Hi, my name is Rachel and I like making book rainbows!
A common problem I've run into though, is that if you don't have a book physically in front of you, it's very hard to find out what the color of a book's spine is!
And there are some colors that are very tricky to find (green and orange, I'm looking at you!), especially when I make book rainbows for Pride month, and want to make sure all the books in the rainbow have LGBTQ+ main characters.
So I've rounded up and recommended a ton of incredible LGBTQ+ books and sorted them by spine color below. And since everything is sorted by color of the book spine, keep in mind that a book's front cover may be a different color!
1. Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
MIDDLE GRADE
What it's about: Ivy's whole world is shattered after a tornado rips through her town — destroying her home, displacing her family, and bringing about the loss of her notebook filled with secret drawings of girls holding hands. But when her drawings begin to appear in her locker, they come with notes from someone telling her to open up about her identity, and she hopes it's the girl who she's developed a crush on.
2. Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Past: Mina plans to win the heart of the king, so that she might become queen, despite the fact her own heart was cut out and replaced with one made of glass by her magician father. Present: Lynet was created by a magician out of snow, an image of the late queen at request of the king. But when her father makes her queen of the southern territories, her stepmother begins to look at her with something like hatred.
3. Final Draft by Riley Redgate
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: When Laila's beloved creative writing teacher is replaced by Pulitzer Prize winner Nadiya Nazarenko, Laila is dismayed. Not only does Nazarenko not see anything special about Laila's writing, but Laila grows obsessed with gaining her teacher's approval, leading to a series of unexpected adventures.
4. Odd One Out by Nic Stone
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Coop and Jupiter have been best friends for years, and Coop has always sort of liked Jupe, who has always liked girls. When Rae moves to town, both Coop and Jupe develop crushes on her, and she realizes she might like him...and her. And when Jupe starts realizing that maybe she does like Coop, things get very complicated very fast.
5. Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Alice's summer plans do not involve a significant other, mostly because her girlfriend ended things after Alice came out to her as asexual. But then Takumi comes along, bringing with him rom-com feels and a library-employee badge, and she has to decide if opening her heart up to him is worth the risk.
6. The Last 8 by Laura Pohl
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Laura Pohl's thrilling duology begins after an alien invasion and stars Clover Martinez, who thinks she is Earth's lone survivor — that is, until she hears a voice on the radio telling her to go to the former Area 51. There she finds other teens who survived and hopes that they'll join with her to fight back. But when the other seven hesitate, and when Clover finds a hidden spaceship in the compound, she doesn't know who or what to believe.
7. The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: This prequel duology to the celebrated Nickelodeon series, Avatar the Last Airbender, follows Kyoshi, a homeless child taken in by a disgraced Air Nomad and companion of the late Avatar Kuruk. When Kyoshi displays Avatar-level earth bending, she and Yun, her friend who was previously identified as the next Avatar, are taken to see a spirit that confirms Kyoshi as the Avatar. After a series of tragic events, Kyoshi and her friend Rangi, a teenage firebender who'd been serving as Yun's bodyguard, flee.
8. Flamer by Mike Curato
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
What it's about: Aiden Navarro is away at camp during the summer between middle school and high school. He's on a path of self-discovery — one complicated by bullies, religion, and the boy he can't stop thinking about. This stunning graphic novel features illustrations that are almost entirely in black and white, with the notable exception of fire.
9. Crier's War by Nina Varela
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: The Automae were designed to serve the royals, but after the War of Kinds, they now rule. Ayla is a human servant in the House of the Sovereign, hoping to avenge her family's death by killing Lady Crier, the daughter of the sovereign. Crier has recently discovered that her father is not the benevolent king she thought, and has started to strain against the legacy she is meant to uphold. And amid growing unrest, Ayla and Crier begin to fall for each other.
10. I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: There are seven days left until the world ends. That's what is being reported at least...that in seven days a planet named Alma will hit the kill switch on Earth. Three teens react to this news in very different ways. Cate wants to use the last week to track down the father she never met. Adeem is deciding whether he can forgive his sister for leaving. And Jesse isn't even sure if he cares what happens to the world.
11. Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Jules was going to lay low for the last 10 months of high school in Corpus Christi, Texas. But after waking up hungover and discovering that he came out on Twitter between tequila shots, that plan goes out the window. Not only does this lead to a DM from Mat (an openly gay Twitter mutual who is supportive, funny, cute...and unfortunately three states away), but it also means that he'll have to face coming out to his father.
12. Heartstopper, Volume One by Alice Oseman
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
What it's about: Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. Charlie overthinks things. The thing he's overthinking right now? His crush on Nick, a rugby player at his school. While he doesn't think he has a chance, Nick soon develops feelings of his own for Charlie, and their love story begins.
Heartstopper Volume 2 has a blue spine and Volume 3 has a green spine, and I believe when Volume 4 releases it will be a yellow spine.
13. Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
What it's about: Nova works at her grandmothers' bookshop, loaning out spell books and investigating supernatural occurrences in their small town. Following reports of a white wolf into the woods, she finds her childhood best friend, Tam, battling a horse demon. Pursued by dark forces hoping to claim the magic Tam possesses as a werewolf, they turn to Nova for help.
14. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
What it's about: Laura Dean may have been Frederica's dream girl, but, as it turns out, she's not a great girlfriend. When Freddy's best friend, Doodle, brings her to a mysterious medium, she's left with these parting words: break up with her. But as Laura Dean keeps coming back, their relationship, and those Freddy has with others, begins to spiral.
15. A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: This Alice in Wonderland retelling follows Alice from real-world Atlanta, with her overprotective mom, to Wonderland, where keeping the Nightmares under control has turned into a full-time job. And when her mentor Hatta is poisoned, she will journey further into Wonderland than ever before to get the antidote.
16. Check Please, Volume One by Ngozi Ukazu
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
What it's about: Eric Bittle, vlogger and baker, has just started as a freshman at Samwell University, and his hockey team is nothing like back home. Plus, there's his very attractive captain, Jack, to think about.
Volume Two has a blue spine.
17. Proxy by Alex London
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: If you're rich, you don't take any punishments for your actions. Instead, you have a proxy, who is poor/in debt, who takes your punishments for you. After rich boy Knox gets into a car accident that kills the girl he's with, Syd, his proxy, is sentenced to death. But before his execution, he escapes and runs into Knox — and Knox finds out that the accident might have been planned.
Guardian, book two, has a blue spine.
18. Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
YOUNG ADULT
What it's About: Becky Albertalli's debut follows a boy named Simon whose anonymous emails with his crush fall into the wrong hands, leaving him to determine if he's ready to come out on his own terms.
Leah on the Offbeat, a companion novel/sequel has a teal/turquoise color spine.
19. Blanca y Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Blanca and Roja del Cisne know that one day, the generations-old spell that lingers around their family will come for them, leaving one of them a girl and the other a swan. But the magic in the woods is unpredictable, and when two local boys get involved, they all will need to face truths that could either save or destroy them all.
20. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
ADULT
What it's about: Grace goes on a girls' trip to Vegas to celebrate earning her PhD in astronomy...and ends up drunkenly married to a woman whose name she does not know. Leaving Portland behind in favor of a summer in New York, she quickly falls hard for her wife, Yuki, and has to discover what she's really been running from.
21. Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Three things to know about Darius Kellner: 1) He's a nerd. 2) He's got clinical depression. 3) He is about to take his first trip to Iran. While there, he gets to know his ailing grandfather, loving grandmother, and other family members. He also meets Sohrab, who becomes his first real friend. Sohrab makes Darius feel like a new version of himself. But as the trip winds down, he has to wonder if he can still be the new Darius without Sohrab by his side.
22. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Felix Love has never been in love, but he desperately wants to be. While at a summer program for the arts, he starts receiving anonymous transphobic messages from a classmate, and quickly plans for revenge against the likely culprit. But his catfish plan goes awry, landing him in a quasi-love triangle and leaving him to face his relationship with himself.
