Sometimes you just want to read a book that has characters like you. That doesn’t mean the entire story has to be about them and their sexuality, but simply that they exist in this world the same way you do.
If you have read the books in our LGBTQIA picks for August, we have 7 new titles to add to your TBR list. Tim Manley, Morgan Lockhart, and Benjamin Alire Sáenz are among the authors we highlight this month.
In order of release date, here are 7 LGBTQIA books we are looking forward to reading this September:
1. My Own Kind of Person by Tim Manley – September 8
My Own Kind of Person is a coming-of-age story in which the main character explores his bisexuality and goes after one of his biggest dreams. Even though comedy has been a coping mechanism, he’s now using his sense of humor to become a stand-up comedian.
Book Description: In this heartfelt and hilarious coming-of-age romance, Sean discovers his bisexuality and his true voice while chasing his dream as a stand-up comedian.
Sean O’Brien copes with anxiety by being the funny guy—at school, in his relationships, and onstage at local open mics. But when his stand-up act starts feeling like a performance of someone he’s not, everything changes. As Sean struggles with awkward girlfriend encounters and rising panic, he meets Elijah, a new guy with quiet confidence and an honesty Sean has never allowed himself. Suddenly, Sean’s life, his comedy, and his self-awareness come into sharper focus.
With wit and emotional depth, My Own Kind of Person explores the courage it takes to speak your truth—even when your voice shakes.
2. Dead Girls by Beck Kubrick – September 22
Are you a fan of slasher movies? Do you love watching and rewatching Yellowjackets? Are angsty teenage friendships something that intrigues you? Are you looking for your next graphic novel? Then Beck Kubrick’s Dead Girls should definitely be your next read! This new graphic novel tells the story of a serial killer’s daughter as she becomes the prime suspect in the disappearance and murder of five teenage girls.
Book Description: A love letter to slasher films and angsty teenage friendship, Dead Girls is a graphic novel perfect for fans of Holly Jackson, Emily Carroll and Yellowjackets.
Clossdale has a history of dead girls. When a fifth missing teenager turns up dead, all eyes on are one suspect – 17-year-old Ash, the orphaned daughter of serial killer ‘Evil Evelyn’.
Ash is sick of her peers being murdered, and she’s sick of the police not taking the investigations seriously. After finding a note telling her she’s next, Ash, along with her foster sister Cassie and best friend Jamie, decides to take matters into their own hands. But when their plan goes awry, the girls find themselves at the centre of a deeper and darker web than they could ever have imagined. Can they put a stop to the murders, or will they each become just another of Clossdale’s dead girls?
3. A Curse for Christmas Past: A Novel by Morgan Lockhart – September 22
Even though A Curse for Christmas Past is a love story between a man and a woman, the story wouldn’t be told without the appearance of queer and non-binary characters. And isn’t that what we want to read? A story in which we belong, we exist, and nobody questions who we are?
Book Description: For fans of Lovelight Farms, Hallmark holiday movies, and general witchy shenanigans, a charming holiday romance following a woman with a curse and the handsome witch she enlists to help her break it
Hayleigh Gray is cursed. For real.
After losing her job, her savings, and her relationship, it’s the discovery of a lump on her beloved horse’s neck that finally sends Hayleigh looking for solutions in the winter festival in Elk Ridge. Trouble is, she knows there are witches in Elk Ridge because she managed to make an enemy of one (okay, maybe a few) last holiday season.
There, she crosses paths with Stephan Midwinter, an animal-rescuing artist with lumberjack good looks, a reputation with women that stretches a mile long, and a whole lot of magic that Hayleigh wants nothing to do with. Adamant that his coven wasn’t involved in Hayleigh’s curse, Stephan offers to help her find the real culprit and break the curse before Christmas Day.
As Hayleigh and Stephan face ancestral secrets, mischievous holiday spirits, and being snowed into the world’s kitschiest holiday train B&B, Hayleigh finds her heart opening to magic, and to Stephan Midwinter.
But Stephan and his way of life are in direct opposition to everything Hayleigh’s been taught to want, and old habits die hard. With the curse amping up and time running out, will she be able to embrace a new kind of happiness, or will she fall back into the patterns of Christmas past?
4. Night of Madness by Ryan Douglass – September 29
In Night of Madness, Mara has only one fond memory of bonding with her father, and that was over Jack Stanley’s movies. Now, desperate for cash, Mara discovers that Stanley has launched a competition. Whoever manages to spend the night on the set of his most terrifying film wins $100,000. Can Mara do it?
Book Description: Teen influencers compete in a horror movie–themed overnight competition, only to realize the real test is staying alive in this chilling, blood-soaked horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Taking of Jake Livingston and the production company behind Clown in a Cornfield.
