21 best-selling lgbt books like Both Can Be True by Jules Machias

Cover of Both Can Be True by Jules Machias

Both Can Be True

By: Jules Machias

4.04

Format: 368 pages, Hardcover

Two kids join forces to save a dog . . . but wind up saving each other. Ash is no stranger to fe…

"Gender nonbinary sounds so restrictive. Like your gender can either be binary or not binary. Which...is a binary"

-Jules Machias, Both Can Be True

"Gender nonbinary sounds so restrictive. Like your gender can either be binary or not binary. Which...is a binary"

-Jules Machias, Both Can Be True

"I finish tweaking my lyrics, then title the song 'Half-way Through the Crossfade.' I record myself playing it on the keyboard and singing it. It feels good. It feels right .I'm saying my truth, and I'm not afraid people won't like it. In fact, I hope it makes people think. I hope it's a light in the dark for anyone who feels like they have to be one thing or the other when both can be true."

-Jules Machias, Both Can Be True

"I finish tweaking my lyrics, then title the song 'Half-way Through the Crossfade.' I record myself playing it on the keyboard and singing it. It feels good. It feels right .I'm saying my truth, and I'm not afraid people won't like it. In fact, I hope it makes people think. I hope it's a light in the dark for anyone who feels like they have to be one thing or the other when both can be true."

-Jules Machias, Both Can Be True

If you liked the lgbt plot in Both Can Be True by Jules Machias , here is a list of 21 books like this:

Cover of The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey

1. The Other Boy

By: M.G. Hennessey

3.44

Format: 213 pages, ebook

A heartfelt and timely middle grade story about a transgender boy's journey toward acceptance and e… read more

Similar categories in M.G. Hennessey's The Other Boy book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
Cover of Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass

2. Ellen Outside the Lines

By: A.J. Sass

4.37

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

A novel about a neurodivergent thirteen-year-old navigating changing friendships, a school trip, an… read more

Similar categories in A.J. Sass's Ellen Outside the Lines book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"Not every person fits neatly into categories. Life doesn't always stick to a planned itinerary."

-A.J. Sass, Ellen Outside the Lines

Cover of The Science of Being Angry by Nicole Melleby

3. The Science of Being Angry

By: Nicole Melleby

4.11

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

Eleven-year-old Joey is angry. All the time. And she doesn’t understand why. She has two loving mom… read more

Similar categories in Nicole Melleby's The Science of Being Angry book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass

4. Ana on the Edge

By: A.J. Sass

4.38

Format: 380 pages, Hardcover

Perfect for fans of George and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the a heartfelt coming of age story about … read more

Similar categories in A.J. Sass's Ana on the Edge book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of Act Cool by Tobly McSmith

5. Act Cool

By: Tobly McSmith

3.79

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

Named a Rainbow Book List Title and one of Bank Street Children's Best Books of the Year. A tran… read more

Similar categories in Tobly McSmith's Act Cool book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • romance
  • audiobook
  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"My reality is that I was born in the wrong body. Their reality is an old book full of rules, and if you follow the rules then you go to heaven. How real is that? More real than me?"

-Tobly McSmith, Act Cool

"Love can be good and beautiful, like me and Davina. But sometimes it can be a fever dream running hot and cold, leaving you with art that looks like someone took a poop on a canvas."

-Tobly McSmith, Act Cool

"Each trans and nonbinary person is like a unique and beautiful snowflake. Some people are more comfortable in their body and don’t need surgery or hormone therapy, and others do. No one way is right …"

-Tobly McSmith, Act Cool

Cover of Camp QUILTBAG by Nicole Melleby

6. Camp QUILTBAG

By: Nicole Melleby

4.10

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

From the acclaimed authors of Hurricane Season and Ana on the Edge, an unforgettable story about th… read more

Similar categories in Nicole Melleby's Camp QUILTBAG book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • audiobook
  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of The Insiders by Mark Oshiro

7. The Insiders

By: Mark Oshiro

4.16

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

Three kids who don’t belong. A room that shouldn’t exist. A year that will change everything. Pe… read more

Similar categories in Mark Oshiro's The Insiders book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • audiobook
  • lgbt
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"Be yourself. Be over the top. Outlast them. Show them that no amount of fear will ever make you chance who you are."

