30 LGBTQ Young Adult Books We Think You Should Read This Spring

LGBTQ young adult books that you need to look out for this spring!

1. Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan

Scholastic, Tanya Kuriyedath / Via sabina-khan.com

Release date: April 6

When Zara Hossain's tormenter leaves a threatening note in her locker that gets him suspended, his friends retaliate by vandalizing her house with racist graffiti, leading to a violent crime that puts Zara's entire future at risk. Her family has been awaiting their green card approval, in process for almost nine years, and Zara has tried to lay low. Now she must either fight to stay in the only place she's called home, or lose the life she's been living.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

2. The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, robbiecouch.com

Release date: April 6

Sky Baker has 30 days to ask his crush, Ali, to the prom, and he's going to plan the gayest promposal his small, insular Michigan town has ever seen. But when his plans are leaked by an anonymous hacker in a homophobic (and viral) email blast, his classmates turn his promposal countdown into a mission to expose the person behind the email blast.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

3. The Key to You and Me by Jaye Robin Brown

Harperteen, jayerobinbrown.com

Release date: April 20

Piper is spending the summer training at the barn of a former Olympic horseback rider and trying to get over her ex-girlfriend. Her grandma, whom Piper is staying with, has plans for her too: making Piper face her fear of driving by taking lessons from Kat, a girl in town. While Kat has always suspected that she liked girls, it isn't until she starts lessons with Piper that she truly finds herself falling.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

4. On This Unworthy Scaffold by Heidi Heilig

heidiheilig.com, Greenwillow Books

Release date: April 27

In case you haven't read Book 1, For a Muse of Fire: Jetta's family are shadow players, a traveling troupe who are renowned for their puppets that seem to move without string or stick. But the truth is that Jetta is able to see the souls of the recently departed — and bind them to the puppets with her blood, a practice outlawed since their country was conquered by colonizers. Her skill, while secret, is her family's only hope to earn a spot on the ship to Aquitan, where, rumor has it, the Mad King has a spring that cures his ills.

What it's about: In this final installment of Heilig's stunning series, Jetta's home is spiraling into civil war, there's a deadly necromancer who has wrested control of the country, and Jetta's circle is intent on infiltrating the palace.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

5. Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve

Amulet Books, JP Martin / Via jpmartinmedia.com

Release date: April 27

Dean Foster knows he is a trans guy, but everyone at school thinks he's a lesbian — from his girlfriend, Zoe, to his theater director. He wonders if he should just wait until college to come out, but when he's cast as a "nontraditional" Romeo and starts playing the role every day in rehearsals, he realizes that he wants everyone to see him as he is, always.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

6. Indivisible by Daniel Aleman

F. Angelini / Via danielaleman.com, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release date: May 4

When two ICE agents come asking for Pa, the early fears of Mateo and his sister Sophie — that their parents could be deported — come crashing back to the surface. Mateo returns from school one day to discover that his parents have been taken by immigration officers, and he not only has to take care of Sophie as he waits to learn his parents' fate but also must face questions of his identity in a country that rejects his family.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

7. When You Get the Chance by Robin Stevenson and Tom Ryan

Running Press Kids, robinstevenson.com, goodreads.com

Release date: May 4

Talia and Mark are cousins, but since a fight between their parents years ago, and because they live on opposite coasts, they really haven't seen each other. After their grandfather dies, both end up at the family cottage in Ontario, cleaning it out. As they work, they realize that aside from being cousins and both being queer, the only thing they have in common is that they'd both prefer to be in Toronto. With Mark's sister Paige in tow, the three set off to the city — Mark wanting to have some fun, while Talia desperately wants to see her high school sweetheart Erin — to hopefully find what they're looking for at Toronto Pride.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

8. Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

Harperteen, emeryleebooks.com

Release date: May 4

Noah Ramirez runs the Meet Cute Diary, a blog collection of trans happily-ever-afters. But when a troll exposes the blog as fiction, the only way to save it is to convince everyone the stories are true. Enter Drew. Drew is willing to fake-date Noah, but as Noah's feelings grow more real, everything becomes even more complicated.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

9. All Kinds of Other by James Sie

Quill Tree Books, Suzanne Plunkett Photography / Via us.macmillan.com

Release date: May 4

Jules and Jack are both starting at a new school. Jules is trying to make the basketball team while grappling with whether or not to come out as gay at school, while Jack is trying to leave his past behind on the other side of the country. When a video surfaces that links Jack to a pair of popular trans vloggers, revelations about Jack's past throw both boys into the spotlight they've been trying so hard to avoid.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

10. Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler

Wednesday, Maggie Hall / Via dahliaadler.com

Release date: May 11

Lara has liked Chase for pretty much all of high school, and now he actually seems to be flirting with her. But memories of Lara's perfect, confusing, romantic summer spent with a girl named Jasmine grow more disorienting when Jasmine arrives at school. After finally landing the guy of her dreams, why is it that she can't stop thinking of Jasmine?

