Welcome to Family Equality’s Book Nook, a comprehensive list of the best LGBTQ+ books for the whole family!
Whether you’re searching for your child’s first picture book or a young adult novel that your tween will devour, Family Equality’s Book Nook is a list of our favorite books that represent diverse families in a loving and respectful way.
Check out the search portal below to discover what new LGBTQ+ books you need to add to your at-home, local, or school libraries!
Explore the Book Nook
🔎 Use the filters to refine your search by age group:
Annie On My Mind
Nancy Garden
One of the most controversial youth novels published in the last 30 years, Annie On My Mind follows Liza and Annie, two girls, both outsiders, who form an unlikely friendship and a beautiful love.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire
Saenz Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
Boy Meets Boy
David Levithan
Paul’s classmates aren’t like most: the cheerleaders ride motorcycles, the star quarterback transitioned from Darryl to Infinite Darlene and won homecoming queen, and the gay-straight alliance teaches dance lessons. It’s in this environment that Paul falls for – and loses – Noah, and in this environment that he fights to win Noah back.
Deliver Us From Evie
M.E. Kerr
Parr has always been glad his masculine, brusque sister Evie is a dedicated farmhand, because there’s no way he wants to do that work for the family. What doesn’t make him – or anyone in their rural Missouri town – happy is when Evie starts spending time with the town banker’s daughter, Patsy, and not just on platonic terms.
Empress of the World
Sara Ryan
When Nicola starts the summer at smart-kid haven the Siegel Institute, she’s excited to make new friends, like Katrina, Isaac, and Kevin. She’s also excited about Battle, the beautiful blonde girl whose friendship might be more-than-friendship. What’s a girl (who thought she liked guys) to do?
Far from Xanadu
Julie Anne Peters
Small town girl Mike has already had to grow up fast by the time Xanadu moves to town. Though Mike has “acknowledged” that she has same-sex attractions, she’s not about to label herself, not like her best friend Jamie did when he came out. But that may have to change when Mike starts falling —hard—for decidedly straight Xanadu.
Geography Club
Brent Hartinger
Russell is convinced he’s the only gay person in his whole high school—until they suddenly start coming out of the woodwork: his best friend, her girlfriend, and even his secret online crush, Kevin! Needing a space to talk but worried about how the rest of the school will react, they band together by starting a club so boring no one else would ever try to join—Geography Club.
GRL2GRL: Short Fictions
Julie Anne Peters
In this honest, emotionally captivating short story collection, renowned author and National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters offers a stunning portrayal of young women as they navigate the hurdles of relationships and sexual identity. From the young lesbian taking her first steps toward coming out to the two strangers who lock eyes across a crowded train, from the transgender teen longing for a sense of self to the girl whose abusive father has turned her to stone, Peters is the master of creating characters whose own vulnerability resonates with readers and stays with them long after the last page is turned. Grl2grl shows the rawness of teenage emotion as young girls become women and begin to discover the intricacies of love, dating and sexuality.
I Am J
Cris Beam
J had always felt different. He was certain that eventually everyone would understand who he really was: a boy mistakenly born as a girl. Yet as he grew up, his body began to betray him; eventually J stopped praying to wake up a “real boy” and started covering up his body, keeping himself invisible—from his parents, from his friends, from the world. But after being deserted by the best friend he thought would always be by his side, J decides that he’s done hiding—it’s time to be who he really is. And this time he is determined not to give up, no matter the cost.
Keesha’s House
Helen Frost
Keesha has found a safe place to live, and other kids gravitate to her house when they just can’t make it on their own. They are Stephie—pregnant, trying to make the right decisions for herself and those she cares about; Jason —Stephie’s boyfriend, torn between his responsibility to Stephie and the baby and the promise of a college basketball career; Dontay—in foster care while his parents are in prison, feeling unwanted both inside and outside the system; Carmen—arrested on a DUI charge, waiting in a juvenile detention center for a judge to hear her case; Harris— disowned by his father after disclosing that he’s gay, living in his car, and taking care of himself; Katie—angry at her mother’s loyalty to an abusive stepfather, losing herself in long hours of work and school.
More Resources for LGBTQ+ Families
Once you put down your most recent purchase, check out all the other activities, resources, and programs we create to support and connect LGBTQ+ families like yours across the country!
Get new resources from Family Equality in your inbox
Have an LGBTQ+ book you’d like to submit to our list?
If you know about an LGBTQ+ book that isn’t on our list, but should be—let us know! Use the form below to contact a staff member, and we’ll be in touch about next steps.