It’s June, but I had considered not doing a pride book list for Pride Month, since I’m already late and so many others had already put theirs up. But a friend convinced me to, since everyone has a unique list. And mine may very well be unique… as in dated lol. But every book here has been chosen due to a very specific impact it had on me. Let’s start with the SFF recommendations since, after all, it is me. Also, as a note, I double checked everyone’s pronouns while writing this but if I got any wrong, please let me know!
Queer Fantasy and Science Fiction
The Last Herald-Mage by Mercedes Lackey
We’re taking it way back, at least in my own personal timeline, with this first one. The Last Herald-Mage trilogy, starting with Magic’s Pawn, changed my life. Before picking up this book at 13, I didn’t even know that queer people existed (never mind that I was one of them, that didn’t come for almost 10 more years). It was a revelation, and was so impactful that I quoted it (specifically a passage that validates homosexuality) in both the school newspaper and my quest to start a Gay/Straight Alliance in my high school.
Vanyel Ashkevron, the eldest son of a noble, wants nothing more than to be a bard. He’s very talented in his musicianship, but the lack of bardic magic means his ambitions are quashed thanks to his position in a prominent family. Petulant and “soft”, he’s sent away to his hard-as-nails aunt to be toughened up… but instead, he finds people who accept and love him for the first time in his life. His story, especially the first book, is full of angst, tragedy, and loneliness, and his path isn’t an easy one by any means… but I love it. (Disclaimer: I love tragic stories.) I just re-read this series last year after not touching it for quite a few years, and while it’s not perfect, it’s such an important foundation for queer fantasy.
Trigger warnings for homophobia, bullying, depression, major character death, rape, and suicidal ideation.
Tamora Pierce: Protector of the Small, Circle of Magic
As most of you know, Tamora Pierce is my favorite author of all time, but while she’s known for her strong feminism in her books, she’s not as well known for her queer characters. But I want to praise her for including specifically asexual and bisexual characters, especially at a time when those were pretty much never represented in fantasy. The Circle of Magic series (as well as The Circle Opens and The Circle Reforged) start us right off the bat with two women who are partners, but also have an on-and-off relationship with a man. It blew my mind to see poly relationships depicted so candidly and lovingly in a children’s series in the early 2000s. Then, as the characters’ stories progress through The Circle Opens and The Circle Reforged, one of the “main four” characters explores her preferences and feels confident in telling everyone that she’s attracted to girls. To have it stated so clearly with no pushback, while also validating their foster parents’ relationship, was a wonderful thing to read.
Tammy has also included asexual characters in leading roles. While many speculated that another character from The Circle of Magic is asexual, I can’t remember if it was ever stated explicitly (I’m in serious need of a re-read of the later Emelan books). However, one of her Tortall series leads is explicitly on the asexual/aromantic spectrum: Keladry of Mindelan, the heroine of the Protector of the Small series. While she does spend some time in her teenage years trying out relationships, she ultimately comes to the conclusion “it’s not for me”, and that was so important for me to read as someone who was also trying to figure out where I was on the asexual spectrum at the time. Hell, I still go back and forth on this spectrum (currently in a “relationships aren’t for me” phase), so I still love to see it.
Sir Callie by Esme Symes-Smith
The Sir Callie series is, quite honestly, everything to me. As a fan of Tamora Pierce, Esme Symes-Smith, a nonbinary writer, was influenced to take the character of Alanna and say, “Hey, what if she was actually genderqueer?” (A note on Alanna: Tammy has said that she didn’t have the word for it in the 80s and Alanna definitely wouldn’t have, but she has seen Alanna as gender-fluid as time has gone on, but it isn’t canon in the books.) What followed from Esme’s imagination is a wonderful and unique story about knights, magic, mental health, gender, and breaking down society’s rigid roles. While the Tortall inspiration is clearly there, the series stands on its own.
As a middle-grade fantasy series, Sir Callie does a wonderful job of both telling an exciting, important story, and representing a whole variety of identities in its wonderful cast of characters. Fantasy rarely has this much representation in even adult books, so to be introducing younger readers to these possibilities is amazing. And, unlike the previous two in my list, it’s current—the fourth and final installment of the series, Sir Callie and the Final Stand, releases this October—so it’s the perfect time to catch up this summer!
Honorable mention: Splinter & Ash by Marieke Nijkamp. I haven’t read this (yet! I just got it from the library the other day), but it’s another series that was written by a nonbinary fan of Tamora Pierce who decided to put their own queer spin on things.
TJ Klune – everything!
I first read The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune at the beginning of last year, and I was hooked on his writing immediately. I followed that up right away with Under the Whispering Door, which healed my soul in a big way, and that pretty much sums up his writing (disclaimer: I haven’t read the Wolfsong series yet, so I can’t speak to that. It’s on the list!). TJ Klune writes beautiful stories about queer characters and other outcasts finding a place where they belong. If you like cozy fantasy and found families, these books are not to be missed!