23. Not Your Sidekick by C B Lee
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Jess Tran lives in Andover, where she's the superpower-less daughter of two of the town's superheroes, and is just trying to find an internship to beef up her college applications. When she finally lands one (that is paid), it turns out to be for the town's most heinous supervillain. And it's not only a welcome chance to spite her superhero parents, but it's also an opportunity to work with Abby, her longtime crush.
Also in this series is Not Your Villain, with a green spine, and Not Your Backup with a purple spine.
24. The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Saoirse is a cynic who is definitely not looking for a relationship. But Ruby comes along with a loophole in mind, one that involves no heartache and no messy breakup: spend the summer recreating all the best cliché dates from movie montages. And yet, it quickly becomes clear that this loophole is leading to a lot of real feelings.
25. The Kill Club by Wendy Heard
ADULT
What it's about: Jazz just got a phone call that could change her life. Her foster mother, Carol, has always been fanatical, but now that Jazz is out of the house, her younger brother Joaquin's life is put at risk. But the person on the other end of that blocked phone call has a solution. An underground network of people like her — people the law has failed — who agree to eliminate the abuser of another. And Carol will be taken care of for good, if Jazz fulfills her mission. All she has to do is kill a stranger.
26. Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
ADULT
What it's zbout: Queen Sabran the Ninth is meant to conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction, despite the looming threat of assassins. Ead has been keeping an eye on Sabran, protecting her in secrecy with forbidden magic. On the other side of the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is on the cusp of a choice that will change her life forever.
27. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: When Ben de Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're kicked out of their house and move in with their sister. At their new school, Ben tries to keep their head down for the last half of senior year — an idea thwarted by the appearance of their charismatic classmate Nathan. As Ben and Nathan grow closer, Ben has to determine how much they are willing to open themself up to love.
28. The Summer of Everything by Julian Winters
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Wesley Hudson has his dream job at the local used bookstore, Once Upon a Page. Now, if only he can get the dream guy, his best friend, Nico. When a coffeeshop franchise wants to buy the property the store is located on, Wes and the rest of the bookstore crew try to figure out how to save the store. This book is absolute geeky charm itself.
29. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Alex is destined to be the most powerful bruja in her family, but all she wants is to rid herself of her magic. So on her Deathday, she performs a curse to rid herself of it, only for her family to vanish instead. With no other options, she'll need the help of Nova, a mysterious brujo, to get her family back from Los Lagos.
30. The Brilliant Death by A R Capetta
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: When the Capo, the new ruler of Vinalia, poisons the patriarchs of the five families that have long controlled the land, Teo's father is the only one to survive, though gravely ill. To save him, Teo must travel to the capital as a di Sangro son — not disguised as a boy, but transformed into one — to help save her father. And who better to help than Cielo, a gender-fluid strega Teo quickly develops strong feelings for.
The Storm of Life, the sequel, has a red spine.
31. Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Juliet Milagros Palante, a self-proclaimed Puerto Rican baby dyke from the Bronx, came out to her family the night before flying to Portland for an internship with Harlowe Brisbane, her favorite feminist writer. Harlowe definitely doesn't have all the answers, but a summer filled with a motorcycling librarian, queer brown dance parties, and personal exploration might.
32. Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
ADULT
What it's about: After a workplace fire drill gone wrong, in which Dani was rescues by big, broody security guard Zafir, a video of the encounter goes viral. With half the internet shipping them, and Zaf's sports charity for children desperately needing the publicity, they come to an arrangement: fake dating when in public. But while Dani is hoping to turn their fauxmance into a friend-with-benefits situation, grumpy Zaf is a hopeless romantic, which is certainly a recipe for success...
33. Five, Six, Seven, Nate by Tim Federle
MIDDLE GRADE
What it's about: Nate has reached Broadway, ready to start rehearsals for a musical version of E.T. But he's going to need a showbiz miracle to make it through the backstage world of intimidating child stars, cut-throat understudies, and a director who can't seem to remember Nate's name.
This is the second book in a companion series, the first, Better Nate Than Ever has a purple spine and the third, Nate Expectations, has an orange spine.
34. Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: When Sana asked Rachel out, Rachel was furious because she thought Sana was trying to prank her. But when it comes time for Rachel, an aspiring director, to cast her senior project, she knows that no one could play Helen of Troy better than the stunningly beautiful Sana. And even though Rachel can barely stand to be in the same room as Sana, Sana says yes.
35. The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
What it's about: Tiến is trying to navigate life through fairy tales. After all, he loves to read stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the library. But communicating with them in his own words is harder, since his parents are struggling with their English and Tiến isn't sure how to tell them that he's gay. Drawing parallels between the fairy tales and Tiến's life, Trung Le Nguyen's debut is a lyrical masterpiece.
36. The Fifth Season by N K Jemisin
ADULT
What it's about: Damaya is a young girl, recently discovered to be an oregene (people with the power to control energy, think the Force from Star Wars meets earthbending from Avatar: The Last Airbender). Her parents send for the Guardians to come collect her and bring her to the Fulcrum to train her so she might learn to control her power. Syenite, an orogene star in the Fulcrum, is sent on a business trip with the most powerful living orogene, Alabaster. Essun is on a quest to save her daughter from her husband, who murdered their son, as the world is ending around her.
37. Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon
ADULT
What it's about: When Sable Everly passes away, she leaves her estate to her niece, Xeni, and money to her mentee, Scottish bagpiper Mason, on the condition that the two marry. The money is more than enough to settle the debt in Mason's world, and Xeni has been uncovering the drama between her mother and sisters that lead to their long-lasting feud, so the two go along with Sable's plans. Of course, they begin to fall for each other.
38. The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian
ADULT
What it's about: When a salacious novel is published that is supposedly based on the exploits of Lord Courtenay, he finds himself shunned from society and in need of a reputation fix. Julian Medlock is an extremely proper man, and agrees to help Courtenay, a man he loathes (and lusts after), rehabilitate his image.
39. The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy
MIDDLE GRADE
What it's about: Rahul is starting middle school in his small Indiana town, and is feeling extremely anxious about it. But his grandfather, Bhai, gives him the advice to "find one thing you're really good at and become the BEST at it." But Rahul doesn't know what that is yet, and despite his readiness to find it, he worries that he might discover he isn't the best at anything.
40. If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Winnie lives in Misty Haven, a small town where she dreams of someday inheriting her granny's diner. But secrets are impossible in Misty Haven, so when she allegedly snaps at Dr. Skinner, everyone knows about it and feels compelled to chime in with their own weight loss advice, trying to make her body their business. Not only that, but she won't be able to inherit the diner if they can't make a lot of money, fast, so Winnie decides to try to win a televised cooking competition...but she'll have to go around Granny to even enter.
41. Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Suzette is settling back into her life in LA after attending boarding school in New England. LA is where her friends and family are; it's where her crush, Emil, is; and her stepbrother, Lionel, who is learning to manage his bipolar disorder. Not long after Suzette returns, she and Lionel find themselves falling for the same girl.
42. Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters
ADULT
What it's about: Career-driven Cade has inherited a sex toy store, complete with an irresponsible (and very sexy) co-owner. Selena is trying to focus on making the shop a success, determined to not let her emotions get in the way. With the shop on the brink of failure, and the two both fighting their growing attraction to each other, can the opposites figure out a way to work with each other?
43. How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole
ADULT
What it's about: After losing both her job and her girlfriend, Makeda gets swept up in the search for the missing heir of Ibarania. She's not overly thrilled at the presence of Beznaria, an investigator from the World Federation of Monarchies who seems determined to drag her into a royal world, or at the need to rehash the story of her grandma's summer fling with a runaway prince. But when she agrees to head to Ibarania, it turns out there's more at stake than just a crown.
44. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
ADULT
What it's about: Patroclus is a young prince, exiled to the court of King Peleus. Though it seems that his path should never cross that of Peleus's son, Achilles, the two form a friendship, and soon a romantic bond forms between them. When news of the kidnapping of Helen of Sparta, Patroclus and Achilles journey to Troy, for an adventure that could bring about the end of everything they love.
45. Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Simone Garcia-Hampton is at a new school, making sure that the fact that she was born HIV-positive stays under wraps. Starting over seems to be working out for her — making new friends, student directing Rent, and falling for a sweet boy named Miles — until she receives an anonymous note in her locker. If she doesn't break things off with Miles by Thanksgiving, everyone will know her secret. Though her instinct is to protect the information at all cost, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is to face the haters head on...
46. The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Imogen is a fangirl with a mission: save her favorite character, Princess Amara, from being killed off from the Starfield franchise. Easier said than done, especially since Jess, the actress who plays Amara, doesn't mind being killed off to escape a fandom that has been nothing but cruel to her. When the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, all signs point to Jess. Jess uses the fact that she and Imogen look eerily alike to her advantage, and the girls switch places to find the person responsible for the leak.
47. Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Rumi Seto was sure of one thing: that she'd spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea. But when Lea dies in a car accident, her mom, dealing with her own grief, sends Rumi to live with her aunt in Hawaii. While there, she meets the "boys next door" — a teen surfer named Kai and an 80-year-old named George — she'll try to crawl her way back to the songs in her heart.
48. History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Despite the fact that Griffin’s first love, Theo, moved to California for school, Griffin always believed they would find a way back to each other. But when Theo dies in a drowning accident, Griffin is distraught. There is one person who could potentially understand what Griffin is going through — Jackson, the boy Theo was dating at the time of his death. Griffin's journey through love, loss, OCD, and messy emotions, is told in alternating past and present points of view.
49. From Darkness by Kate Hazel Hall
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Ari has never been able to forgive herself for her best friend Alex's accidental drowning. But when Ari's own life ends after a tiger-snake bite, a strangely familiar guide who is supposed to transport Ari's soul to the underworld. When Ari refuses, the guide, Alex, chooses to save her instead. But disobeying has consequences, opening a rift from the underworld and unleashing dark magic in their coastal village.
50. Fire Song by Adam Garnet Jones
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Shane is still reeling from the recent suicide of his sister Destiny, dealing with the fact that his dream of going to university is shattered, and coming to terms with his feelings for his best friend, David. Shane feels like his only chance for a better life is moving from their rez to Toronto, but David doesn't want to go with. And when another tragedy strikes, they'll need to make difficult choices to determine their future.
51. The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan
ADULT
What it's about: After the sex-positive start-up she cofounded explodes in popularity internationally, Naomi Grant is trying to get a gig educating and lecturing, but higher ed doesn't want to hire her. Luckily, she's able to team up to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy — a team up that involves Ethan, a young rabbi whose new shul hired him hoping to attract more millennials to the faith. The closer they work together, the closer they become.
52. Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
ADULT
What it's about: Darcy just wants her well-meaning brother to stop trying to play matchmaker, so after her blind date goes wrong, she lies and says it was a success. But Elle, one of the astrologers behind the popular Oh My Stars Twitter account, finds herself confused when her business partner, Darcy's brother, mentions how glad he is that she and Darcy hit it off. After a bit of begging from Darcy, Elle agrees to play along, and while the two pretend to date, Darcy must help Elle deal with her overbearing family during the holidays.
53. Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: The children in the city of Lucille are taught that there are no monsters anymore, but when Pet, a creature of horns and colors and claws, emerges from a painting, Jam has to reconsider that lesson. Pet is here to hunt a monster, one that lurks in Jam's best friends house. But how do you fight a monster that no one believes exists?
54. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Liz Lighty wants out of her small, Indiana town, but when her financial aid for the school of her dreams falls through, she has to come up with a plan. Remembering that her school gives money to the prom king and queen for scholarships, she decides to run, and in the process finds herself falling for her one of the other girls in the competition, Mack.
55. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Aster, Violet, Tansy, Mallow, Clementine are five girls in the country of Arketta, sold to a "welcome house" as children and branded with cursed markings. The girls have to escape when Clementine accidentally murders a man, and as they run, they're pursued by Arketta's most powerful forces, both human and inhuman.
