I still want to be highlighting Black authors and Black stories, but because it’s also Pride month. So let’s get queer up in here!
Odd One Out – Nic stone
Full Disclosure – Camryn Garrett
Let’s Talk About Love – Claire Kann
This is Kinda an Epic Love Story – Kheryn Callender (Kacen Callender)
Little and Lion – Brandy Colbert
Black Enough Ed. by Ibi Zoboi (stories by Kekla Magoon, Jay Coles, Rita Garcia-Willians, and Justina Ireland)
Favorite: Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert—one of my all-time favorite authors and her sophomore release really solidified that for me.
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
The Beauty That Remains – Ashley Woodfolk (queer character not Black but written by an author of color)
Anger is a Gift – Mark Oshiro
Clap When You Land – Elizabeth Acevedo
All Boys Aren’t Blue – George M. Johnson
This is What it Feels Like – Rebecca Barrow
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them – Junauda Petrus
Favorite: Hard to say, but Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo was so beautiful. She is another favorite author of mind and this novel-in-verse was breathtaking. Leah Johnson’s debut, You Should See Me in a Crown, was another really great book that I listened to this month.
As I was compiling this list, I realized I have zero adult books to contribute. I don’t if that’s just me not being as clued into to that book world as I am with the YA community, or if there is just an overall lacking in adult books. I know that Brit Bennett’s newest book, The Vanishing Half, has a queer main character and I definitely want to check it out. Please leave me any other recommendations in the comments of queer contemporary reads that you enjoy!
Have you read any of these YA picks? Let me know some favorites!
Lindsay Glenne 