LGBTQ Kids’ and Young Adult Books Honored with Stonewall Book Awards and More

The American Library Association (ALA) today announced its 2020 Stonewall Book Awards for LGBTQ-inclusive children’s and young adult books, part of the Youth Media Awards that also include the prestigious Newbery and Caldecott Medals. Several other Youth Media Awards also went to LGBTQ-inclusive titles.

The Stonewall Book Awards — Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award (to distinguish them from the Stonewall Book Awards for adult books) are chosen by a committee of the ALA’s Rainbow Round Table, “the oldest professional association for LGBTQIA+ people in the United States.” This year’s winners are:

• When Aidan Became a Brother, by Kyle Lukoff and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita (Lee & Low), a joyous picture book about a biracial (Black and South Asian) transgender boy awaiting the birth of his new sibling. What sets this book apart from many others is that rather than Aidan’s gender identity offering only challenges to be overcome, it is instead a source of strength and wisdom as he plans for being a good brother. (My full review; also check out the first two books in Lukoff’s new series—a series!—about a transgender boy and his friends.)
• The Black Flamingo, by Dean Atta (Hodder/Hachette), a young adult story about a gay teen of Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican heritage, growing up in London and feeling neither Greek or Black enough. At university, however, he discovers the Drag Society, which helps him express himself on multiple levels. Told in verse, this is a lyrical exploration of identity.

Three honor books were also named:

• Pet, by Akwaeke Emezi (Make Me a World/Random House), a young adult fantasy novel about a transgender girl named Jam, who has always been told that monsters have been driven from their world. One day, however, a horned and clawed creature named Pet emerges from one of her mother’s paintings, come to hunt a monster. Jam and her best friend Redemption must reevaluate what they’ve been taught and ask themselves the question, “How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?”
• Like a Love Story, by Abdi Nazemian (Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins), another young adult novel about three teens in New York City in 1989. Reza is a closeted gay Iranian boy who has just moved to the city; Judy wants to be a fashion designer and has a gay uncle with AIDS who is part of ACT UP; Art is an out gay teen with conservative parents who is documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs. Nazemian weaves their lives together into a poignant and powerful story of friendship and community.
• The Best at It, by Maulik Pancholy (Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins), a middle-grade story about an Indian American boy in Indiana who is trying to assert himself and counter bullies at school by finding what he is best at. We see him show signs of what could be anxiety and OCD, but with help from his grandfather and his White best friend, a girl at school, he finds his own strength in this story of self-acceptance, multiple identities, and friendship.

Additionally, two LGBTQ-inclusive young adult books were honor books for other major awards:

• The Stars and the Blackness Between Them, by Junauda Petrus (Dutton/Penguin) was an honor book for the Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award “recognizing an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.” It tells the intertwined stories of two 16-year-old girls through lush and lyrical prose woven with moments of magical realism. Audre was caught with her girlfriend by her strict, religious mother and sent from Trinidad to Minneapolis to live with her father. Mabel, whose father is Audre’s father’s friend, has been trying to figure out her ongoing illness and her own sexuality. The two girls fall in love, but Mabel’s illness threatens their new romance as they each seek strength and inspiration in different ways and try to care for each other.
• Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, a graphic novel by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (First Second/Macmillan), was an honor book for the Michael L. Printz Award “for excellence in literature written for young adults.” It’s the story of Frederica “Freddy” Riley and her on-again/off-again relationship with Laura Dean, the most popular girl in the school. Can Freddy navigate her relationship with Laura without losing her other friends, too?

And several LGBTQ-inclusive books won Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:

• Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe (Lion Forge/Oni Press), a graphic (comic) autobiography about growing up nonbinary and asexual.
• High School, by Sara Quin and Tegan Quin (MCD/Farrar, Straus), a memoir about the teen years of the queer music duo.
• Red, White & Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston (St. Martin’s Griffin/Macmillan), a novel that imagines the U.S. president’s son falling in love with the (young and fictional) Prince of Wales.

Finally, Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story, by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Amy June Bates (Abrams), was an honor book for the Sydney Taylor Book Award, presented to “outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience.” While this is not an LGBTQ-inclusive book, Newman, author of Heather Has Two Mommies, arguably brought LGBTQ picture books into mainstream awareness, so I’m happy to celebrate any recognition of her work. Newman also today won the Sydney Taylor Body of Work Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries for “broaden[ing] the scope of Jewish children’s books over her prolific career.”

I hope you’ll also check out the full list of ALA Youth Media Award winners in all categories, which offer a range of terrific books showcasing a variety of identities in many dimensions. If you’re looking to build a diverse bookshelf, this is a great place to start (or continue). And don’t just get them for your kids—even in my 50s, I enjoy reading many of the LGBTQ-inclusive young adult books that I wish I’d had when I was growing up.

[Updated 2/4/2020 to add: YA author Malinda Lo has offered some important observations about gender representation in the Stonewall Awards that are worth a read.]

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