Take Five: 2024 LGBTQIA+ Middle Grade Novels

As the year winds down, I’ve been trying to cram in all the books I really wanted to get to in 2024. Even though I mostly read what shows up here as book mail, I do still track down a lot of books from either my public library or my school library. I have TBR notes in every notebook I own and a running list I keep in my email drafts. I recently read (and loved) Linus and Etta Could Use a Win by Caroline Huntoon, a book I included way back in an April post about LGBTQIA+ middle grade books. I realized I’ve read quite a few great books in recent months with queer main characters and wanted to highlight those here.

All descriptions from the publishers.

Jamie by L. D. Lapinski (ISBN-13: 9781499816815 Publisher: little bee books Publication date: 05/28/2024, Ages 8-12)

Jamie is a humorous and uplifting middle grade novel about making your own place in a world that doesn’t think you fit in even if it means changing the system.

“Excels at being educational without sacrificing charm, humor, or excitement.” Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

“Essential addition to the growing cannon of queer literature for young people. For readers who enjoy Alex Gino, Kyle Lukoff, or A. J. Sass.” Booklist

Jamie Rambeau is a happy 11-year-old, nonbinary kid who loves hanging out with their two best friends, Daisy and Ash. But when the trio find out that their local middle schools separate into a school for boys and a school for girls, their friendship suddenly seems at risk. And when Jamie realizes no one has thought about where they are going to go, they decide to take matters into their own hands.

As the friends’ efforts to raise awareness eventually become a rooftop protest against the binary rules for the local schools, Jamie realizes that if they don’t figure out a way forward, they could lose both their friends forever.

Published in partnership with media advocacy organization GLAAD, this empowering book positively represents LGBTQ families.

Camp Prodigy by Caroline Palmer (ISBN-13: 9781665930383 Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Publication date: 06/11/2024, Ages 8-12)

Perfect for fans of Victoria Jamieson and Raina Telgemeier, this heartwarming middle grade graphic novel follows two nonbinary kids who navigate anxiety and identity while having fun and forming friendships at their summer orchestra camp.

After attending an incredible concert, Tate Seong is inspired to become a professional violist. There’s just one problem: they’re the worst musician at their school.

Tate doesn’t even have enough confidence to assert themself with their friends or come out as nonbinary to their family, let alone attempt a solo anytime soon. Things start to look up when Tate attends a summer orchestra camp—Camp Prodigy—and runs into Eli, the remarkable violist who inspired Tate to play in the first place.

But Eli has been hiding their skills ever since their time in the spotlight gave them a nervous breakdown. Together, can they figure out how to turn Tate into a star and have Eli overcome their performance anxieties? Or will the pressure take them both down?

How It All Ends by Emma Hunsinger (ISBN-13: 9780063158153 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 08/06/2024, Ages 10-14)

A funny, vulnerable, and disarming debut graphic novel from Emma Hunsinger, the creator of the popular “How to Draw a Horse.” How It All Ends is a book about being overwhelmed by who you are and who you might be—and all the possibilities in between. For fans of Snapdragon, The Magic Fish, Heartstopper, and New Kid.

Thirteen-year-old Tara lives inside the nonstop adventure of her imagination. It’s far more entertaining than dull, everyday life. But when she’s bumped from seventh grade directly to high school, back-to-school season gives her a dramatic jolt to reality.

Tara isn’t ready to watch the racy shows the high school kids like, or to listen to the angsty music, or to stop playing make-believe with her younger brother. She’s not ready to change for PE in front of everyone, or for the chaos of the hallways, or for the anarchy of an English class that’s overrun with fourteen-year-old boys.

But then there’s Libby.

Tara doesn’t know whether she’s ready for Libby. She can’t even explain who Libby is to her because she doesn’t know yet. She just knows that everything’s more fun when she and her new classmate are together. But what will happen next? How will it all end?

Emma Hunsinger’s clever, candid debut graphic novel brilliantly captures the humor and the horror of self-discovery and the first blushes of having a crush. How It All Ends deftly explores how unbearable—but exciting!—it is to grow up. 

Wishbone by Justine Pucella Winans (ISBN-13: 9781547612574 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Publication date: 09/17/2024, Ages 8-12)

Coraline meets Ghost Squad in this terrifying story about what happens when you aren’t careful what you wish for.

Ollie Di Costa wishes things could be different.

He wishes the bullies at school would leave him alone. He wishes his parents would stop fighting. He wishes his sister Mia didn’t have to worry about things like paying for college. But most of all, he wishes he wasn’t so angry about all of this. When he and Mia find a two-tailed cat they name Wishbone, Ollie takes comfort in telling him everything he wishes would change-then suddenly, it does. Everything Ollie and Mia wish for comes true, and it’s like all of their problems are solved. But magic comes at a price. Whatever they wish for is not simply given to them, but taken from others. And to make matters worse, a mysterious shadow man called The Mage is after Wishbone and his power. With each wish, darkness takes over more and more of their world, and worst of all, it threatens to take over Ollie, too. But can he let go of everything he’s ever wanted?

Justine Pucella Winans, author of the Stonewall Honor book The Otherwoods, brings us another bone-chilling middle grade horror, urging readers to not only be careful what you wish for, but beware of who you may become if you aren’t.

The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa (ISBN-13: 9781338843262 Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication date: 11/12/2024, Ages 8-12)

A joyful coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel by debut Indigenous creator Cameron Mukwa about the journey of a two-spirit kid who wants to create a ribbon skirt for the upcoming powwow.Ten-year-old Anang wants to make a ribbon skirt, a piece of clothing typically worn by girls in the Anishinaabe tradition, for an upcoming powwow. Anang is two-spirit and nonbinary and doesn’t know what others will think of them wearing a ribbon skirt, but they’re determined to follow their heart’s desire. Anang sets off to gather the materials needed to make the skirt and turns to those around them — their family, their human and turtle friends, the crows, and even the lake itself — for help. And maybe they’ll even find a new confidence within themself along the way.

Filed under: Take 5