LGBTQ+ Inclusive Schools Booklist for High School

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores their childhood, adolescence and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. This honest and explicit young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

• Spanish Edition: No todos los chicos son azules

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

Six teens tell about what it is like for them to be members of the transgender community. Portraits, family photographs and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken.

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he’s navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs—and the Black Flamingo is born.

Camp by L.C. Rosen

Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at a camp for queer teens. It’s there where he falls for Hudson Aaronson-Lim, who is only into straight-acting guys. This year, Randy reinvents himself as “Del” - buff, masculine and on the market, giving up everything that is true to who he really is. As he and Hudson grow closer, Randy questions how much he is willing to change for love.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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. Spanish Edition: Los chicos del cementerio.

Dreadnought (Nemesis #1) by April Daniels

Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero. Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Elatsoe can raise the spirits of dead animals and of her beloved cousin whose ghost tells her that he was murdered. With the help of her family, her best friend and the memory of her great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Elatsoe must track down the killer and unravel the town’s dark past. But will the townsfolk and a mysterious doctor stop her before she gets started?

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after. When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages, Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle.

• Spanish Edition: Felix para sempre

Flamer by Mike Curato

It’s the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone’s going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies and spends time with Elias (a boy he can’t stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

After fleeing El Salvador, Marisol and her sister Gabi are caught crossing the U.S. border. To save her sister, Marisol jumps at an opportunity for a risky, experimental study to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. She never imagined that the risk would be falling in love, a love that may be powerful enough to help her face her own crushing grief.

Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn't think he has a chance. But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.

Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

Nishat doesn’t want to lose her family, but she also doesn’t want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once her childhood friend, Flávia walks back into her life. Nishat has a decision to make: stay in the closet for her family, or put aside her differences with Flávia and give their relationship a chance.

How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters

Everyone on campus knows Remy Cameron. He’s the out-and-proud, super-likable guy who friends, faculty and fellow students alike admire for his cheerful confidence. Under pressure to write an A+ essay defining who he is and who he wants to be, Remy embarks on an emotional journey toward reconciling the outward labels people attach to him with the real Remy Cameron within.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret, and she’s determined not to get too close to anyone. Then she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, and can’t help but start to let him into her life. But Amanda’s terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won’t be able to see past it.

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

Ben DeBacker is evicted from their home by their parents after coming out as nonbinary. With no place to go, Ben moves in with their estranged older sister Hannah to complete their senior year in high school. Trying to stay under the radar at their new school, Ben is befriended by Nathan Allan and their evolving feelings signal the start of a chance for a happier new life.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

In 1954, seventeen-year-old Chinese-American Lily Hu shares her secret excitement over an ad for a show at the Telegraph Club featuring a male impersonator with her White friend Kathleen. Kathleen takes Lily to the San Francisco lesbian bar where they begin to explore their sexuality and their relationship.

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

Reza is an Iranian immigrant who knows he’s gay but is surrounded by images of gay men dying of AIDS. He begins dating Judy, whose best friend, Art, is an out, gay student. As Reza and Art grow close, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart—and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known.

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali is only a few months away from being able to live her true life away from her conservative Muslim parents at Caltech. But when she is caught kissing her girlfriend Ariana, her parents send her to Bangladesh. Rukhsana gains perspective and the courage to fight for her love through reading her grandmother’s old diary and fights to be her true self without losing the connection to her family.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

In this graphic novel, Tien and his mother may come from different cultures—she’s an immigrant from Vietnam still struggling with English; he’s been raised in America—but through the fairy tales he checks out from the local library, those differences are erased. However, there’s one conversation that still eludes him—how to come out to her and his father.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl. But that relief doesn’t last, and Cam is forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different.

Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Danny Cheng has always known his parents have secrets. But when he discovers a taped-up box in his father’s closet filled with old letters and a file on a powerful Bay Area family, he realizes there’s much more to his family’s past than he ever imagined. With everything he loves in danger of being stripped away, Danny must face the ghosts of the past in order to build a future that belongs to him.

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. When Will starts to doubt herself, she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any girl does.

