#ReadingwithPride: 5 of the Best Queer Fiction Books to Add to Your Personal Library

The best queer fiction books aren’t always found while browsing through the shelves of your favorite store. Sometimes, you stumble across an article like this one.

Over the years, LGBTQIA+ representation in literature has evolved, specifically on the fiction front. These unparalleled stories have served as therapeutic outlets for both the readers who buy them and the authors building the relatable worlds within them.

In the 90s and early 2000s, any display of sexual minorities in recreational spaces was frowned upon. From the productions on our TV screens even down to the music booming through our then-MP3 players, individuals often swore the inclusion of the “unconventional” lifestyle off as an impressionable disgrace to entertainment.

Because of this, most of the material surrounding the community was administered for educational purposes rather than sheer enjoyment. As the loud-and-proud culture arose, reads on conversion therapy and religious values filled the media and the markets, continuing to push discriminatory narratives.

However, on the other side of society’s judgment against homosexuality stood those battling with identity crises and struggling to come out to their parents or peers. For many, picking up a novel was a necessary break away from the stresses of their everyday lives. The imaginative tellings bleeding from people behind the pen made them feel free.

Today, more and more writers are producing creative efforts that not only express the adversities our folk have experienced but also push the envelope of gay acceptance.

These Are the Best Queer Fiction Books to Scratch Off Your ‘To-Read’ List

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Written by Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue follows the enemies-to-lovers romance of first son Alex Claremont-Diaz, whose mother is the President of the United States, and United Kingdom royalty Prince Henry. After a public altercation hits the tabloids, the two are forced to clean up their image by forging a friendship in the media, but they ultimately fall for each other. The New York Times bestseller’s film adaptation debuted last August, which starred Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez.

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

Deemed Oprah’s Book Club Pick, Nathan Harris’ award-winning breakout novel, The Sweetness of Water, centers on African-American brothers, Prentiss and Landry, toward the end of the Civil War. After gaining freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation, the siblings set out to earn and save money to travel north and reunite with their sold-off mother. Set in the fictional town of Old Ox, Georgia, the plot simultaneously focuses on two gay male Confederate soldiers whose forbidden relationship wreaks havoc once exposed.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

Author Morgan Rogers’ acclaimed Honey Girl chronicles 28-year-old PhD student Grace Porter, who’s nearing the end of her studies in astronomy. After going on a girls’ trip to Vegas, she spontaneously marries a woman she doesn’t know. Derailing from her protective, ex-military father’s plans for her life, a burnt-out, unfulfilled Grace struggles to find her why while managing love, life, and everything in between.

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

Authored by Brandon Taylor, Real Life is the coming-of-age tale of a gay, introverted student from Alabama. Set over a summer weekend, Taylor paints the life of main character Wallace, who attends a predominantly white university for his doctorate studies and navigates through a series of groundbreaking experiences as a Black, queer man in a Midwestern town. From close encounters to gut-wrenching violence, Taylor’s telling of reimages on the college campus is a must-read. In 2020, it was announced that rapper Kid Cudi would be starring in the to-come film adaptation.

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

Jennifer Dugan’s YA contemporary romance Some Girls Do documents a teenage track star Morgan who transfers to a new high school from a private Catholic academy. Once there, the openly-queer athlete and pageant queen/old-car connoisseur Ruby catch each other’s eye. However, as time passes, the pair get closer, and feelings grow, Ruby wrestles with the uncomfortable idea(s) of coming out and living in her truth.

Which of these best queer fiction books will you be checking out? Comment below!

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