While Don’t Say Gay legislation seems to be sweeping the nation publishers, especially Young Adult stories are still going and selling strong. So here’s our highlights and best bets for a solid read for spring 2023.

Without a doubt George M. Johnson’s We Are Not Broken is number one on this list.

Lose You to Find Me by Erik J. Brown 

Perfect for fans of What If It’s Us and If This Gets Out

The realistic queer coming-of-age story teenagers need! Tommy Dees, with aspirations to attend one of the best culinary schools in the world, has been working as a server in the Sunset Estates retirement community. In order to get a letter of recommendation from his manager, he has to train the new hire — who just happens to be his old crush Gabe. Tommy fell for him at summer camp when he was 10, but Gabe doesn’t remember him. As his culinary school application deadline looms, Tommy needs to stay focused, but as old feelings resurface, things start to get scrambled.

Northranger by Rey Terciero, illustrations by Bre Indigo

Perfect for fans of Heartstopper

Inspired by Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey — 16-year-old Cade Muñoz is queer and closeted, so when he’s sent to work as a ranch hand during the summer to earn money to help his family, he’s not too thrilled. He hates everything about working there — everything except the ranch owner’s handsome son Henry. Sparks fly between them, yet both have trauma of their own to work on that forces them to confront the feelings they’re hiding from.

LIES WE SING TO THE SEA by Sarah Underwood (March 7, HarperTeen, hardcover)

A legendary YA debut. This dazzling sapphic fantasy inspired by Greek mythology will captivate fans of Circe and The Song of Achilles.

Each spring, Ithaca condemns twelve maidens to the noose. This is the price vengeful Poseidon demands for the lives of Queen Penelope’s twelve maids, hanged and cast into the depths centuries ago.

But when that fate comes for Leto, death is not what she thought it would be. Instead, she wakes on a mysterious island and meets a girl with green eyes and the power to command the sea. A girl named Melantho, who says one more death can stop a thousand.

The prince of Ithaca must die—or the tides of fate will drown them all. Sarah Underwood weaves an epic tapestry of lies, love, and tragedy, perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Alexandra Bracken, and Renée Ahdieh.

• A BISEXUAL LOVE TRIANGLE FOR THE AGES: Leto is drawn to both beautiful and mysterious Melantho, and kind and anguished prince Mathias. Leto’s simple acceptance of her sexuality is the much needed representation readers are asking for, and both romances are epic, deeply felt, and gorgeously tragic.
• A FEMINIST RECLAMATION: This book takes an often-overlooked thread in a story glorifying a man and refocuses the lens on the women who protected their queen. Melantho’s story as a survivor of sexual assault is handled sensitively and reframes a part of THE ODYSSEY that is rarely talked about.

THE LUIS ORTEGA SURVIVAL CLUB by Sonora Reyes (May 23, Balzer + Bray, hardcover)

From the bestselling author of the National Book Award Finalist The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School comes a revenge story told with nuance, heart, and the possibility of healing. An ideal next read for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson.

Ariana Ruiz wants to be noticed. But as an autistic girl who never talks, she goes largely ignored by her peers—despite her bold fashion choices. So when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.

Luis’s attention soon turns to something more, and they have sex at a party—while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumor mill begins churning. Boys at school now see Ari as an easy target, someone who won’t say no.

Then Ari finds a mysterious note in her locker that eventually leads her to a group of students determined to expose Luis for the predator he is. To her surprise, she finds genuine friendship among the group, including her growing feelings for the very last girl she expected to fall for. But in order to take Luis down, she’ll have to come to terms with the truth of what he did to her that night—and risk everything to see justice done.

• NUANCED PORTRAIT OF A NEURODIVERGENT MC: Ariana is an incredibly dimensional character who is Mexican, queer, and autistic. Sonora writes from their own experience.
• ADDRESSES THE IMPORTANT TOPIC OF SEXUAL ASSAULT FOR TEENS: This book addresses the difficult topics of rape and sexual assault for teens, but it’s also a story with humor and joy, and even romance.
• PERFECT FOR BOOK CLUBS: Sonora tackles important issues in a thoughtful and accessible way. Creating space for honest, frequently difficult conversations, this is an ideal book club pick.