Middle-Grade LGBTQIA+ Books

(3) 4-6 In Alan Cole Is Not a Coward, Alan came out as gay to his classmates but not his parents. Now, he'll only be allowed to apply to an art academy if he takes Dad's boss's daughter to a middle-school dance; he also faces bullying and navigates a crush. This accessible, funny novel is honest about challenges queer kids may face while still giving them a hopeful ending.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) 4-6 During two weeks at Camp Rockaway, drummer Melly processes her parents' just-announced divorce, her changing best-friendship, and her first crush on a girl. Meanwhile, she and her bandmates learn how to listen to and support one another. This summer-camp crushmance is filled with realistic characters, witty dialogue, and frequent music references. Hand to tween readers who loved Pérez's The First Rule of Punk.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(2) 4-6 When a tornado destroys twelve-year-old Ivy's rural Georgia home, her distress is compounded by the loss of her notebook full of drawings of herself holding hands with another girl. Then someone begins returning the drawings to her locker with notes. This sensitive portrayal of Ivy's first crush and internal conflict around coming out believably melds with concerns about her large family and her place in it.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old heart transplant recipient Sunny is seeking a "New Life," including finding a better best friend (her old one outed her as bisexual) and a kissing partner. A girl named Quinn is willing to help--an endeavor that raises more questions than answers. Meanwhile, Sunny's long-absent mother is back in her life. Measured revelations of backstory and emotion-infused first-person narration balance major upheaval with private questions of identity.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Tara Anderson. Nine-year-old Jeannie and her new pet hamster, Sapphire, share narrating duties as both attempt to make sense of the world. Jeannie's father has recently moved out; she later learns he's dating a man. Friendship with a transgender neighbor helps Jeannie come to terms with the changes in her family. Brenna skillfully handles contemporary issues with a believable child's point-of view and plenty of gentle humor.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Caroline--born during a hurricane, abandoned by her mother, and bullied at school for having the "darkest skin"--is certain she is cursed. Things change for the better when new student Kalinda arrives. Caroline's immediate, present-tense narration thoroughly immerses readers in her struggles to mend her broken family and confront her feelings for Kalinda. Callender's debut masterfully deploys the rich landscape of Caribbean life.

Reviewer: Anastasia M. Collins | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(1) 4-6 In their second middle-grade novel (Hurricane Child, rev. 5/18), set in contemporary small-town Louisiana, Callender masterfully balances resonant themes of grief, love, family, friendship, racism, sexuality, and coming-of-age. Twelve-year-old King copes with the sudden death of his beloved older brother, Khalid, who used to talk in his sleep while dreaming about visiting another universe. King believes his brother has "left his body behind like a second skin" and become a dragonfly. He tries to keep Khalid close by remembering the dreaming Khalid's philosophical musings ("There's no such thing as happiness. No such thing as sadness, or anger, or anything else...There's just you...That star inside you"). Meanwhile, King is keeping secrets: his friend Sandy has run away from an abusive father (the town's sheriff), and King is sheltering him; Sandy is gay, and so, King gradually accepts, is he. Both boys know they are facing homophobia, which will be even more oppressive for King because it's compounded by racial prejudice (King is African American; Sandy is white). Callender's portrayal of tween angst and awakening--including King's authentically devised evolution--anchors this deeply affecting, memorable novel. Well-rounded supporting characters are believable and relatable in a story line that addresses serious issues with unreserved honesty and heightened sensitivity.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

(3) 4-6 Quiet and reserved, Evelyn is the product of a strict and structured home life. Newcomer Queen, on the other hand, revels in his uniqueness and remains unfazed by the bullying his name inspires. While the friendship that develops between these two can only be expected, it is Evelyn's emerging acceptance of her own creativity that brings the novella to a satisfying conclusion.

Reviewer: Viki Ash

(2) 4-6 At eleven-year-old Liv's new school, boys can wear pants, but "girls must wear a black, pleated, knee-length skirt." And while narrator Liv might "look like a girl...on the inside, I'm a boy." Strong-willed, introspective Liv is a likable and relatable protagonist navigating friendships, identity, and relationships at home with his two supportive moms. A touching novel on a timely subject.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2017

(3) 4-6 After one of their two mothers dies, sisters Fella and Zany sneak off from Fella's grandmother's West Virginia house to scatter Mama Lacy's ashes in their hometown of Asheville. This 2004–set road trip novel is full of mishaps and funny sisterly arguments; it also sheds light on logistical and emotional complications prior to legal same-sex marriage.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) 4-6 Federle wraps up Nate's story (Better Nate Than Ever; Five, Six, Seven, Nate!) by taking his title character from Broadway to a new stage: high school. There he comes out as gay to his classmates and spearheads a musical production of Great Expectations. Smart and snappy prose, lighthearted drama, and great characterizations make for an entertaining and moving trilogy finale.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) 4-6 Eighth graders Lily Jo and Dunkin both dislike their birth names (Timothy and Norbert, respectively) and struggle with the ways they feel their bodies betray them: for trans Lily because others assume she is a boy, and for bipolar Dunkin because he needs mood stabilizing and antipsychotic medication. While their tentative friendship is repeatedly tried by bullies, Gephart delivers an optimistic novel full of hope and heart.

