Adventurous. Affirming. Amazing. This year’s LGBTQ-inclusive middle-grade fiction books cover a wide range of identities, settings, and moods, with exciting escapades, family fun, fast friendships, sweet crushes, and queer kids saving the world and themselves!
I’ve indicated below the main LGBTQ representation in each; many also have additional LGBTQ characters. Click titles or images for full reviews, more details on representation, and purchase links.
A few observations: This year saw many science fiction and fantasy tales, both new and sequels; a lot of neurodiversity representation; a slew of spooky stories; and a bunch of tales about saving the world (or town/community). There was a hefty dose of fun and adventure in books not primarily “about” queerness, as well as thoughtful stories about coming out and being LGBTQ. Four stories were written in verse.
While a few titles had some small flaws (see my full reviews), the overall quality was superb. There aren’t any bad reads below—though what appeals to any particular reader’s personal taste will vary.
Also, don’t miss my roundups of this year’s LGBTQ-inclusive picture books and early reader/chapter book/early middle grade titles, especially the latter, which has some overlap with the age range covered below. Stay tuned, too! I’m tackling middle grade nonfiction in another roundup soon.
The sections below are mostly for ease of browsing; many of the books could fit into more than one of them.
New Science Fiction and Fantasy
- A queer fairy girl tries to save her world with the help of chosen family in The Mossheart’s Promise, by Rebecca Mix (Balzer & Bray);
- Three queer, Black protagonists lead the apocalyptic action tale Alex Wise vs. the End of the World, by Terry J. Benton-Walker (Labyrinth Road);
- Two very different girls must unite to save their magical town from a spell gone awry (and maybe get their dads to date) in Just a Pinch of Magic, by Alechia Dow (Feiwel & Friends);
- A girl attends a botanical boarding school to find a magical plant that can heal one of her two dads in The Girl from Earth’s End, by Tara Dairman (Candlewick);
- and Almond, Quartz, and Finch, by Lisa Bunker (New Wind) is a retro-style fantasy with a nonbinary protagonist that explores gender identity, cultural differences, growing up, and belonging.
Sci Fi/Fantasy Graphic Novels
- Two-dad families star in Nell of Gumbling: My Extremely Normal Fairy-Tale Life, by Emma Steinkellner (Labyrinth Road), set in an offbeat magical land;
- and in Basil and Oregano, by Melissa Capriglione (Dark Horse), about a magical culinary boarding school (and a two-girl relationship);
- while Grace Needs Space!, by Benjamin A. Wilgus, illustrated by Rii Abrego (Random House), centers a divorced, two-mom family living in space;
- and Lost Legends of Nothing, by Alejandra Green and Fanny Rodriguez (Katherine Tegan), the sequel to Fantastic Tales of Nothing, picks up the story of roguish bard Nathan and friends, one of whom is nonbinary, as they confront an evil that could destroy their land.
Sci Fi/Fantasy Sequels
- A sword-swinging, nonbinary hero seeks truth in Sir Callie and the Dragon’s Roost, by Esme Symes-Smith (Labyrinth Road);
- Nonbinary characters are also among the multiple protagonists in Fox Snare, by Yoon Ha Lee (Disney-Hyperion), a space opera with echoes of Korean mythology;
- and in the near-future B.E.S.T. World: Some Assembly Required, by Cory McCarthy (Clarion).
- Two-boy relationships/crushes feature in: From the World of Percy Jackson: The Sun and the Star, by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro (Disney-Hyperion);
- the West African-inspired Cameron Battle and the Escape Trials, by Jamar J. Perry (Bloomsbury USA);
- and the futuristic Battle Dragons: City of Secrets, by Alex London (Scholastic);
- while Witchlings: The Golden Frog Games, by Claribel A. Ortega (Scholastic) includes a two-girl crush in a magical town infused with Dominican culture;
- and The Nameless Witch, by Natalie C. Parker, illustrated by Tyler Champion (Razorbill) stars a queer werewolf girl with two moms and a trans sister;
Magic Realism
- A girl helps (and develops a crush on) the princess of a magical realm in Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom, by Nina Varela (Little, Brown);
- A bi girl with two dads gets stuck in a Groundhog Day-like time loop in Vivian Lantz’s Second Chances, by Kathryn Ormsbee (HarperCollins);
- A nerdy queer girl acquires strange powers in Ellie Engle Saves Herself, by Leah Johnson (Disney-Hyperion);
- A gay, Jewish tween must team up with a demon from Jewish folklore to defeat evil monsters bent on triggering the Apocalypse in Ring of Solomon, by Aden Polydoros (Inkyard);
- and a gay boy stars in the Pinocchio-influenced Matteo, by Michael Leali (HarperCollins).
- A girl whose two moms run a magical bookshop learns about her sibling’s nonbinary identity in the novel in verse The Lonely Book, by Meg Grehan (Little Island);
- Three friends, one of whom is nonbinary, must help a fairy return home in One True Wish, by Lauren Kate (Atheneum).
- A nonbinary tween whose mother is in rehab finds help from their animate shadow and trans aunt in The Beautiful Something Else, by Ash Van Otterloo (Scholastic);
- and a nonbinary tween is the chosen mediator between dogs and humans in the hilarious graphic novel The Dog Knight, by Jeremy Whitley, with art by Melissa Capriglione and colors by Bre Indigo (Feiwel & Friends).
Spooky Tales
- A boy with two moms in a vampire family confronts prejudice and mystery in Don’t Want to Be Your Monster, by Deke Moulton (Tundra Books);
- A girl must harness the power of a Hindu god to save her family and the town in the graphic novel Shakti, by SJ Sindu, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali (HarperAlley);
- and a girl made of gingerbread must work to stop the sleeping curse she unleashed in the fairy-tale-influenced The Unsleeping Witch, by Alexandra Overy (Inkyard).
