LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Reads
August 2025
The corruption of Hollis Brown
by K. Ancrum

Hollis Brown feels trapped in his struggling small town but then meets Walt, a spirit adrift for generations, who takes over Hollis' body and mind, but Walt and Hollis start to work together and an unspeakable bond grows between them. Simultaneous eBook.
I can't even think straight
by Dean Atta

Kai wants to come out but stays closeted, while Matt, his best school friend who's also queer, is afraid of repercussions from his parents, while nonbinary Vass feels Matt's a negative influence, in a novel about identity told in verse
Chaos king
by Kacen Callender

"Ever since he rose up against his father and saved New Anglia from destruction, Ash has [had] nightmares every night, haunted by...his screaming dead mother. Ash is sure she's trying to warn him that the world is still in danger, and becomes determined to find a way to speak to her again. When Ash is captured by a radical group inspired by his father's legacy, he must decide if alchemist rights can be trusted in the hands of the Houses...or if [he] must follow the path his father laid for him and becomethe leader of an alchemist revolution"
Costumes for time travelers
by A. R. Capetta

"Anyone who has hiked through time knows the town of Pocket. It's the place travelers first reach after they stumble away from their hometime, passing through on their way to any other when. To Calisto, Pocket is home. They love their grandmother's shop,which is filled with clothes from every era that are used to make costumes for time travelers. Calisto has no intention of traveling--it's too dangerous. For Fawkes, traveling is life. He put on time boots when he was young and has been stumbling througheras ever since. When he floats into Pocket, Calisto meets him for the first time, though Fawkes has seen Calisto--in glimpses of what hasn't happened yet. He's also seen the villains chasing them both. Now Calisto and Fawkes must rush--from Shakespeare's London to ancient Crete to California on the eve of a millennium--to save Pocket, and travelers, from being erased"
Summer girls
by Jennifer Dugan

"A teen girl whose beachside town is being gentrified by wealthy vacationers falls in love with the daughter of a real estate developer"
Roll for love
by M. K. England

Harper returns to her childhood farm and reconnects with Ollie, her childhood best friend and first crush through a D&D campaign, but their growing romantic tension complicates Ollie's desire to keep her bisexuality private and Harper's struggle to stay true to herself
Lies of a Toymaker
by Kelly Ann Jacobson

Paige (a queer eighteen-year-old girl) is a wooden toymaker's daughter dragged from state to state as her mother, Petta Vitaly, hawks her creations from their caravan. When they finally return to Petta's hometown, Paige discovers Toy Palace, her family's animatronic toy business, but she keeps the discovery from her mother--only to find that she has begun to turn into a wooden marionette. With the help of two girls who use Paige's interest in them to pull off the heist, Paige breaks into Toy Palace and finds out some of the family history her mother has been hiding from her. 
You belong to me
by Hayley Krischer

Frances Bean, a self-proclaimed goth outcast, gets swept into a whirlwind romance with popular Julia, who introduces her to the luxurious world of DEEP, but Frances begins to question everything when events take a dark turn at an exclusive party
Shampoo unicorn
by Sawyer Lovett

After a hit-and-run leaves Greg, a closeted jock, unconscious, Brian, the secret host of a popular podcast, uses his platform to investigate the crime and reveal harsh truths about their small town, which inspires others to show support and organize a pride festival that gains national attention
Come home to my heart
by Riley Redgate

Gloria and Xia, two very different high school seniors in a small South Carolina town, form an unexpected friendship that blossoms into more intense feelings and challenges their identities, forcing them to confront their hidden truths
In case you read this
by Edward Underhill

"Arden isn't excited about moving. Los Angeles was an easy place to fit in and find a supportive queer community. But Winifred, Michigan? That sounds like a much more difficult place to exist. Pasadena, California, is the perfect city for Gabe's reinvention. Everyone knew everything about him in small-town Shelby, Illinois. Gabe, who wants to be out and proud, can't wait to relocate. When Arden and Gabe randomly meet in the lobby of a motel in Nebraska, it feels like fate. Both are trans, but more importantly, both are huge fans of the band Damaged Pixie Dream Boi. Clearly, the universe is trying to tell them something. Right? But after an incredible evening of hanging out, the pair part ways only knowing the other's first name. And as both boys struggleto adjust to their new homes, their thoughts keep being drawn back to their time together. Is one perfect night enough to bring Arden and Gabe back to each other, or will the boys need some help to find each other again?"
Let them stare : a novel
by Jonathan Van Ness

"Sully is ready to get out of Hearst, Pennsylvania. With a fashion internship secured, the gender-nonconforming eighteen-year-old is trading in their stifling small town for the big city. Sully even sells their beloved car, to Bread--er, Brad--the most boring (and maybe only other) gay kid in town. When Sully's internship goes up in smoke, they're trapped in Hearst with no cash--and no car. Desperate, they go to the thrift store, their personal sanctuary. There, they discover a vintage bag--like "put this baby in an airtight case at the MET" vintage. If Sully can authenticate it, the resale value would be enough for a new life in the city. But when they begin to investigate, Sully finds themself haunted. Literally. With the ghost of Rufus, a drag performer from the fifties with no memory of how he died standing--no, floating--in their bedroom, Sully's summer has a new purpose: 1) help this ghostly honey unlock his past and move on and 2) make bank--after all, the Real Real doesn't take poltergeist purses. With Rufus in tow, and Brad--who's looking pretty scrumptious these days--playing chauffeur, Sully delves into the history of the town they're so desperate to escape. Only to discover that there might be more to Hearst than they ever knew"