Here are 100 books that All That's Left in the World fans have personally recommended if you like
All That's Left in the World.
Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
Growing up, I never saw myself fully represented in fiction. I only glimpsed pieces of my younger self reflected in novels about queer or queer-coded characters, and so I made it my life’s mission to give teenage me exactly what he wanted. As a YA author whose queer male readers are not always young adults, the message I get the most is, “I wish I had this as a teen.” While I often feel this way as well, I still know that reading the five books I recommended (as well as my own) at any age is life-affirming for queer men like myself.
Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time
"A book for warriors, divas, artists, queens, individuals, activists, trend setters, and anyone searching for the courage to be themselves.”—Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.
Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s…
Three friends become caught up in a monkey-worshipping cult when a stone circle suddenly appears overnight next to their home.
The cult is headed by famous racing driver Gordon Smash who disappeared in the Amazon rainforest in the 90s after a stunt went badly wrong. Alongside space tech billionaire Micky…
I grew up in a time when it was nearly unheard of to be out in high school. This led to a very lonely and isolating childhood, with few role models and almost no queer fiction. I'm dedicated to making it easier for the next generation by providing joyful stories about queer people living their best lives. My stories feature proud queer people, where being queer is simply an aspect of their personalities and doesn't dominate the plot. People imitate art, and by providing positive examples of happy queer people, I hope to make the world a more accepting place, one story at a time.
This book was a fascinating, humorous, and emotional look inside the reality TV industry while also being a wonderful queer romance and serious look at mental health and overworking.
I particularly liked that the main characters were flawed and fallible but also loveable, a hard mix to achieve. The story features a bisexual awakening, which is often tricky to pull off well in queer fiction but was handled in an excellent and believable way. While queerness does come up as an issue, since the Bachelor-like contestant is supposedly straight, the topic is handled with grace and rarely dominates the story.
A MOST ANTICIPATED ROM-COM SELECTED BY * BUZZFEED * LGBTQ READS * BUSTLE * THE NERD DAILY * ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT * FROLIC MEDIA * AND MORE!
A BEST BOOK PICK BY * HARPER' S BAZAAR * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"The Charm Offensive will sweep you off your feet." -PopSugar
In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy-reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch-an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it's no wonder then that he's spent his career crafting…
I remember how it was to be an awkward teen, misunderstood, questioning, and having nowhere to turn. I remember living in a violent world where I had to grow up to survive. The world was a scary place for a neurodivergent who lived more in her head than in real life. I want to be able to bring stories to our young people where they might see themselves and not feel so alone because we all are a bit awkward, a bit misunderstood, and filled with stories that deserve to be told.
Coming out to the people you love is difficult enough. Julian comes out to the world in a tweet–and has to live with it the following day when he remembers. Oops.
This is a heartfelt story of a boy trying to find his place in the world despite not being understood by the people who matter most. For Julian, it’s his dad. Funny, heartfelt, and much deserving of a HEA.
A poignant, funny, openhearted novel about coming out, first love, and being your one and only best and true self.
Julian Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life.
Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown-literally-out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his…
When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she can't remember her past, is getting the cold shoulder from her best friend, and has no idea why she keeps repeating the same mistakes across her previous lives. Elliot just wants to move on, but first, she'll be forced to…
I grew up in a time when it was nearly unheard of to be out in high school. This led to a very lonely and isolating childhood, with few role models and almost no queer fiction. I'm dedicated to making it easier for the next generation by providing joyful stories about queer people living their best lives. My stories feature proud queer people, where being queer is simply an aspect of their personalities and doesn't dominate the plot. People imitate art, and by providing positive examples of happy queer people, I hope to make the world a more accepting place, one story at a time.
From the moment I read the first page, I knew I would love this book. Its focus on adventure, romance, and whimsy captivated me, all with a cast of queer characters. While it was undeniably queer, that was never the focus of the conflict and was normalized in this fun fantasy world.
The chemistry between the love interests was sweet and joyful, and the prose was a pleasure to read, filled with humor and quirkiness but also true emotion—a great fantasy romance and adventure filled with queer joy.
"A frothy confection of sea-foam, young love, and derring-do." -NPR
A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.
Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family's kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their…
I grew up in a time when it was nearly unheard of to be out in high school. This led to a very lonely and isolating childhood, with few role models and almost no queer fiction. I'm dedicated to making it easier for the next generation by providing joyful stories about queer people living their best lives. My stories feature proud queer people, where being queer is simply an aspect of their personalities and doesn't dominate the plot. People imitate art, and by providing positive examples of happy queer people, I hope to make the world a more accepting place, one story at a time.
I love a book that pushes my boundaries and allows me to see things from a different perspective in an intimate way, and this book certainly does that.
It features Ander, a non-binary main character who deals with issues of racism and immigration. Despite the heavy topics, the book is filled with tender moments, a wonderful look at Mexican American culture, and is largely a joyous and emotional love story.
The Santos Vista neighbourhood of San Antonio, TX is all Ander Lopez has ever known. The smell of pan dulce, the laughter of kids hitting a pinata at the park, the mixture of Spanish and English filling the streets. And, especially, their job at the family's taqueria. So as the days count down on their gap year until the day they'll leave for art school in Chicago, their head is filled with one relentless question: am I really ready to leave it all behind?
Their family, however, has the opposite worry: to keep them from becoming complacent, they "fire" Ander…
I grew up in a time when it was nearly unheard of to be out in high school. This led to a very lonely and isolating childhood, with few role models and almost no queer fiction. I'm dedicated to making it easier for the next generation by providing joyful stories about queer people living their best lives. My stories feature proud queer people, where being queer is simply an aspect of their personalities and doesn't dominate the plot. People imitate art, and by providing positive examples of happy queer people, I hope to make the world a more accepting place, one story at a time.
This book is solid queer joy, filled with the sweetest and most loveable characters. While the book is short and written in the hi-lo style, it's still filled with true emotion and a wonderful message.
I read this book in a single sitting in an afternoon and loved it so much that I went right back to page one and read it again. Sometimes, books should simply be written as an example to others of how they should act. If the whole world were as caring and sweet as these two boys and their families, it would be a much happier and more accepting place.
"…hilarious and an all-around enjoyable read... Highly recommended for hi-lo readers who loved Heartstopper." ― ★ starred review, School Library Journal
Stuck With You is a story of Queer joy and a playful teen romance, following two frenemies as they fall for each other while stuck in adjacent seats on a day-long train trip.
Ben is on a train back to Ottawa after a visit with his dad in Toronto when he runs into the last person he wanted to see: Caleb, the handsome, confident boy who recently and accidentally broke Ben’s phone. Preoccupied by worrying about whether he should…
For those who enjoy fantasy adventure, the Faerie Tales from the White Forest series offers a new twist on the traditional faerie tales so loved by young readers.
From devastating curses to death-defying quests, Brigitta and her growing collective of misfit friends face greater and greater challenges when destiny calls…
I love people who are totally lost because they are on the brink of their greatest discovery–their true nature. Even as a little boy I remember seeing that everyone has a purpose in life, but that is hidden to them. I have always felt that every step of the way, life seems to be a little off-track. But through authentic stories, I came to an understanding that right now, everyone is doing great things with their lives, even if they can’t see it.
I love the main character’s horrible, deep, dark depression. Aaron’s life as a kid in the projects of New York City means he can’t be gay. So many bad things happen to Aaron that he wants to get a procedure to erase parts of his memory.
I love that just as it seems like Aaron’s life, his friends, his romantic life, his mom and brother, all seem to be somewhat in balance, everything goes to shit and his life is worse than he thought. His father, who he thought died of a heart attack, actually killed himself in the bathtub they use every day.
In the first version of the book, the ending is so sad and depressing, the author went back and added a new chapter just to give me some hope for Aaron. The updated ending is amazing.
A special Deluxe Edition of Adam Silvera’s groundbreaking debut featuring an introduction by Angie Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give; a new final chapter, "More Happy Ending"; and an afterword about where it all began.
In his twisty, heartbreaking, profoundly moving New York Times bestselling debut, Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.
