GGA’s 10 Best Queer Young Adult Books of 2022

Melis Noah Amber

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GGA Best Queer Young Adult books of 2022 Feature

2022 brought with it a nice selection of queer young adult books. It was tough but I was able to narrow down my queer YA book favorites into a handy list that you can use for all your TBR list purposes.

A Million Quiet Revolutions 

best queer young adult books of 2022 a million quiet revolutions

Robin Gow’s A Million Quiet Revolutions is the first novel in verse I’ve ever read. In this story, two trans boys discover who they are together as they fall in love. Then, they’re forced apart. How does their love story continue? Does it?

Something I loved about A Million Quiet Revolutions is how it deals with intersections of identities and how we can and can’t understand each other. Also, the boys reaching into history to find people like them (us) is so bittersweet. Content warnings

RELATED: GGA’s 10 Best WEBTOON Series 2022

All of Our Demise

best queer young adult books of 2022 all of our demise

Amanda Foody‘s and C.L. Herman‘s All of Our Demise is the sequel to All of Us Villains, which is basically The Hunger Games with magic and set in an alternate world. And also, somehow, darker? In this world, the families who send their kids to the death match are the ones who set it up. 

The first book introduced this duology’s queer characters, but they don’t get together until Demise. If you’re a fantasy-dystopia fan of the slow burn, this book is for you. Content warnings

Note: Herman has allegedly participated in bullying Asian-American authors

All That’s Left in the World

best queer young adult books of 2022 all that's left in the world

Speaking of dystopia, Erik J. Brown’s All That’s Left in the World takes place after a pandemic that’s even deadlier than the current one. There are literally almost no humans left in the world Brown creates. 

So what happens when two teenage boys meet and decide to find out who, and what, else is left? All That’s Left in the World follows Andrew and Jamie on their “road trip” down the post-apocalyptic East Coast and all the horrifying (and hopeful) things they meet along the way. Content warnings

RELATED: 12 Short Books To Help You Reach Your Annual Reading Goals

Dead End Girls

best queer young adult books of 2022 dead end girls

Wendy Heard’s Dead End Girls is a trip, both literally and figuratively. This book is absurd, ridiculous, strange, and doesn’t really make sense. I still loved it, or maybe, that’s why I loved it. 

I don’t know how Maude and Frankie get away with all the crimes they commit. I don’t care; they deserve it. Dead End Girls is total wish fulfillment for those who had/have crappy parents. Who hasn’t, at some point, wanted to create a new identity and walk off into the sunset? Content warnings

Nothing Burns as Bright as You

best queer young adult books of 2022 nothing burns as bring as you

Our next item on the list of best queer young adult books of 2022 is Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk — the second novel in verse I’ve ever read! So, clearly, this is a format that works for me! 

This book is more beautiful language and mood than plot. Just go with it. That’s not to say nothing happens in Nothing Burns as Bright as You. That which is burning is fire in the literal form of arson. But it’s also the bright sharpness of first love. Content warnings

RELATED: GGA’s 7 Best Science Fiction Books of 2022

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix

Book Review: Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore. Book Cover: Two boys in 1920s garb, one white, one brown Latinx, embrace.
Book Design: Veronica Mang

This book is The Great Gatsby but let it be gay. Anna-Marie McLemore‘s Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix confirms everything I ever thought while reading F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s classic in high school. In Self-Made Boys, McLemore takes the source material and makes its characters explicitly gay and also trans. Plus, Nick and Daisy are Latine.

These are just some of the changes, but this book uses those changes to get into relevant US American history. I’m not a huge fan of “the classics,” but I love a retelling, and Self-Made Boys is in my top 10 favorite books ever. Read my full review here. Content warnings

The Feeling of Falling in Love

The Feeling of Falling in Love Book Review Mason Deaver Cover
Jacket Design by Maeve Norton

On its surface, Mason Deaver‘s The Feeling of Falling in Love is a YA contemporary romance. And it is — a good one at that — but it’s more. The main character, Neil, is a jerk, but in a totally relatable, teen way. He’s not an antihero, but he is not necessarily the typical protagonist of a romance novel. 

The Feeling of Falling in Love also lovingly explores gender identity and identity in general. Ahhh. It’s so great. Read my full review hereContent warnings

RELATED: GGA’s 7 Best Fantasy Books of 2022

The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School

Book Review: The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonya Reyes cover

Our next best queer young adult book of 2022 is The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes. This novel is all about Yami’s experiences in a mainly-white, wealthy Catholic school. Yami is just trying to survive; part of that is her parents never finding out she’s gay. Then, there’s her little brother to worry about … 

Though I’m not Catholic, a lesbian or Mexican-American, I did spend a year at a Catholic school. This book hit me hard in the feels. Read my full review here. Content warnings

These Fleeting Shadows

book review these fleeting shadows Kate alice marshall cover

Kate Alice Marshall’s These Fleeting Shadows is described as “The Haunting of Hill House meets Knives Out.” The plot follows Helen as she tries to spend a year in her family’s ancestral home so she can inherit a boatload of money. 

The problem is her creepy AF extended family also lives there. The story soon changes into montages of lost time and unspeakable horrors. What’s real? And what’s not? Read my full review hereContent warnings

RELATED: Sacha Lamb Talks When the Angels Left the Old Country and the Intersection of Queerness, Judaism and Magic

When the Angels Left the Old Country

When the Angels Left the Old Country Cover Book Review Sacha Lamb

The last entry on our list of best queer young adult books of 2022 is When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb. In this Jewish fantasy novel, an angel and a demon go to America to help emigrants from their tiny village. They pick up new friends and learn more about humanity along the way.

When the Angels Left the Old Country explores identity, mixes history and fantasy and is drenched in Jewish folklore. From syntax to the plot, this book is a true joy. This is also one of my top ten favorite books ever now. Read my full review here. Content warnings

There you have it: 10 of the best queer YA books I read that were published in 2022. Did your favorite book make it to the list? Which are you adding to your TBR? What did we miss?

https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/ggas-7-best-debut-books-of-2022/

Melis Noah Amber
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