12 Young Adult Novels To Read On Trans Day Of Visibility

International Transgender Day of Visibility is a day intended to celebrate and honor transgender people around the world!

1. Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Penguin Random House / Via penguinrandomhouse.com, Via akwaeke.com

Release date: Sept. 10, 2019

What it's about: Finalist for a National Book Award and winner of a Stonewall Award, Emezi's debut YA stars a Black trans girl named Jam who's stunned to find that messing with her mother's paintings has unleashed a literal monster. But Pet isn't like the scary monsters of nightmares; in fact, he's there to help Jam and her best friend track down a much bigger monster, a monster that is way too close to home and that they need to stop from hurting anyone further before it's too late. And since according to the rest of the world, monsters no longer exist, Jam and Redemption are entirely on their own. Prepare to be grabbed by the very first page, to wish you could protect these kids with every fiber of your being, and to pray Emezi returns to YA again soon.

Get it from Bookshop for $16.54+, Barnes & Noble for $16.19, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

2. Somebody Told Me by Mia Siegert

Lerner Publishing Group / Via lernerbooks.com, Via goodreads.com

Release date: Apr. 7, 2020

What it's about: Bigender Aleks/Alexis is recovering from an assault and needs a fresh start, leading them to move in with their uncle — who happens to be a Catholic priest. The discovery that they can overhear confessions leads them to become a sort of a guardian angel to those who've sinned out of need. But when they hear the confession of an abusive priest, they're forced to confront their own trauma and figure out how to proceed with a secret they were never meant to hear. It's an intense, empowering exploration of gender identity and trauma recovery that evolves into a mystery/thriller before your eyes.

Get it from Bookshop for $17.46, Barnes & Noble for $18.99, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

3. Dreadnought by April Daniels

Diversion Books / Via diversionbooks.com, Via diversionbooks.com

Release date: Jan. 27, 2017

What it's about: Taking on superhero Dreadnought's mantle after witnessing his death is both a blessing and a curse for Danny Tozer in Daniels' groundbreaking series opener. These powers aren't anything she's ever wanted, except for one: she's finally got a body she feels comfortable in. But with it comes its own complications, including anti-trans parents, an entitled best friend, a cast of extremely messy superheroes, and, oh right, Dreadnought's killer threatening to wreak havoc on the entire city. All in a day's work! Or something like that. (Can't get enough trans superheroes? Check out Not Your Villain by CB Lee!)

Get it from Bookshop for $13.79, Barnes & Noble for $13.49, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

4. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

Scholastic / Via masondeaverwrites.com, Trịnh Hồng Hương / Via masondeaverwrites.com

Release date: May 14, 2019

What it's about: This warmhearted debut follows nonbinary teen Ben de Backer, who's just been kicked out of their home and has only one place to turn: their estranged sister, Hannah. Living with Hannah and her husband means Ben gets to start their new life with new friends, including sweet, charming Nathan. Nathan’s attention makes it a little hard for the very anxious Ben to go under the radar, as they'd planned — but maybe the attention is worth it if it means finally finding unconditional love? (For another YA starring a displaced nonbinary teen, pick up Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff!)

Get it from Bookshop for $16.45, Barnes & Noble for $16.19, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

5. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

HarperCollins Publishers / Via harpercollins.com, Ashlee Cain / Via Author

Release date: May 5, 2020

What it's about: When Felix has his deadname and pre-transition photos publicly outed, he cooks up a catfishing revenge plan. He certainly didn't account for it landing him in a weird sort of love triangle. Between that and questioning whether trans boy is 100% the right label for him when he doesn't feel like a boy all the time, there's a lot on Felix's plate. But more than anything, he wants to fall in love, and for the first time, it looks like that just might be in the cards. Master category jumper Callender absolutely nails all the right notes in this one, from self-discovery and personal passions, to the complexity of human relationships and being multiply marginalized, to heart-melting romance.

Get it from Bookshop for $17.46, Barnes & Noble for $18.99, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

6. Birthday by Meredith Russo

Flatiron Books / Via us.macmillan.com, Anthony Travis / Via us.macmillan.com

Release date: May 21, 2019

What it's about: Emotions run high between trans girl Morgan and cis boy Eric — best friends born on the same day — thanks to football pressure, confusing sparks, and the secret that could either divide them forever or bring them closer than ever. Set over the course of their adolescent years and told over the birthdays they share from 13 to 18, this book is unique, heartrending, and wholly affirming. (For another trans girl YA by Russo, check out her award-winning debut, If I Was Your Girl.)