In the months following his father's suicide, sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto can’t seem to find happiness again, despite the support of his girlfriend, Genevieve, and his overworked mom. Grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist won’t…
Growing up, I never saw myself fully represented in fiction. I only glimpsed pieces of my younger self reflected in novels about queer or queer-coded characters, and so I made it my life’s mission to give teenage me exactly what he wanted. As a YA author whose queer male readers are not always young adults, the message I get the most is, “I wish I had this as a teen.” While I often feel this way as well, I still know that reading the five books I recommended (as well as my own) at any age is life-affirming for queer men like myself.
Sass’s first novel, Surrender Your Sons, is a
favorite of mine, so it’s no surprise that this book,
a queer horror novel reminiscent of Scream, is a riot and an absolute page-turner.
It contains all the best elements of slasher movies and
teen comedies alike, and unabashedly gay characters with wit and sharp edges kept
me invested all the way until the story’s climactic ending.
Scream meets Clueless in this YA horror from Adam Sass in which two gay teen BFFs find their friendship tested when a serial killer starts targeting their school’s Queer Club.
Dearie and Cole are inseparable, unlikeable, and (in bad luck for them) totally unbelievable.
From the day they met, Dearie and Cole have been two against the world. But whenever something bad happens at Stone Grove High School, they get blamed. Why? They’re beautiful, flirtatious, dangerously clever queen bees, and they’re always ready to call out their fellow students. But they’ve never faced a bigger threat than surviving senior year,…
I love reading and writing books set in the near future in apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic settings. These days, they don’t feel far away or unlikely. I like the idea that even if the world falls apart and things are terrible, one of the things worth fighting for is love. Love, beauty, and hope can be found in expected ways and make life worth living. As someone who grew up reading about dark historical times and dark future times, I’ve wanted to find ways to connect to less bleak versions of a possible future. While there are dozens of stories about survival and hardship, these stories of love and hope fill me with optimism.
I loved that we got to the main story so quickly and its unique beginning.
A man kidnaps his pretty neighbor and locks her in a cage in his basement to keep her safe from a deadly virus. This is chapter one. Her rage-fueled reaction to this felt authentic, and until the pandemic kills almost everyone, bringing about the end of the world, we are on her side.
I love the banter and dynamics between the two main characters, who might have dated before the end of the world if they’d been brave enough to connect, but only met because of the abduction. When they emerge into the new world together, I love that they choose to stick together, rebuild, and include others.
This book could have been bleak, but instead, like the wildflowers, it is surprisingly sweet and hopeful.
Don’t miss this heart pounding apocalyptic romance from New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott!
There’s only one person Dean Wallace wants to save from the end of the world: sunshine girl from across the street. She’s always smiling. Who knows, maybe she can teach him a thing or two about how to live? But saving her against her will is harder than he expected.
Astrid Hardy doesn’t know what to think when she wakes up in her hot neighbor’s basement. He says he wants to protect her from the deadly virus threatening to collapse society. But that sounds like…
Kindle Book Award Finalist. Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist. Gotham Writers' YA Novel Discovery Contest Finalist. B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree
Brigit Quinn has always felt like an outsider. Growing up in a small town where her mom’s pagan practices are the stuff of local gossip, she’s spent her whole life trying…
Found family changed my life, allowing me to find acceptance for the real, messy, complicated me. I believe everyone should have that experience. I’ve struggled with anxiety and panic disorder for my entire life, something that was never understood by my family growing up. As I worked to understand my own mental health struggles, it was the people who came into my life with love and compassion who helped me accept that I was never broken. I want every reader to feel that when they read one of my books. Chasing Eleanor was inspired by all five of these book recommendations, with adventure and found family at its heart.
This World War II story with a mystical twist had me fascinated and invested the whole way through.
Yona lives as a girl of the wilderness and finds herself fighting to protect Jewish refugees who have escaped the ghettos. With her knowledge of the forest, she vows to protect her found family, though surviving the German winter proves very dangerous.
The lengths Yona goes for people she just met tugged at my heartstrings, and the unique setting felt almost otherworldly. With a touch of folklore, this story keeps your head in the stars, but your heart grounded to Earth.
Parade “Best Books of Summer” pick * Real Simple pick * She Reads “Best WWII Fiction of Summer 2021” pick
The New York Times bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything.
After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after…
