Reading With Pride 2026 - Young Adult, Rainbow Male Character

Need a hand finding pukapuka for the Reading With Pride challenge? Look no further!

This is a list of books that will help you complete the first section of the challenge - reading a book with a rainbow male character.

This is the Young Adult list.

Updated May 11, 2026
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What if it's us
Albertalli, Becky
Paper Book
A New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller! Critically acclaimed and bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera combine their talents in this smart, funny, heartfelt collaboration about two very different boys who can't decide if the universe is pushing them together--or...
The corruption of Hollis Brown
Ancrum, K.
Paper Book
From acclaimed author K. Ancrum comes a queer romantic thriller in which the lives of Hollis, a boy in search of meaning, and Walt, a spirit with unfinished business, collide when Walt takes possession of Hollis's body...and maybe his heart. For fans of Adam Silvera and Aiden Thomas...
Icarus
Ancrum, K.
Paper Book
"The sparse prose in this unconventional, must-read of a trauma-infused borderline thriller is packed with emotional breadth." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "In this intimate poetic reimagining of the Icarus myth, Ancrum crafts a subversive triumph that is a love letter...
All that's left in the world
Brown, Erik J.
Audiobook
The only light left burning
Brown, Erik J.
Paper Book
"Superb." --ALA Booklist (starred review) What If It's Us meets They Both Die at the End in this sequel to the beloved postapocalyptic queer YA adventure romance All That's Left in the World by USA Today bestselling author Erik J. Brown. After a long and treacherous...
The lost Book of the White
Clare, Cassandra
Paper Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling authors Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu comes the second book in the Eldest Curses series and a thrilling new adventure for High Warlock Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood, for whom a death-defying mission into the heart of evil is not just a job, it's also a...
Another first chance
Couch, Robbie
Paper Book
They Both Die at the End meets You've Reached Sam, in this "superb...thought-provoking" (Booklist, starred review) speculative young adult novel from New York Times bestselling author Robbie Couch that explores all the different ways love can live on after...
If I see you again tomorrow
Couch, Robbie
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! From the author of The Sky Blues and Blaine for the Win comes a speculative young adult romance about a teen stuck in a time loop that's endlessly monotonous until he meets the boy of his dreams. For some...
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love
Croucher, Lex.
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! "A total, rollicking delight. Gwen & Art gave me the same cheeky, swoony, giddy, irresistible high of the first time I saw A Knight's Tale. Lex Croucher is one of my favorite romcom authors, and they should be yours...
Aces wild : a heist
DeWitt, Amanda
Paper Book
What happens in Vegas when an all-asexual online friend group attempts to break into a high-stakes gambling club? Shenanigans ensue. For fans of Alice Oseman and Casey McQuiston, a hilarious and heartfelt story that will captivate readers looking for found family and a heist...
Hazelthorn
Drews, C. G.
Paper Book
AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! CG Drews, instant New York Times-bestselling author of Don't Let the Forest In, returns with another deeply unsettling and yet hauntingly beautiful tale of murder and botanical body horror, perfect for fans of Andrew...
Those Pink Mountain nights
Ferguson, Jenny
Paper Book
In her remarkable second novel following her Governor General's Award-winning debut, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, Jen Ferguson writes about the hurt of a life stuck in past tense, the hum of connections that cannot be severed, and one week in a small, snowy town that changes everything. <...
Canto contigo : a novel
Garza Villa, Jonny
Audiobook
The forest demands its due
Jackson, Kosoko
Audiobook
This fatal kiss
Jasinska, Alicia
Paper Book
Spirit away with a whimsical fantasy filled with dark magic and flirty, polyamorous romance. Cursed to haunt the river running through the magical spa town where she drowned, Gisela is a water nymph who dreams of returning to the living world and the family she left behind. All...
Magical boy : a graphic novel. Volume 1
Kao Studios
Paper Book
A breathtakingly imaginative fantasy series starring Max--a high schooler chosen to become the next "Magical Girl." There's just one catch . . . he's a trans boy!Although he was assigned female at birth, Max is your average trans man trying to get through high school as himself. But on top of...
The extraordinaries
Klune, TJ
Paper Book
An Indie Bestseller! An Indie Next Pick! A Gold Nautilus Book Award Winner! Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra. New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune's YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is a queer coming-of-age story about...
Destination unknown
Konigsberg, Bill
Ebook
Now, conjurers
Kölsch, Freddie
Paper Book
Following the murder of their leader and friend, a tight-knit coven of queer teens takes on a wish-granting demon lurking in their town, weaving together murder mystery with the occult in this YA horror novel perfect for fans of V. E. Schwab and Leigh Bardugo books. ...
Meet cute diary
Lee, Emery
Paper Book
Felix Ever After meets Becky Albertalli in this swoon-worthy, heartfelt rom-com about how a transgender teen's first love challenges his ideas about perfect relationships. * A 2022 ALA Rainbow Booklist Selection * A Junior Library Guild Selection * Noah Ramirez thinks he's an expert...
Ryan and Avery
Levithan, David.
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of EVERY DAY, this is a queer love story for the ages--told over the course of a couple's first ten dates. When a blue-haired boy (Ryan) meets a pink-haired boy (Avery) at a dance--a queer prom--both feel an inexplicable but...
Beating heart baby
Min, Lio
Paper Book
From debut author Lio Min comes BEATING HEART BABY, a tender love letter to internet friendships, anime, and indie rock, perfect for fans of HEARTSTOPPER When Santi arrives in Los Angeles, he hopes he can move past the loss of the childhood internet friend...
Only this beautiful moment
Nazemian, Abdi
Paper Book
Stonewall Book Award Winner * A Best Book of the Year from the Guardian, ALA Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and BookPage From the award-winning author of Like a Love Story comes a sweeping story of three generations of boys in the same Iranian family. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the...