56. Ash by Malinda Lo
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother after her father's death. As an attempt to comfort herself, she sits by the fire, reading the fairy tales her mother once told her and dreaming of the day the fairies will take her away. When she meets Kaisa, a Huntress, she begins desiring a life full of love again. But Sidhean, a dangerous fairy, had already claimed Ash for his own.
57. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Every year, eight girls from the Paper caste, the lowest caste in Ikhara, are chosen to serve the king as consorts. Rumors of Lei, a beautiful girl with golden eyes, reached the king, who chose her as a ninth girl. While forced into training, Lei falls in love with one of her fellow Paper Girls, and becomes involved in an explosive plot that could change her world forever.
58. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
ADULT
What it's about: When August moves to New York City, the last thing she expects is to meet a gorgeous girl on her subway commute that threatens her cynical outlook on love. But as seeing Jane slowly becomes the best part of her day, August realizes something strange — Jane is actually from the 1970s and is displaced from time.
59. The Weight of the Stars by K Ancrum
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Ryann Bird dreams of traveling across the stars. Alexandria dreams of catching radio signals from the edge of the solar system. After an accident leaves Alexandria with a broken arm, the two girls are brought together, and Ryann realizes the reason Alexandria sits on the roof every night is that her mother is an astronaut who volunteered for a one-way trip.
60. The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Juanada Petrus
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Audre is being sent to live with her father in America after her religious mother caught her with her secret girlfriend. Mabel is trying to figure out how to feel about her ex, and also about the illness that has plagued her all summer. When Mabel's father announces that his best friend and daughter, Audre, are coming for dinner, Mabel quickly falls for Audre.
61. Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: For three teens in 1989, New York City, the world is changing. Reza, an Iranian boy, just moved to the city with his mother, and while Reza knows he is gay, all he knows of gay life are the media's images of men dying of AIDS. Judy is a plus-size aspiring fashion designer who has never dreamed of finding romance...until she and Reza start dating. Judy's best friend, Art, is the only out and proud teen at their school, who rebels against his conservative parents by documenting the AIDS crisis through photography.
62. We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: The Medio School for Girls takes in distinguished young women and sets them on one of two possible paths: a primera, who runs a husband's household, or a segunda, who bears his children. Daniela is the top student, but she has a dangerous secret: Her parents forged her identification papers to get her into the school. After graduation, not only is she recruited by a rebel group fighting for equality, but she finds herself falling for her biggest rival.
63. Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Eldra is ruled by ancient prophecies, which have kept the high council in power for centuries. But with the end of the last prophecy, rebellion emerged, and remained for over a decade. Cassa is the orphaned daughter of rebels, fighting back against the high council alongside Alys, Evander, and Newt. To do so, they'll need to uncover the mystery of the final infallible prophecy.
64. Camp by L C Rosen
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: This summer at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens, is going to be different for Randy. He's reinvented himself as Del, who is buff and masculine, and hopefully will get the attention of Hudson, who seems to only fall for straight-acting guys. But as things seem to work out the way Randy planned, he starts to wonder if changing himself so drastically for love is really love at all.
65. The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco
YOUNG ADULT
What it's about: Young godesses Odessa, a bookish, chronically ill lesbian, and Haidee, a free-spirited mechanic, live in a land which has been ruled by generations of twin goddesses. Aeon split into two 17 years ago, when betrayal rocked the twin rulers, and now Odessa's mother rules Aranth, the frozen city, and Haidee's mother rules the Golden City, sand-locked with endless sun. Now Odessa and Haidee are being called back to the site of the Breaking, and the two girls go on separate journeys to try to heal their broken world.
66. Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard
ADULT
What it's about: Princess Thanh has returned as a diplomat to her mother's imperial court after being sent away to Ephteria as a hostage when she was a child. Her first love, Eldris, is in her path, who wants romance from Thanh and more from her home. But Thanh is grappling with the possibility of shaping her own fate, along with that of her country.