Reading With Pride - Young Adult, Rainbow Female 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 female character.

This is the Young Adult list.

Updated May 11, 2026
Kōtui Whakatane Libraries and Galleries
This is your list in printable form. Simply print this page using your browser's print command.

Reading With Pride - Young Adult, Rainbow Female 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 female character.

This is the Young Adult list.

Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Tonight, I burn
Adams, Katharine J.
Paper Book
From one of the most exciting new voices in romantasy comes the tale of a thorn witch with the power to walk between the realms of Life and Death who finds herself at the center of a magical rebellion--and a dangerous romance--that could destroy her coven and her soul in this dark and decadent...
Amelia, if only
Albertalli, Becky
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author Becky Albertalli (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Imogen, Obviously) is back with another novel of crushes, friendships, and finding love in unexpected places. A 2026 Rainbow Book List pick! Amelia Applebaum isn...
Leah on the offbeat
Albertalli, Becky
Paper Book
When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat - but real life isn't always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she's the only child of a young, single mum, and her life is decidedly less privileged. And even though her mom knows she's bisexual, she hasn't mustered the courage to...
The guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all. 1
Arai, Sumiko
Paper Book
Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya loves listening to rock, but no one else seems to share her interest...until she meets a cool, stylish employee at a CD shop. Dressed in black from head to toe, he has this air of mystery about him, and his taste in music is impeccable. Aya falls hard for him...
Cinderella is dead
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
_______________ 'Kalynn Bayron does more than re-write a fairytale ... She breaks it apart and rebuilds it into a wholly original and captivating story where girls finally decide for themselves who lives happily ever after' - New York Times bestselling author...
You're not supposed to die tonight
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author and TikTok sensation Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson's White Smoke, Friday the 13th, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Get Out. Charity Curtis has the summer...
A good kind of trouble
Blurton, Brooke
Paper Book
A brilliantly warm-hearted NEW series from Brooke Blurton and Melanie Saward, full of high school longing, friendship, footy matches, and dreams to change the world! It's funny how your life changes. I used to worry about playing footy and whether my first kiss would...
The last bookstore on Earth
Braun-Arnold, Lily
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller. A heartbreaking and high-stakes story of queer love and survival set against the backdrop of a climate change apocalypse, this book is Station Eleven and The Last of Us meets All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown.
Out of step, into you
Burch, Ciera
Paper Book
"A perfectly angsty second-chance romance." --Dahlia Adler, award-winning author of Cool for the Summer and Home Field Advantage Out of Step, into You is a sapphic contemporary romance following childhood friends turned cross-country team rivals who are...
So let them burn
Cole, Kamilah
Paper Book
'Clever and utterly fresh. So Let Them Burn takes the fantasy genre and soars into brilliant new heights' Chloe Gong, author of These Violent Delights 'With fierce protagonists and compelling conflicts, So Let Them Burn is a YA fantasy to root for!'...
This ends in embers
Cole, Kamilah
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Raybearer and Fourth Wing, this astonishing sequel to the bestselling novel So Let Them Burn, follows sisters Faron and Elara as they fight on opposite sides of a war that could redefine their world.   ...
Black River
Cottle, Ruby Jean
Paper Book
A mystical new YA series that blends fantasy, sci-fi and romance. Limited copies with sprayed edges available now!  All seventeen-year-old Dusty wants is to escape into books and the wilderness that surrounds her mountain home. What she doesn't know is that there's...
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...
The miseducation of Cameron Post
Danforth, Emily M.
Paper Book
The acclaimed book behind the 2018 Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning movie "LGBTQ cinema is out in force at Sundance Film Festival," proclaimed USA Today. "The acerbic coming-of-age movie is adapted from Emily M. Danforth's novel, and stars Chloë Grace Moretz as a...
