5 of My Favorite Books By and About Nonbinary People
I have to admit that we’re a week into the second Trump presidency and I already feel overwhelmed. Let me bring you behind the curtain a bit: this is the place where I usually do paid subscriber-exclusive content for the Our Queerest Shelves newsletter. But all I can think about is the transphobia that this administration has already been spouting, and my heart is breaking for everyone affected. I want to promote queer books more than ever, especially trans and nonbinary books, but it feels wrong to put anything about them behind a paywall. And at the same time, this newsletter depends on paid subscribers. I can’t ignore that if I want Our Queerest Shelves to continue.
I don’t know what to do in the next four years. But here’s the messy compromise I’m doing today. I’m going to tell you five of my favorite books by nonbinary authors, which are also each about nonbinary people. Then, behind the paywall, I’ll tell you about why I liked them so much. That way, if you’re not a paid subscriber, you can still look them up.
These are just a few of my favorite nonbinary books. There are so many incredible books out there by and about nonbinary people that explore that galaxy of constellations that gender can be—because I don’t need to tell you that there are more than two genders, despite what any bigots in power may claim. These range from nonfiction about gender to a cozy magical YA novel set at a bakery to a harrowing horror novel.
Here are five of my favorite books by and about nonbinary people.
Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing
Gender Failure by Rae Spoon & Ivan E. Coyote
The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta
Model Home by Rivers Solomon
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
All Access members can read on for more about each of these. Members also get access to all the bonus content across 20+ Book Riot Newsletters.
Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing
I thought I’d start out with a couple of books that are explicitly about gender. This graphic nonfiction book is the result of interviews with people across the United States about how they describe their own relationship to gender. It includes interviews with cisgender and transgender people, and it demonstrates how no two people have the same conception of their gender. I think this would be a great book to give to someone who sincerely would like to learn more about how gender is so much more complex than a binary.
Gender Failure by Rae Spoon & Ivan E. Coyote
This joint memoir by two fantastic nonbinary storytellers is such a gift. I was able to go to their show of the same name, and it was an unforgettable experience. This book is based on that live show and uses lyrics, images, and essays to follow both authors’ journey with gender over time and how they tried and failed to fit into the gender binary. Ultimately, they explain how rigid gender roles harm all of us.
The Heartbreak Bakery by A. R. Capetta
Of course, books by nonbinary authors don’t have to be focused on gender. This cozy YA novel with a dose of magic is one of the most comforting books I’ve ever read, and it stars an agender main character with a genderfluid love interest. When Syd (no pronouns) bakes brownies after a breakup, anyone who eats them ends their romantic relationship. With the help of bike delivery person Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin), the two of them try to find everyone who ate a brownie and repair the damage.
Model Home by Rivers Solomon
For a dramatic tonal shift, there’s this harrowing horror novel with a nonbinary main character. Please check the content warnings before picking this one up. In particular, for child sexual assault. This is a queer, trans haunted house story that is more about the aftermath of being haunted—and real-life horrors—than it is about the setting. It’s a powerfully written, unsettling, and unforgettable read that I cannot get out of my head.
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
This beautiful, genre-defying book is part memoir of a mixed-race nonbinary scientist and part science writing about marine biology. By braiding these two threads together, though, it’s more than the sum of its parts. It explores queer people as shapeshifters, as swarms, as immortal. I savored these essays and never wanted the collection to end. Even if you aren’t usually a reader of science writing—I usually am not—I highly recommend picking this one up.
What are your favorite books by nonbinary authors? Let’s chat in the comments!
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