The Incredible List of Gay Young Adult ????️‍???? Novels Coming Out for Pride this Year

HarperCollins has an incredible list of LGBTQ+ titles that we wanted to put on your radar as you start planning Pride celebrations! See the synopses of seven highly anticipated titles below.

MESSY ROOTS by Laura Gao (on-sale: 3/8)- Debut YA graphic novel. After spending her early years in Wuhan, China, riding water buffalos and devouring stinky tofu, Laura immigrates to Texas, where her hometown is as foreign as Mars—at least until 2020, when COVID-19 makes Wuhan a household name. In Messy Roots, Laura illustrates her coming-of-age as the girl who simply wants to make the basketball team, escape Chinese school, and figure out why girls make her heart flutter. Insightful, original, and hilarious, toggling seamlessly between past and present, China and America, Gao’s debut is a tour de force of graphic storytelling.

ALL THAT’S LEFT IN THE WORLD by Erik J Brown (on-sale: 3/8)- What If It’s Us meets Life as We Knew It in this postapocalyptic, queer YA adventure romance from debut author Erik J. Brown. Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Alex London. When Andrew stumbles upon Jamie’s house, he’s injured, starved, and has nothing left to lose. A deadly pathogen has killed off most of the world’s population, including everyone both boys have ever loved. And if this new world has taught them anything, it’s to be scared of what other desperate people will do . . . so why does it seem so easy for them to trust each other?

ONLY ON THE WEEKENDS by Dean Atta (on-sale: 5/24) From the Stonewall Award–winning author of The Black Flamingo comes a romantic coming-of-age novel in verse about the beautiful—and sometimes painful—fallout of pursuing the love we deserve. Fifteen-year-old Mack is a hopeless romantic who has had a crush on Karim for as long as he can remember and he can’t believe it when they start dating. But when Mack’s father takes on a new directing project in Scotland, Mack has to move away, and soon discovers how painful long-distance relationships can be. It’s awful to be so far away from Karim, and it’s made worse by the fact that Karim can be so hard to read. Then Mack meets actor Finlay on set, and the world turns upside down again. A beautifully nuanced and revelatory story in verse about the exquisite highs and lows of first love and self-discovery.

MILO & MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Kevin Christopher Snipes (on-sale: 5/24)- When Marcos moves to town, Milo is forced to acknowledge the feelings he’s kept hidden, especially from his religious parents. But as natural disasters (sink holes, black outs, hailstorms, etc.) begin to befall them the closer they become, Milo and Marcos soon begin to wonder if the universe itself is plotting against them. This YA debut from playwright and the creator of THE TWO PRINCES podcast, is a thoughtful exploration of the intersection of religion and queerness that seeks to find the nexus in which both can flourish through the fulfillment that comes with self-acceptance.

QUEER DUCKS (and other animals) by Eliot Schrefer (on-sale: 5/24)- This groundbreaking illustrated YA nonfiction title from two-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer is a well-researched and teen-friendly exploration of the gamut of queer behaviors observed in animals. In sharp and witty prose—aided by humorous comics from artist Jules Zuckerberg—Schrefer uses science, history, anthropology, and sociology to illustrate the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world. Interviews with researchers in the field offer additional insights for readers and aspiring scientists. This is the perfect book to hand to anyone wrestling with the feeling that being straight and cis is the correct way to be, or that there’s something wrong or unnatural about being queer.

OUT OF THE BLUE by Jason June (on-sale: 5/31)- I think of this one as a queer updated version of the Tom Hanks movie Splash from the 80s. From Jason June, author of the breakout teen debut novel, JAY’S GAY AGENDA, comes OUT OF THE BLUE, a stand-alone dual LGBTQ POV rom-com that asks is love enough to conquer your way of life and everything you’ve grown up believing. A merperson falls for a lifeguard during their mandatory month on land where they must help a human in order to become an Elder. The one thing that merperson Crest didn’t plan on was falling for lifeguard Sean while helping him win his ex-boyfriend back by making him jealous. Perfect for fans of CEMETERY BOYS and DEEP BLUE.

A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY by Brian D Kennedy (on-sale: 5/31)- Love, Simon meets DUMPLIN’ in this funny, romantic LGBTQ+ contemporary romance about two teen boys who fall in love against the backdrop of a fictional Dollywood amusement park. Readers will fall in love with Emmett and Luke – and their romance will tug on your heartstrings. Emmett strives to become country music’s biggest gay superstar, while Luke wants nothing to do with country music after his family was burned by the fallout his grandmother had with Wanda Jean Stubbs, the queen of country music. Their love story is sweet, and tender, and often hilarious. A pitch perfect next read for fans of Becky Albertalli and Julie Murphy.

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