Young Adult (YA)

A raw, atmospheric YA novel about two boys folding into each other so completely there's no oxygen left. K. Ancrum nails the codependency descent—two queer kids drowning together while nobody notices—but the ending lands a little too tidy for what the book has been doing. Read it in print; the audiobook misses the format. B.

A tender, lyrical YA queer romance about a touch-starved art thief and the boy he can't stay away from. The prose is beautiful, but the Greek myth never quite catches fire. One note: skip the audiobook—the very short chapters don't translate well to listening. B+.

'The Road' made me want to lie down and never get up. Erik J. Brown's duology offers something different: a post-apocalyptic romance with sharp banter, real heart, and the radical idea that hope might survive the end of the world. A great YA entry point for fans of survival stories—and a book I wish I'd had as a teenager.

The less you know going in, the better—just trust me. Two astronauts, one rescue mission, and a mystery that kept me turning pages late into the night. This is the most fun I've had with sci-fi in years.

A haunted Victorian. A boy worth the risk. And a ghost that won't let them go. Paul Michael Winters' The Haunting Between Us is the tender, spooky YA romance that fifteen-year-old me needed—and today's queer teens deserve.

A devastating, beautiful story about three gay teens in small-town Australia. Holden Sheppard delivers raw honesty about faith, shame, and survival. This one gets an A—and will stay with you.

A sharp, funny, and big-hearted rom-com about a theater kid chasing the fantasy of love, The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King shines brightest when it lets its drama king grow beyond the script he’s written for himself.