6 Under the Radar Queer YA Books for Your TBR

When trans teen Tara starts at Ainsley Academy, all she wants is to be treated like everyone else. But things can get complicated when you’re the first out trans girl at an all-girls school. In an attempt to fit in, Tara tries to join the Sybils, an elusive, conservative sisterhood at Ainsley that comes with its own set of rules and complications. Soon, her efforts to be like everyone else make it alarmingly clear to Tara that she stands out, prompting conversations at school about what it means to be a girl and if clubs like the Sybils should even still be a thing. Not wanting to be everyone’s poster girl, Tara makes friends with Felicity, one of the Sybils who is on her side — a friendship she hopes could turn into something more. But when a famous Ainsley graduate and sponsor of the Sybils attacks Tara in the media, signs of support start turning into tests of loyalty.

The Scar Squad swore they’d always be there for each other, even after Casey Jones Caruso’s twin brother Sammy died of an overdose and their group went from four to three. But things get messy when Casey starts developing feelings for both remaining members of the squad, Benjamin and Francesca. To add insult to injury, Ben kisses Casey at a party while Frankie kisses another girl. Casey is now forced to confront herself and all the emotions she’s tried so hard to keep buried. On top of falling in love with her best friends, she still can’t get over being angry at Sammy for dying. Unable to express herself out loud, Casey turns to her journal to help her make sense of her feelings, hoping that Sammy will send her a sign telling her what to do, and wishing more than ever that he was still with her. But with a little faith, everything just might work out for everyone.

In 1986, at the height of the AIDS crisis, Tommy Gaye falls in love with his poet best friend, Renaldo Calabasas. But because of the rampant homophobia and moral panic sweeping across America as a result of the AIDS pandemic, Tommy gets the sense that he can never, ever tell Renaldo how he feels. Then, in one night, everything changes. Renaldo gets struck by lightning, and he resurfaces from it a very different person. Meanwhile, in 2044, Heron High School student Pris Devrees has a nightmare. It was about a boy named Tommy and this weird house in her neighborhood that people call The Murder House. When she ventures into the house to try to make sense of her nightmare, that’s where Pris finds an old self-help book… that allows her to travel through time. When Tommy and Pris get to meet, they realize they have to save Renaldo from a deadly demon before it’s too late.

Robin lives off the grid in order to make her own rules in her life, but she’s not alone. She has her gang of misfits, including but not limited to White Rabbit, Daisy Chain, Little John, and Skillet. They’ve managed to get by until now, committing petty crimes to make ends meet and keep each other together — safe, hidden, and maybe sometimes even happy. But when a mission proposed by someone from their past goes awry, it propels Robin and her gang of misfits to a new purpose of why they live the way they do. Together, the five misfits band together to make sure that all queer girls are not taken advantage of by systemic oppression.

If you ask the Singh sisters, the Songbird Inn has always been perfect. Nidhi, Avani, Sirisha, and Rani have experienced every emotion under the sun and then some at their father’s charming bed-and-breakfast, and the calming scenery and atmosphere have always managed to bring them back to life. Now the Singhs need to support Rani, an aspiring filmmaker, in her first ever film festival. That is, if they can make it past the storm that is destroying the Pacific Northwest. Nidhi is on her way home from India, where she’s spent the last several months, but when the weather complicates her travel, she finds herself stuck with her ex, Grayson, for whom she might still have feelings. Avani is trying to decide on college, but all she can think about his her rocky relationship with Fernando and how she might save it. Sirisha is reeling from a breakup with Brie, who wants to stay friends. And Rani has Raj, who she made a movie about for the festival. But can their relationship grow with them? In this charming, queer romance, family always comes first.

All 17-year-old agender teen Will can think about is freedom, which they are about to get on their 18th birthday. Freedom from their abusive, addicted mother, unstable home, and narrow-minded small town. When their drug dealer mother ends up dying months before their birthday, Will is granted their freedom earlier than they were expecting. But their mom’s dying words to them are ones of malice, blaming Will for her death. And now their mother’s drug-dealer past is threatening to catch up with Will and destroy any chance of freedom they might have had. Scrambling to find their former foster mother, Raz, before drug dealers or Child Protective Services get to them first, Will must learn the power and strength of putting their own well-being first. But how can they do that when they believe they destroy everything they touch?