From contemporary romance through to science fiction and fantasy retellings, here is a list of six highly anticipated queer YA books coming out in 2020.
This queer YA list includes a modern re-telling of the classic film Grease, a witchy story of love and sacrifice and the second book in a sci fi adventure inspired by the legend of King Arthur. We can’t wait to get our hands on these!
(P.S. for more LGBTQIA+ reads, don’t forget to check out our Books with Pride campaign – and let us know if you’ve heard about any upcoming queer YA books that we might have missed!)
The Gravity of Us
by Phil Stamper
Cal wants to be a journalist, and he’s already well underway with almost half a million followers on his FlashFame app and an upcoming internship at Buzzfeed. But his plans are derailed when his pilot father is selected for a highly-publicised NASA mission to Mars.
With the entire nation desperate for any new information about the astronauts, Cal finds himself thrust in the middle of a media circus. And then Cal meets Leon, whose mother is another astronaut on the mission, and he finds himself falling head over heels–and fast.
Buy it here
Only Mostly Devastated
by Sophie Gonzales
When Ollie meets Will over the summer break, he thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After. But once summer’s ended, Will stops texting him back, and Ollie finds himself short of his fairy-tale ending.
A family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country – Will’s school – and Ollie finds that the sweet, affectionate and comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, a basketball jock and, well, a bit of a jerk.
Ollie isn’t going to pine after a guy who isn’t ready for a relationship. But as school life repeatedly throws them together, from music class to the lunch table, Ollie finds his resolve weakening.
Buy it here
Sword in the Stars
by Cori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta
Once and future collide when Ari, Merlin and the Knights of the Rainbow attempt to steal a magical chalice from Earth’s medieval past in order to save humanity’s future, irreparably entangling our space-age heroes with the original King Arthur.
Ari plays a risky game of lies and chivalry and Merlin confronts his nemesis, his older self, while all the time they must preserve the time continuum to eventually return to their own future. When the Lady of the Lake interferes, Merlin and Ari realise how much their future has been manipulated by her exquisite machinations of the past. Nin offers a way to release King Arthur’s spirit from Ari’s body to end the cruel cycle that keeps them all prisoner and allow them home. But at what cost?
Buy it here
The Dark Tide
by Alicia Jasinska
Every year on St. Walpurga’s Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking.
Convinced her handsome brother is going to be taken this year, Lina Kirk enlists the help of the mysterious Thomas Lin, her secret crush, and the only boy to ever escape from the palace after winning the love of a queen. Working together they protect her brother but draw the queen’s attention.
When Thomas is chosen as sacrifice, Lina takes his place and the two girls are forced to spend time together as they wait for the full moon. But Lina is not at all what Queen Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, the two girls find themselves falling for each other. As water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice, they must choose who to save–themselves, each other, or the island city relying on them both.
Buy it here
We Were Promised Spotlights
by Lindsay Sproul
Taylor Garland’s good looks have earned her the admiration of everyone in her small town. She’s homecoming queen, the life of every party, and she’s on every boy’s most-wanted list.
People think Taylor is living the dream, and assume she’ll stay in town and have kids with the homecoming king–maybe even be a dental hygienist if she’s super ambitious. But Taylor is actually desperate to leave home, and she hates the smell of dentists’ offices. Also? She’s completely in love with her best friend, Susan.
Senior year is almost over, and everything seems perfect. Now Taylor just has to figure out how to throw it all away.
Buy it here
We Are Totally Normal
by Rahul Kanakia
Nandan’s got a plan to make his junior year perfect, but hooking up with his friend Dave isn’t part of it–especially because Nandan has never been into guys.
Still, Nandan’s willing to give a relationship with him a shot. But the more his anxiety grows about what his sexuality means for himself, his friends, and his social life, the more he wonders whether he can just take it all back. Is breaking up with Dave–the only person who’s ever really gotten him–worth feeling “normal” again?
Buy it here
For queer YA and more, check out our Books with Pride collection!
About the Contributor
Sarah McDuling
Sarah McDuling is Booktopia's Category Manager for Children's and Young Adult Books. She has been in the bookselling game for almost a decade and a dedicated booklover since birth (potentially longer). At her happiest when reading a book, Sarah also enjoys talking/writing/tweeting about books. In her spare time, she often likes to buy a lot of books and take photographs of books. You can follow her on Twitter and Instragram @sarahmcduling
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Comments
February 12, 2020 at 11:31 pm
I love the sound of The Gravity of Us! Have definitely put that on my list! Thanks for the recommendations!