Time to get comfortable with these 5 new LGBTQ books.

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Johnny Garza Villa – Young Adult

Set in the coastal south Texas town of Corpus Christi, this is a coming-of-age story about a gay, Latinx teenager who is thrown into the life he’s always dreamt of. Julián Luna planned to have a lowkey senior year before embarking on his future dreams at UCLA, but one fateful tweet will turn the next nine months on their head. Up to this moment, Jules has been trying his best to live an inauthentic life, hoping that once he was able to get away from the expectations of others he’d be able to come out of the closet and be his true self. Then, after an impulsive tweet, he is thrown into this new life sooner than expected. When Mat, Jules’s Twitter crush, slides into his DM’s, Jules can’t help but feel the exhilaration of a new life and all the possibilities that come with it – but his fears about living his best life as his true self might be coming true and his Prince Charming is over 1,500 miles away. Jules is now fully in control of his life, and what he does is finally up to him.

Author Johnny Garza Villa dedicates this book to anyone who feels trapped where they are and believes the best is yet to come.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo – Historical Fiction

Jordan Baker is surrounded by the trappings of the Gilded Age. She has money, an education, and invitations to the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer and Asian and treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, a dichotomy that sometimes relegates her to the sidelines. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how a magical retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby might be told, then here is your queer and vibrant reinvention of the great American tale from Jordan Baker’s perspective.

Vo explores the trappings of decadence, queerness, and otherness through the eyes of a character who has always been an outsider on the inside. She was “rescued” from Vietnam as a baby and treated as a novelty until she grew out of her cuteness and into a self-aware adult. She is comfortable with her fluid sexuality and is heavily invested in her relationship with Daisy, but is there… magic in this American Dream world? You’ll have to read to find out!

Word on the street is The Chosen and the Beautiful might be even better than the original.

Love and Other Natural Disasters by Misa Sugiura – Young Adult

Calling fans of rom-com! Sugiura’s latest novel has a lesbian fauxmance at the center of its plot. Nozomi Nagai is a true romantic and has always dreamt of an idyllic summer romance. And then she meets the stunning Willow who asks her to be her fake girlfriend. Wait, what? Yes, Nozomi’s dream girl is heartbroken and wants to make her ex-girlfriend jealous, so Nozomi takes a chance on a fauxmance to be the one at Willow’s side. But Nozomi has a master plan of her own! She’s going to show Willow she’s more than just a fake girlfriend and hopes she can turn their fauxmance into something real. But when Nozomi’s lies begin piling up, disaster lurks around the corner… and so does a chance at love she hadn’t anticipated.

From fake dating schemes to twists and turns and strong character development, Love and Other Natural Disasters will have you losing sleep as you get wrapped up in the lovesick games!

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé – Young Adult

If you haven’t heard about Farida Àbíké-Íyímídé’s debut novel, then consider this your lucky day! At the center of this novel are Devon and Chiamaka who become the target of an anonymous texter who gets ahold of each of their darkest secrets and reveals them to the world of Niveus Private Academy. The halls of the academy are paved with money, and Devon and Chi are the only two black students. However, this never was a problem until Aces appeared. Private photos and secrets are at the center of the anonymous texts, and the pursuit of Aces and their true identity is at the heart of this story that examines institutional racism through the thriller genre.

Ace of Spades is being penned as Get Out meets Gossip Girl with black and queer main characters written by a talented new author!

Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and other life lessons by John Paul Brammer – Nonfiction

It all started when John Paul Brammer joined Grindr. He received a greeting calling him “Papi,” which he took to be “white-guy speak” for “hey handsome.” But then it happened again. And again. And, yep, you guessed it, it never stopped. And thus, the name for Brammer’s LGBTQ advice column was born. As he navigated the treacherous dating world of his early 20s, Brammer also began writing a column doling out advice based on his own experience as a mixed-race, queer kid growing up in America’s heartland. Brammer has now taken the name of his column to be that of his memoir-in-essays book where he expands on his lived experiences using the column format. Each essay is a response to a question, such as how to reckon with years spent in the closet and coping with childhood trauma. Brammer’s signature sharp-wit, humor, and compassion are present throughout his writing.

Brammer’s humor and wit have been compared to a “Chicano Carrie Bradshaw” and “the Cheryl Strayed for young queer people everywhere”!