Affirming Reads for National Coming Out Day
Happy National Coming Out Day from Team OTB! We are so happy to call you a part of our amazing community of booklovers, wherever you may find yourself on your journey. We believe that love is love, that trans lives are valid and matter, and that every person is deserving of kindness, empathy, joy, and so much more. We hope that the following recommendations will help you celebrate LGBTQ+ narratives, open your eyes to the experiences of others, and/or see yourself represented in the wonderful world of books.
Kids:
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders
Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love
Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer and Holly Clifton-Brown
The Adventures of Honey and Leon by Alan Cumming and Grant Shaffer
The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
Young Adult:
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Fiction:
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony
Romance:
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian
Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri
Memoir:
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place by Jackson Bird
Buffering by Hannah Hart
Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
Non-Fiction:
Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary by Sasha Geffen
Out of the Shadows: Reimagining Gay Men’s Lives by Walt Odets
A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski
The Stonewall Reader, edited by the New York Public Library
The Queer Advantage: Conversations with LGBTQ+ Leaders on the Power of Identity by Andrew Gelwicks
Blog contribution, additional photos, and editing by Shannon McCarthy (she/her/hers).