Meels wrote: "Anushka wrote: "Micheal wrote: "Man, is every one of these books on the list LGBT? Is there a book that's come out this year with a straight male mc?"

Actually, majority of the books, especially r..."

Most lgbt+ books are written by Lgbt+ authors so writing a book about themself it's a trend? False? This is embarrassing

Emary wrote: "Me too!"

What do you mean by "titles for YA boys/girls"? Books are for everyone that likes to read them regardless of their gender

Emary wrote: "Me too!"

Deb wrote: "I see this time and again — lots of titles for YA girls, and few for YA boys. Publishers are neglecting the YA male audience and then there are fewer titles to review, and thus fewer to recommend. ..."

Pretty sure girls have been reading fiction "about" boys for centuries, why can't boys read fiction "about" girls?

Kasia wrote: Well they are here now and you're still complaining about their existence, what is it with you people? You don't know what oppression is because you've never been oppressed.

I never got the impression that she was complaining about the actual books, just questioning the authenticity of if the author is writing it because that is what THEY want to write, or if they're simply appealing to what audiences want at the time. As someone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, I think it's a perfectly valid opinion to have. I'd rather have LGBTQ+ characters that come from authors who are interested in writing them, then ones thrown in books to fulfill a checklist.

Also, for all the people confused about what Deb said about there being less books for YA boys, target audiences exist! And most of those target audiences have gender in mind. Yes, even though boys can enjoy My Little Pony, its target audience is young girls. She's just saying (presumably) that there should be more YA books targeted to boys or general audiences, instead of just for girls.

If you still can't tell the difference between what is targeted to boys vs. what is targeted to girls, I'm not sure if I can help you there. MLP is targeted to girls, Pokémon was originally targeted to boys. I am a woman and I like both. Doesn't mean there shouldn't be stuff targeted to boys specifically just because they technically can enjoy a sappy romance written for girls.

Books certainly can be "gendered" based on its intended target audience, although everyone is more than welcome to read them.

Karen wrote: "I agree! I have grandsons who love to read. I'm turning again and again to old favourites. Just bought used copies of the Children of the Lamp series. John Grisham's Theodore Boone books were a hit..."

How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Anything by Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Mike Lupica.

Those are just some of the most popular books that I see getting checked out by boys at my library. There are still lots of books being written that are more targeted towards boy, but books can be more than a mirror they make great windows into other peoples' experiences.

Abby wrote: "Haven't read this one yet, but it seems really interesting and I've wanted to read it for a while
Cinder"

Absolutely loved this series!

All of the titles you mentioned are upper middle grade or junior high level--I would not call them YA by the current definition. I agree, though, that they're titles popular with boys, but 8-12 year olds, not 14-18 year olds.

YA boy readers generally move on to read adult fare rather than staying within the YA genre. I like to read YA books and prefer the more adventure type stories but also struggle to think of any with a male MC that I've read lately. Some from the last few years include -
Philip Reeve - Railhead trilogy
Mark Smith - The Road to Winter trilogy
Robert Muchamore - Killer T & Robin Hood: Hacking, Heists & Flaming Arrows
Markus Sedgwick - Saint Death
M.T. Anderson - The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge
James Bow - Icarus Down
Candy Gourlay - Bone Talk
Catherine Jinks - Shepherd
Justine Larbalestier - My Sister Rosa
Gareth Ward - The Traitor and the Thief trilogy
and a couple of older ones from Irish writers -
Oisin McGann - Ancient Appetites (2015)
Peadar Ó Guilín - The Inferior (2008)

Danial wrote: "Kristen wrote: "We often talk about representation in all sorts of arts...the main character was so predominately the strong straight white male for a long time, and there wasn't a lot for girls or..."

