Take a look at our top recommended teen and YA books to celebrate Pride Month! All these books and more are available for free with your library card.
Want more suggested books? Take a look at our recommendations.
Snapdragon
Kat Leyh
Snap’s town had a witch. At least, that’s how the rumour goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a crocks-wearing, Internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online – after doing a little ritual to put their spirits to rest.
It’s creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it’s kind of cool, too. They make a deal: Jacks will teach Snap how to take care of the baby opossums that Snap rescued, and Snap will help Jacks with her work.
But as Snap starts to get to know Jacks, she realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic – and a connection with Snap’s family’s past.
Only This Beautiful Moment
Abdi Nazemian
2019 – Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.
1978 – Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse – he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.
1939 – Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side…
Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.
Bad Queer
Gayathiri Kamalakanthan
Surya knows exactly who they are. Coming out as non-binary to their queer parents and best friend? A total non-event. Catching feelings for Blessing – the boy in drama club whose smile makes their heart race? That’s trickier.
As their final year of school unfolds and the two of them grow closer, Surya starts to question: Does Blessing really see them? Or just a version of them that doesn’t exist? They’d ask their best friend for advice, but she’s busy falling in love too…
A luminous and romantic debut verse-novel navigating first love as a non-binary teenager. With gorgeous illustrations throughout, ‘Bad Queer’ draws us deeply into queer friendship, family secrets, and the necessary act of loving yourself. This is a love letter to queer futures – tender, curious, and fiercely alive.
Here to Slay
Radhika Sanghani
Kali has a lot going on. Her cousins wedding is taking over her life, no-one remembers her 16th birthday, and her whole class thinks she’s weird. The last thing she needs is to be chased by demons. But, if she wants to survive, she has to transform into a demon slayer, fast. At least she has the help of her new friend K, the coolest (and strongest) girl she’s ever met.
If Kali could just get her crush to notice her without noticing the hordes of one-eyed demons trying to kill her, she might be able to save her social life – and hopefully the world…
An action packed and effortlessly diverse, demon slaying adventure from award winning journalist Radhika Sanghani. Perfect for fans of Afterlove and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Deya Muniz
Lady Camembert wants to live life on her own terms, without marriage. Well, without marrying a man, that is. But the law of the land is that women cannot inherit.
So when her father passes away, she does the only thing she can: She disguises herself as a man and moves to the capital city of the Kingdom of Fromage to start over as Count Camembert.
But it’s hard to keep a low profile when the beautiful Princess Brie, with her fierce activism and great sense of fashion, catches her attention. Camembert can’t resist getting to know the princess, but as the two grow closer, will she able to keep her secret?
Legend of the White Snake
Sher Lee
When Prince Xian was a boy, a white snake bit his mother and condemned her to a slow, painful death. The only known cure is an antidote created from the rare white snake itself.
Desperate, Xian is determined to capture one and cure his mother. Soon, Xian encounters an enigmatic but beautiful stable boy named Zhen, and the two are immediately drawn to each other.
But Zhen might just be the human embodiment of the white snake Xian is hunting, and as their feelings grow deeper, will the truth about Zhen’s identity tear them apart?
Amelia, If Only
Becky Albertalli
Amelia Applebaum isn’t in love with Walter Holland. He just happens to be her favourite moderately famous, chaotically bisexual YouTuber. Who she just happened to invite to prom. (But it’s fine. No, for real. If you delete the post, it didn’t happen.)
Okay, maybe her friends are right: she’s slightly parasocially infatuated. But Amelia just knows sparks would fly – if only she could meet Walter for real. If only he would host a meet-and-greet. If only it were just a short road trip away. And if only she could talk her best friends into making it the perfect last hurrah before graduation – even Amelia’s newly-single, always-cynical, guitar-toting best friend Natalie.
One thing’s for sure: all roads lead to butterflies. But what if Amelia’s butterflies aren’t for Walter at all?
Desert Echoes
Abdi Nazemian
Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. They struggle to understand Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days.
When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset – but only Kam returns. Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree.
On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash, but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship – and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.
Celestial Monsters
Aiden Thomas
Teo never thought he could be a Hero. Now, he doesn’t have a choice. The sun is gone, the Obsidian gods have been released from their prison, and chaos and destruction are wreaking havoc on Reino del Sol.
All because Teo refused to sacrifice a fellow semidiós during the Sunbearer Trials. With the world plunged into perpetual night, Teo, his crush Aurelio, and his best friend Niya must journey to the dark wilderness of Los Restos, battling vicious monsters while dealing with guilt, trauma, and a (very distracting) burgeoning romance between Teo and Aurelio.
Determined to rescue the captured semidioses and retrieve the Sol Stone, the trio races against the clock to return Sol and their protective light so order can be restored. Now the future of the whole world is in their hands.
The Last Bookstore on Earth
Lily Braun-Arnold
The world is about to end. Again. It’s been a year since a devastating storm ripped Liz’s world apart. Haunted by the memories of those she couldn’t save, Liz holes up in the only place she felt safe before her world fell away: the bookstore where she used to work.
Now she spends her days trading books for supplies and collecting stories from the remaining survivors who pass by. Until she learns that another earth-shattering Storm is coming – and everything changes.
Enter Maeve, a spiky out-of-towner who breaks into the bookstore looking for shelter one night. When Maeve’s secrets and Liz’s inner demons come back to haunt them both, they find themselves fighting for their lives and asking themselves one big question. As the end of the world approaches, is there time for one final love story?
