On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong [eBook] [Book] [eAudio]

A shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling. With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are.

Real Life by Brandon Taylor [eBook] [Book]

A novel of startling intimacy, violence, and mercy among friends in a Midwestern university town, from an electric new voice. Real Life is a novel of profound and lacerating power, a story that asks if it’s ever really possible to overcome our private wounds, and at what cost.

Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey
[Book]

When a group of social activists arrive in a small town, the lives and beliefs of residents and outsiders alike are upended, in this wry, embracing novel.

The Lauras by Sara Taylor
[Book] [eAudio]

Sara Taylor brings the American landscape to vivid life in an unforgettable road novel that strikes at the heart of a mother-child bond and the exploration of gender identity.

Prudence by David Treauer [eBook] [eAudio]

A haunting and unforgettable novel about love, loss, race, and desire in World War II–era America. Awaiting Frankie Washburn at home for one last visit before he goes to the war, are his family and Billy, the childhood friend who over the years has become something much more intimate.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara [eBook] [Book] [Audiobook]

A profoundly moving novel about four college friends working in New York City’s art and theatre scenes over several decades. Their relationships change and develop deeply over the years, but remain centered around the talented young lawyer, Jude, whose childhood horrors have haunted him into adulthood.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
[Book]

In a novel that has resonated with the queer community since it was first published decades ago, a young man finds himself caught between desire and morality in 1950s expat Paris. While much has changed since Baldwin wrote it, many aspects of life, love, and heartbreak remain the same.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
[eBook] [Book]

If you read this classic about a man who doesn't age while his hidden portrait gets older and older and missed the gay subtext, it's time to give Wilde's story another read. Maybe one of the most subtly LGBT books on this list, you'll catch the references the second time around.

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
[eBook] [Book]

When an adolescent boy falls in love with a summer guest at his parents' cliffside home in the Italian Riviera, they're both caught off guard by the passion that ensues. This obsessive, reckless love story became a major motion picture. You'll see why it's an instant international sensation.

We the Animals by Justin Torres [eBook] [Book]

From the intense family unity that surrounds a child to the resilience and permanence of brotherhood to the profound alienation a young man endures as he begins to see himself in the world, this novel reinvents the coming-of-age story in a way that is sucker-punch powerful. It leaves us reminded that our madness is both caused by, and alleviated by, our families, and that we might not reconcile who we are with who our loved ones see, or who we want to be for them.

When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri [eBook] [Book]

Kentucky native Katie has a deep-seated set of traditional values, but she's just been dumped by her fiance and is still smarting. Cassidy is a powerful, self-assured New York native and Katie finds her irresistibly sexy. This rom-com flips the script on your favorite tropes, while still following them in ways that are as comfortable as an old pair of pjs.

You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat [eBook]

After a young girl admits her queerness to her mother, she's told "You exist too much," a sentiment that cuts right to the heart of so many of us. Told in stories that shuttle back and forth between the Middle East and the U.S., this book follows its protagonist as she pushes the limits of desire. It's the kind of book that needs to exist more. 

The Hours by Michael Cunninghum [Book]

Drawing on the life of Virginia Woolf, Cunningham weaves several stories together to paint a rich tapestry of characters struggling to meet the demands of friends, lovers, and family. This extraordinary book will resonate with anyone who's ever had to juggle multiple roles at once, especially when they conflict with one another.

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta [eBook]

After getting displaced by civil war in Nigeria, a young girl begins a love affair with a fellow refugee. The cards are stacked against them in a variety of ways: They're from different cultures, different places, and they're the same gender. The way this book reckons with both culture and sexuality is beautiful, and worth a read. 

All the Better Part of Me by Molly Ringle [eBook] [eAudio]

Against a backdrop of ‘80s new wave songs and the landscapes of London and Seattle, a young actor in the modern day tackles his bisexuality as he finds himself falling for his best friend.

No Other World by Rahul Mehta [eBook] [Book]

From the author of the prize-winning collection Quarantine, an insightful, compelling debut novel set in rural America and India in the 1980s and ’90s, part coming-of-age story about a gay Indian American boy, part family saga about an immigrant family’s struggles to find a sense of belonging, identity, and hope.

The Charioteer by Mary Renault
[eBook] [Book]

This romance novel is primarily set in 1940 and 1941 during the immediate post-Dunkirk period of World War II at a military hospital in England during nightly bomb raids and blackouts. The story's protagonist, Laurie (Laurence) 'Spud' Odell, is a young soldier wounded at Dunkirk, who must decide if his affections lie with a younger conscientious objector working at his hospital or a naval officer whom he had 'worshiped' when they had both been pupils at an all-boys boarding school and with whom he has suddenly been reconnected.

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith [eBook]

The story of Therese Belivet, a stage designer trapped in a department-store day job, whose salvation arrives one day in the form of Carol Aird, an alluring suburban housewife in the throes of a divorce. They fall in love and set out across the United States, pursued by a private investigator who eventually blackmails Carol into a choice between her daughter and her lover.

The Female Man by Joanna Russ [eBook]

The suspenseful, surprising, darkly witty, and boldly subversive chronicle of what happens when Jeannine, Janet, Joanna, and Jael—all living in parallel worlds—meet.  When the four women begin traveling to one another’s worlds, their preconceptions on gender and identity are forever challenged.

Beijing Comrades by Bei Tong [eBook]

When Handong, the ruthless, wealthy son of Communist party officials, is introduced to Lan Yu, a naïve, working-class architecture student, the attraction between the two young men is instant and all-consuming. Despite their very different lives, they spend their nights together, establishing a deep connection. But when their loyalties are tested, Handong is left questioning his secrets, his choices, and his very identity.