I don't think that what you said about how there are more LGBTQ+ books than LGBTQ+ people is true. Sexuality/gender is a spectrum, and is not binary. as an LGBTQ+ person myself, I can confirm there are WAY more queer people out there than you think, and kids, which YA books are aimed at, are much more comfortable identifying as queer. Representation is important for everyone (hence, I agree that there should be more representation for all cultures as well, including Iranian representation). I also don't understand how more representation in books/film can be harmful to LGBTQ+ people and Black people-- in fact, I think normalizing diversity is one of the MOST important things that novels can do for these causes.

The (sadly, only two...) books I've read on this list:
- Cemetery Boys!
- LEGENDBORN!!!!!!

Lots of people being incredibly dishonest, we all understand that men and women on average have different reading preferences, the same people will use their gender to reinforce their opinion but dismiss the concept when its not in their interest.

Kerry wrote: "YA boy readers generally move on to read adult fare rather than staying within the YA genre. I like to read YA books and prefer the more adventure type stories but also struggle to think of any wit..."

I think the original comment made a pretty good point that left me thinking a bit. While I definitely like all the new releases these days and I am glad for the diversity, YA novels really are influenced by the current cultural climate. We have more diverse readers now of all sexualities and backgrounds. However, I myself being a fan of YA can see a certain gendered trend.

Most readers in the YA book community are women. Most popular BookTubers are women. Hence, the cover designs, stories, protagonists etc are naturally going to skew slightly towards that demographic. Not that it is wrong to have a female protagonist! I am glad for the representation but I think OP made a valid point. The YA publishing industry knows who their biggest supporters are and they're not going to ignore them. YA stories with male protagonists have not been as popular as the mainstream YA Fantasy series like Throne of Glass or Cinder

I also find it hard to recall what YA novels specifically have male protagonists. I've read the previous comments saying that Rick Riordan is not technically YA and neither is Diary of a Wimpy Kid. And come to think of it...have we seen any YA novels with a cisgender heterosexual male protagonist lately? I think they're declining in popularity but not that they don't exist. It's just that we want to hear from other ends of the spectrum.

I think it's a fascinating and worthy conversation to have. Could the publishing industry be alienating certain readers who want to see a specific kind of protagonist?

Books shouldn't be gendered and I think teen boys should enjoy novels with strong female or LGBTQ characters just as much as other people. But it can't be denied that a large majority of books these days don't really have any male protagonists at the forefront. There is definitely a mindset that needs to be changed in terms of publishers picking their target audience.

Anyway, off the top of my head, here are some popular YA novels that DO have male protagonists and may be enjoyable to teenage boys. Most of the books in this list can be enjoyed by any gender tbh and are action-packed, adventurous, thoughtful, frightening, emotional etc. All that good stuff. There's something for everyone whether you like fantasy, mystery, contemporary, thrillers, superheroes, romance etc.

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Steelheart by Brandon Sandersen
The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Vicious by VE Schwab
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Here, There Be Dragons by James A Owen
Legend by Marie Lu
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
Paper Towns by John Green
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
More Than This by Patrick Ness
Release by Patrick Ness
Jade City by Fonda Lee
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Frontman by Ron Bahar

Please add on if you know any more. But basically, any books by Patrick Ness, Brandon Sanderson, Rick Riordan or John Green might be enjoyable to teen boys aged 13-18.

Bonus:
The Poppy War by RF Kuang
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

because both can be enjoyed regardless of gender and they're absolute classic staples in YA Fantasy.

Wow, I've never seen so many people questioning the purity of the Publishing Company before, interesting.

Thanks for the Army shout out 💜 I wasn't surprised at all that most of the K-pop books I've read or are on my TBR list XD

Kristen wrote: "We often talk about representation in all sorts of arts...the main character was so predominately the strong straight white male for a long time, and there wasn't a lot for girls or people of color..." Beautifully and thoughtfully worded!

Just putting this out there:

Made in Korea is not about K-pop. It's about competing K-Beauty brands and I feel like listing it with 5 books that are ACTUALLY about K-pop because the main characters are Korean feels...not right to me. It feels kind of gross.

