The novel follows Crier, an android-like Automae who was made to be the epitome of perfection, and Ayla, a human who lost everything after the Automaes overthrew the humans. With both lesbian and bisexual rep, this book has a proper ‘enemies to lovers’ romance, where the characters are actually real enemies who truly do want to kill each other – hands down, the superior YA trope. If all those things are setting off fireworks in your head, then you need to pick up Crier’s War. Get this book on The Tempest’s bookshop supporting local bookstores. The whole thing is written like pure poetry, and I have never read a more beautiful book about a more beautiful couple. But don’t worry, you don’t have to know anything about Greek mythology for this book to tear out your soul. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller via Ī staple of LGBTQIA+ YA fiction and a book that had me crying for weeks – The Song of Achilles is another retelling, this time of Homer’s Iliad.
It’s the lesbian version of Cinderella us queer girls have all been waiting for ! It follows the story of Sophia, who would rather marry her childhood best friend, Erin, instead of the male suitors lined up for her, as they try to bring down the King once and for all. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron via Amazonĭescribed by one reviewer on GoodReads as ‘queer black girls overthrowing the patriarchy’ Cinderella is Dead is a queer retelling of everyone’s third favorite fairytale. And this Pride Month, we want to celebrate all the great YA authors who are allies to the LGBTQIA+ community and have included great LGBTQIA+ representation in their books for you to find your own fictional counterpart in. Of course, it’s perfectly okay to still love the books – even if you disagree with the author – but YA as a genre has thankfully since diversified, bringing in not just protagonists of color, but also characters who identify as LGBTQIA+. Take Harry Potter, for example, undoubtedly a blueprint for the genre, but written with incredibly little diversity and by an author who can’t seem to stop endlessly spewing transphobic rhetoric from her massive gob.
However, when the YA (Young Adult) genre first came into the mainstream over a decade ago, it was neon impossible to see yourself in the main character unless you were a below-average height, totally white, very straight, and of very little weight, cisgender teen. When this character is at the forefront of an action-packed YA fantasy novel, it’s even cooler – oh, so that’s what I would look like if I could wield a mythical sword and slice it through my enemy’s chest in battle? There is nothing quite like reading a book and seeing yourself in the main character it’s like someone has taken everything that makes you you, and put it inside a fictional protagonist who looks the same, thinks the same, and annoyingly, also acts the same.