- Shiver with the trans boy protagonist and his siblings visiting their grandmother’s mysterious home in The House That Whispers, by Lin Thompson (Little, Brown);
- the trans girl protagonist who must save the town with her best friend (who is autistic) in the graphic novel The Ojja-Wojja, by Magdalene Visaggio, illustrated by Jenn St-Onge (Balzer & Bray);
- the nonbinary protagonists of The Otherwoods, by Justine Pucella Winans (Bloomsbury USA), whose hero is pulled into the land of spirits;
- the offbeat graphic novel The Curse at Witch Camp (The Accursed Vampire #2), by Madeline McGrane (Quill Tree);
- and the mysterious boarding school tale Deephaven, by Ethan M. Aldridge (Quill Tree).
- A boarding school, this time for learning to control spirits of the dead, is also the setting for Gallowgate, by K. R. Alexander (Scholastic), with a queer boy protagonist.
Building and Broadening Community
- A girl finds purpose in the early ACT UP movement after her gay dad dies from complications of AIDS in World Made of Glass, by Ami Polonsky (Little, Brown);
- Gender creative boys and a two-boy couple are among the group of imaginative kids navigating friendships and group conflict in The Cardboard Kingdom: Snow and Sorcery, by Chad Sell (Knopf), the third volume in the graphic novel series;
- A nonbinary figure skater works to make a place for themself in Skating on Mars, by Caroline Huntoon (Feiwel & Friends);
- A nonbinary kid also works with other LGBTQ kids to make change in their community Jude Saves the World, by Ronnie Riley (Scholastic);
- and a trans girl fights to be on the school cheerleading team and speaks out against anti-trans legislation in .Joy, to the World, by Kai Shappley and Lisa Bunker (Clarion).
Relationships (Familial)
- An eccentric family find mystery and mayhem in their ancient manor house in The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels, by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell, where a trans woman is a significant character;
- A gay boy finds comfort in his mom’s recipes after she dies in Eli Over Easy, by Phil Stamper (HarperCollins);
- A queer girl works with her stepsister-to-be to stop their parents’ wedding in The Sister Split, by Auriane Desombre (Delacorte);
- and extended family dynamics, including one boy’s coming out as gay, form the core of The Puttermans Are in the House, by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman (HarperCollins);
Relationships (Romantic and Otherwise)
- Two queer girl protagonists alternate voices in the novel in verse The Song of Us, by Kate Fussner (Katherine Tegan), a loose retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice;
- A bisexual (and possibly asexual) girl draws on her detective skills and her friends to solve a mystery at school in Drew Leclair Crushes the Case, by Katryn Bury (HarperCollins);
- Two girls, one queer and one with two moms, try to fix their broken friendship at theater camp in Second-Chance Summer, by Sarah Kapit (Henry Holt);
- while a proudly flamboyant boy competes with his best (girl) friend to be Cher for a school performance in I Got You Babe, by Paul Coccia (Orca), part of a series written for middle-school students reading below grade level.
- A girl comes out as asexual in Just Lizzie, by Karen Wilfrid (Clarion);
- and a boy grapples with being gay and ultimately comes out and finds support in the novel in verse Like a Hurricane, by Jonathan Bécotte (Orca).
- [Updated 12/18/23 to add: The diary-style graphic novel Cross My Heart and Never Lie, by Nora Dåsnes, explores the changes of adolescence as a 12-year-old girl has a falling out with her best friends and gets a crush on a new girl in town.]
Health, Mental Health, and Neurodiversity
- A boy with obsessive compulsive disorder finds a nonbinary crush in the graphic novel Buzzing, by Samuel Sattin, illustrated by Rye Hickman (Little, Brown);
- Two girls (one of whom is autistic and ADHD) deepen their interest in engineering and each other in The Problem With Gravity, by Michelle Mohrweis (Peachtree);
- An autistic, trans boy moves through grief after a friend’s death in the novel-in-verse Dear Mothman, by Robin Gow (Amulet);
- Two middle-school boys, one with anxiety and one who is gay, confront personal and social challenges in You Owe Me One, Universe, by Chad Lucas (Amulet), the second book in the series;
- A gay theater kid with anxiety navigates friendships and crushes in Forsooth, by Jimmy Matejek-Morris (Carolrhoda);
- A bisexual, autistic protagonist who has anxiety and depression attempts to save the world with another bisexual neurodivergent young teen in Izzy at the End of the World, by K.A. Reynolds (Clarion);
- A girl whose mother has mental health challenges must learn to trust her new stepmom in order to care for herself and help her best friend, who is coming out as nonbinary, in Starting from Scratch, by Jazz Taylor (Scholastic).
- Queer protagonists with Crohn’s disease star in Will on the Inside, by Andrew Eliopulos (Quill Tree), and the hysterical yet touching The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet, by Jake Maia Arlow (Dial).
Pure Queer Joy
- The nonbinary-led caper Elle Campbell Wins Their Weekend, by Ben Kahn (Scholastic), has strong Ferris Bueller vibes and is an absolutely delightful romp;
- Queer community shines in Camp QUILTBAG, by A. J. Sass and Nicole Melleby (Algonquin), which is just the bucket of fun you want from a summer camp novel;
- and a nonbinary kid with a “pretty great” life has a crush on a puzzling classmate with two moms in Green, by Alex Gino (Scholastic), set in the same world as their Stonewall Award-winning Melissa.
For longer reviews and even more books from 2023 and past years, visit my Database of LGBTQ Family Books.