I also want to point out that Gearbreakers doesn't take place in space, their mechas aren't FROM space, etc. Just because the tech is futuristic doesn't mean it's "space themed"? I wonder about the person who created this post. Surely you would be able to find an additional YA book from this year to fit within these two trends.

thatangelcried wrote: "Deb wrote: "I see this time and again — lots of titles for YA girls, and few for YA boys. Publishers are neglecting the YA male audience and then there are fewer titles to review, and thus fewer to..."

As a male YA reader, it's not about gendering anything. It is about how readers often want to read something that they can relate too, especially young YA readers. If they have a hard time relating to books with female leads, there should be options out there. No one is saying books are gendered, they are saying there is less and less diversity for the sake of having diversity which is what led to these less traditional leads the last few years. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Too far right, too far left...

I cannot wait for You'll Be the Death of Me to come out. I'd like to see a Sports or Romance category added to this list too

mars ☽ wrote: "omg i'm glad everyone is calling each other out because we as a society should really try to stop pursuing the idea that anything has a gender, nothing has a gender except you and only if you want one"

I love this!!!

tbh, I think boys would be a lot healthier and more well-adjusted if they read MORE books with female protagonists. Learning to see what the world looks like through someone else's eyes can only be a good thing.

Shout out to everyone who showed up to say books don't have a gender. I love you.

Anyone who's looked at the census data lately can see that the world is changing. Here's to going forward into a kinder, more inclusive future.

I love YA. I'm an adult now, but I still read YA because it's so diverse and has so many cute romances. Adult publishing has yet to catch up when it comes to diversity. Especially in Mysteries and Thirllers.

Deb wrote: "I see this time and again — lots of titles for YA girls, and few for YA boys. Publishers are neglecting the YA male audience and then there are fewer titles to review, and thus fewer to recommend. ..."

I am going to toot my horn, but you might try Moon Crusher. The protagonist is a boy jerked out of his pre-industrial world by visiting aliens. Also an OKCityWriters, OWFI (state writers) winner and Florida RPLA finalist. Moon Crusher

Karen wrote: "Anyway, off the top of my head, here are some popular YA novels that DO have male protagonists and may be enjoyable to teenage boys. Most of the books in this list can be enjoyed by any gender tbh and are action-packed, adventurous, thoughtful, frightening, emotional etc. All that good stuff."
A thoughtful list. I'm a huge fan of Markus Zusak and also Patrick Ness.

Leigh Anne wrote: "tbh, I think boys would be a lot healthier and more well-adjusted if they read MORE books with female protagonists. Learning to see what the world looks like through someone else's eyes can only be..."
That doesn't mean that there shouldn't be options for them to easily identify either. Both can be important without disparaging the other.

Cody wrote: "Leigh Anne wrote: "tbh, I think boys would be a lot healthier and more well-adjusted if they read MORE books with female protagonists. Learning to see what the world looks like through someone else..."

Kids are smart enough these days to know what they like and identify with, you do you.

I am not seeing what's objectionable about boys being able to read books about boys. Y'all are all "gender and sexuality doesn't affect the plot anyway" and "they should read about someone unlike themselves" here but don't keep that same energy when it comes to women or LGBT people reading about men or straight people.

To all the people whingeing about a lack of books for boys:

Thanks for supporting the patriarchy.

When I was growing up there were a total of 4 book series available starring girls. We read books starring boys ALL THE TIME. So boys SHOULD be reading books starring girls. They are not "girl" books. They are books. If your son won't read books with girl leads, congratulations on raising a misogynist.

Louie wrote: "Deb wrote: "I see this time and again — lots of titles for YA girls, and few for YA boys. Publishers are neglecting the YA male audience and then there are fewer titles to review, and thus fewer to..."
Might I recommend Imperfect Orb. It is a recently published YA book in which two of the three main characters happen to be teenaged boys.