussion with an older, non-judging sibling. Through a therapist’s lens, Caught guides you through practical social advice and how to manage your feelings, and brings in other experts for delicate topics like how to navigate sex and relationships. This book helps you understand complex ideas such as different genders, pronouns, sexualities, and how to connect with the queer folk in your community. Caught expertly explains complex ideas so no matter where you are on your journey, you can grasp the multifaceted aspects of queer life. This book is an uplifting and supportive resource that is an essential for a factual adventure into the LGBTQIA+ rainbow. Whether you are an ally supporting your friends, or discovering who you are as you enter the world, welcome to your rainbow family.

Caught, A. (2022). Queer up. Walker Books.