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Recommending LGBTQ+ Middle Grade

Looking after the LGBTQ+ YA section at Foyles, and seeing how well it's done, I've also worked on trying to put together lists of other queer titles in the Children's Department and try to make sure we've got stock in, in order to recommend titles if we're asked. As it's Pride Month, I thought I'd share some of those lists, so you can stock up for the younger readers in your life.

Today, I'm here with a list of LGBTQ+ middlegrade novels! The only books I'm including here are books either with LGBTQ+ protagonists, or, if not, that have prominent LGBTQ+ themes, rather than incidental, background rep. I love middlegrade with same-gender parents, for example, but if they're in the background, and it's not relevant to the story, that's great, and they definitely have their place, but I want to highlight books that LGBTQ+ middlegrade readers can see themselves in, or themes that are relevant. So on we go with the recommendations!

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Review: The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan

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The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan

Published: 9th May 2019 | Publisher: Little Island Books | Source: Bought
Meg Grehan on Twitter

Stevie is eleven and loves reading and sea-creatures. She lives with her mum, and she's been best friends with Andrew since forever. Stevie's mum teases her that someday they'll get married, but Stevie knows that won't ever happen.

There's a girl at school that she likes more. A lot more. Actually, she's a bit confused about how much she likes her. It's nothing like the way she likes Andrew. It makes her fizz inside. That's a new feeling, one she doesn't understand.

Stevie needs to find out if girls can like girls - love them, even - but it's hard to get any information, and she's too shy to ask out loud about it. But maybe she can find an answer in a book. With the help of a librarian, Stevie finds stories of girls loving girls, and builds up her courage to share the truth with her mum.

Written in accessible verse 'chapters' and in a warm and reassuring style, The Deepest Breath will be of special relevance to young girls who are starting to realise that they are attracted to other girls, but it is also a story for any young reader with an open mind who wants to understand how people's emotions affect their lives. From The StoryGraph.

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The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features anxiety and panic attacks.

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Review: Nevermore: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Nevermore: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (eProof) - Enter the Wundrous world of Morrigan Crow and Nevermoor - the most fantastical children's release of the year.

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks - and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart - an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city and confront her deadly fate once and for all.

Perfect for fans of the Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials, this series takes readers into an extraordinary world, setting hope and imagination alive. From Goodreads.

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Review: See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng (eProof) - A funny, luminous, utterly moving novel about a space-obsessed boy, his dog Carl Sagan, and a journey toward family, love, hope, and awe.

11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan - named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing. And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can only partially prepare him for the secrets he'll uncover - from the truth about his long-dead dad to the fact that, for a kid with a troubled mom and a mostly not-around brother, he has way more family than he ever knew. From Goodreads.

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Review: Starring Kitty by Keris Stainton

Starring Kitty by Keris Stainton - Sometimes the greatest love stories happen behind the scenes…

Kitty's keeping secrets. Like how she's struggling to cope with her mum's illness. And how she's falling for the girl with the purpley-red hair... A fun film competition with her friends Sunny and Hannah seems like the perfect distraction. But then Dylan wants to be more than Kitty's secret. Is Kitty ready to let her two worlds meet or will she risk losing Dylan forever? From Goodreads

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