The last girls standing
Dugan, Jennifer
Paper Book
A queer YA psychological thriller from the author of Some Girls Do. "Shocking, captivating, and utterly chilling. A delicious thriller that will have you tearing through pages to get to the end, where you won't be disappointed." --Jessica Goodman, bestselling author of...
The summer of bitter and sweet
Ferguson, Jenny
Paper Book
In this complex and emotionally resonant novel about a Métis girl living on the Canadian prairies, debut author Jen Ferguson serves up a powerful story about rage, secrets, and all the spectrums that make up a person--and the sweetness that can still live alongside the bitterest truth. A William...
The quiet and the loud
Fox, Helena
Paper Book
A heartbreaking, hopeful, and timely novel about holding too tight to family secrets, healing from trauma, and falling in love, from the award-winning author of How It Feels to Float George's life is loud. On the water, though, with everything hushed above and below,...
These violent delights
Gong, Chloe
Paper Book
Nobody in particular
Gonzales, Sophie
Paper Book
Young Royals meets The Prince and Me when a disgraced princess falls for a new student at their all-girls boarding school, but the two must hide their forbidden love at all costs. Princess Rosemary of Henland can't afford distractions. She's working tirelessly to...
The wicked unseen
Griffis, Gigi
Paper Book
The new girl in town is having trouble fitting into a community that believes there's a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the woods. When her crush goes missing, she starts to wonder if the town's obsession with evil isn't covering up something far worse. Perfect for fans of Fear...
The deathless girls
Hargrave, Kiran Millwood
Paper Book
Gothic, intoxicating, feminist, darkly provoking and deeply romantic - this is the breathtakingly imagined untold story of the brides of Dracula, by bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave in her much-anticipated YA debut. 'A Chilling and breathlessly paced...
Moth dark
Hatzopoulou, Kika
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of Threads that Bind and Hearts that Cut comes a brand-new compulsive romantasy about a girl obsessed with the dark and the shadowy magical prince she falls in love with, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Laini Taylor. 'A world so...
The henna wars
Jaigirdar, Adiba
Paper Book
"Impossible to put down." - Kirkus, starred review Nishat doesn't want to lose her family, but she also doesn't want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat falls for...
A million to one
Jaigirdar, Adiba
Paper Book
2024 Rainbow Book List Adiba Jaigirdar, author of one of Time's Best YA books of all time, gives Titanic an Ocean's 8 makeover in this nail-biting heist set onboard the infamous ship. Josefa is an unapologetic and charismatic thief who loves the thrill of the chase. She has her eye...
This fatal kiss
Jasinska, Alicia
Paper Book
An immersive fantasy, filled with dark magic, mystery and romance, from the author of The Dark Tide. Cursed to haunt the river running through the magical spa town where she drowned, water nymph Gisela dreams of returning to the living world and the family she...
You should see me in a crown
Johnson, Leah (Young adult author)
Paper Book
A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time A Stonewall Honor Book A Reese's Book Club YA Pick Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a...
Death at Morning House
Johnson, Maureen
Paper Book
An instant New York Times and Indie bestseller! From the bestselling author of the Truly Devious books, Maureen Johnson, comes a new stand-alone YA about a teen who uncovers a mystery while working as a tour guide on an island and must solve it before history repeats itself.<...
Lady's knight
Kaufman, Amie
Paper Book
A rollercoaster of a medieval romp and a sapphic love story, set in a world of dragons, witches and excellent snacks from NYT bestselling duo, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Perfect for fans of Gwen and Art are Not in Love, Twin Crowns and My Lady Jane.
I will never leave you
Kennedy, Kara A.
Paper Book
In this chilling sapphic ghost story, high-schooler Maya is haunted by her abusive ex-girlfriend, Alana, who sets her an impossible ultimatum: help Alana possess the body of another girl, or get framed for her murder.
Now, conjurers
Kölsch, Freddie
Paper Book
"This sensational YA debut blends tense, terrifying horror with dark humour, queer romance and hugely original storytelling." Guardian November 1999, North Dana, Massachusetts. The body of Bastion Attia - high school quarterback, secret witch, and Nesbit Nuñez's even-more...
