With tales of love, revenge, magic, murder and more, the first half of 2024 has majorly delivered on new LGBTQIA+ YA titles and here are a handful we think are TBR must haves.
Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao
Sophie Chi is in her first year of college (though her parents wish she’d attend a “real” university rather than a liberal arts school) and has long accepted her aroace (aromantic and asexual) identity. She knows she’ll never fall in love, but she enjoys running an Instagram account that offers relationship advice to students at her school. No one except her roommate can know that she’s behind the incredibly popular “Dear Wendy” account.
When Joanna “Jo” Ephron (also a first-year aroace college student) created their “Sincerely Wanda” account, it wasn’t at all meant to take off or be taken seriously–not like Wendy’s. But now they might have a rivalry of sorts with Wendy’s account? Oops. As if Jo’s not busy enough having existential crises over gender identity, whether she’ll ever truly be loved, and the possibility of her few friends finding The One then forgetting her!
While tensions are rising online, Sophie and Jo grow closer in real life, especially once they realize their shared aroace identity and start a campus organization for other a-spec students. Will their friendship survive if they learn just who’s behind the Wendy and Wanda accounts?
The Breakup Lists by Adib Khorram
Jackson Ghasnavi is a lot of things–a techie, a smoothie afficionado, a totally not obsessive list-maker–but one thing he’s not is a romantic. And why would he be? He’s already had a front row seat to his parents’ divorce and picked up the pieces of his sister Jasmine’s broken heart one too many times.
No, Jackson is perfectly happy living life behind the scenes–he is a stage manager, after all–and keeping his romantic exploits limited to the breakup lists he makes for Jasmine, which chronicle every flaw (real or imagined) of her various and sundry exes.
Enter Liam: the senior swim captain turned leading man that neither of the Ghasnavi siblings stop thinking about. Not that Jackson has a crush, of course. Jasmine is already setting her sights on him and he’s probably–no, definitely–straight anyway.
So why does the idea of eventually writing a breakup list for him feel so impossible?
The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes
Ariana Ruiz wants to be noticed. But as an autistic girl who never talks, she goes largely ignored by her peers-despite her bold fashion choices. So when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.
Luis’s attention soon turns to something more, and they have sex at a party-while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumour mill begins churning and boys at school now see Ari as an easy target, someone who won’t say no.
Through a mysterious note in her locker and an unexpected Tumblr follower, it becomes apparent that Ari is one of many who who have been assaulted by Luis. And so a group of unlikely students come together, determined to expose Luis for the predator he is. In the process, a once lonely Ari, finds herself with an eclectic group of genuine friends, including her growing feelings for the very last girl she expected to fall for.
But in order to take Luis down, she’ll have to come to terms with the truth of what he did to her that night-and risk everything to see justice done.
Ellery doesn’t believe in magic. Sure, they’ve been stuck in a five-year winter, but there’s got to be a scientific explanation for that. They’re more concerned with working hard to send money back to the family farm than with whether there’s a goddess out there who could put a stop to it.
Knox has been trapped in the human realm for years. In service to a powerful witch for a decade, Knox is finally freed when her crossroads deal meets its terms. But Knox isn’t sure he wants to return to the Other World, especially since his queen seems to have abandoned him.
When a chance encounter finds Ellery coming to Knox’s rescue, they’re suddenly face to face with a (annoyingly attractive) guy who claims to be a supernatural familiar – something they definitely don’t believe. But Ellery needs a way to stop the endless winter and save their family farm, and Knox needs a human who can tether him to their realm. A crossroads deal can’t go wrong, can it?
The Girl in Question by Tess Sharpe
Nora O’Malley has survived . . . senior year, that is. School’s over, but her life isn’t, which is weird since last she checked, her murderous stepdad Raymond is finally free.
Determined to enjoy summer before her (possibly) imminent demise, Nora plans a backpacking trip with Iris and Wes. And Wes’s girlfriend tags along. Amanda’s nice, so it’s not a huge issue. Until she gets taken. Or rather, mis-taken . . . for Nora, that is.
Now they’re deep in the woods. Raymond has a hostage. Nora has no leverage. Iris is carving spears out of sticks. And Wes is building booby traps.
It’ll take all of them to make it out alive.
But someone is lying. Someone is keeping secrets. And someone has to die.
Daniel, Deconstructed by James Ramos
Photographer and film buff Daniel Sanchez learned a long time ago that the only way to get by in an allistic world is to mask his autism and follow the script. Which means he knows that boisterous, buff, and beautiful soccer superstars like his best friend, Mona Sinclair, shouldn’t be wasting time hanging out with introverts who prefer being behind the camera.
So when Daniel meets a new classmate, Gabe Mendes, who is tall, mysterious, nonbinary, and—somehow—as cool as Mona, Daniel knows exactly how this is going to play out. Mona and Gabe will meet cute, win their nominations for Homecoming Court, and ride off into the sunset together. Daniel just needs to do a little behind-the-scenes directing.
