A Holiday Gift Guide to 2025's LGBTQ Middle Grade Books
The LGBTQ+-inclusive middle grade novels of 2025 bring tales of adventure, magic, friendship, family, and personal growth. Here are some that stand out.
(Author(s) and illustrator (if different) follow each title.) Let's start with my three personal favorites, showcasing exceptional storytelling, worldbuilding, and characters: "A World Worth Saving," a finalist for the National Book Award in Children's Literature, about a Jewish, transgender boy trying to save the world from anti-trans demons (Kyle Lukoff); "Scarlet Morning," a post-apocalyptic, queer-inclusive, pirate adventure (ND Stevenson); and "The Ink Witch," a hilarious tale evocative of Roald Dahl, about a trans girl who discovers she's a witch (Steph Cherrywell).
Also excellent are the sword-swinging medieval fantasies "Sir Callie and the Final Stand," a fitting end to the series (Esme Symes-Smith); and "Splinter & Ash: City of Secrets" (Marieke Nijkamp), the second in its series. Both have nonbinary co-protagonists and other queer representation.
Warm, enchanting fantasy graphic novels include "A Song for You and I," with nonbinary and gender creative leads (K. O'Neill); "Lu and Ren's Guide to Geozoology," which includes queer elders (Angela Hsieh); "Atana and the Jade Mermaid," the sequel to "Atana and the Firebird," set in a queer-normative world (Vivian Zhou); and "Goat Magic," where a girl goatherd and a princess fall in love (Kate Wheeler). On the spooky-but-fun side, "Beetle & the Chimera Carnival," is the graphic novel sequel to Stonewall Award honoree "Beetle & the Hollowbones," with two queer girl leads (Aliza Layne).
For mythology come to life, try "The Court of the Dead: A Nico di Angelo Adventure," which continues the story of boyfriends Nico and Will in the second volume of this spin-off from the bestselling Percy Jackson series (Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro); and "Lulu Sinagtala and the Battle for the Realms," the second volume of a series based on Tagalog mythology, with a bisexual protagonist (Gail D. Villanueva)
Magic schools form the settings for "The Incorruptibles," a post-apocalyptic fantasy with a queer protagonist and other significant queer characters (Lauren Magaziner); "Ice Apprentices," set on a harsh ice world, with a trans boy protagonist (Jacob North); and "Vanya and the Wild Hunt," with a neurodiverse, British-Indian protagonist and her queer, chosen-family uncles (Sangu Mandanna).
For magical realism, try "A Little Too Haunted," a paranormal romp starring a girl with two moms (Justine Pucella Winans); "Ghost Scout's Honor," with ghost-busting action and social challenges for its queer girl lead (Carey Blankenship-Kramer); "Adorable Empire," a graphic novel where a queer, goth middle school girl is beset by cute, mischievous (and maybe helpful) creatures (Laura Terry); and "First Kiss With Fangs," a charming graphic novel about a queer, vegan, vampire boy (Marker Snyder).
Drag takes center stage in books by renowned drag queens, all starring queer boys: "Jackson Bright in the Spotlight" (Eureka O'Hara; Dan Poblocki); "The Queen Bees of Tybee County" (Kyle Casey Chu); and "Donutella Hamachi and the Library Avengers" (Kim Chi and Stephan Lee; Utomaru).
A gay boy is also one of three sibling protagonists in the graphic novel "Outsider Kids," the sequel to "Parachute Kids," about siblings from Taiwan living on their own in 1980s America (Betty C. Tang).
Sports and queer girls shine in "It's All or Nothing, Vale," a novel in verse about a young fencer struggling to return from injury (Andrea Beatriz Arango; also available in Spanish as "Todo o nada, Valentina"); and "Bea Mullins Takes a Shot," starring a Canadian tween on a youth hockey team (Emily Deibert).
Queer girls also star in "Pasta Girls" (Taylor Tracy), a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet with queer, neurodiverse leads (and a less tragic ending); "Mountain Upside Down," a tale of family change (Sara Ryan); "Carousel Summer," a graphic novel about a first crush and coming out (Kathleen Gros), "Rabbit Rabbit," about family secrets and social justice (Dori Hillestad Butler and Sunshine Bacon); "Vote for the G.O.A.T.," an entertaining caper with themes of bodily autonomy, activism, and friendship (Ali Terese); "13 Ways to Say Goodbye," a novel in verse on moving through grief (Kate Fussner); and "The Brightest Star," a novel-in-verse sequel to "The Deepest Breath," with a queer girl and a queer boy peer navigating friendship and self-understanding (Megan Grehan).
Additionally, several novels feature youth who use she/her pronouns but are exploring their identities: "Fresh Start," about an anime-loving Thai American tween (Gale Galligan); "North of Tomboy," where a tween in 1970s rural Michigan tries to express her gender (Julie A. Swanson), and "Unboxing Libby," whose android protagonist uncovers secrets about herself and her corporate creators (Steph Cherrywell).
Nonbinary protagonists or co-protagonists star in "Going Overboard," where a tween and zir prospective step-brother try to break up their two moms (Caroline Huntoon); "Ollie In Between," an introspective look at a youth's journey to self-acceptance (Jess Callans); "Halfway to Somewhere," a graphic novel about an immigrant, Mexican American tween (Jose Pimienta); and "The Cartoonists Club," a graphic novel where four tweens learn to make comics (Raina Telgemeier; Scott McCloud).
Protagonists with queer moms star in "Chris Makes a Friend," a perceptive look at family and friendship (Alex Gino); and "The Doughnut Club," where a girl discovers she has donor siblings—one of whom might be her nemesis (Kristina Rahim).
Finally, community and connection form the focus for "Family Week," set at the world's largest (real) gathering of LGBTQ+ families (Sarah Moon); "Rainbow Fair," about youth standing up for their intersectional identities (Diana Ma) and "Maeve Mulvaney Has Had Enough" (Kelly Mangan), where a bisexual girl works to address her school's sexism, queerphobia, and fatphobia.
For nonfiction and other titles I didn't have room for here, visit my Database of LGBTQ+ Family Books (mombian.com/database).
Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian (mombian.com), a two-time GLAAD Media Award-winning blog for LGBTQ+ parents, plus a searchable database of 1,900+ LGBTQ+ family books.