Book Recommendations With LGBTQ+ Representation for Valentine's Day
Books with queer MCs to add to your TBR today!
On Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d spread some love the only way I know how: with books! I love it when the stories I read reflect the society we live in using characters belonging to different races, cultures, abilities, sexual orientation.
So today I’m sharing with you guys some books with diverse sexual representation. These books revolve around the lives and stories of characters not just struggling with coming out to the world, but also dealing with family issues, racial prejudice and their own confusion with sexuality. These books are a reminder that not all of us have it figured out and that’s okay!
I hope you’ll see yourself in one of these stories, connect to the characters, understand them, and see your struggles reflected in their journeys.
1. Asexual Representation
Book: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy Quotes
Author: Mackenzi Lee
“In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, Felicity Montague must use all her womanly wits and wiles to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor—even if she has to scheme her way across Europe to do it. A must-have for fans of Mackenzi Lee’s extraordinary and Stonewall Honor-winning novel.”
2. Bisexual Representation
Book: The Disasters
Author: M.K. England
“The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy in this YA sci-fi adventure by debut author M. K. England. Full of high-stakes action, subversive humor, and underdogs becoming heroes, this YA sci-fi adventure is perfect for fans of Illuminae, Heart of Iron, or the cult classic TV show Firefly and is also a page-turning thrill ride that anyone—not just space nerds—can enjoy.”
3. Gay/MLM Representation (Man Loves Man)
Book: Picture Us in the Light
Author: 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 in this complex, lyrical novel.”
4. Lesbian/WLW Representation (Woman Loves Woman)
Book: It’s not like a secret
Author: Misa Sagiura
“This novel follows sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara, a Japanese-American girl who gets uprooted from her simple life in Wisconsin to a much more complicated one in Los Angeles, California. It’s Not Like It’s a Secret tackles all sorts of issues—sexuality, racism, classism, and cheating being a few of them.”
5. Transexual Representation
Book: Not Your Villain
Author: C.B Lee
“Bells Broussard thought he had it made when his superpowers manifested early. Being a shapeshifter is awesome. But that was before he became the country’s most-wanted villain. After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes’ League of Heroes, Bells and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance. Meanwhile, power-hungry former hero Captain Orion is on the loose with a dangerous serum that renders meta-humans powerless, and a new militarized robotic threat emerges. Everyone is in danger. Sometimes, to do a hero’s job, you need to be a villain.”
6. Pansexual Representation
Book: Final Draft
Author: Riley Redgate
“The only sort of risk Laila enjoys is the peril she writes for the characters in her stories. But just before her graduation, Laila’s creative writing teacher and number one fan is replaced by Nadiya Nazarenko, a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist who sees nothing at all special about Laila’s writing. A growing obsession with gaining Nazarenko’s approval leads to a series of unexpected adventures. With her sanity and happiness on the line, Laila must figure out if enduring the unendurable really is the only way to greatness.”
7. Queer Representation
Book: We Are Totally Normal
Author: Rahul Kanakia
“In this queer contemporary YA, perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story, Nandan’s perfect plan for junior year goes awry after he hooks up with a guy for the first time. Nandan’s got a plan to make his junior year perfect, but hooking up with his friend Dave isn’t part of it—especially because Nandan has never been into guys. Still, Nandan’s willing to give a relationship with him a shot. But the more his anxiety grows about what his sexuality means for himself, his friends, and his social life, the more he wonders whether he can just take it all back.
Is breaking up with Dave—the only person who’s ever really gotten him—worth feeling “normal” again?”
Thank you for making it to the end of the List. Did you find your next read? Let me know by commenting down below or shoot me a DM on @thelitpicture. You can follow us on Instagram @the.feministgaze.
We’d love to hear from you!
Until next time, Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Reading!