Reviewer: Kazia Berkley-Cramer

(2) 4-6 Ten-year-old George is, outwardly, a boy. But inside, she's a girl, and that disconnect is becoming impossible to endure. There are setbacks, but with the help of a few allies, particularly best friend Kelly, George prevails. Gino can employ a heavy hand, but the heart of this novel is George's achingly poignant struggle to be herself, and that heart beats strong and true.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(3) 4-6 In 1977 North Carolina, two middle-school girls fall in love. Allie is mourning her brother's death and her parents' divorce; Sam struggles under her parents' conservative Christian values. Through Allie's narration, Hitchcock shows the pain that arises when loving someone means you aren't accepted by your family and your community. The moving story contains wise, empathetic characters as well as many funny moments.

Reviewer: Mariko Turk

(1) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old Rachel feels the pressure of several issues at once: her parents' money troubles; her best friend Micah's romantic feelings (though she's told him she doesn't think she likes boys); her job tending her dilettante "farmer" neighbors' menagerie. The novel's tight focus on time and place--everything happens within the range of a bike ride, in the beginning of summer--magnifies the intensity of Rachel's circumstances and her emotional response.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) 4-6 Sixth grader Fig feels obliged to downplay the effects of her father's bipolar disorder so that she and her dad can stay together. Neighbor Mark's help turns into a romantic relationship for Dad; the novel also includes another coming-out story--Fig has a crush on an older girl--but integrates these elements naturally. Details involving art and science lend specificity and keep the plot lines from feeling overly formulaic.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(1) 4-6 Wanting grownups to emulate, Archer Magill applauds his uncle Paul; that Paul turns out to be gay is not a crisis. Uncle Paul's life and romance don't overwhelm Archer's dramas involving teachers, friends, enemies, and a dying grandfather, all of which roll along with brio and feeling. We're not done needing books like this; comic and matter-of-fact, Peck's latest steps out to lead the way.

Reviewer: Gregory Maguire | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2016

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Lucy Knisley. Ten-year-old Penny writes letters in her journal to her unborn baby sister detailing the challenges she's facing at school and in her family. The daughter of two mothers in the days leading up to the Supreme Court's ruling on marriage equality, Penny's loving heart and compassionate nature shine brightly. Strong characterization and a subplot about Penny's school heritage project add depth to this fast-moving family story.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(2) 4-6 After winning the title of U.S. Juvenile Girls Champion in figure skating, twelve-year-old Ana-Marie Jin is ready to start a new season on the ice, competing at a higher level and commuting most days from San Francisco to a new rink in Oakland. It also means ­working with a new choreographer who is not only strict but requires all female skaters to wear skirts, even to practice. Ana starts to notice that "girly" things at which she had previously never blinked an eye, such as being referred to as "Miss Ana-Marie" and wearing a bedazzled costume for competitions, now make her cringe. With help from new friend Hayden, a transgender skate student she meets at the rink, Ana begins to see her gender in a new, fluid way: "Uncertainty feels like less of a burden and more of an opportunity." Ana's family (a single-parent Chinese American Jewish family) is not one frequently represented in middle-grade stories. For all of the protagonist's discomfort, the tone of the story remains hopeful as she works toward a new understanding of herself. She decides to continue using her given name and pronouns--a helpful reminder that there is no one way to identify as nonbinary. The personal connection of the author, a figure skater who identifies as nonbinary, to the story is evident within its pages in both the nuances of figure skating and Ana's interrogation of gender, and is explained in a thoughtful note at the end.

Reviewer: Hill Saxton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Tanat-Jones. "We've worked really hard to turn things people hate about us into things we love about ourselves--even the word queer!" Sicardi proudly writes in an inspiring introduction. The LGBTQ heroes presented range from teen gun activist Emma González to trans moviemakers Lana and Lilly Wachowski to Oscar Wilde. Sans organization but with lively portraits and design embellishments, the scrapbook-like volume is best for browsing. Glos.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(1) 4-6 From the outside it appears that Bea lives a charmed life. She has loving (albeit divorced) parents; an involved extended family; a kindly, funny teacher; a loyal best friend; a dog and a cat; and a wise therapist. Even situations involving life changes, such as her gay father's upcoming wedding and the prospect of a new stepsister, seem to be curiously unfraught. But with Stead's fiction (When You Reach Me, rev. 7/09; Goodbye Stranger, rev. 7/15), appearances are always deceiving. It turns out that Bea's upbeat spin on life is papering over some major anxieties and some serious problems with anger management. Bea is keeping two secrets. She lets us in on one of them, a piece of well-meaning interference in the wedding plans that turns out to be a disaster. The other secret, hidden in plain sight but only revealed at the climax, involves deliberately causing harm to another person. The strength of this novel lies in Stead's authentic, respectful, low-key approach to the emotional life of a ten-year-old as recalled from the perspective of her slightly older self (Bea is twelve when she tells the story: "a story about me, but a different one, a person who doesn’t exist anymore"). Difficulties with spelling, the pleasures of gummy bears, the pain of eczema, the ability to sense adult tension--we are fully present with Bea, in the rich, crisply rendered details and in her distinctive voice.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020