Sasha Masha by Agnes Borinsky

Alex feels like he is in the wrong body. As Alex grapples with his identity, he finds himself trying on dresses and swiping on lipstick in the quiet of his bedroom. He meets Andre, a gay boy who is beautiful and unafraid to be who he is. Slowly, Alex begins to realize: maybe his name isn’t Alex at all. Maybe it’s Sasha Masha.

• Spanish Edition: Sasha Masha

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now change-averse Simon must find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he's pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

• Spanish Edition: Simon vs. A Agenda Homo Sapiens

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

Morgan, an elite track athlete, is forced to transfer high schools late in her senior year after it turns out being queer is against her private Catholic school’s code of conduct. There, she meets Ruby. The two are drawn to each other and can’t deny their growing feelings. But while Morgan doesn’t want to have to keep their budding relationship a secret, Ruby isn’t ready to come out yet. With each girl on a different path toward living her truth, can they go the distance together?

Trials of Apollo Series by Rick Riordan

How do you punish an immortal? By making himhuman. After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favor.

Victory Lap. by K.A. Mielke and Alexis Wood

Josh doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life, which is exactly why he’s taking a fifth year of high school while his girlfriend goes to university. The only thing he’s sure about is the love of his life—who promptly breaks up with him. High school senior, Kiki, quietly started transitioning over the summer. Now she must deal with coming to her school as a new person, and when she’s partnered with Josh in Writer’s Craft, she finds herself developing maybe a little bit of an enormous crush.

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemor

To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches.

Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak

Seventeen-year-old Aidan feels like he is sleepwalking through his life until his childhood friend Jarrod returns to his hometown. Jarrod and Aidan are inexorably drawn to each other. Can their connection help Aiden unlock the secrets in his family and find his true self?

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. Liz has a plan to attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra and become a doctor. When the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get there, even winning the prom queen scholarship. The new girl in school, Mack, is smart, funny and also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams… or make them come true?

LGBTQ+ Inclusive Schools Booklist for Middle School

The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy

Rahul Kapoor is heading into seventh grade. The start of middle school is making him feel increasingly anxious, so his favorite person in the whole world, his grandfather, Bhai, gives him some well-meaning advice: Find one thing you’re really good at and become the BEST at it. Rahul is ready to crush this challenge... But what if he discovers he isn’t the best at anything?

Camp by L.C. Rosen

Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at a camp for queer teens. It’s there where he falls for Hudson Aaronson-Lim, who is only into straight-acting guys. This year, Randy reinvents himself as “Del” - buff, masculine and on the market, giving up everything that is true to who he really is. As he and Hudson grow closer, Randy questions how much he is willing to change for love.

Cemetery Boys by 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.

• Spanish Edition: Los chicos del cementerio

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Darius Kellner is a Persian American who has always felt out of place. He travels to Iran for the first time to visit family he formerly only knew through his computer screen. As he deals with clinical depression and his family, Darius meets Sohrab, a neighbor who turns best friend, and learns how to be himself.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Through drama—a play—and drama between characters, this graphic novel explores middle school feelings between boyfriends and girlfriends and boyfriends and boyfriends.

• Spanish Edition: Drama

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Elatsoe can raise the spirits of dead animals and of her beloved cousin whose ghost tells her that he was murdered. With the help of her family, her best friend and the memory of her great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Elatsoe must track down the killer and unravel the town’s dark past. But will the townsfolk and a mysterious doctor stop her before she gets started?

The Fabulous Zed Watson! by Kevin Sylvester & Basil Sylvester

The literary scavenger hunt of a lifetime, starring an endlessly endearing non-binary tween. Zed Watson loves a few things: their name (which they chose themself!), their big rambunctious family and—oh yeah—monsters.

Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman

Bug’s not too excited about hanging out with a kid she’s never met, but they soon find some common ground. And as the summer unfolds, they find themselves learning some important lessons about each other, and the world. Like what it means to be your true self and how to be a good ally for others.

