Teen Book Lists

"16-year-old Raquel lives in a small town in Portugal, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Her parents are divorced and she’s just been suspended for cursing out a school aide asking about her father’s new marriage. She has two best friends, Luísa and Fred, but wants something more. Then, from afar, she sees Pardalita, a senior and a gifted artist who’s moving to Lisbon to study in the fall. The two girls get to know each other while working on a play. And Raquel falls in love." (description from catalog)

"Pretending to be her queer best friend Lili's former girlfriend, heterosexual Imogen Scott spends a lot of time with Lili's friend Tessa and starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with."(description from catalog)

"Seventeen-year-old neurodivergent and nonbinary Lark pretends that they are the creator of a viral thread that their ex-best friend, Kasim, accidentally posted onto their Twitter account, declaring his unrequited love, but living a lie takes its toll on Lark, forcing them to deal with their own messy emotions." (description from catalog)

Discovered practicing alchemy by apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash must help her find a sacred text of extraordinary power - a journey that forces him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he will go to seize it.--Description provided by catalog

"Peter Thompkins needs a public image overhaul. After a tense confrontation with one of the few other queer kids in his small-town high school, rumors about him are becoming more elaborate by the day. Meanwhile, his best friend Alan (aka teen drag queen Aggie Culture) is throwing Mason County's debut Drag Extravaganza. Although Peter is a self-described 'dragnostic,' he decides to help produce the show, hoping to prove that he isn't a self-hating gay. In the process, he finds himself facing down angry guard dogs, angrier bigots, and a very high-strung church lady. As backlash grows, Peter begins to wonder whether he's setting fire to his already damaged reputation and if his friendship with Alan will survive past curtain call"-- Provided by publisher.

"Seventeen-year-old Sky, openly gay but under the radar, decides to make a splashy Promposal but his plans are leaked by an anonymous, homophobic hacker, moving his classmates to help him expose the perpetrator." (description from catalog)

"Seventeen-year-old Gem Echols hides their mental health challenges and mysterious dreams in the small town of Gracie, Georgia, but when a newcomer reveals a shocking claim of being reincarnated gods together, Gem's life takes a perilous turn as they embark on a deadly adventure, where their past and present collide." - Provided from Catalog

"Two seventeen-year-old trans boys in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, struggling to understand themselves and their love for each other, are inspired by an online story about trans soldiers who fell in love during the American Revolution." (description from catalog)

A confrontation with a teacher and a family crisis force high school senior Cerulean Gene to drop out of twelfth grade and derails their dreams of moving cross-country and living off the grid.--Provided by catalog

"On boy band Kiss & Tell's first major tour, lead singer Hunter Drake grapples with a painful breakup with his first boyfriend, his first rebound, and the stress of what it means to be queer in the public eye." (description from catalog)

"It's 1987 in New York City, and Micah is at a dance club, trying to pretend he's more out and outgoing than he really is. C.J. isn't just out--he's completely out there, and Micah can't help but be both attracted to and afraid of someone who travels so loudly and proudly through the night...As their lives become more and more entangled in the AIDS epidemic that's laying waste to their community...whatever Micah and C.J. have between them will be tested, stretched, and strained." (description from publisher)

"An autistic nonbinary eighteen-year-old moves to a new town and school with the support of their loving father and finds friends in an LGBTQ-plus club, but they all must come together to solve the decades-old murder of a teenage boy and confront the demons lurking in Sam's past." (description from catalog)

Joining a secret group called the "Minus-One Club," whose members have all suffered the tragic loss of someone they loved, fifteen-year-old Kermit finds his crush Matt's headstrong approach to life helping to relieve his constant despair

"The house at Number 8 Sunflower Street tells the stories of three teenagers who have lived within its walls in the 21st century--Ana, a lesbian forced to leave her home, Greg sent to live with his aunt when his parents divorce, and Beto, a would-be photographer living during the COVID pandemic." (description from catalog)

