https://www.glbtrt.ala.org/overtherainbow/archives/774
The following titles have been read and recommended for inclusion on the final list by at least one committee member:
Fiction:
Charlotte Iles is Not a Detective by Katie Siegel.
For anyone seeking to satisfy their Harriet the Spy or Encyclopedia Brown nostalgia, this modern, witty debut based on the popular @katiefliesaway TikTok series stars a twentysomething former kid detective who’s coaxed out of retirement for one last case.
Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt
Set against Nantucket’s Great Fire of 1846, this sweeping, emotional novel brings together three courageous women battling to save everything they hold dear.
A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon
In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.
Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
A queer, feminist masterpiece inspired by Mary Shelley’s classic, Our Hideous Progeny is a sumptuous tale of ambition and obsession, of forbidden love and sabotage and a twisty Gothic adventure that may forever change your view of human nature.
Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee
The acclaimed author of The Serpent’s Gift returns with this gripping and powerful novel of healing, redemption, and love, following a queer Black woman who works to stay clean, pull her life together, and heal after being released from prison.
Rosewater by Liv Little
For fans of Bolu Babalola and Tia Williams comes a “tender, soulful, and sexy” (Phoebe Robinson) debut novel about finding love in an unexpected place.
Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah
As secrets and jealousies endanger all that Harley has come to depend on, he finds himself faltering once again, even though he finally has something—and someone—to live for. Soul-stirring and witty, full of hope and peopled with characters who feel like close friends, Small Joys explores a young man’s turbulent journey toward happiness and announces the arrival of an exciting voice in fiction.
We Could be so Good by Cat Sebastian
Casey McQuiston meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this mid-century rom-dram about a scrappy reporter and a newspaper mogul’s son.
Nonfiction:
The Girl that Can’t Get a Girlfriend by Mieri Hiranishi
From first crush to first crushed! The autobiographical manga about one woman’s quest for the hot short-haired girlfriend of her dreams!
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
A fascinating tour of creatures from the surface to the deepest ocean floor, inviting us to envision wilder, grander, and more abundant possibilities for the way we live.
Leg by Greg Marshall
A hilarious and poignant memoir grappling with family, disability, and coming of age in two closets—as a gay man and as a man living with cerebral palsy.
The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics Compiled by The Kao, David Daneman and Min Christensen
In this vibrant and affirming comics anthology, 29 trans & nonbinary comic artists share their personal journeys of self-discovery and acceptance.
Until I Love Myself, Vol. 1: The Journey of a Nonbinary Manga Artist by Poppy Pesuyama
A bravely blunt autobiography about confronting the tangled traumas of gender dysphoria and workplace sexual harassment.