-Mark Oshiro, The Insiders

"Be yourself. Be over the top. Outlast them. Show them that no amount of fear will ever make you change who you are."

-Mark Oshiro, The Insiders

Cover of Out of the Blue by Jason June

8. Out of the Blue

By: Jason June

3.62

Format: 375 pages, Hardcover

Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the monthlong sojourn on land all teen merfolk must un… read more

Similar categories in Jason June's Out of the Blue book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • romance
  • audiobook
  • lgbt
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"The blue knows what it's doing, if you just trust where it's taking you."

-Jason June, Out of the Blue

"Maybe humans aren't as magicless as I thought. There's definitely some kind of power in movies."

-Jason June, Out of the Blue

"Under the sea, we're all mer. We're all they/them. And we don't have this strange obsession with sex organs, since we don't have any."

-Jason June, Out of the Blue

"He? Elder Crab warned us about this. About humans' obsession with gender, and how labels and rules mean so much to them when it comes to the body."

-Jason June, Out of the Blue

Cover of Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper

9. Small Town Pride

By: Phil Stamper

4.15

Format: 272 pages, Hardcover

From acclaimed author Phil Stamper (The Gravity of Us and As Far as You'll Take Me) comes a poignan… read more

Similar categories in Phil Stamper's Small Town Pride book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • audiobook
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"If people can wear their hate so proudly on their sleeve, why can't I wear acceptance in the same way?" (pg.137)"

-Phil Stamper, Small Town Pride

Cover of Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff

10. Different Kinds of Fruit

By: Kyle Lukoff

4.08

Format: 313 pages, Hardcover

In this funny and hugely heartfelt novel from a Stonewall Award winner, a sixth-grader’s life is tu… read more

Similar categories in Kyle Lukoff's Different Kinds of Fruit book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • audiobook
  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of Both Can Be True by Jules Machias

11. Both Can Be True

By: Jules Machias

4.04

Format: 368 pages, Hardcover

Two kids join forces to save a dog . . . but wind up saving each other. Ash is no stranger to fe… read more

Similar categories in Jules Machias's Both Can Be True book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • romance
  • audiobook
  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"Gender nonbinary sounds so restrictive. Like your gender can either be binary or not binary. Which...is a binary"

-Jules Machias, Both Can Be True

"I finish tweaking my lyrics, then title the song 'Half-way Through the Crossfade.' I record myself playing it on the keyboard and singing it. It feels good. It feels right .I'm saying my truth, and I…"

-Jules Machias, Both Can Be True

"I want to be as laid-back about gender as they are. But I'm not laid-back at all, thanks to Dad. I'm Ashley or I'm Asher and that's that. While I'm switching, for that week or so, everything feels gr…"

-Jules Machias, Both Can Be True

Cover of Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

12. Zenobia July

By: Lisa Bunker

4.10

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

The critically acclaimed author of Felix Yz crafts a bold, heartfelt story about a trans girl solvi… read more

Similar categories in Lisa Bunker's Zenobia July book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • audiobook
  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of Thanks a Lot, Universe (Thanks a Lot, Universe, #1) by Chad Lucas

13. Thanks a Lot, Universe (Thanks a Lot, Universe, #1)

By: Chad Lucas

4.22

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

A moving middle-grade debut for anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t belong. Brian has always … read more

Similar categories in Chad Lucas's Thanks a Lot, Universe (Thanks a Lot, Universe, #1) book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • romance
  • audiobook
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"And mayonnaise is the whitest food."

-Chad Lucas, Thanks a Lot, Universe (Thanks a Lot, Universe, #1)

"...you can love someone an awful lot and hurt them all the same"

-Chad Lucas, Thanks a Lot, Universe (Thanks a Lot, Universe, #1)

"What? Oh.’ My cheeks went warm. ‘I did it without thinking..’ Mom smiled. ‘I know. You do that sometimes, until you get self-conscious and stop. But you don’t need to hide the things that make you ha…"

-Chad Lucas, Thanks a Lot, Universe (Thanks a Lot, Universe, #1)

Cover of Hazel's Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

14. Hazel's Theory of Evolution

By: Lisa Jenn Bigelow

4.27

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

Perfect for fans of The Thing About Jellyfish and Raymie Nightingale, this tender middle grade nove… read more

Similar categories in Lisa Jenn Bigelow's Hazel's Theory of Evolution book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • audiobook
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"The sky was dusty blue. A soft breeze came through the screen. Crickets chirped, and I heard the distant whistle of a train."

