Ten LGBTQIA+ Reads with BIPOC Main Characters

All the Yellow Suns by Malavika Kannan: Sixteen-year-old queer Indian American, Maya, who falls for her white, wealthy, and complicated female classmate, Juneau, is asked to join a secret society of artists, vandals, and mischief-makers who fight for justice at their school.

Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans: Bianca, an anxious, introverted nonbinary teen birder somehow finds themself investigating a murder with their neighbor/fellow anime lover, all while falling for a cute girl from their birding group...and trying not to get killed next.

Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido: When Bobby is unwillingly outed he turns to boxing, finding a hero in Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, but when Pacquiao publicly denounces homosexuality, Bobby must discover a hero within himself.

Forever is Now by Mariama Lockington: When sixteen-year-old Sadie, a Black bisexual recluse, develops agoraphobia the summer before her junior year, she relies on her best friend, family, and therapist to overcome her fears.

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng: Disgraced teen idol Sunny, comes face to face with Candie, her former bandmate, and the demons of their shared past when the two enter a K-pop competition that devolves into a deadly nightmare.

Into the Bright Open : a Secret Garden remix by Cherie Dimaline: In this queer reimaging of The Secret Garden, fifteen-year-old orphan Mary sets off to live in the Georgian Bay wilds where she discovers family secrets both wonderful and horrifying.

Into the Light by Mark Oshiro: Seventeen-year-old queer adoptee Manny, now homeless, sets out to find his sister Elena, who is still enmeshed in Christ's Dominion, the community that abandoned him, but the journey is fraught with danger, as he is forced to confront the religious trauma from his past.

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian: Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this sweeping intergenerational story, examining queer identity at the end of different decades, follows three boys in the same Iranian family as they each gain a new understanding of their history, culture, and themselves. 

The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean: As the newly crowned first Black king of England, seventeen-year-old James faces intense media scrutiny and a blackmailer intent on disclosing his deepest secrets, including his sexuality and hidden relationship.

Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore: Teenagers Cade McKenna, a transgender prince doubling for his brother, and lady-in-waiting Valencia Palafox/boy assassin Gael Palma, thanks to their concealed identities, do not realize they are simultaneously falling for and trying to destroy each other.