6 Queer Historical YA Romances

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages, edited by Saundra Mitchell
Do you want stories about queer teens across all of time? (But not all of space…at least, not yet. Can somebody get me a time-traveling queer teen anthology?) Then you want the brand-new All Out, a collection of historical stories about queer teens edited by Saundra Mitchell. While not every narrative features a romance, there are multiple stories that do—including forbidden love at a Spanish convent and two girls falling in love over Kurt Cobain. The collection features queer authors across the spectrum, from Malinda Lo to Anna-Marie McLemore to Kody Keplinger to Tessa Gratton. If you’re interested in queer historical stories, and especially romances, this collection is a must-read.

Silhouette of a Sparrow, by Molly Beth Griffin

The winner of the Milkweed Prize and the Paterson Prize and a finalist for the LAMBDA Literary Award, Silhouette of a Sparrow follows sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson in 1926. At a lake resort to escape the polio epidemic, Garnet wants to visit the new amusement park, but is instead trapped under the supervision of her father’s wealthy cousin. To escape, she takes a job in a hat shop. There, she meets Isabelle, a beautiful flapper girl Garnet can’t help but fall for. Think of it as a variation on Dirty Dancing, except set in the 20s and featuring flappers.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee

It’s the gay adventure across Europe you never knew you needed. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue made a splash when it came out—pun unintentional—last year. After yet another scandal, Monty’s father sends him on a grand tour of Europe to burn off his excess energy…and to say goodbye to his sister and his best friend, Percy, who will each be sent away at the end of the year, Felicity to boarding school and Percy somewhere far worse. Instead of behaving on the tour, the trio ends up in massive trouble after they accidentally mess up the plans of a group hunting for a legendary item, sending them on the run—a flight that might give Monty just enough time to sort out his feelings for Percy.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Can you make a list of queer historical romance without including Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe—aka, the book so plastered with awards you can barely see the cover? This absolutely sweet, heart-wrenching story follows the high school summers of Ari and Dante, two Mexican boys who meet at a pool. The story follows the highs and lows of their relationship, their increasingly complicated feelings for each other, and what happens when the rest of the world expects you to love somebody else. Aristotle and Dante features some of my favorite families in YA, and the audiobook—narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda—is a delight.

​Lies We Tell Ourselves, by Robin Talley
“For eighteen years I’ve believed what other people told me about what was right and what was wrong. From now. I’m deciding.” Before Talley’s queer contemporary reimagining of Macbeth, there was Lies We Tell Ourselves. In small-town Virginia in 1959, classmates Sarah and Linda don’t want anything to do with each other. Forced together for a school project, they couldn’t be less alike: Sarah is one of the first black students attending the previously all-white Jefferson High School; Linda a white girl whose vile father is one of their town’s loudest voices in support of segregation. But as they get to know each other, they realize it’s not just friendship they’re feeling, but something more—something forbidden.

Honey Girl, by Lisa Freeman

Picture a queer romance set on the beach. In 1972. With surfing, an intense Mean Girls vibe, and mentions of star signs on every page. Sound up your alley? Congratulations: you need Honey Girl! After her father dies and her mother uproots and moves them to Santa Monica, Nani’s only wish is to follow her own set of rules, an unspoken list that turned her into queen of the beach when she lived in Hawaii. But with secrets of her own piling up alongside a growing affection for Rox, the current queen supreme, becoming head of this beach might be more difficult than she anticipated.