Read with Pride | 100 LGBTQ Books for Adults and Kids

Readers know how powerful books can be. They know how the pages of a story can transport us into the experience of others, help lead us to a deeper understanding of the humanity of all of us, and open our eyes to the world around us.

Books that celebrate and represent those from the LGBTQ community are a crucial element for making a more equal world for all of us and everyone can benefit from adding representation and diversity to the bookshelves of our homes, for both adults and children.

We’ve got a pretty expansive list here of LGBTQ books for children and adults, with a particular emphasis on books with authors of color, since those with Black and Brown skin have been crucial pioneers in the movement for gay rights.

A NOTE ON LINKS: As much as possible, we have included links to books at Boswell Books in Milwaukee. If the book was not listed on their website, we chose to look at Black-owned bookstores that can ship the book to you. Only when that failed, did we use an Amazon affiliate link and those will be designated with an *asterisk.

Did we miss one of your favorites? Please let us know and we can add it!

Authors of Color are in BOLDFACE

• Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution by Rob Sanders and Jamey Christoph
• I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, and Shelagh McNicholas
• Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg
• What Makes a Baby by Cory Silverberg
• Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen
• Sparkle Boy by Leslea Newman
• Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
• Introducing Teddy by Jessica Walton
• Jacob’s New Dress by Sarah Hoffman and Ian Hoffman
• Jacob’s Room to Choose by Sarah Hoffman and Ian Hoffman
• Annie’s Plaid Shirt by Stacy B Davids
• What Was Stonewall? by Nico Medina
• My Two Moms Recipe Book: Create Your Own Cookbook for Lesbian Couples with Kids
• Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders

Authors of Color are in BOLDFACE

• George by Alex Gino
• The Moon Within by Aida Salazar
• Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender
• The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
• One True Way by Shannon Hitchcock
• Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
• Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
• See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles

Note: Keep in mind that many books that are designated as being for Young Adults (YA) are fantastic reads for adults too!

Authors of Color are in BOLDFACE

• The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus
• Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix by Ibi Zoboi
• I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
• You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
• The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
• The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
• Vanilla by Billy Merrell
• And She Was by Jessica Verdi
• All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell
• Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
• If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
• It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura
• None of the Above by  I. W. Gregorio
• When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
• Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
• Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
• Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition by Katie Rain Hill
• Drama by Raina Telgemeier (graphic novel)
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (graphic novel)
• Every Day by David Levithan
• Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
• Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert
• The Secrets of Eden by Brandon Goode
• Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz (features main characters of color, but author is not)
• By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery
• Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (graphic novel)
• The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper
• Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki
• What if It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Note: Keep in mind that many books that are designated as being for Young Adults (YA) are fantastic reads for adults too!

Authors of Color are in BOLDFACE

FICTION

• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
• Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
• Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
• A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian
• Kings, Queens and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju
• Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
• Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
• Go Tell it On the Mountain by James Baldwin
• When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
• Lot: Stories by Bryan Washington
• Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
• All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad
• Real Life by Brandon Taylor
• Romance in Marseille by Claude McKay
• The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
• Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
• The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan
• How to Survive a Summer by Nick White
• Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
• Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
• The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
• Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis
• Build Yourself a Boat by Camonghne Felix
• Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
• An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
• Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
• Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta

NON-FICTION

• Trans Kids and Teens: Pride, Joy, and Families in Transition by Elijah C Nealy

• We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation
• We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors & Asha Bandela
• The Stonewall Reader
• Color Outside the Lines: Stories about Love
• Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
• Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBTQ Uprising That Changed America
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
• Sissy by Jacob Tobia
• How We Fight for Our Lies by Saeed Jones
• Sister Outsider by Audra Lorde
• Here For It by R. Eric Thomas
• In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
• Black Like Us: A Century of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual African American Fiction
• The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy
• Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein
• Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt
• Unbound: Transgender Men and the Remaking of Identity by Arlene Stein
• Boy Erased by Garrad Conley

• And Then I Got Fired: One Transqueer’s Reflections on Grief, Unemployment & Inappropriate Jokes About Death by J. Mase, III

• I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé by Michael Arceneaux

• No Ashes in the Fire by Darnell L Moore