25 New Queer YA Books to Add to Your Pride TBR

Bad Queer by Gayathiri Kamalakanthan

This mesmerizing YA romantic novel-in-verse follows a nonbinary teen in London as they come out to their family, navigate changing friendships, and fall in love for the first time. Poet Gayathiri Kamalakanthan writes with compassion, tenderness, and radiance that makes their debut book unforgettable, and Chi Nwosu’s vivid illustrations add even more texture to this powerful story. —Susie Dumond

Shapes of Love by L.V. Peñalba

Sasha is a 19-year-old musician whose album of love songs has gone viral. Everyone is gossiping about who her muse is, the one who broke her heart—and Sasha knows that they don’t want to hear that she’s asexual and aromantic, and that she used her favorite love stories from fiction as inspiration. When photos leak of her with her estranged best friend, Kai, Sasha is roped into a PR relationship with him for six months. The time together helps Sasha and Kai to mend their friendship, but Sasha resents having to fake a romance in a world that prioritizes romantic love over platonic love. —Danika Ellis

Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions by Ahmad Saber

Meet Me at the Picket Line by Jasper Sanchez

Jasper Sanchez is the author of The (Un)popular Vote, and now he’s back with another queer YA book! Eli’s summer job at a roadside tourist trap of a museum is objectively terrible, but he’s just glad he has a way to save up for a down payment on top surgery. That possibility is threatened by his coworker and school rival Efraín, who is trying to unionize the staff. Initially, Eli reluctantly goes along, but he soon sees the value in what they’re doing. When management gets suspicious, he has to decide whether to stand by his convictions and the boy he’s falling for—even if it means putting his chance at top surgery at risk. —Danika Ellis

Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae

Summer Official by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Beloved romance author Rebekah Weatherspoon is gifting us with another sapphic YA romance! Saylor broke her arm at basketball camp while distracted by her mother’s viral video about Saylor’s coming out. The last thing she wants to do is spend the summer at home with a camera shoved in her face. She finds escape in Heaven, who wants Saylor’s help to build a social media following for Heaven’s future career as a tattoo artist. Despite their differences, sparks fly between them, but can their relationship survive the threat of social media surveillance? —Danika Ellis

The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay by Ryan Douglass

As you could probably guess, this is a Great Gatsby retelling. It takes place in Harlem at the West Egg Academy. When 17-year-old Nick arrives at West Egg, he discovers it is not as integrated as it claims to be, and he faces a lot of racism. Making things more complicated, he begins to fall for the founder’s son, Jay Gatsby Jr. When Nick writes a cutting article that exposes the truth about West Egg, he and Jay will have to decide how much they’re willing to risk to expose the rot at this school. —Danika Ellis

Being Aro: A Collection of Aromantic Fiction About Love, Connection, and Empowerment edited by Madeline Dyer and Rosiee Thor

This year, we’re getting the follow-up to the anthology Being Ace, Being Aro! These 12 YA short stories in a range of genres celebrate aromantic love, including: “A high school matchmaker learns a lesson about love. A rebellious spaceship pilot defies his culture’s compulsory coupling. A boy magically transforms banned romance novels into living dragons. A teen immune to romance, and the zombie virus, fights to survive the apocalypse.” —Danika Ellis

That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall

Hawaiian author Keala Kendall just released her YA sapphic horror novel That Which Feeds Us earlier this month. Described as a “Hawaiian Gothic,” That Which Feeds Us is the story of a native Hawaiian teen girl who travels to Kōpaʻa Island Resort, a luxury vacation spot for the world’s wealthiest travelers. But she’s not there for a relaxing holiday; she’s looking for her missing sister. —Emily Martin

We Could Be Anyone by Anna-Marie McLemore

They Want Us Dead by CL Montblanc

This Wretched Beauty by Elle Grenier

Feiwel & Friends’ Remix series has had so many great hits for me (especially Travelers Along the Way and Most Ardently). This new addition to the series reimagines Dorian Gray as a young trans person, trapped under her grandfather’s thumb as heir to his estate. When she meets a painter who sees her for who she is and introduces her to the world of molly houses and drag, she sees a new possible future for herself for the first time. But if she doesn’t choose to take this new future by both hands, she may just become the very worst of what her family wants her to be. —Rachel Brittain

The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett

Queen of Faces by Petra Lord

In the world of this sapphic YA dark academia, human bodies can be replaced, if you have the money. Anabelle Gage is trapped in a decaying male body and desperate to get out of it, so she attempts to steal one from the Paragon Academy, where students are automatically given new ones. But caught by the school’s headmaster, Anabelle is blackmailed into being his personal mercenary instead. —Liberty Hardy