-Lisa Jenn Bigelow, Hazel's Theory of Evolution

"Hope was a huge hill you climbed higher every day. And when something went wrong, it was like getting pushed off a cliff. The higher you’d climbed, the farther you fell, and the more broken you were …"

-Lisa Jenn Bigelow, Hazel's Theory of Evolution

Cover of This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us by Katherine  Locke

15. This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us

By: Katherine Locke

4.16

Format: 288 pages, Kindle Edition

The first LGBTQIA+ anthology for middle-graders featuring stories for every letter of the acronym, … read more

Similar categories in Katherine Locke's This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • lgbt
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow

16. Almost Flying

By: Jake Maia Arlow

4.32

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

In this unabashedly queer middle grade debut, a week-long amusement park road trip becomes a true r… read more

Similar categories in Jake Maia Arlow's Almost Flying book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • romance
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael Leali

17. The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

By: Michael Leali

4.30

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

A heartfelt debut novel about a boy's attempt to find himself in the history he loves--perfect for … read more

Similar categories in Michael Leali's The Civil War of Amos Abernathy book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • audiobook
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
"Just because a bunch of mostly white men hammered history into one shape, it doesn’t mean they got it right."

-Michael Leali, The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

"Maybe, if we want things to change, we have to stop waiting. Maybe we just need to do something about it ourselves."

-Michael Leali, The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

"As long as there are people on the planet, life will be unfair, but that doesn’t mean we have to put up with hatred or bigotry."

-Michael Leali, The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

"Most all my life, I have blindly accepted what was written in history books and taught in classes. I didn’t think to ask if there was more to the story."

-Michael Leali, The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

Cover of Spin with Me by Ami Polonsky

18. Spin with Me

By: Ami Polonsky

3.75

Format: 224 pages, Hardcover

From the author of the critically acclaimed Gracefully Grayson comes a thoughtful and sensitive mid… read more

Similar categories in Ami Polonsky's Spin with Me book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • romance
  • audiobook
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of The Paper Boys by D.P. Clarence

19. The Paper Boys

By: D.P. Clarence

4.29

Format: 358 pages, Kindle Edition

Don’t hold the front page. Hold the guy who wrote it. Sunny Miller’s dream job on London’s Fleet S… read more

Similar categories in D.P. Clarence's The Paper Boys book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • romance
  • lgbt
  • young adult
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of Acting the Part by Z.R. Ellor

20. Acting the Part

By: Z.R. Ellor

2.77

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

This delightfully tropey teen romance, perfect for fans of Ashley Poston and Lyla Lee, follows a qu… read more

Similar categories in Z.R. Ellor's Acting the Part book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • romance
  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer
Cover of The One Who Loves You the Most by Medina

21. The One Who Loves You the Most

By: Medina

3.92

Format: 256 pages, Hardcover

I have never felt like I belonged to my body. Never in the way rhythm belongs to a song or waves be… read more

Similar categories in Medina's The One Who Loves You the Most book and Jules Machias's Both Can Be True

  • transgender
  • lgbt
  • realistic fiction
  • middle grade
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • queer

20 Best fiction books like Both Can Be True by Jules Machias

Transform Your Habits

The Other Boy

M.G. Hennessey

3.44

Transform Your Habits

Ellen Outside the Lines

A.J. Sass

4.37

Transform Your Habits

The Science of Being Angry

Nicole Melleby

4.11

Transform Your Habits

Ana on the Edge

A.J. Sass

4.38

View all the books

20 Top fiction books like Camp QUILTBAG by Nicole Melleby

Transform Your Habits

Ellen Outside the Lines

A.J. Sass

4.37

Transform Your Habits

Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston

Esme Symes-Smith

4.43

Transform Your Habits

Ana on the Edge

A.J. Sass

4.38

Transform Your Habits

The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet

Jake Maia Arlow

4.19

View all the books

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