Hazel’s Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

As Hazel enters eighth grade she wonders:Will she be teased again about her two moms and their goat farm? Her friends, Carina who is a transgender girl and Yosh who has a disability, help her navigate all the changes.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

In this graphic novel, Tien and his mother may come from different cultures—she’s an immigrant from Vietnam still struggling with English; he’s been raised in America—but through the fairy tales he checks out from the local library, those differences are erased. However, there’s one conversation that still eludes him—how to come out to her and his father.

Obie is Man Enough by Schuyler Bailar

Obie knew his transition would have ripple effects. He must leave his swim coach, his pool and his best friends. But it’s time for Obie to find where he truly belongs. Obie is ready to prove he can be one of the fastest boys in the water—to his coach, his critics and his biggest competition: himself.

The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey

Damian is the new kid at school, and he has a foolproof plan to avoid the bullying that’s plagued him his whole childhood: he's going to stop talking. Starting on the first day of seventh grade, he won’t utter a word. If he keeps his mouth shut, the bullies will have nothing to tease him about—right?

The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel

One-half Guatemalan, one-half American: Onehalf crush, one-half buddy: Quijana found a buddy in Jayden, but she can’t help the growing feelings she has for him while he has growing feelings for Seth. Quijana must figure out which parts of her identities are most important and how they fit together.

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

Candice discovers a mysterious old letter about an injustice from decades ago. With the help of Brandon, she begins to decipher the clues to a story that leads them deep into their South Carolina town’s history—a history full of ugly deeds and forgotten heroes. Good historical detail and LGBTQ+ characters included.

Parrotfish by Ellen Wittinger

Angela Katz-McNair never felt quite right as a girl. So, she cuts her hair short, purchases some men’s clothes and chooses a new name: Grady. While coming out as transgender feels right to Grady, he isn’t prepared for the reactions of his friends and family. Why can’t they accept that Grady is just being himself?

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up being taught there are no monsters anymore. But then Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and answer the question--How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

Queer Heroes: Meet 53 LGBTQ Heroes From Past and Present! By Arabelle Sicardi

Discover the inspiring stories of a diverse selection of LGBTQ+ artists, writers, innovators, athletes and activists who have made great contributions to culture, from ancient times to present day. Full-color portraits accompanied by short biographies.

Rick by Alex Gino

Rick’s never questioned much. He’s gone along with his best friend, Jeff, even when Jeff has acted like a bully and a jerk. But now Rick’s moved up to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school’s Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate.

Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan

A fictionalized account of the true story of Charley (Charlotte) Parkhurst, who ran away from an orphanage, lived as a boy, moved to California, drove stagecoaches and continued to live as a man.

• Spanish Edition: Un caballo llamado Libertad.

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

Lolly tries to navigate a safe path through the projects in Harlem in the wake of his brother’s death. Then Lolly’s mother’s girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos.

• Spanish Edition: Las estrellas bajo nuestros pies

Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas

Brian has always been anxious, whether at home, or in class, or on the basketball court. After he and his brother are placed in foster care, Brian starts having panic attacks and he doesn’t know if things will ever be normal again. Ezra’s friends with most of the kids on his basketball team, even Brian, who usually keeps to himself. Ezra wants to help, but he worries if he’s too nice to Brian, his friends will realize that he has a crush on him. If Brian and Ezra can be brave, they might just find the best in themselves and each other.

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Moira has decided she and Bug need to prepare for middle school – figuring out the right clothes and makeup and deciding which boys are cute. But none of this appeals to Bug. There’s something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug’s old house...and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of the ghost an altogether different truth comes to light--Bug is transgender.

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

Best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches.

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. Liz has a plan to attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra and become a doctor. When the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get there, even winning the prom queen scholarship. The new girl in school, Mack, is smart, funny and also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams… or make them come true?

Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

Zenobia July is starting a new life in Maine with her aunts. People used to tell her she was a boy; now she’s able to live openly as the girl she always knew she was. When someone anonymously posts hateful memes on her school’s website, Zenobia knows she’s the one with the hacking skills to solve the mystery.

For more book recommendations, check out HRC Foundation’s Welcoming School’s Program.