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
I first read The Left Hand of Darkness in my science fiction class in college, and it has stuck with me ever since. It was my introduction to Ursula K. Le Guin, and I am now a lifelong fan, but this one particularly remains at the top of my list (along with The Dispossessed). The Left Hand of Darkness explores gender and gender fluidity in such an interesting way. The narrator (a human from Earth) has been sent as an ambassador to an alien planet, where he gets to know the native race of people, who are ambisexual and have no “set” gender/sex. (Note: for clarity’s sake, I’m going to use simplistic English terms to describe these concepts, but they are more nuanced in the book.) People on this planet are androgynous for the majority of the time, and their bodies take on sexual characteristics when it’s time to mate (and then carry a pregnancy). Throughout the book, gender and sexuality, as well as their impact on roles in this planet’s society, are examined by the outsider envoy. This was a groundbreaking novel in the science fiction world in 1969, and is still relevant today. Personally, it helped me understand trans and nonbinary people in a way that I hadn’t before, and I think a lot of people would benefit from reading it in 2025.
Realistic Fiction
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
Adult Romance
A couple years ago, I asked my sister for book recommendations. My sister mostly reads romance, and she knows that’s generally not my cup of tea (disregard that I’m now in a romance book club). But I wanted suggestions from her because I didn’t really read romance and I trusted her opinion, so she did give me a few recommendations. At the top of the list was The Charm Offensive, and I went into it not knowing what to expect. What I got was a very cute story about a man finding himself (and his sexuality) while having the entire country watching. Okay, slight exaggeration, but as a contestant on a Bachelor-type show, the main character had a lot of eyes on him, all with the expectations of a heterosexual “happy ending” on the show and the drama of “reality” TV editing and handling. Unexpectedly, however, he finds himself falling for a man behind the camera, and has to navigate those feelings while still participating in the heterosexual proposal sham. This story was also interesting to see how reality TV handlers and editors manipulate things to tell the story they want audiences to see. But I’m sure that doesn’t really happen, right?
Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
YA Fiction
As a direct contrast to the above, Anger is a Gift is not an easy book to read, but it’s an important one. The main character of this YA novel is a gay Hispanic teenager with severe anxiety. The narrative deals with a lot of difficult topics as the cast of teen characters try to navigate life in and out of their high school. Throughout it, however, is the importance of community and standing up for what you believe in. Love, loss, and activism play prominent roles. As I mentioned, the main character is gay, and his group of friends represent a wide variety of identities as well (more asexual representation!).
Trigger warnings for homophobia, racism, murder/death, ableism, assault, and police brutality.
Additionally, Mark is the co-author of the Percy Jackson books that focus on Nico DiAngelo, The Sun and the Star and the upcoming The Court of the Dead, so if you would like to check out this wonderful queer author without such a heavy subject, I definitely recommend those! I just didn’t recommend them as the feature because they’re part of the (very big) Percy Jackson series so you have quite a few books to read ahead of them if you haven’t already.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
YA Graphic Novel
I’m not a huge graphic novel reader, but a friend asked me about Heartstopper in capacity as a librarian, so I picked it up. I didn’t really know what it was about, but what ensued was 200 pages of me squeeing over how adorable these clueless teen gays were. It’s a fairly low stakes story, but such a cute romance and journey of two people finding themselves! Readers are still waiting for the last volume to be released, but it’s worth reading up to this point.
Melissa by Alex Gino
Middle-grade Fiction
I read Melissa for one of my children’s literature classes in my MLIS program, and the group of us loved it. It is the story of a young student who knows she’s a girl, but everyone sees her as a boy. For a long time, she doesn’t have the words to define herself as trans but, with the help and support of her friend, she learns how to express herself as she truly is. It is a hopeful story, and one that is written in a way that addresses/introduces these topics to middle school children without trauma. Melissa shares the message, “I know who I am,” and encourages others to be who they are.
Content warning for deadnaming (persistent throughout the book) and “well-meaning” transphobia
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
Adult Fiction
The Guncle is a book that healed part of my inner child. No, I really mean that. I didn’t know what I expected from this book, but I got out of it a lot more. After losing their mother to cancer, two children spend the summer with their gay uncle (“guncle”) while their father goes into rehab. Sounds cheery, right? But it is! This book holds beautiful space for grief while also being delightfully gay (in both meanings of the word). It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s feelgood and sweet. And I really wish I had had an experience like this to help me get through my own father’s death when I was a kid. Also, in contrast to most of the other books on this list, Patrick, the Guncle, has been out, loud and proud about his sexuality, for many years, and exploring that isn’t part of this narrative. It’s just a story about a gay person being a person, and those stories deserve to be told just as much as anything else.
Honorary mention: TJ Alexander’s A Gentleman’s Gentleman is this month’s read for our book club. I haven’t read it yet, but I am SO excited to! I’ve heard great things already, and am really looking forward to both the book and the discussion that will come out of it.
So, there’s my list of LGBTQIA+ books that were very influential on me, and I think people should check out. What books top your list?