Get it from Bookshop for $17.46, Barnes & Noble for $17.09, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

7. The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta

Penguin Random House / Via penguinrandomhouse.com, Via amyrosecapetta.com

Release date: Oct. 30, 2018

What it's about: If you like your trans lit atmospheric and romantic with a side of magic and witchery, Capetta's got you covered in this duology opener about a demigirl strega named Teo, whose position in the Five Families has always been minimized thanks to her gender. When her father is poisoned, though, Teo knows she'll have to step up, if only she could find a way to present herself as male. Enter Cielo, who's even more powerful, genderfluid, glad to help with Teo's dangerous mission, and utterly, distractingly charming. (For more genderfluid fantasy, try Linsey Smith's Mask of Shadows!)

Get it from Bookshop for $10.11, Barnes & Noble for $10.99, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

8. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Swoon Reads / Via us.macmillan.com, Elizabeth Stelle / Via us.macmillan.com

Release date: June 9, 2020

What it's about: This colorful and absorbing debut stars Yadriel, a trans guy determined to prove to his family that he's a true brujo and by extension, the gender they can't seem to accept he is. But when the process of completing the necessary ritual raises the wrong spirit and leaves him with a confused and angry Julian Diaz, Yadriel's hot bad boy classmate, the brujo-to-be finds a whole new set of problems. And what if by the time they finish everything they need to for Julian to be able to depart peacefully, Yadriel isn't ready to let him go?

Get it from Bookshop for $16.54, Barnes & Noble for $12.59, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

9. When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

Wednesday Books / Via us.macmillan.com, Via us.macmillan.com

Release date: Oct. 4, 2016

What it's about: This Stonewall and National Book Award finalist alternates perspectives between queer cis girl Miel and trans boy Sam, best friends in a magical world where roses grow from her wrist, and he paints the moons but has a secret. All is not as beautiful as McLemore's trademark lyricism here, not when a group of rumored witch sisters are holding Sam's secret hostage for Miel's roses — roses that physically hurt her to give. How far will they go for love, and where is safety to be found when one's very essence is demanded in order to preserve it?

Get it from Bookshop for $18.38, Barnes & Noble for $9.89, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

10. Even if We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

Sourcebooks Fire / Via mariekenijkamp.com, Via mariekenijkamp.com

Release date: Sept. 15, 2020

What it's about: Nonbinary Ever and trans boy Finn are two of five friends reuniting for one last game in this creeptastic and murderous thriller by bestseller Nijkamp. The group barely has anything to say to each other anymore, especially since Finn's attack at which Liva stood by and did nothing. But all of them are struggling in different ways and need this one last bit of familiarity. What begins as a game, though, turns into anything but; after all, what could be higher stakes than playing for your life?

Get it from Barnes & Noble for $17.99 or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

11. Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

HarperCollins Publishers / Via harpercollins.com, Via goodreads.com

Release date: May 26, 2020

What it's about: When trans guy Pony meets cis girl Georgia on his first day at his new school, the chemistry is instant, and it only builds from there. (If banterrific romance is your thing, make absolutely sure this debut is on your reading list!) But when it looks like things might move to the next level, Pony decides Georgia has to know the whole truth about his gender identity, something he'd been determined to keep under wraps at his new school until now. With both of them wanting to stay under the radar, can they put aside the complications between them and find something neither of them had even been looking for?

Get it from Bookshop for $17.46, Barnes & Noble for $18.99, or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.

12. Into the Real by Z Brewer

HarperCollins Publishers / Via epicreads.com, Via zbrewerbooks.com

Release date: Oct. 6, 2020

What it's about: Genderqueer Quinn is navigating three different worlds, or "brumes." In one, they're able to be open about their identity, but there are plenty of other reasons to be terrified, including literal monsters. In another, they're presenting female in a prison with no bars and wrestling with why that doesn't fit. And in the third, they're presenting male, leading a resistance, and are forced to keep their identity a secret for fear everything would come tumbling down otherwise. Trust veteran author Brewer to write a book that's layered in every possible way!

Get it from Barnes & Noble for $17.99 or your local bookstore through Indiebound here.