But matchmaking means stepping into the mystifying and illogical world of love, dating, and relationships, where nothing is as it seems and no one knows their lines. And when Daniel finds himself playing a starring role in this romance, he’ll question everything he thought he knew about himself and his place in the world.
Something Kindred by Ciera Burch
Jericka Walker had planned to spend the summer before senior year soaking up the sun with her best friend on the Jersey Shore. Instead she finds herself in Coldwater, Maryland, a small town where her estranged and dying grandmother lives – a grandmother she knows only two things about: her name and the fact that she left Jericka’s mother and uncle when they were children. Soon Jericka meets ‘ghost girl’ Kat, who is eager to leave Coldwater and more intriguing than a person has any right to be. But Coldwater has a few secrets of its own. The more you try to leave, the stronger the town’s hold. As Jericka feels the chilling pull of her family’s past, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her mother, her childhood, and the lines between the living and the dead.
Every Time You Hear That Song by Jenna Voris
Seventeen-year-old aspiring journalist Darren Purchase is looking for a news story to launch her career and get her out of her stifling small town.
When her country music idol Decklee Cassel dies leaving behind a trail of cross-country musical clues to her final album, Darren sees her opportunity for fame and freedom. All she needs is a car, though the only driver she knows is her annoying co-worker, Kendall . . .
As Darren and Kendall get closer to the prize – and each other – everything Darren thought she knew about the woman she idolized begins to unravel.
What actually happened to Decklee’s songwriting partner? And who were all those soul-stirring love songs written for?
True Love and Other Impossible Odds by Christina Li
College freshman Grace Tang never meant to rewrite the rules of love. She came to college to move on from a grief-stricken senior year and to start anew. So she follows a predictable routine: Attend class, study, go home and visit her dad every weekend. She doesn’t leave any room in her life for outliers or anomalies.
Then, Grace comes up with an algorithm for her statistics class to pair students with their perfect romantic partners. Though some people are skeptical, like Julia, Grace’s prickly coworker, Grace is confident that her program will take all the drama out of relationships. That’s why she keeps trying to make things work with her match, a guy named Jamie. But as the semester goes on and she grows closer to Julia, Grace starts to question who she’s really attracted to.
Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney
Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall.
Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air—not to mention a handsome face—Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward’s mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall—unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.
On the topmost floor, Bertha Mason is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha’s resilience and Jane’s persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize.
When their only chance at safety—and perhaps something more—is in each other’s arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward’s dark machinations close in around them?
Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta
In a world where Saints are monsters and Wonderland is the dark forest where they lurk, it’s been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to that forest for a crime they didn’t commit – and four years since they shattered one another’s hearts, each willing to sacrifice the other for a chance at freedom.
Now, Caro is a successful royal Saint-harvester, living the high life in the glittering capital and pretending not to know of the twisted monster experiments that her beloved Red Queen hides deep in the bowels of the palace. But for Icca, the memory of Caro’s betrayal has hardened her from timid girl to ruthless hunter. A hunter who will stop at nothing to exact her vengeance: On Caro. On the queen. On the throne itself.
But there’s a secret about the Saints the Queen’s been guarding, and a volatile magic at play even more dangerous to Icca and Caro than they are to each other…
The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella
After a lifetime of abuse at the hands of superstitious townsfolk, Ophelia Young, a bastard child of the notorious pirate queen, is tired of paying for the sins of her mother. Despite playing by the rules her whole life, she’s earned nothing but spite and suspicion. So when a naval officer saves her from the jeering crowd at her mother’s hanging, Ophelia hatches a new hope of enlisting in the navy to escape her mother’s legacy and redeem her own reputation for good. But Ophelia soon discovers that a life at sea isn’t as honorable as she hoped.
Betsy Young is as different as she could be from her half-sister Ophelia. She’s a nervous homebody who wants to keep her family safe and longs to be in love. So naturally, she’s devastated when the son of their family’s business partner rejects her hand in marriage and her sister joins the navy. But when her father contracts a life-threatening illness as well, Betsy has to bring Ophelia home to save the family business.
Unfortunately for the Young sisters, Betsy trying to get Ophelia recalled reveals that Ophelia enlisted fraudulently under Betsy’s name, a secret which Ophelia struggles to keep from crewmates who would kill her if they knew she was the pirate queen’s daughter. To save Ophelia from the naval authorities, Betsy will have to board a ship during hurricane season and brave all the dangers of the sea to get them both home safe.
The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J. Brown
Against the backdrop of a ravaged world, Andrew and Jamie have settled in a new community, more in love than ever. Finally they’ve reached safety and have each taken on roles and responsibilities in this new life. But it’s soon clear they want different things:
Jamie is ready to move on and take to the road, just the two of them.
Andrew wants to remain in the safety of numbers.
With a storm brewing up the coast they have no choice to head back into the wilderness where old enemies roam and they don’t know who to trust. Can they find their way back to safety and each other?
