50+ trans book recommendations 🏳️⚧️
Over 50 trans book recommendations for the Trans Rights Readathon and Trans Reading Challenge ranging from memoirs, nonfiction, romance, contemporary,...Show more
50+ trans book recommendations for the Trans Rights Readathon and Trans Yearly Reading Challenge ranging from memoirs, nonfiction, romance, contemporary, YA and middle grade, and some SFF.
Rhys’ challenge: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/7f366573-a0b5-4fa7-b879-5aacfd85a926
TRR challenge: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/ba8eac72-6aae-46c8-a21a-86f2b2b98037
For more trans book recommendations, check out Rhys' Trans Books masterlist with over 1k books!
Shop my shelves on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/as-seen-on-booktube-booktok-bookstagram
TRANS YEARLY READING CHALLENGE
A book with a trans man/boy main character:
Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa
“And They Were Roommates” by Page Powars
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee
Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver
The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill
The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill
A book with a trans woman/girl main character -
Glitch Girl! by Rainie Oet
Joy to the World by Kai Shappley, Lisa Bunker
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan
A book with a nonbinary main character -
The Beautiful Something Else by Alder Van Otterloo
Costumes for Time Travelers by A.R. Capetta
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers
Finna by Nino Cipri
A book with a disabled trans main character -
“Read Between the Lines” by Bee Medina (Autistic lesbian, Juno is a trans girl)
The Prospects by KT Hoffman (ADHD)
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (Nonverbal/mute trans girl MC)
Long Macchiatos and Monsters by Alison Evans (disfigured hand, prosthetic leg)
Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield (On my TBR)
t4t romance, character uses a mobility device. Two queer, disabled, Jewish teens find themselves stuck in a time loop--and falling love.
A memoir by a trans person -
Pretty by KB Brookins
Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero
Homebody by Theo Parrish
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
Welcome to St. Hell by Lewis Hancox
Skate for Your Life by Leo Baker
Continuum by Chella Man
The Natural Mother of the Child: A Memoir of Nonbinary Parenthood by Krys Malcolm Belc (on my TBR)
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak by Susan Kuklin
A general nonfiction book about trans people or trans history:
Breathe by Maia Kobabe, Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier PHD
Gender is Really Strange by Teddy G. Goetz
(on my TBR) The Other Olympians by Michael Waters
Spectrums: Autistic Transgender People in Their Own Words by Maxfield Sparrow
Both/And: Essays by Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Writers of Color by Denne Michele Norris with Electric Literature
A book with a trans asexual and/or aromantic main character:
On my TBR:
The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor
Tell Me How it Ends by Quinton Li
TELL ME HOW IT ENDS features LGBTQ+, disabled, neurodivergent, cultural, and mental health representation. The main character, Iris Galacia, is a lesbian tarot reader with anxiety and autism. The second main character, Marin Boudreau, is an aromantic asexual non-binary person with ADHD.
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (aromantic)
A book with a BIPOC trans main character written by a BIPOC trans author:
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
Bonus: A poetry collection by a trans author:
Grief Slut by Evelyn Berry
There are Trans People Here by H. Melt
it was never going to be okay by jaye simpson
Disintegrate/Dissociate by Arielle Twist
Bonus: A graphic novel with a trans main character:
Welcome to St. Hell by Lewis Hancox
Magical Boy by The Kao
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
Homebody by Theo Parrish
Bonus: A book with a T4T romance:
The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver
A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander
Caroline’s Heart by S.A. Chant
Long Macchiatos and Monsters by Alison Evans
Ship Happens by Mason Deaver
Bonus: A book with a queer trans man main character -
A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander
Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander
Peter Darling by S.A. Chant
Coffee Boy by S.A. Chant
Bonus: A book with a queer trans woman main character -
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
(on my tbr) Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen
(on my tbr) Best Woman by Rose Dommu
Bonus: A book with a trans main character that is Indie -
Read Between the Lines by Bee Medina
Trans Rights Readathon 2026
Transmasc and trans man representation
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander
Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander
Transfemme and trans women rep:
Who I Was with Her by Nita Tyndall
There are two things that Corinne Parker knows to be true: that she is in love with Maggie Bailey, the captain of the rival high school's cross-country team and her secret girlfriend of a year, and that she isn't ready for anyone to know she's bisexual. But then Maggie dies, and Corinne quickly learns that the only thing worse than losing Maggie is being left heartbroken over a relationship no one knows existed. And to make things even more complicated, the only person she can turn to is Elissa--Maggie's ex, and the single person who understands how Corinne is feeling. As Corinne struggles to make sense of her grief and what she truly wants out of life, she begins to have feelings for the last person she should fall for. But to move forward after losing Maggie, Corinne will have to learn to be honest with the people in her life...starting with herself
Awakened by A.E. Osworth
A coven of trans witches battles an evil AI in the magical coming-of-middle-age romp about love, loss, drag shows, and late capitalism.
Nonbinary, Agender, Genderqueer, and Other Gender Expansive Rep
Gender Fluid: Both Can Be True by Jules Machias
Agender - “The Heartbreak Bakery” by A.R. Capetta
Intersectional Trans Rep outside of your own experience
2Spirit, Indigiqueer and Indigenous Gender Expansive Rep
it was never going to be okay by jaye simpson
A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
This book is a riotous mess of emotion: it’s funny and heartbreaking, full of loneliness and loss, harsh one moment and full of gentleness the next. Jonny is a twenty-something Two-Spirit Indigiqueer just living his life, paying the bills with his job as an online sex worker and hanging out with his friends. When his mom’s boyfriend dies, he has a week to find enough money to get back to the rez for the funeral. Over the course of the week, he goes about his life, reflects on his childhood, and shares memories of his mom and grandmother. It’s a thoughtful, introspective novel about a character with a singular voice, pulsing with life.
A Book Featuring Trans Joy, Love, and/or Resistance
Romance: Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao
a steamy slow-burn romance starring a trans woman discovering she’s bi and finding her happily ever after.
Resistance: Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom
A Book About Trans Youth and/or Imagining Trans Futures
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
The Beautiful Something Else by Alder Van Otterloo
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Glitch Girl! by Rainie Oet
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
A Book by or Featuring Trans Elders, or a Trans History Book
A work by or about trans elders, like a memoir or biography, or a trans history book.
The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill (Talks about trans history & elders through trans elder characters)
Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
(On my TBR) A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby
A Book Recommended by a Friend/Bookseller/Librarian
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