Books with gay characters

Discover the best LGBTQ fiction books including bestsellers, award winners, and more. A short, powerful book about two teens in a highly homophobic, rural southern town. 1. An intense, darkly atmospheric book about the social mores and hidden passions at a prestigious private school for boys.

The first time I read it I was still struggling with my sexuality, and it really made me feel less alone. The story is told through multiple viewpoints and each character is fully fleshed-out. Two boyhood friends and former lovers enter an unusual relationship with a free-spirited woman, and when a baby comes into the picture things get gloriously messy.

Intelligent, erudite, and very moving. From books with main characters who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender or who are exploring their gender identity or sexual orientation to stories of kids and teens with queer friends or parents, these books portray many aspects of the LGBTQ+ experience.

The first-person narrator is completely engaging and adorable. From memoirs and coming-out stories to trope-filled romances and teen books with gay and trans leads, we want it all. Browse books by LGBTQ+ authors to books featuring LGBTQ characters. For each book I’ve included a rating, a summary, positives & negatives and the representation it features.

Two young slaves on a plantation in the Deep South fall in love, and the whole world crumbles around them. After aggregating the results, I’ve rounded up a list of the absolute best LGBTQ+ Fantasy books for Adults. The characters are highly nuanced, the dialog is rich, and the fallout from the illicit relationship is quietly devastating.

Originally published in , this is a great coming-of-age story about adolescent first loves. Fans of Andrew Sean Greer, Jonathan Tropper, and Armistead Maupin will adore this outrageously funny, deeply touching, buoyant new novel from the award-winning author of Leave Myself Behind.

Historical fiction at its best, centered around the Easter Rising in Dublin in but primarily a love story about two teenage boys caught up in the violence happening all around them. Psychologically fascinating, with a hugely effective anti-war theme. Sad, sweet, realistic, and ultimately hopeful.

The claustrophobic, haunting settings—a graveyard, a broken-down old mansion, a school bus on a deserted road—are perfect contrasts to the growing love between the two boys. This list contains books by gay, lesbian, trans and queer authors as well as fantastic reads with characters from across the LGBTQ+ rainbow of identities.

Jones is a terrific writer, alternating between sweetness and brutality with enviable ease. Funny, sweet, and beautifully written, with lovable, fallible characters, great comic timing, exotic locales, and moments of real insight into human nature. Not a cheerful read, with a lot of tension, blood, sexual abuse, and violence, but the disturbing story lingers in the imagination like a dream, and the tenderness of the love story is equally unforgettable.

When his difficult mother is diagnosed with ALS, a sharp-witted yet sensitive artist named Noah York reluctantly returns to his New Hampshire hometown — and all the ghosts he left behind. As it turns out, you can go home again. This is a tremendous character study, and a rich meditation on the nature of love and family.

The writing is crisp and straightforward, with tons of heart and some lovely erotic moments. I browsed the r/suggestabook subreddit, Facebook groups and polled Instagram users. I adore this book, though sometimes it hits a little too close to home: The main character is a neurotic novelist who bumbles through life and relationships, just as I do.

The writing is top-notch, alternately funny and poignant, though sometimes I found the Irish dialect a challenge. The Best LGBTQ+ Fantasy Books for Adults. We've put together a list of 30 recommended YA books featuring LGBTQ+ characters and themes. Great storytelling about fragile, sensitive human beings trying to survive in an insane world.

We include books from Madeline Miller, Leigh Bardugo, John Green, and many more. “The story is a wild new ride full of dames and dapper dons, jazz babies and Prohibition-defying parties, conspiracy and prophecy—and all manner of things that go bump in the neon-drenched night.” The second book in particular focuses on two characters, one of whom is gay and the other who is asexual.