On a field trip to SeaPlanet, seventeen-year-old Arab American high school swimmer River McIntyre has a chance encounter with Indy, a happy, healthy queer person, which sets off a wrenching journey of self-discovery, from internalized homophobia and gender dysphoria, through layers of coming out, affirmation surgery, and true love. (description from catalog)

"Transgender teen and aspiring actor August lands a spot at a prestigious performing arts high school in New York City, but he struggles to move past the life he left behind, with conservative parents who wanted to send him to conversion therapy." (description from catalog)

Fifteen-year-old Brynn is obsessed with death, and her severe anxiety leaves her feeling isolated, but when her parents decide she is going to spend the summer on her father's houseboat, she meets--and starts crushing on--sultry and confident Skylar, who is hiding a dark secret. (description from catalog)

"Exploring teen sexuality, friendship and romance, this daring, illustrated short novel follows Anthony Stevenson as he navigates relationships with three boys, which leads to loneliness and intimacy, unexpected support and heart-ripping betrayal." (description from Novelist)

"Eleanor believed acceptance to the Meadows would better her life, but the seemingly perfect institution hides a dark agenda, and after her graduation, Eleanor grapples with her experience as she uncovers the fate of her lost love, Rose." - Published from Catalog.

Seventeen-year-old queer adoptee Manny, now homeless, sets out to find his sister Elena, who is still enmeshed in Christ's Dominion, the community that abandoned him, but the journey is fraught with danger, as he is forced to confront the religious traumafrom his past. (description from catalog)

Sixteen-year-old Mexican American Yami Flores starts Catholic school, determined to keep her brother out of trouble and keep herself closeted, but her priorities shift when Yami discovers that her openly gay classmate Bo is also annoyingly cute. (description from catalog)

"Queen Nirrim falls victim to a cruel queen's spell and, believing that her friends are enemies, seeks revenge against a world that has wronged her, while the person she loved most sets out to save her from herself." (description from Novelist)

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

"In 1990 New York City, eighteen-year-olds Adam and Ben learn to navigate life, love, and loss as gay teens during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic." (description from catalog)

"A transgender teen grapples with his dreams for the future and a crush on his debate partner, all while preparing to debate trans rights at Nationals" (description from publisher.)

"Seventeen-year-old Aaliyah is trying to survive her last years of high school, but things become much more complicated after she is outed by a church elder and Aaliyah must navigate new friends, old flames, and nosy school counselors during her senior year." (Description from catalog)

"After a disastrous promposal at a party, seventeen-year-old Theo has an existential crisis in an empty bedroom, but as the night progresses, various classmates also seek refuge from the party, and Theo finds he is not as alone as he thinks he is." (description from catalog)

"Gay, Black and Mexican comic book enthusiast Isaac Martin, 18, has grand plans for the summer before college separates him and his bisexual Puerto Rican gamer best friend, Diego Santoyo. Together, they’ll attend their first Pride and score tickets to an epic convention, Legends Con, to meet their favorite comics creators. But when con tickets sell out while Isaac is distracted by a former crush, bisexual Brazilian classmate Davi Lucas, their plans begin crumbling. Following an emotionally charged blowout with Diego, Isaac maneuvers unexplored feelings of love and abandonment, addresses tumultuous familial challenges, and learns to be brave." (description adapted from Publisher's Weekly)

"A novel in verse that captures the unbalanced experience of an all-consuming love between two unnamed, queer, Black teen girls who move rapidly from strangerhood into a protective best friendship before becoming dysfunctional lovers and mutually destructive partners in crime." (description from catalog)

"Two best friends, bonded by their shared love of poetry, uncover all the different meanings if "I love you" once they begin dating their senior year of high school"-- Provided by publisher.

Ariel grapples with her fear of her own mind and violent fantasies, driven by her desire to meet her parents' expectations and societal norms, until a summer job at a carnival leads her to new friends who help her discover her struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and find acceptance and support for her true self. Published from Catalog.

Queer teens Abby and Leo spend a life-changing day together lost in New York City. Published from Catalog.