Queer Book Recs 2.0 (Lesbian YA!)
Maddison Simmons
February 29, 2020
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Why hello girls and gays, how's 2020 treating you so far? I thought I'd take this leap day and share some of my updated queer book recs, this time focusing on lesbian young adult fiction. Since my final thesis for my senior project is about tracking tropes in lesbian young adult fiction since the 1970s, I thought I'd share some of my favorite books that I read for the project with y'all. All of these books have been published in the last ten years and I would recommend them more than the older novels mostly because these are generally happier/less traumatic. I did a queer book rec post in 2018, and looking at it now, I realize that two books are in both posts, but I already took, edited, and finished this thumbnail so fuck it. Also, this post is in order of when each novel was published and not necessarily in order of how much I liked them.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Written by: Emily Danforth
Published: 2012
470 Pages
I figured that I should include at least one angsty/sadder book because some people like that. Although the topic is pretty heavy (Cameron Post gets sent to a religious conversion therapy camp), I didn't find this book too hard to get through. I feel like the novel doesn't focus too much on the traumatic aspects of conversion therapy, which I appreciated because I'm a wimp when it comes to angst for queer characters, but I did enjoy the hopeful ending and the found family trope (what gay isn't a sucker for a found/chosen family tbh).
Everything Leads to You
Written by: Nina LaCour
Published: 2014
307 Pages
I'm pretty sure that this is the first wlw-specific books that I read a few years ago, so it has a soft spot in my heart. I remember bringing it with me on vacation and trying to describe the plot to a religious family member without outing myself, so I think I was just really vague and then immediately changed the conversation. But now, with you gays, I can confidently say that this book is very cute and gay. The characters are interesting, the plot is sweet, and the queer gals get their happy ending.
You Know Me Well
Written by: Nina LaCour & David Levithan
Published: 2016
248 Pages
Although I haven't reread this book in a while, I remember loving it the first time I read it. The book alternates perspective between the two main characters (a lesbian and a gay man) and it's about them forming a friendship when they felt at their most alone. I love the mlm/wlw solidarity in this novel and it's a cute read. Also, it takes place in San Francisco during pride and what's not to love about that?
We Are Okay
Written by: Nina LaCour
Published: 2017
234 Pages
This is the third Nina LaCour novel on the list, but in my defense, she was the first and only lesbian author that I knew for a while and I included her novels in my project because 1. they fit the criteria and 2. I had already read them before so it lightened my reading load a bit. That being said, I love this novel. This is another win for the found/chosen family trope lovers out there. It deals with grief and loneliness but in such an achingly beautiful way that makes you want to wrap yourself in a bunch of blankets and cry (in a good way).
These Witches Don't Burn
Written by: Isabel Sterling
Published: 2019
320 Pages
I think this book is my personal favorite out of these seven books, partially because I loved the plot and the story itself, but also because it's packed with meaningful queer characters. I also just really appreciate when the main character calls herself a lesbian. It fills my soul with warmth and peace. This story is focused mostly on the problems facing the witches in modern-day Salem, but it also involves the main character trying to deal with her ex (who is also a witch so they have to see each other a lot) while also developing feelings for a new girl in town. Also, the main character is out to everyone, and she recalls being out to her parents on the first page. Her big secret in this novel is that she's a witch, not that she's a lesbian. She's also a cute disaster gay who doesn't realize when a girl is flirting with her and I relate to that a lot oops.
Her Royal Highness
Written by: Rachel Hawkins
Published: 2019
274 Pages
This novel was cute. The writing wasn't my absolute favorite, and I couldn't find any information about the sexuality of the author which could also be impacting my judgment (because it makes me a little uncomfortable reading queer main characters written by straight people), but the general enemies-to-lovers trope roped me in. Although the main character is bisexual in this novel (which isn't made specific until page 92), I didn't know that going in, hence why this blog post is lesbian/wlw. The main character moves to Scotland to go to a fancy bording school only to find out that the princesss is her roommate and they do not like each other (at first). Gotta love a good enemies-to-lovers "oh no I have a crush on my roommate who is also the princess of Scotland" storyline tbh.
And there we have it. Seven lesbian/wlw ya novels reccommended by yours truly. I know there's a lot more lesbian novels out there, but I really just picked a random sampling of stories and also my favorites were the ones written more reccently. If you want, I could also do a post about the less-happy wlw novels from the 1970s-2000s, but I honestly wouldn't reccomend them as highly unless you really like sad queers/blatant homophobia. Let's leave sad queer stories in the past. Give me happy queer characters or face my wrath. Anywho, I'll be spending the next week or two working on my first draft of my senior project, so if you hear anyone screaming and/or sobbing, it may or may not be me.
~Maddison
