The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar (2025) Sonora Reyes "Sometimes you come across a book that speaks to you in a way that truly, fully, and uniquely gets you. For me, this is that book."
Exquisite Things (2025) Abdi Nazemian "Both relevant and ancestral, queer and full of heart, messy and absolutely exquisite, Abdi Nazemian proves to not only be one of the great storytellers of our time but also a truly beloved elder of our community."
And They Were Roommates (2025) Page Powars "And They Were Roommates is a joyously tropey, campy while also deeply relevant romance with an incredible cast of characters to fall in love with."
You Don't Have a Shot (2023) Racquel Marie "You Don't Have a Shot has every ingredient that makes rivals-to-lovers such a great trope, but it's also so much more. It's a story of grief and loss, of legacy, of culture, of holding the things and people that bring us joy close. I don't think anyone will be surprised when I say that Racquel Marie has done it again: this is truly young adult contemporary at its best."
Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball (2023) Jason June "An incredible coming-of-age story about embracing yourself, combatting problematic standards, and love in all its shapes and ways all wrapped into something so campy, dramatic, queer, and so uniquely and beautifully Jason June."
It Sounds Like This (2022) Anna Meriano "As a former band kid, 'well behaved' kid, 'ideal Catholic' kid, figuring-myself-out kid, It Sounds Like This shines with its relatability and heart. Yasmin and her seven Low Brassholes are a beautifully chaotic addition to the current body of queer, diverse, Texas-set young adult stories and characters."
Cafe Con Lychee (2022) Emery Lee "Continuing to be THE master of tropes, Emery Lee's food filled, beautifully multicultural, enemies-to-lovers Cafe Con Lychee is everything that I love about eir books: humorous, sassy, the perfect amount of stress that keeps me obsessively captivated, and so incredibly gay."
Anything But Fine (2022) Tobias Madden "Sincere, charming, emotional, and chaotic, Anything But Fine is an honest portrayal of how equally terrifying and beautiful figuring out who we are and who we can be is."