Heartstopper. Volume 1
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork. Now streaming on Netflix! Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to...
Heartstopper. Volume 2
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
The second book in the delightfully sweet Heartstopper series, featuring beautiful two-color artwork! Now streaming on Netflix! Nick and Charlie are best friends, but one spontaneous kiss has changed everything. In the aftermath, Charlie thinks that he's made a...
Heartstopper. Volume 3
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
The third volume in the poignant and sweet Heartstopper series, featuring beautiful two-color artwork! Now streaming on Netflix! Charlie didn't think Nick could ever like him back, but now they're officially boyfriends. Nick has even found the courage to come out to...
Heartstopper. Volume 4
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
The fourth volume in the wonderfully sweet Heartstopper series, featuring gorgeous two-color artwork. Now streaming on Netflix! Charlie and Nick's relationship has been going really well, and Charlie thinks he's ready to say those three little words: I love you. ...
Heartstopper. Volume 5
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
*Now an acclaimed live-action Netflix series!* Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between: this is the fifth volume of the much-loved Heartstopper series, featuring gorgeous...
Dark heir
Pacat, C. S.
Paper Book
* Instant New York Times Bestseller * Indie Bestseller * In this riveting LGBTQ fantasy sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel Dark Rise, Will and his allies have survived the Dark's first assault, but at a terrible cost. A new threat from the...
The Honeys
La Sala, Ryan
Paper Book
From Ryan La Sala, the wildly popular author of Reverie, comes a twisted and tantalizing horror novel set amidst the bucolic splendor of a secluded summer retreat. Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific...
Surrender your sons
Sass, Adam
Ebook
Surrender Your Sonsis an LGBTQ+ YA mystery / thriller that expertly blends together humor, horror, and heart, in a wholly unique read like no other. A blend of Lostand Lord of the Flies... just with gay teenagers taking the horrors of the world head on. A 2020 Booklist Top 10 First...
The darkness outside us
Schrefer, Eliot
Paper Book
They Both Die at the End meets Gravity in this mind-bending sci-fi mystery and tender love story about two boys aboard a spaceship sent on a rescue mission, from two-time National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer. Stonewall Honor Award winner! Two boys, alone in space....
The first to die at the end
Silvera, Adam
Paper Book
In this prequel to the bestselling phenomenon They Both Die at the End, two new strangers spend a life-changing day together after Death-Cast first makes their fateful calls. #1 New York Times bestseller! It's the night before Death-Cast goes live, and there's one question on everyone's...
More happy than not
Silvera, Adam
Ebook
A special Deluxe Edition of Adam Silvera's groundbreaking debut featuring an introduction by Angie Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give; a new final chapter, "More Happy Ending"; and an afterword about where it all began.   In...
The survivor wants to die at the end
Silvera, Adam
Paper Book
In this third book of the USA Today and #1 New York Times mega-bestselling They Both Die at the End series, two strangers--each with their own complicated relationship to Death-Cast--help each other learn to live. Paz Dario stays up every night, waiting for the Death-Cast call that would...
They both die at the end
Silvera, Adam
Paper Book
Adam Silvera reminds us that there's no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day. #1 New York Times bestseller * four starred reviews * A School...
The gravity of us
Stamper, Phil
Paper Book
"I'm so starry-eyed for this wise, romantic gem of a book." - Becky Albertalli, bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda In this smart, heart-warming YA debut perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, two teens find love when their...
Cold
Tamaki, Mariko
Ebook
A boy, a murder, a girl, a secret. From award-winning author Mariko Tamaki comes Cold, a haunting YA novel about a shocking homicide in a quiet town and four students who knew too much and said too little. This is the story of a boy who died--and a girl who wants...
Celestial monsters
Thomas, Aiden
Ebook
A New York Times-Bestseller! A Kids' Indie Next Pick! A B&N Best YA Book of the Year! New York Times-bestselling author Aiden Thomas returns to the beloved world of The Sunbearer Trials in Celestial Monsters, a heart-stopping duology...
Cemetery boys
Thomas, Aiden
Audiobook
The Sunbearer Trials
Thomas, Aiden
Paper Book
A New York Times-Bestseller! Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where teen semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes, in this electric new Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the New York Times bestselling author of...
The backstagers. Volume one, Rebels without applause
Tynion, James, IV
Ebook
James Tynion IV (Detective Comics, The Woods) teams up with artist Rian Sygh (Munchkin, Stolen Forest) for an incredibly earnest story that explores what it means to find a place to fit in when you're kinda an outcast. When Jory transfers to an all-boys private high school, he's taken in by the...
Compound fracture
White, Andrew Joseph
Paper Book
A Michael L. Printz Honor Book A queer Appalachian thriller that pulls no punches--following a trans autistic teen who's drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them. The INSTANT New York Times, USA Today, and Indie...
Hell followed with us
White, Andrew Joseph
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors. "A long, sustained scream to the various strains of anti-transgender legislation multiplying around the world...
The spirit bares its teeth
White, Andrew Joseph
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! A Stonewall Honor Book in Young Adult Literature! A blood-soaked and nauseating triumph that cuts like a scalpel and reads like your darkest nightmare. New York Times bestselling author Andrew Joseph White...
Iron widow
Zhao, Xiran Jay
Audiobook
An instant #1 New York Times bestseller! A USA Today bestseller! Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers. The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to...
Ace of spades
Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah
Paper Book
Go back to school with this instant New York Times-bestselling thriller by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully. "Readers will love this thriller-mystery... A revelatory, buzzworthy debut." --...

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