Rebel Hearts
Tanya Byrne
For rival climate crisis activists, Ren Barbosa (5 million followers) and Pearl Newman (GreenGirlPearl) the feeling’s mutual – deep, undeniable loathing.
Ren hates Pearl’s calmly righteous do-gooder perfectionism just as Pearl can’t stand the ‘burn it down’ disruption Ren carries out with her wildly popular group, Out of Time and her former situationship, Tab. A loathing that’s complicated further by Renée’s prickly mother being an OG eco-activist turned government influence and Pearl’s idol. Plus Renée being only one arrest away from serious trouble.
But when fate brings the rivals together for a sweltering summer under the guidance of vivacious rebranded influencer, unexpected sparks begin to fly. Increasingly cut off from the outside world, tensions rise as activism and personal lives collide…
Not for the Faint of Heart
Lex Croucher
Mariel, a newly blooded captain of the Merry Men, is desperate to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, the legendary Robin Hood. Clem, a backwoods assistant healer known for her new-fangled cures, just wants to help people.
When Mariel’s ramshackle band kidnap Clem as retribution for her guardian helping the Sheriff of Nottingham, all seems to be going (sort of) to plan – until Jack Hartley, Mariel’s father and Commander of the Merry Men, is captured in a deadly ambush. Determined to prove herself, Mariel sets out to get him back – with her annoyingly cheerful kidnappee in tow.
But the wood is at war. Many believe the Merry Men are no longer on the right side of history. Watching Clem tend the party’s wounds, Mariel begins to doubt the cause to which she has devoted her life.
Felix Ever After
Kacen Callender
Felix Love has never been in love – and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone.
What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalisation too many – black, queer and transgender – to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages – after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned – Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi-love triangle!
Cross My Heart and Never Lie
Nora Dasnes
Tuva is starting seventh grade, and her checklist of goals includes: writing a diary, getting a cool look, building the best fort in the woods with her BFFs, and sharing everything with them.
But when she starts school, nothing is how she hoped it would be. Seventh grade has split her friends into rival factions: Team Linnea and the girls who fall in love and Team Bao and the girls who are still playing.
Linnea has a boyfriend, Bao hates everything related to feelings. Worst of all, Tuva is expected to choose a side! Then Mariam shows up and suddenly things begin to make a little more sense. But with all her friends fighting, this is one part of growing up that Tuva isn’t quite sure how to share.
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating
Adiba Jaigirdar
Everyone likes Hani Khan – she’s easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they don’t believe her, claiming she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she’s in a relationship – with a girl her friends can’t stand – Ishu Dey.
Ishu is the polar opposite of Hani. An academic overachiever, she hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for university. Her only problem? Becoming head girl is a popularity contest and Ishu is hardly popular.
Pretending to date Hani is the only way she’ll stand a chance of being elected. Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.
Fake Dates and Mooncakes
Sher Lee
Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs – in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.
Enter Theo Somers, charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.
In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colours – but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.
Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart – or will he fail to do both?
What a Desi Girl Wants
Sabina Khan
Mehar hasn’t been back to India since she and her mother moved away when she was six. Her father made it clear that she was not his priority when he chose not to come to the United States with them.
But when her father announces his engagement to socialite Naz, Mehar reluctantly agrees to return for the wedding. Maybe she and her father can finally heal their broken relationship. Once she arrives in India, Mehar meets Sufiya, her grandmother’s assistant. Though they come from totally different worlds, their friendship slowly starts to blossom into something more… Mehar thinks.
Meanwhile, Mehar’s dislike for Naz and her social media influencer daughter, Aleena, deepens. She can tell the two of them are just using her father for his money. Mehar’s starting to think that putting a stop to this wedding might be the best thing for everyone involved.
But what happens when telling her father the truth about Naz and Aleena means putting her relationship with Sufiya at risk?
Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe
C.B. Lee
When Brenda’s internet goes out, she stumbles into Kat’s family’s coffeeshop. Brenda is swept away by cool, confident Kat, who actually cares about Brenda’s 19-step plan to save the world through science.
Meanwhile, Kat can’t stop thinking about Brenda, who is smart, passionate and doesn’t seem to care that Kat is the prophesised Chosen One. The only problem? Kat and Brenda are from different universes.
But as their lives collide and things spiral out of control, can a girl who is determined to save the world find love with a girl determined to outrun her destiny?
The Girl From the Sea
Molly Knox Ostertag
Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She’s desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mother, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends…who don’t understand Morgan at all.
Because really, Morgan’s biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl.
Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn’t seem so stifling anymore. But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything they’re each trying to hide will find its way to the surface…whether Morgan is ready or not.
The No-Girlfriend Rule
Christen Randall
Seventeen-year-old Hollis Beckwith is on a quest to find her place in the world of tabletop gaming.
Despite facing her boyfriend’s ‘No Girlfriends at the Table’ rule and enduring the worst game of ‘Secrets & Sorcery’ ever, Hollis sets out to prove herself as a worthy player.
Desperate to find a community where she belongs, Hollis seeks out an all-female gaming group, where she finds unexpected friendships and epic adventures.
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
Sonora Reyes
Yami prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, rich Catholic school – or for being gay.
So after being outed by her ex-best friend, before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami decides to lie low, make her mum proud and definitely NOT fall in love.
The thing is, it’s hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And cute. So cute.
If You Still Recognise Me
Cynthia So
Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they’ve never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away.
But Elsie has decided it’s now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life.
In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn’t nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make.
Cemetery Boys
Aiden Thomas
Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.
However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want.
But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.