Mara is a horror buff whose only fond memories of her dad are bonding over movies by Jack Stanley—the producer of the eighties. Stanley’s campy slasher movies may have kept Mara’s fraught parental relationship on life support and gained a cult following, but the man himself has faded from the public eye…until he announces a contest centered around Asylum, his most terrifying film. Five teen influencers will be invited to spend the night on the fully constructed set; whoever sticks it out until morning wins a hundred thousand dollars.
Stuck in a dead-end job, Mara seriously needs that cash. She may not be a famous influencer, but there has to be a way to manufacture an online presence that will capture Stanley’s attention. With the help of her brother and best friend, Mara finds some creative solutions to her dilemma and lands herself onto the roster of the lucky chosen few by way of her engaging authenticity.
When Mara and the other contestants arrive on set, it’s a horror fan’s dream being immersed in the asylum setting, but as the night wears on, they realize the danger is more than movie magic… They’re not there to win or lose but to live or die. As Mara fights to survive, she discovers an inner ruthlessness she didn’t know she had. Just how far will she go to see the sunrise—and will she still recognize herself by the end?
5. When the World Was Happy by Benjamin Alire Sáenz – September 29
Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s new book tells the story of twin siblings CheChe and Emma and how three gunmen showing up at their high school changes the trajectory of their lives. CheChe faces a new reality in which he has to learn to walk again after losing a leg, and Emma is navigating a life in which many of her friends are dead. What could this mean for their future?
Book Description: A heartrending but uplifting tale of twins and their group of friends who are forced to navigate life, relationships, and grief after their world is turned upside down from New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
CheChe knows that he and his twin sister Emma lead an unusual life. They enjoy spending time with their parents and grandparents, love to read, and don’t have a huge circle of friends—and they’re happy. Then, just a few months after they turn seventeen, three gunmen show up one morning at their El Paso, Texas, high school, and everything changes.
CheChe loses a leg, and both he and Emma have friends who die. Suddenly, the world feels like a very different place. But what they find hasn’t changed—or has only gotten deeper—is their love for their family, their close friends, and one another, and as they begin to heal, they create their own little community, one that wields the power of humor, kindness, and hope.
CheChe finds himself doing all kinds of things he never expected from his junior relearning to walk, falling in love with the boy he’s nursed a longtime crush on, making friends with a kid he always found intimidating. By the end of this life-changing school year, none of them will be the same, and many of them will have found their voices in ways they never imagined.
6. Just the Good Parts by Robbie Couch – September 29
Just the Good Parts follows Caspen Coolsby and his power to visit other people’s memories. When his father goes missing and everyone has given up on finding him, Caspen is the only one who can find him. However, as he jumps from memory to memory, he notices someone else in those memories who doesn’t belong and keeps reappearing. Can Caspen relieve the hard parts of his past to get to the good part?
Book Description: From the New York Times bestselling author of If I See You Again Tomorrow, Robbie Couch comes a stunningly romantic speculative novel about a teen with the power to visit others’ memories who keeps crossing paths with a handsome stranger in them as he’s looking for his missing dad.
Caspen Coolsby’s dad is missing. But even though it’s only been a few months, everyone has given up on finding him. Except for Caspen.He finally gets a break in the case when he meets his new upstairs neighbors and discovers he can somehow transport himself into each of the college students’ memories using candle scents that remind them of important moments. No one loved candles more than his dad, so Caspen is sure there must be clues pointing toward where to find him hidden in the memories.
His thinking hits a snag, though, when a handsome boy named Lars keeps popping up in memories where he also doesn’t belong. As the lines between memory and reality begin to blur, Caspen can’t help but fall for the mysterious boy who keeps chipping away at the rose-colored lens he’s always seen life through. But will Caspen be able to find his dad and his crush outside of these stolen moments if it means reliving the hard truths of his past and not just the good parts?
7. Rainbow Boys (25th Anniversary Edition) by Alex Sanchez – September 29
25 years ago, Alex Sanchez shared Rainbow Boys with the world. This September, a celebratory edition is returning to the world to (re)share the story of Jason Carrillo, Kyle Meeks, and Nelson Glassman. Even though a lot has changed in the last two and a half decades, an intolerant world and insecurities about coming out are still very relevant in this day and age.
Book Description: Navigating through an intolerant world and their own insecurities, three teenage boys find each other and the confidence to come out of the closet.
Three teenage boys, coming of age and out of the closet. Jason Carrillo is a jock with a steady girlfriend, but he can’t stop dreaming about sex…with other guys. Kyle Meeks doesn’t look gay, but he is. And he hopes he never has to tell anyone—especially his parents. Nelson Glassman is “out” to the entire world, but he can’t tell the boy he loves that he wants to be more than just friends…
In a revealing debut novel that percolates with passion and wit, Alex Sanchez follows these very different high-school seniors as their struggles with sexuality and intolerance draw them into a triangle of love, betrayal, and ultimately, friendship.
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What will you be reading in September? Share your picks in the comments below!
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature known as a Media Relations Expert. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). In addition to Eulalie Magazine, you can find her work published on Tell-Tale TV, Geek Girl Authority, W Spotlight, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.