Teen Reads: Celebrate Disability Pride Month!

July is Disability Pride Month - Check out these fiction and nonfiction titles for teen readers that center the stories of people with disabilities.

Updated July 1, 2026
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A guide to falling off the map
Arnot, Zanni L.
Paper Book
Simultaneously introspective and humorous, A Guide to Falling Off the Map is a funny, tender, messy, and authentic story about two teens who fall in love on the precipice of things falling apart. Outgoing Vinnie Smith has her NYC future planned with her best friend Lilah. Meanwhile,...
The secret summer promise
Brown, Keah
Paper Book
THE BSE (Best Summer Ever) LIST!   1.        Blueberries 2.        Art show in ShoeHorn 3.        Lizzo concert 4....
Tilly in technicolor
Eddings, Mazey
Paper Book
Tilly in Technicolor is Mazey Eddings's sparkling YA debut about two neurodivergent teens who form a connection over the course of a summer. Tilly Twomley is desperate for change. White-knuckling her way through high school with flawed executive functioning has left her burnt...
Wild dreamers
Engle, Margarita
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award A Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Book In this stirring young adult novel-in-verse from award-winning author Margarita Engle, love and conservation intertwine as two teens go on a "transformative journey celebrating the...
I am the cage
Grant, Allison Sweet
Paper Book
"I Am the Cage gives resounding voice to the voiceless." -The Associated Press "Powerful.″ -Booklist, starred review "Visceral, wrenching, and beautiful." -John Green, #1 bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down and The...
A face for Picasso : coming of age with Crouzon syndrome
Henley, Ariel
Ebook
A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book for Teens "Raw and unflinching . . . A must-read!" --Marieke Nijkamp, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends "[It] cuts to the heart of our bogus ideas of beauty." -Scott Westerfeld,...
The breakup lists
Khorram, Adib
Paper Book
Love is more complicated than "boy meets boy" in bestselling author Adib Khorram's sharply funny new romantic comedy, set in the sordid world of high school theater Jackson Ghasnavi is a lot of things--a techie, a smoothie afficionado, a totally not obsessive list-maker--but one...
Pieces of a girl /
Kuehnert, Stephanie,
Paper Book
"Harrowing but ultimately triumphant."--Booklist, starred review "Strong, captivating voice. . . . a memoir with sharp teeth and a soft underbelly, the product mirroring the author's catharsis in creating art."--Publishers Weekly "A raw, deep dive into one...
The disability experience : working toward belonging
Leavitt, Hannalora
Paper Book
People with disabilities (PWDs) have the same aspirations for their lives as you do for yours. The difference is that PWDs don't have the same access to education, employment, housing, transportation and healthcare in order to achieve their goals. In The Disability Experienceyou'll meet...
Conditions of a heart
Mangle, Bethany
Paper Book
Two starred reviews! "Achingly touching, heartfelt, and true, Brynn's story of reinvention and self-discovery resonates on every page. A book to savor and hold dear." --Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces and The Agathas<...
Breathing underwater
Nash, Abbey Lee
Paper Book
With one word, Tess's world could be completely undone: Epilepsy. Tess lives for swimming: the feel of the pool's rough edge on her toes, the snap of cold water on her skin, and the push of her limbs ever forward. In the water, she's truly alive.  Until...
Bless the blood : a cancer memoir
Nehanda, Walela
Paper Book
A searing debut YA poetry and essay collection about a Black cancer patient who faces medical racism after being diagnosed with leukemia in their early twenties, for fans of Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals and Laurie Halse Anderson's Shout. When Walela is...
Daniel, deconstructed
Ramos, James.
Paper Book
A nerdy high schooler learns to embrace his main-character energy in this witty and heart-healing ode to movie tropes, meet-cutes, and LGBTQ+ love. 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...
Light enough to float
Seal, Lauren
Paper Book
Deeply moving and authentic, this debut novel in verse--winner of a Schneider Family Book Award Honor--follows teenage Evie through her eating disorder treatment and recovery―a perfect choice for readers of Wintergirls and Louder Than Hunger. Evie has just...
On the bright side
Sortino, Anna
Paper Book
A hopeful novel about love, disability, and the inevitability of change by the author of Give Me a Sign. "Poignant, romantic, and deeply heartfelt." -Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be Ellie's Deaf boarding...
The unexpected consequence of bleeding on a Tuesday
Toney, Kelsey B.
Paper Book
Delia Bridges is striving to become the compassionate doctor she's been unable to find in her journey to diagnose her excruciating period pain--but when a single rule-breaking incident jeopardizes her future, she must find a way to reclaim her dreams in this funny, period-positive novel.
Chronically Dolores
Van Wagenen, Maya
Paper Book
Winner of The Schneider Family Book Award, for excellence in portraying the disability experience! Maya Van Wagenen, bestselling author of Popular, tells Dolores's story with humor, heartache, and an occasional bit of telenovela flair. "A striking...
Brooms
Walls, Jasmine
Paper Book
A queer, witchy Fast and the Furious that shines light on history not often told. BEST OF THE YEAR: Booklist · Kirkus · Polygon · Chicago Public Library · New York Public Library Mississippi, 1930s. Magic simmering beneath...
Stars in their eyes
Walton, Jessica
Paper Book
A Stonewall Honor Book In this lighthearted YA romance, Maisie and Ollie discover that nothing beats the feeling of falling in love for the first time. Maisie is on her way to Fancon! She's looking forward to meeting her idol, Kara Bufano, the action hero from her...
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...
One killer problem
Winans, Justine Pucella
Paper Book
A darkly funny and thoroughly queer mystery thriller with a touch of camp, for fans of Kara Thomas and Kit Frick by way of Only Murders in the Building. When Gianna "Gigi" Ricci lands in detention again, she doesn't expect the glorified study hall to be her alibi. But when...

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