23 Upcoming YA Novels With LGBT Characters

To be continued.

We Are the Ants, Shaun David Hutchinson

Simon Pulse / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: January 19th 2016

Since the suicide of his boyfriend Jesse, Henry Denton has felt lost. His family are completely oblivious, he’s become estranged from his best friend, and he’s started hooking up with his sworn enemy.

Then there’s the big red button the aliens gave him. Press it and the world is saved. The question is: Is a world without Jesse worth saving?

Read the full synopsis here

Any Other Girl, Rebecca Phillips

Kensington / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: January 26th 2016

Kat Henley has a new plan: When it comes to boys – especially other people’s – keep away.

With two gay parents, Kat’s spent years trying to prove she’s just like everybody else, until she meets someone who wants her because she’s not. Only, to get him, Kat might have to break her resolution—and betray her cousin’s trust.

Read the full synopsis here

Shallow Graves, Kali Wallace

Katherine Tegen Books / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: January 26th 2016

When seventeen-year-old Breezy Lin wakes up in a grave with no memory of her murder and an ability to sense those around her who are hiding a murderous past, she sets out looking for answers and to discover what is to become of her in the dangerous world to which she now belongs.

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Tagged Out, Joyce Grant

Lorimer / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: February 1st 2016

With all-star player Jock joining the Toronto Blues, Nash and the team hope he’ll be the change they need to turn the season around. Arch-rivals Parkhill Pirates have other ideas when they find out Jock is gay, ambushing the players and forcing Nash to decide whether or not to stand by his team-mate.

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Spirit Level, Sarah N. Harvey

Orca Book Publishers / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: February 2nd 2016

After breaking up with her boyfriend, donor-conceived Harriet (known as Harry) tracks down her half-siblings—Lucy, a half-Japanese dancer, and Meredith, an accomplished liar.

Harry becomes determined to get to the bottom of Meredith’s hostility, but her investigation reveals a bigger secret: Alex, Meredith’s best friend and Harry’s new crush, was born female. As the sisters get to know each other and discuss meeting their donor, Harry must decide what she really wants.

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Symptoms of Being Human, Jeff Garvin

Balzer + Bray / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: February 2nd 2016

Gender fluid, punk rock Riley Cavanaugh identifies as a boy on some days and as a girl on others. On a therapist’s advice, Riley starts a blog about what it’s really like to be a gender-fluid teen. But when an anonymous commenter threatens to expose Riley’s identity, Riley faces a choice: abandon their new outlet or come out and risk everything?

Read the full synopsis here

Bleeding Earth, Kaitlin Ward

Adaptive Books / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: February 9th 2016

All Lea wants to do is spend time with her new girlfriend Aracely, but the earth has started to bleed, and the blood has made Lea a prisoner in her own home. Can Lea save herself and Aracely and continue their relationship in spite of Aracely’s disapproving father?

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Seven Ways We Lie, Riley Redgate

Amulet Books / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: March 8th 2016

At Paloma High School, the lives of seven unlikely allies - all with something to hide - are changed after rumors of a student-teacher affair spread around the school.

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Fjord Blue, Nina Rossing

Harmony Ink Press / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: March 10th 2016

Shipped off to cold and rainy Norway to work on his grandparents’ farm after a year of bad decisions, seventeen-year-old Benjamin is struggling to come to terms with his attraction to his best friend’s hot cousin, Dino.

Whilst there he meets Even, an eighteen-year-old farmhand whose friendship and different outlooks on life might prove to be exactly what Ben needs.

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My Year Zero, Rachel Gold

Bella Books / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: March 29th 2016

When Lauren meets a group of kids writing a sci-fi story online, she gets attention from two very different girls—charming Sierra and troublesome Blake. Blake’s insights into living with bipolar disorder help Lauren understand she’s not alone, but her attention might just destroy everything Lauren knows, including her relationship with Sierra.

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The Great American Whatever, Tim Federle

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: March 29th 2016

Before losing his sister in a car accident, Quinn Roberts was a smart aleck whose only worry was writing dialogue for the films they made together. Now Quinn’s stopped going to school and his mom sleeps on the sofa. Enter Geoff, the best friend who drags Quinn to his first college party, where he falls hard for a guy. Could the new romance be the new start Quinn needs?

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South of Sunshine, Dana Elmendorf

Albert Whitman / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: April 1st 2016

Kaycee Jean McCoy lives in Sunshine, Tennessee—which means attending church, dealing with the bigots in her mother’s cosmetics salon, and dating guys she has no interest in. When cool girl Bren Dawson joins the school and nobody seems to give her any trouble for being herself, Kaycee allows herself to get close to Bren—but at what cost?

