Top 7 Pride Month Books to Celebrate Queer Joy

It’s Pride month, so I thought I’d put together a list of books that celebrate queer joy. So often, queer stories revolve around trauma and tragedy, but we deserve happy endings, too. Pride is a protest, but it’s also a celebration, and these books reflect that. 

The following titles embrace the beauty of queerness with a guaranteed HEA (happily ever after). That’s not to say that the characters in these books never come up against homophobia, transphobia, and other difficult scenarios, but they do make it through victorious, whole, and happy. 

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1. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

You Should See Me in a Crown is the queer prom romcom you’ve always wanted. Liz Lighty decides to run for prom queen when she realizes she needs the scholarship money that comes with winning the title. The only problem: she hates being in the spotlight and she’s always believed herself too poor, too Black, and too awkward to fit into her town, let alone be prom queen. To make matters even more complicated, she finds herself falling for the new girl, and fellow contender, Mack.

You’ll be rooting for Liz through all her ups and downs as she navigates new romance and being in the spotlight for the first time. Johnson delivers a heartfelt story of family, friendship, and coming of age complete with the happy ending of teenage dreams come true.

2. Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens

Billie McCaffrey—tomboy and daughter of the town preacher—has never fit into the mold that other people have cast for her. She has a solid group of friends and is happy doing things her way. Until her best friend Janie Lee confesses that she has feelings for Billie’s other best friend, Woods. Billie is then forced to confront her own feelings. She, too, has feelings for Woods…and possibly also for Janie Lee. 

Dress Codes for Small Towns is a coming of age story that navigates all the grey spaces of love, friendship, and sexuality. It’s Billie’s journey to figuring herself out beyond the confines of her town and her family, while embracing who she is on the other side. Bonus tip to make sure you read this one: it concludes with a scene worthy of a John Hughes movie.

3. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Almost no other book has left me feeling as warm and fuzzy as Felix Ever After. When Felix finds himself on the receiving end of transphobic messages from an anonymous student, he’s determined to figure out who it is and enact a plan for revenge. He winds up in a catfishing scenario he absolutely did not foresee and finds himself having to sort through very unexpected feelings.

Kacen Callender packs so much into this novel. It’s an exploration of gender identity, friendship, first love, queer found family, and artistic ambition. This story is like a balm for the world-weary heart. Callender renders these characters with such love, and when Felix gets his happy ending, you’ll want to cheer right along with his friends. I was smiling so hard by the end of this book that my face hurt. Felix Ever After is bursting with queer joy and your Pride month book list isn’t complete without it.

4. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Two lonely men fall in love and raise their gaggle of magical adopted children on an island by the sea. Yes, The House in the Cerulean Sea is just that sweet. Linus works for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth and lives a quiet, solitary life with his cat until he’s tasked with auditing the situation at Marsyas Island Orphanage. The island has been set aside for children with particularly dangerous powers. Of course, once Linus gets to know the island’s inhabitants, he falls in love with all of them, especially the caretaker, Arthur Parnassus.

You won’t find a story that is lovelier than this one. The conflict is fairly minimal, with most of the novel being dedicated to Linus’s integration into the little found family that resides on Marsyas Island. It’s a story about second chances, questioning assumptions, and finding acceptance. It’s the found family trope turned up to maximum with a little sprinkle of magic. 

5. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Unless you meet a beautiful girl, marry her, and head out to New York City to get to know her. Which is exactly what Grace Porter does. In the wake of graduating with her PhD in astronomy and in the midst of burnout, Grace spends the summer with her new wife, Yuki Yamamoto, trying to figure out what her next steps are. 

Honey Girl is not a romcom, though it has some romcom elements. It is, instead, a coming of age story. Grace finds herself adrift after graduating, and has to contend with her father’s expectations alongside those she’s self-imposed. She has to learn how to ask for help and how to navigate her mental health. 

It’s so rare to see a character go to therapy, but that’s exactly what Grace does. With tenderly drawn friendships and beautiful observations from Yuki’s offbeat radio show, Morgan Rogers tackles the hard things and then wraps it all up in a warm hug. 

6. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Casey McQuiston brings a sci-fi twist to her latest romcom. August Landry moves to New York City and meets the girl of her dreams while riding the subway. But there’s a problem. The girl of her dreams is stuck on the Q line and can’t get off. Jane Su is actually from the 70’s and has been caught in a time slip for over 40 years. August is going to get her out—even if it means she loses Jane forever.

One Last Stop has all the heartfelt humour and delightful characters that made Red, White and Royal Blue so enjoyable. McQuiston sketches the version of New York that you’ve always wanted to live in, complete with the pancake diner you’ve wanted to be a regular at and the roommates you’ve dreamed of living with. It’s one part romcom, one part sci-fi, one part detective mystery, and all queer joy. 

7. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

If you listen to the podcast, you know that in Episode 57 we rambled on for ages about how much we loved Cemetery Boys. Yadriel is determined to prove to his family that he is a real brujo, despite his family’s resistance to accepting his gender. 

But when he performs the ritual on his own, he accidentally summons a ghost. The ghost of Julian Diaz—a student at his school. Now Yadriel is tasked with helping Julian find out what happened and helping him move on to the other side. But the more time Yadriel spends with Julian, the more he wants him to stick around.

Aiden Thomas seamlessly blends supernatural elements into a story of standing up for who you are and carving out your own place in the world. His characters jump off the page and the relationship between Yadriel and Julian develops naturally, in the small moments they share as reluctant allies. The Day of the Dead celebrations come to life in vivid detail and culminate in a moment of joyous victory for Yadriel. 

Celebrate in June and Beyond with Pride Month Books

I could only share a few of the wonderful books written by queer authors that celebrate queer joy. Tell us your favourites below so we can keep amplifying and enjoying queer stories beyond Pride month and for the rest of the year!

Happy Pride, my loves! You’re beautiful exactly as you are and you deserve all the love in the world.