The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall
Seventeen-year-old Hollis Beckwith is on a quest to conquer the world of tabletop gaming. But her boyfriend’s ‘No Girlfriends at the Table’ rule means that Hollis will have to find her own group if she wants to join in.
Enter Gloria Castañeda and her all-girls game of S&S! Crowded at the table in Gloria’s apartment, Hollis finds unexpected friendships and epic adventures. With her character as armour, Hollis starts to believe that maybe she can be more than just fat, anxious and a little lost.
When an in-game crush develops between Hollis’s character and the bard played by cool, charismatic Aini Amin Shaw, the lines between the game and reality start to blur-and Hollis is left with a choice: keep pretending, or roll the dice on love.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Sade Hussein is the new girl at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy. She has no idea what to expect of her mysterious new boarding school – an institution steeped in tradition and secrets. But she certainly didn’t imagine her roommate, Elizabeth, to go missing on her first night. Or for people to think Sade had something to do with it.
Suddenly everyone is talking about Sade, including the Unholy Trinity: the three most popular girls at school. Swept up in their circle, Sade can’t shake the sense that there’s more to Elizabeth’s disappearance – especially as the teachers don’t seem to care.
And then a student is found dead.
It’s clear there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than Sade could have imagined – and she must race to uncover the truth. But secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…secrets that rival even her own.
We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller
Jordan Elliot is a fat, nerdy lesbian, and the first junior to be named editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Okay, that last part hasn’t happened yet, but it will. It’s positive thinking that has gotten Jordan this far. Ever since Mackenzie West, her friend-turned-enemy, humiliated her at the start of freshman year, Jordan has thrown herself into journalism and kept her eyes trained on the future.
So it’s a total blow when Jordan discovers that she not only didn’t get the editor-in-chief spot, but she’s been assigned the volleyball beat instead. And who is the star and new captain of the volleyball team? Mackenzie West. But words are Jordan’s weapon, and she has some ideas about how to exact a long-awaited revenge on her nemesis.
Then things get murky when forced time together has Mack and Jordan falling back into their friendship, and into something more. And when Mack confesses the real reason she turned on Jordan freshman year, it has Jordan questioning everything—past, present, and future. If Jordan lets her guard down and Mack in, will she get everything she wants, or will she be humiliated all over again?
The Last Love Song by Kalie Holford
After high school graduation, Mia Peters faces a summer full of painful goodbyes. Songwriting is her only solace. Everyone she knows is moving on, including Britt, her biggest supporter … and kind-of-sort-of girlfriend. Britt keeps pushing Mia to go bigger and do better than their small town, but Mia can’t imagine a life beyond Sunset Cove. Besides, she refuses to follow in the footsteps of her late mother–country music star Tori Rose–who abandoned her family to pursue her dream, leaving Mia and her two grandmothers alone.
Desperate for a sign of what might lie ahead, Mia finds the opposite–a mysterious letter from the past, addressed to her in her mother’s handwriting. It turns out to be the first of many. One by one, they lead Mia on a wild scavenger hunt through a Sunset Cove she never knew, buried under the memorializing that has frozen her mother in time. Each new discovery brings Mia closer to the real Tori Rose, but with the clock ticking on Britt’s departure, Mia knows she is running out of time.
With the summer winding down, Mia must decide if she is ready to face the present, confront her feelings, and forge the destiny she truly wants.
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbours.
When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon – or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.
Icarus by K. Ancrum
Icarus Gallagher is a thief. He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target in revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t get caught.
Until one night, he does. Not by Mr. Black but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous—a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus’s rules.
As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the gilded cage that has trapped both their families for years. One Icarus is determined to escape. But his father’s thirst for revenge shows no sign of fading, and soon it may force Icarus to choose: the escape he’s dreamed of, or the boy he’s come to love. Reaching for both could be his greatest triumph—or it could be his downfall.
Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron
Princess Eve was raised with one purpose: to destroy the Knight, an evil sorcerer who terrorises Queen’s Bridge with his wicked magic. Far too many of her subjects have been devastated by the Knight’s trickery but Eve’s own unique magic – the ability to conjure weapons from nature – makes her a worthy adversary.
As she approaches her seventeenth birthday, Eve is ready to battle. But her mother, Queen Regina, has been acting bizarrely, talking to a strange mirror alone every night. Then a young man claiming to be the Knight’s messenger appears and shares a shocking truth about Eve’s past. Unsure of who to trust or what to do next, Eve must find the courage to fight. But will it be enough to save her family and her queendom?
The Diablo’s Curse by Gabe Cole Novoa
Dami is a demon determined to cancel every deal they’ve ever made in order to tether their soul to earth and become human again. There’s just one person standing in their way: Silas. An irresistibly (and stubborn) cute boy cursed to die young, except for the deal with Dami that is keeping him alive. If they cancel the deal, Silas is dead. Unless… they can destroy the curse that has plagued Silas’s family for generations. But to do so, Dami and Silas are going to have to work together. That is, if the curse doesn’t kill them first. . . .