Teen and YA books with LGBT characters
Representation is so important, both for teens who are themselves LGBT and also for others to gain more empathy and understanding.
These books for teens and young adults all feature lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters and relationships.
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Postcards from No Mans Land
Author: Aidan Chambers
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 9+
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Postcards from No Mans Land
Author: Aidan Chambers
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 9+
The stories of three different characters are interwoven in this powerful novel exploring relationships, sexuality, life and death…
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The Shell House
Author: Linda Newbery
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 12+
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The Shell House
Author: Linda Newbery
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 12+
Graveney Hall is a beautiful home that burned down during the First World War. It links the stories of Greg, a photography student…
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Sugar Rush
Author: Julie Burchill
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 11+
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Sugar Rush
Author: Julie Burchill
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 11+
Shortlisted for the 2005 Booktrust Teenage Prize, this is a controversial and daring look at the gritty reality of teenage experie…
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Girl 15 Charming But Insane
Author: Sue Limb
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
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Girl 15 Charming But Insane
Author: Sue Limb
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
Laugh-out-loud funny, a riotous take on Jane Austen’s Emma that is both snazzy and very contemporary
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City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 9+
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City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 9+
When Clary visits a nightclub, she discovers that she is one of the Shadowhunters - a group of demon-hunters living in a worl…
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Kiss
Author: Jacqueline Wilson Illustrator: Nick Sharratt
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 9+
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Kiss
Author: Jacqueline Wilson Illustrator: Nick Sharratt
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 9+
Wilson skilfully combines an approachable and involving teenage story with a debate about true friendship, sexual identity and gro…
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Out of the Blue
Author: Sophie Cameron
Interest level: 13-18
Reading age: 10+
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Out of the Blue
Author: Sophie Cameron
Interest level: 13-18
Reading age: 10+
Angels are falling from the sky, and it is 17-year-old Jaya who finds a live one. The urgent drama of saving the angel plays out a…
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The Traitor Game
Author: B R Collins Illustrator: Peter Bailey
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 9+
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The Traitor Game
Author: B R Collins Illustrator: Peter Bailey
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 9+
Set in two worlds, both real and fantasy, this intelligent and moving story of friendship, fear, misunderstanding and forgiveness,…
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Inheritance
Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal
Interest level: 14-18
Reading age: 10+
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Inheritance
Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal
Interest level: 14-18
Reading age: 10+
As a newly-independent Singapore struggles to establish its own identity and economic stability, a single father in the Punjabi Si…
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Boys Don't Cry
Author: Malorie Blackman
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 11+
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Boys Don't Cry
Author: Malorie Blackman
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 11+
Dante is waiting for the postman. It's 'A' level results day and he has high hopes, but a knock on the door brings an old girlfrie…
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Hollow Pike
Author: Juno Dawson
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 10+
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Hollow Pike
Author: Juno Dawson
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 10+
Lis London had hoped that a move to the country would allow her to escape not only the bullies but also her recurring nightmares
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Stay A Little Longer
Author: Bali Rai
Interest level: 12-16
Reading age: 8+
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Stay A Little Longer
Author: Bali Rai
Interest level: 12-16
Reading age: 8+
Since Aman’s father died, nothing has been the same. Then she befriends a new neighbour, who is lonely too. This warm, o…
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Pretty Things
Author: Sarra Manning
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 13+
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Pretty Things
Author: Sarra Manning
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 13+
Sarra Manning cleverly conveys the confusion and uncertainty of adolescence, revealing that sexuality is not always as straightfor…
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What's Up With Jody Barton?
Author: Hayley Long
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 12+
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What's Up With Jody Barton?
Author: Hayley Long
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 12+
Hayley Long creates a vivid and believable picture of family life in north west London in this warm-hearted and highly readable ta…
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Noteworthy
Author: Riley Redgate
Interest level: 14-18
Reading age: 10+
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Noteworthy
Author: Riley Redgate
Interest level: 14-18
Reading age: 10+
Presenting herself as Julian, Jordan successfully auditions for an all-male a capella group and is forced to consider what it mean…
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What is Gender?
Author: Juno Dawson
Interest level: 10-16
Reading age: 10+
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What is Gender?
Author: Juno Dawson
Interest level: 10-16
Reading age: 10+
An informative, no-nonsense guide looking at the concept of gender and the different issues surrounding it, featuring personal sto…
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Author: Stephen Chbosky
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Author: Stephen Chbosky
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
High school student Charlie prefers to look on life from the sidelines, but he can't be a 'wallflower' for ever, and soon finds hi…
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Boy Meets Boy
Author: David Levithan
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
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Boy Meets Boy
Author: David Levithan
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
This delightful high-school story is set in a town in which being a gay teenager is no more fraught with difficulty than being str…
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