In decades past, the world of queer YA literature comprised cautionary tales and sob stories. Thankfully, these two novels stand out for their uplifting and romantic perspectives.

Sometimes there's nothing better than a funny, sweet romantic comedy, and How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom by S.J. Goslee delivers.

Sixteen-year-old Nolan Grant would be content to secretly crush on the handsome Si while making art, working at the gardening store and hanging with his adoptive family during their board game tournaments and pancake marathons. But his older sister, Daphne, has other plans. 

When Nolan is pressured into a very public promposal orchestrated by Daphne, things go horribly wrong. Instead of asking Si, Nolan accidentally asks Ira "Bern" Bernstein, a bad boy everyone (including Bern himself) thinks is straight, as he recently split with his girlfriend. When Bern accepts, Nolan finds himself in a pickle. To keep up appearances, he has to pretend to date Bern until prom night. Meanwhile, the Gay-Straight Alliance—which Nolan reluctantly joins in his ongoing effort to impress Si—taps Nolan's art talents for the prom after-party, and the situation between Nolan and Bern might be on its way to becoming real.

As the prom approaches, art projects go awry, siblings squabble and a budding romance overturns everyone's expectations. Will prom night be everything Daphne has in mind for Nolan, or will nothing go as planned? And when everything starts to go wrong, does that mean that everything's actually going right? Comedy, romance and feel-good family dynamics combine in what's sure to be one of this summer's most fun YA reads.

Things take a turn toward the fabulous in Tanya Boteju's Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens. Biracial teen Nima Kumara-Clark anticipates another boring summer of working, hanging out with her best friend and hoping to win the affections of her crush, Ginny. But when Nima takes a chance and sees an unusual act featuring drag queens at her town's annual festival, she meets the mesmerizing Winnow and is instantly smitten. 

Hoping to see Winnow again, Nima follows her to a drag show, where she connects with Deidre, a drag queen who takes Nima under her wing. What follows is a summer that's anything but what Nima expected. Attending drag shows awakens her, and soon she's ready to do more than just watch. 

As Nima learns the art of being a drag king—a woman who dresses and performs as a man—she also gains new knowledge about long-hidden family secrets, her friends and even herself. Why did her mother leave her family, with only the briefest of notes, a year and a half ago? Why has Gordon, once a friend, become so bitter and distant? And why, if Nima's confident that she likes girls, does being labeled a lesbian feel so awkward?

Boteju uses her own life experience in the world of drag to tell a story filled with glitter, feather boas, lip-syncing and dancing, where gender identity is flexible and performance is the embodiment of joy.

One of the few things 17-year-old Nima knows for sure is that she's gay. She doesn't know what made her mother leave a year and a half earlier, how she's going to spend the summer before her senior year after being rejected by her crush, or why she keeps running into Gordon, a childhood friend turned bully. Then she visits the small town's summer festival and meets glamorous drag queen Deidre, spellbinding drag king Winnow, and a whole world—just a bus ride away—of people who perform, loud and proud, in and out of drag. All-loving, all-knowing Deidre is a fantasy possessing the power to turn Nima into the drag king she didn't know she wanted to be, and to help Gordon, who's drawn to drag, begin coping with his homophobic attitudes. Debut author Boteju lays on the small-town atmosphere a little thickly at times (everyone knows everyone, and Nima reads as naive), but watching Nima and her nervous stomach find the nerve to perform and maybe even pursue a girl who likes her back is satisfying. And who doesn't need a glamorous drag queen fairy godmother? Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (May)

Gr 7 Up—Nima is a biracial shy, nerdy lesbian who uncharacteristically breaks into the drag scene after getting a glimpse of a queens and kings sideshow at a summer festival. Recently wounded by a crush's rejection, Nima feels both terrified and determined when there is an obvious mutual attraction with the drag king star. A charismatic queen named Deidre guides Nima to the understanding that unconditional love is possible and labels are unnecessary. Along the way, a colorful cast of LGBTQIA+ characters welcome and/or perplex Nima, but they always help her grow her self-confidence. At times these characters are so numerous, it's difficult to distinguish them all, but a little backtracking or note-taking is worth the effort. Although the action is minimal, this is an excellent character study and a primer for drag shows. VERDICT This successful presentation of the highs, lows, and midways of a teen finding her place in queer culture will appeal to readers who appreciate a character-driven light romance.—Elaine Fultz, Madison Jr. Sr. High School, Middletown, OH