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Saving Montgomery Sole, Mariko Tamaki

Roaring Brook Press / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: April 19th 2016

Montgomery Sole and her best friends Thomas and Naoki are the only members of Jefferson High's Mystery Club, dedicated to exploring the unexplained. There’s also the Eye of Know, a crystal amulet whose (possible) powers Monty hopes will help fight against the ignoramuses who tease Thomas for being gay and Monty for having two moms. And it may be that the Eye arrived just in time, as the town’s newest resident is scarier than anything the Mystery Club has ever come across.

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Unicorn Tracks, Julia Ember

Harmony Ink Press / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: April 21st 2016

Driven from her home, sixteen-year-old Mnemba finds sanctuary in her cousin’s safari business, where she is employed to guide Mr. Harving and his engaged daughter Kara through the wild to study unicorns. As they work together to stop a group of poachers, the two women are drawn to each other and must attempt to resist a love they know they cannot indulge.

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Ask Me How I Got Here, Christine Heppermann

Greenwillow / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: May 3rd 2016

Addie’s life changes after a careless night with her boyfriend leads to an abortion. Though she knows it was the right decision for her, nothing is the same. She no longer wants to run cross-country and she can’t bring herself to be excited about anything. That is, until she reconnects with former team-mate Juliana, who has struggles of her own.

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If I Was Your Girl, Meredith Russo

Flatiron Books / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: May 3rd 2016

New girl Amanda just wants to make friends and fit in, but keeping her secret means not getting too close to anyone. Anyone except sweet, easy-going Grant, who she can’t help but let in. As the pair grow closer, Amanda yearns to share with him everything about herself – including that she used to be Andrew. But will telling him cost Amanda her new love—and new life?

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Jerkbait, Mia Siegert

Jolly Fish Press / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: May 3rd 2016

Until his identical twin Robbie attempted suicide, Tristan and his brother weren’t what you’d call close. But once the two are forced to share a room together, Tristan begins to see his brother not as an NHL prospect, but as a gay teen plagued by the fear of coming out in the sports world.

When Robbie suggests running away with someone he’s been speaking to online, Tristan must decide whether to break his brother’s trust and tell their parents or embark on a journey that could put both of their lives at risk.

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The May Queen Murders, Sarah Jude

HMH Books for Young Readers / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: May 3rd 2016

To the other kids at school, sixteen-year-old Ivy and her cousin Heather are weird. They live in Rowan’s Glen, an old-fashioned farming community full of superstitions and traditions. But Ivy doesn’t mind – she loves it there, and the two girls share everything with each other. Or so Ivy thought.

When Heather disappears after a May Day celebration, Ivy discovers her home town and her cousin are actually as secretive as the woods that surround them.

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Draw the Line, Laurent Linn

Margaret K. McElderry Books / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: May 17th 2016

Talented artist, sci-fi geek, and gay – not the kind of traits you want to draw attention to in a Texas high school. The only way Adrian Piper feels comfortable expressing himself is through the secret world of his Renaissance-inspired superhero, Graphite—until a hate crime in real life forces Adrian to reconsider how visible he wants to be in the real world.

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Without Annette, Jane B. Mason

Scholastic / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: May 31st 2016

Josie Little and her girlfriend Annette are moving half-way across the country to attend prestigious boarding school Brookwood Academy. But when they arrive and Josie struggles to fit in, a sense of elitism threatens to destroy the girls' relationship. There’s also Penn, a boy whose feelings for Josie confuse things further.

When her need for approval gets Annette into trouble, Josie isn’t sure she can save her this time – or if Annette even wants her to try.

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True Letters from a Fictional Life, Kenneth Logan

HarperTeen / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: June 7th 2016

Ask anyone in his small Vermont town and they’d tell you James Liddell – star athlete and sort of boyfriend to peppy Theresa – is a happy, carefree guy. The letters James fills his desk with tell a different story: He tries, but he just isn’t into Theresa. Instead it’s a friend – a boy – who lingers in his thoughts.

When someone at school leaks his secret letters, James has to make a decision: Come clean or continue living a life of fiction?

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You Know Me Well, Nina LaCour & David Levithan

St. Martin's Griffin / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: June 7th 2016

Kate is lost after running from the chance to finally meet the girl she’s loved from afar. Mark is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not love him back.

A wild night in the city brings together these two classmates, who sat next to each other for a year without speaking, and it’s not long before they know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

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Look Both Ways, Alison Cherry

Delacorte Press / Via goodreads.com

Expected publication: June 14th 2016

Brooklyn Shepard’s friendship with her roommate Zoe turns into something more during her theater apprenticeship at Allerdale, but as their relationship intensifies, so do Brooklyn’s doubts: She’s happier now than she’s ever been, but is it because of her new relationship or is she becoming the independent woman she set out to be?

Read the full synopsis here