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
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Going bicoastal
Adler, Dahlia
Ebook
A SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD MEDALIST "This is what it looks like when a brilliant high concept is executed to perfection. It's got all the Dahlia Adler trademarks--romance, wry humor, specificity, and genuine emotional depth." - Becky Albertalli, New York Times...
Leah on the offbeat
Albertalli, Becky
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestseller! Goodreads Choice Award for the best young adult novel of the year! In this sequel to the acclaimed Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda--now a major motion picture, Love, Simon--we follow Simon's BFF Leah in a heartfelt...
Bad things happen here
Barrow, Rebecca
Paper Book
I Killed Zoe Spanos meets The Cheerleaders in this "atmospheric and multi-layered mystery" (Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders) about an island town with a history of unsolved deaths--and a girl desperate to uncover the mystery behind it all. Luca Laine...
The good girls
Bartlett, Claire Eliza
Paper Book
One of Us Is Lying meets Sadie in this twisty, feminist thriller for the Me Too era. The troublemaker. The overachiever. The cheer captain. The dead girl. Like every high school in America, Jefferson-Lorne High contains all of the above. After the...
Cinderella is dead
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
"Wholly original and captivating." - Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella from a stunning new voice that's perfect for fans of...
You're not supposed to die tonight
Bayron, Kalynn
Ebook
Out of step, into you
Burch, Ciera
Ebook
"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
Ebook
Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who's forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland--perfect for fans of Iron Widow and The Priory of the Orange Tree.    ...
Queen of coin and whispers : a kingdom of secrets and a game of lies
Corcoran, Helen
Ebook
'She loved me as I loved her, fierce as a bloodied blade' When Lia, an idealistic queen, falls for Xania, her new spymaster--who took the job to avenge her murdered father--they realise all isn't fair in love and treason.  Lia won't mourn her uncle: he's left her a...
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love
Croucher, Lex.
Audiobook
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 Witch King
Edgmon, H. E.
Paper Book
A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens 2021 To save a fae kingdom, a trans witch must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind. In Asalin, fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft...don't. Wyatt's betrothal to fae prince...
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...
When we were magic
Gailey, Sarah
Paper Book
A moving, darkly funny novel about six teens whose magic goes wildly awry from Magic for Liars author Sarah Gailey, who Chuck Wendig calls an "author to watch." Keeping your magic a secret is hard. Being in love with your best friend is harder. Alexis...
These violent delights
Gong, Chloe
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! A BuzzFeed Best Young Adult Book of 2020 Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai...
Nobody in particular
Gonzales, Sophie
Ebook
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...
We deserve monuments
Hammonds, Jas
Paper Book
"An absolute must read." --Buzzfeed "A gripping portrayal of the South's inherent racism and a love story for queer Black girls." --Teen Vogue Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery...
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...
The dark tide
Jasinska, Alicia
Paper Book
A gripping, dark enemies to lovers LGBTQ+ YA fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island home. Every year on St. Walpurga's Eve, Caldella's Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full...
This fatal kiss
Jasinska, Alicia
Audiobook
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...
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
Ebook
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. The...
Lady's knight
Kaufman, Amie
Ebook
An undeniably fierce, unforgettably funny, unapologetically queer feminist romp through the England of medieval legend. Bestselling and acclaimed authors Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner bring readers along on an epic quest for valor, freedom, and, above all, love. A Knight's Tale meets...
I'll be the one
Lee, Lyla
Paper Book
Diverse book recommended by The Today Show * A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year * Bank Street Best Book of the Year * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults * ALA's Rainbow Book List Top 10 for Teen Readers The world of K-Pop has never met a star like this. Debut author Lyla Lee delivers...
She gets the girl
Lippincott, Rachael
Paper Book
She's All That meets What If It's Us in this New York Times bestselling hate-to-love YA romantic comedy from the coauthor of Five Feet Apart Rachael Lippincott and debut writer Alyson Derrick. Alex Blackwood is a little bit headstrong, with a dash of...
A snake falls to Earth
Little Badger, Darcie
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this breathaking work of Indigenous futurism, Darcie Little Badger weaves an unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still...
Last night at the Telegraph Club
Lo, Malinda
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND STONEWALL BOOK AWARD * From acclaimed author Malinda Lo comes a gripping, tender coming-of-age novel exploring identity, queerness, and historical upheaval set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1950s. ...
I kissed Shara Wheeler : a novel
McQuiston, Casey
Paper Book
*INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* *INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER* *INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER* From the New York Times bestselling author of One Last Stop and Red, White & Royal Blue comes a romantic comedy about chasing down what you...
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...
Gearbreakers
Mikuta, Zoe Hana
Paper Book
Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they're fighting for a common purpose--and falling for each other--in Zoe Hana Mikuta's high-octane dystopian debut Gearbreakers, perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu's Legend series.<...
Girls of paper and fire
Ngan, Natasha
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller! Uncover a riveting story of palace intrigue set in a sumptuous Asian-inspired fantasy world in the breakout YA novel that Publisher's Weeklycalls "elegant and adrenaline-soaked." "Queer...
A bánh mì for two
Nguyen, Trinity
Ebook
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
Ebook
The girls I've been
Sharpe, Tess
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller * A USA Today Bestseller * In this feminist, suspenseful thriller the daughter of a con artist is taken hostage in a bank heist--and will need to tap into all her skills in order to survive. "If you're looking for a queer YA contemporary book...
Cold
Tamaki, Mariko
Paper Book
A boy, a murder, a girl, a secret. From award-winning author Mariko Tamaki comes Cold, a haunting YA novel about a shocking crime, told by a boy who died--and a girl who wants to know why. Who was Todd Mayer, and why don't any of his fellow students at...
Celestial monsters
Thomas, Aiden
Audiobook
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
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...
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
Ebook
Crier's war
Varela, Nina
Paper Book
From debut author Nina Varela comes the first book in a richly imagined epic fantasy duology about an impossible love between two girls--one human, one Made--whose romance could be the beginning of a revolution. Perfect for fans of Marie Rutkoski's The Winner's Curse as well as Game of...
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,...
The river has teeth
Waters, Erica
Paper Book
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...
Navigating with you
Whitley, Jeremy
Ebook
A charming POC-led WLW romance where two new friends hit the road in search of the missing volumes of their favorite manga. Neesha Sparks is a disabled, vocal community activist with a passion for costume design. Gabby Graciana is an optimistic surfer - and, like Neesha, a new...
Where sleeping girls lie
Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah
Audiobook

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