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

11. Off the Record by Camryn Garrett

Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, camryngarrett.com

Release date: May 18

When 17-year-old journalist Josie wins a contest to write a celebrity profile, she's equal parts excited and scared. The fact that the subject of the profile is the young up-and-comer Marius Canet certainly contributes to that. While on a multicity tour for interviews, she ends up face-to-face with a young female actor who lets her in on a terrible secret about a Hollywood mainstay, leading to more and more accounts from other women. Josie has to figure out if she's willing to speak up and expose him, and not let down those who entrusted her with their stories.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

12. In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland

Imprint, LUKAS STRICKLAND / Via adriannestrickland.com

Release date: May 18

Rovan lives in Thanopolis, where those with magic are assigned undead spirits to guard and control them. When she accidentally reveals her powers, a fate her father died trying to keep her from, she's bound to Ivrilos and thrust into a world of intrigue and deception. Not only does she find herself falling for Ivrilos, but she's also falling for Lydea, a rebellious princess, despite the fact that she can't trust either of them. Strickland is a master of incredible world-building, and her characters are so very easy to adore.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

13. It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

Feiwel & Friends, mielmoreland.com

Release date: May 18

Moonlight Overthrow was a world-famous queer pop band formed by Eva, Celeste, Gina, and Steph in middle school. But a sudden falling out is succeeded by the dissolution of the band and the end of the relationship between Eva and Celeste. But though Gina and Celeste ventured further into fame, Steph disappeared completely, and Eva took refuge as a songwriter and online fangirl of Moonlight Overthrow, the four former best friends will need to come together after a storm devastates their hometown.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

14. Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, Amber Hooper Photography / Via jldugan.com

Release date: May 18

After being forced to transfer late in her senior year (since, as it turns out, being queer is against her Catholic school's code of conduct), elite track athlete Morgan meets Ruby. When Ruby isn't tinkering with her baby-blue 1970 Ford Torino, she's competing in beauty pageants to live out her mother's dreams. As the girls begin to fall for each other, Morgan wants to let the world know about their relationship, but Ruby isn't ready to come out.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

15. Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Page Street Kids, adibajaigirdar.com

Release date: May 25

Even though Hani is one of the most popular girls at school, when she comes out as bisexual, her friends invalidate her identity by wrongly stating that she has only dated guys and can't be bi. Quickly, she says she is in a relationship...with a girl her friends hate. Ishu is an overachiever who agrees to help Hani, provided that Hani helps her become more popular so she might be elected head girl.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

16. Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

Balzer + Bray, imjuliemurphy.com

Release date: May 25

This companion to Dumplin' and Puddin' follows Waylon Russell Brewer, a fat, openly gay boy in Clover City, Texas. After the double whammy of his twin sister, Clementine, deviating from their plans for the future right after Waylon is dumped, he makes an audition tape for Fiercest of Them All, his favorite drag show. Unfortunately, the tape gets shared with the entire school, and Waylon is nominated for prom queen as a joke (and Clementine's girlfriend, Hannah, is nominated for prom king). The two decide that the only thing to do is run and leave high school behind with a very glittery bang.

Get it from Bookshop or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

17. Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston

Penguin, ekjohnston.ca

Release date: May 25

Pendt Harland escapes her family-run interstellar freighter during a space station layover and forms a bond with the Brannick twins, the teen heirs of the family that owns the station. As all three grapple with destinies they never desired, they hatch a plot, albeit one unlikely to succeed, to take over the station.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

18. The (Un)popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez

Katherine Tegen Books, jaspersanchez.com

Release date: June 1

When a candidate for student body president inflames dangerous rhetoric, Mark Adams decides to join the race, despite the fact that he's supposed to be laying low, didn't grow up in this town, and no one really knows him. Equipped with countless seasons of Scandal and The West Wing, he starts his campaign off swinging. But an investigative journalist who's digging into his past, a Congress-member father who still pretends he has a daughter and not a son, and a bully frontrunner all stand in the way of Mark's victory.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

19. The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

Graphix, Noelle Stevenson / Via mollyostertag.com

Release date: June 1

Morgan is desperate to finish school and escape the little island where she lives, which is complete with her divorced mom, her volatile brother, and a group of friends who don't understand her or know her biggest secret: that she likes girls. When she's saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie, the two become friends and quickly start to fall for each other.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

20. Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June

Ryan Bilawsky / Via heyjasonjune.com, Harperteen

Release date: June 1

Jay is the only out gay kid in his rural Washington town, and he's compiling a romance to-do list of the things he hopes to one day experience. When his family moves to Seattle at the start of his senior year, he winds up at a school where there is a thriving LGBTQIA+ community. Finally, he's able to start crossing items off his gay agenda, but nothing ever goes quite according to plan.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

21. The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

Inkyard Press, goodreads.com

Release date: June 1

What it's about: Wyatt is a witch in a world named Asalin where fae rule, and the fae prince, Emyr, is not only Wyatt's best friend but also his betrothed. But Wyatt fled to the human world after losing control of his magic...and Emyr has now hunted him to this world. Though the now-cold Emyr states that the throne is lost if they don't marry now, Wyatt strikes a deal with the enemy in hopes of leaving Asalin behind forever.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or from your local indie through Indiebound here.