Charmed and Dangerous by Shelly Page

The author of Brewed With Love is back with another sapphic YA fantasy romance. Monroe is a junior recruit for the Bureau of Mystical Affairs, tracking down the source of a love spell gone wrong. She’s totally focused on her first assignment and has no time for distractions—except that Iris, the daughter of the Bureau’s director, just asked her to fake date to make her ex jealous. As you can imagine, sparks fly between them, but can she solve the case and get the girl? —Danika Ellis

The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham

In this queer YA retelling of Sleeping Beauty, a young thief goes searching for her missing sister, who went searching for the legendary sleeping princess. The two of them stumble through a portal into the princess’s subconscious and meet her alter ego, Briar Rose, who takes them on a tour of the enchanting land, along with a magical demon. —Liberty Hardy

Death Card by Jasmine Smith (August 11, 2026)

This queer YA fantasy debut is about witchcraft and tarot. While giving a reading in her family’s occult shop, eighteen-year-old Mikaela Broussard has a vision of the young woman across from her stabbing her to death. So in order to find out why this lovely stranger, Joelle, might want to kill her, Mikaela decides to befriend her… only to start falling for the one person she knows might murder her! —Liberty Hardy

Cemetery Boys: Espíritu by Aiden Thomas (September 8, 2026)

The graveyard gays are back! It’s been almost six years since Aiden Thomas first introduced us to Yadriel and Julian (and my fave, Maritza, a real one). This fall, we’re headed back to the graveyard in Espíritu, which follows Julian as he navigates life post sacrificial ritual. Things are mostly pretty sweet—except for the part where he sees shadows in his eyes, glowing eyes in the dark, and these ominous dark spots on people that no one can explain. There’s also a mysterious new nonbinary bruje in the mix, one who Julian is drawn to but Yadriel is looking at with some side eye for their cutthroat approach to brujeria. Let’s gooooo. —Vanessa Diaz

Time-Tripping Over You by Brennon Lane

Silas is a reluctant time traveler: he keeps getting thrown back in time, forced to relive hours or days in his pre-transition body. He’s sure he’s a unique scientific anomaly—until he meets Jude, who has the same symptoms. Jude has met a future version of Silas, and he says that they need to work together to fix their problem. The more time they spend together, the closer they become, but just as a solution comes into sight, Jude begins to question whether it might be better to change the past instead and save both of them heartache. (Jude is on the aro/ace spectrum.) —Danika Ellis

Pink Monsters by Claus Daniel Herrmann

Frank loves drawing monsters, both because he enjoys art and because it allows him to bond with the cool kids in his class, who can’t get enough of his pictures. But when Frank’s art and his sexuality start to come between him and his parents, he will have to decide if obeying their wishes is worth keeping the peace. —Eileen Gonzalez

Just Between Us by Adeline Kon

There’s no longer any magic in ice skating for Lydia. Sure, she can do the moves, but it’s a means to an end: a spot at the Olympics. It’s not art, and it’s certainly not fun. But by watching another Olympic hopeful, Elaine, put together passionate routines, Lydia finds her emotions thawing — both for her sport and her rival. —Eileen Gonzalez

Heartstopper Volume 6 by Alice Oseman (July 7, 2026)

Need I say more? In 2026, we’re likely to see the end of both the Heartstopper graphic novels and the adaptation—the movie comes out July 17th. This final volume follows Charlie’s campaign for Head Boy and Nick’s preparation for college. Everyone knows Nick and Charlie will be together forever… but how will they navigate their relationship once Nick graduates?

Good Morning, Salwa, Volume 1 by Shazleen Khan

Queer and How We Got Here: A (Personal) History by Hazel Newlevant

Part memoir and part history, Newlevant’s latest comic takes you inside their personal journey toward self-acceptance while also placing that journey into the larger context of queer history. Just in time for Pride Month, too! —Eileen Gonzalez

The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS In America by David Levithan and Gabriel Duckels

The history of AIDS in America is a complicated and complex one. It’s one of grief and heartbreak, alongside stories of activism and hope. Levithan and Duckels explore the history of where and how America has handled the AIDS epidemic since its early years. Readers will learn about many of the major movements and cultural touchstones related to AIDS, including the Names Quilt, ACT UP, and more. Peppering the text are poems, stories, and other ephemera from those who lived through and stood at the forefront of the fight. —Kelly Jensen