Last night at the Telegraph Club
Lo, Malinda
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE; THE ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR YOUTH LITERATURE; THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD (YA); THE PRINTZ HONOR _____________________________________________________________________________________________
I kissed Shara Wheeler
McQuiston, Casey
Paper Book
*INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* *INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER* *INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER* Casey McQuiston's beloved #1 New York Times bestselling romantic comedy, now in paperback with an all new Shara-POV chapter! Chloe Green is so...
Summer's edge
Mele, Dana
Paper Book
"Absolutely enthralling and genuinely terrifying." --Kit Frick, author of I Killed Zoe Spanos and Very Bad People I Know What You Did Last Summer meets The Haunting of Hill House in this "psychologically chilling and unforgettable" (Kirkus...
A bánh mì for two
Nguyen, Trinity
Paper Book
In this sweet sapphic romance about two foodies in love, Vivi meets Lan while studying abroad in Vietnam and they spend the semester unraveling their families' histories--and eating all the street food in Sài Gòn. In Sài Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect...
The deep dark
Ostertag, Molly Knox
Paper Book
From Molly Knox Ostertag, writer-illustrator of the New York Times and ABA Indie bestselling The Witch Boy trilogy and The Girl from the Sea, comes a darkly beautiful story of identity, family, love, loss, and magic. Everyone has secrets. Mags's has teeth. Magdalena...
The girls I've been
Sharpe, Tess
Paper Book
Soon to be a Netflix film starring Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown - this must-read psychological thriller, perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, will leave you guessing until the final page. 'Unlike anything I've read before... immediate,...
Celestial monsters
Thomas, Aiden
Paper Book
A heart-stopping duology finale, in which three young semidioses travel through a dark monster-infested world, facing down chaotic Obsidian gods, in a quest to save their friends and return the sun to the sky. Celestial Monsters is the sequel to mexican inspired YA fantasy The...
Cemetery boys
Thomas, Aiden
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature! A New York Times Bestseller! A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten pick! "Goundbreaking." -Entertainment Weekly A trans boy determined to prove his gender to...
The Sunbearer Trials
Thomas, Aiden
Paper Book
Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where ten semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes, in this breathtaking, Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the author of the bestselling Cemetery Boys. Only the most powerful and honorable will be...
Squad
Tokuda-Hall, Maggie
Paper Book
An IndieBound Bestseller "Squad is a fast-paced and feminist horror story for every girl who's ever felt like prey, and asks how far a girl should go to hunt the hunters."--Laura Ruby, author of National Book Award Finalist Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All<...
They bloom at night
Tran, Trang Thanh
Paper Book
The author of the New York Times bestselling horror phenomenon She Is a Haunting is back with a novel about the monsters that swim beneath us ... and live within us. 'Trang Thanh Tran has a story for everyone who wants to tear off their skin and craves the...
Iron heart
Varela, Nina
Paper Book
Critically acclaimed author Nina Varela delivers a stunning sequel to the richly imagined queer epic fantasy Crier's War, which SLJ called "perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass." For too long, Automae have lorded over the kingdom of Rabu, oppressing its human citizens. But...
The river has teeth
Waters, Erica
Ebook
Lush and chilling, with razor-sharp edges and an iron core of hope, this bewitching, powerhouse novel of two girls fighting back against the violence the world visits on them will stun and enchant readers. Girls have been going missing in the woods... When Natasha's sister...
Where sleeping girls lie
Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah
Paper Book
The impossibly gripping new mystery thriller from international bestselling author of Ace of Spades, Faridah Abike-Iyimide, perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Maureen Johnson AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES bestseller. Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a haunting and compulsive new Dark Academia...
Find this list online

https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/1918.2384/list/7943

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.