22. The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver

Push, Trịnh Hồng Hương / Via masondeaverwrites.com

Release date: June 1

After Liam Cooper's older brother is killed in a hit-and-run, Liam feels more alone and isolated than ever. It doesn't help that the relationship with his two best friends seems to be fading away. But as he starts spending time with Marcus, his brother's best friend, Liam finally finds someone who seems to know exactly what he's going through.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

23. The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

Dial, Raquel Toledo / Via isaacfitzbooks.com

Release date: June 1

Spencer is getting a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio, after transitioning led to bullying at his old school. He's making new friends, potentially falling for a classmate, and might have a chance at a starting position on the boys' soccer team. But when a discriminatory law forces Spencer's coach to bench him after discovering the "F" on Spencer's birth certificate, Spencer has to choose between sitting on the sidelines and fighting for his right to play by coming out to everyone.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

24. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Feiwel & Friends, faridahabikeiyimide.com

Release date: June 1

Shortly after Devon and Chiamaka are selected to be among the senior class prefects at Niveus Private Academy, anonymous text messages sent by an unknown figure who goes by the name "Aces" begin going out to students. These texts reveal secrets about Devon's and Chiamaka's lives — secrets that threaten every aspect of their carefully planned future. As the pair begin to dig, trying to discover who could be behind it, the stakes only grow, and the conspiracy turns out to have much deeper roots than either imagined.

Get it from Bookshop or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

25. The Marvelous by Claire Kann

Swoon Reads, clairekann.com

Release date: June 8

Heiress–turned–social media darling/app creator Jewel van Hanen is pleased to announce that after her yearlong disappearance, she has returned to host a few lucky users of her app Golden Rule to spend a weekend at her private estate. What Nicole, Luna, and Stella don't know is that they are now players in Jewel's elaborate game, where she's determined to test whether they have what it takes to win.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

26. Love & Other Natural Disasters by Misa Sugiura

Harperteen, misasugiura.com

Release date: June 8

When Nozomi Nagai is approached by the gorgeous Willow with a plan to make her ex jealous, Nozomi is more than willing. Nozomi is hoping this fake-dating scheme will show Willow that she can be a great real girlfriend, though her plans take a turn toward disaster.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

27. Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa

Skyscape, jonnygarzavilla.com

Release date: June 8

Jules was going to lay low for the last 10 months of high school in Corpus Christi, Texas. But after waking up hung over 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 anti-gay father.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

28. Fire With Fire by Destiny Soria

Houghton Mifflin, Southern Grace Photography / Via destinysoria.com

Release date: June 8

Sisters Dani and Eden Rivera have taken wildly different approaches to life as dragon slayers. While Dani prioritizes her high school normalcy, Eden throws herself into training first. But when Dani comes face-to-face with a dragon named Nox and forms a rare magical bond with him, she comes to realize that everything she's been taught about dragons, like the kill-or-be-killed instincts they've been trained to have, is wrong. Destiny Soria's books have always been some of the most remarkable additions to a bookshelf, and this one is no different.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

29. Indestructible Object by Mary McCoy

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Katie Ferguson / Via mary-mccoy.com

Release date: June 15

Lee's unexpected breakup with boyfriend Vincent (on the air during Artists in Love, the podcast they cohost, no less) collides with the news that her parents are separating. Thrown, Lee searches for a new purpose, finding one in a new podcast, Objects of Destruction, where she, her old friend Max, and new friend Risa (whom she's starting to fall for) investigate whether love exists at all.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

30. Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Feiwel & Friends, zoehanamikuta.com

Release date: June 29

Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a rebel who specializes in taking down Windups (giant mechanized weapons used in Godolia's tyrannical rule) from the inside. Finding herself in a Godolia prison after a mission gone wrong, Eris meets a mortal enemy — a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot named Sona. But as the pair get to know each other, Eris learns that Sona is attempting to destroy Godolia from within.

Get it from Bookshop, Target, or through your local indie through Indiebound here.

For even more spring LGBTQ books, check out these new releases:

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy 

Speak for Yourself by Lana Wood Johnson

The Love Story of Ivy K. Harlowe by Hannah Moskowitz 

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen 

Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton 

Baby and Solo by Lisabeth Posthuma

May the Best Man Win by Zr Ellor

Darling by K. Ancrum 

Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin 

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth