"different" characters

[Shanna]

I was wondering if anyone knew of books wherein there is a character (or characters) who is LGBT, suffers from a chronic illness, or is an atheist (other "differences" would be fine too, but those in particular), but this isn't the main focus of the character's story, or the book itself?

An example I can think of is from the movie She's All That, where the main character's little brother has visible hearing aids, but this is never pointed out by other characters, nor is his story arc about having hearing issues.

Thanks.

[Anna]

Bridge to Terabithia - (have not read the book but in movie the girl was atheist)

As Meat Loves Salt- m/m one of them is atheist and other could be not entirely sane.

[Shanna]

Thanks, I've read Bridge to Terabithia but I'll check out the other. :)

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

King of the Badgers features several gay characters and is pretty funny.

The Adventures of Augie March - Augie has a developmentally disabled brother who is not a large part of the story.

Homer & Langley - one of the brothers is blind.

Cassandra at the Wedding has a lesbian protagonist but the novel is more about family relationships than her lesbianism.

[Shanna]

Very cool, thanks. :)

[Joseph]

Here are two mystery series where the main characters happen to be lesbians:
Laurie R. King's Kate Martinelli series starts with A Grave Talent
Ellen Hart's Jane Lawless series starts with Hallowed Murder

[Shanna]

Oh nice. Thanks. :)

[Natalie]

Ready Player One has a lesbian character (not protagonist). The protagonist is an atheist.

If you like fantasy, both Graceling and Bitterblue have LGBT and characters with disabilities (most notably, blindness), but are not central to plot/character.

In All These Things I've Done, Anya's little brother suffers from brain damage after a car accident when he was young.

[Jennifer]

Glow has two characters who are a lesbian couple. Quite a few "different" characters if I remember correctly. Pretty sure one of the secondary characters has a mental illness.

[Moloch]

A Dirty Job has two lesbian characters but the story is not about them at all

[Stephen]

Shanna wrote: "I was wondering if anyone knew of books wherein there is a character (or characters) who is LGBT, suffers from a chronic illness, ... but this isn't the main focus of the character's story, or the book itself? ..."

A bit more mainstream that many of the books mentioned here but Middlesex is an amazing read. Yes, the protagonist is a hermaphroditic boy raised as a girl and yes, it plays a part in the story but overall, it's a story about the immigrant experience and growing up in Detroit just before the riots, and...

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Transit of Venus

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Rottweiler has an adult character with a developmental disability who is able to live alone and hold a job, but has trouble in other areas. He's a major side plot but isn't the focus of the book.

[Rosa]

Anna wrote: "Bridge to Terabithia - (have not read the book but in movie the girl was atheist)

As Meat Loves Salt- m/m one of them is atheist and other could be not entirely sane."

Leslie wasn't an atheist at all, in the book or the movie.

[Scott]

Rosa wrote: "Leslie wasn't an atheist at all, in the book or the movie."

If not an atheist, she was certainly a skeptic.

[Rosa]

The Loud Silence of Francine Green

[Shanna]

Thanks everyone!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Eileen

[Remy]

My Antonia, Willa Cather. seems like it wouldn't fill your request, but it does given that Willa Cather would often write herself into her novels as a male character, in order to get by with homosexuality! My Antonia, in this case, has underlying but unspoken LGBT theme with Cather as Jim Burden who befriends and loves Antonia (also believed to be a homosexual). Beautifully written

[Rainbowheart]

Misdirected
Heretics Anonymous

[Aleksander]

Persephone Station by Stina Leicht's main crew is almost all queer (but its not the focus of the story), and several of them deal with chronic illness and the like (its also one of my favorite books!)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers' main character is nonbinary!

[Aleksander]

The Bromance Book Club is a bit of a random one, but the main character has a stutter

[Llynnya]

All women from earth who are different prove again and again why they are worthy of their place in the stars.

Champions of Terra Series
https://www.goodreads.com/series/4767...

Terran Times Tales
https://www.goodreads.com/series/5380...

Terran Times Second Wave
https://www.goodreads.com/series/1135...

Terran Reset Series
https://www.goodreads.com/series/3105...

[Rainbowheart]

The Anti-Virginity Pact
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead

[Rainbowheart]

Olive Days

[Ariana]

All Systems Red by Martha Wells
The MC is an android. Very relatable to neurodiverse readers. He's technically aroace (and maybe non-binary because [i]Android[/i]).
There are many polyamorous side characters. In the world, being poly is as normal as being monogamous.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo has atheist and religious characters (fantasy religions though). Most of the MCs are either neurodiverse, LGBTQ, disabled, or a mix. The representation feels natural, and it's not the focus.

In the graphic novel series The Tea Dragon Society, one of the main characters is a wheelchair user. Later in the three-book series, there is a deaf side character.

The second book in The Giver series ( Gathering Blue) has a MC with a deformed leg.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer, one of the MCs has a bone disease, so he uses a cane.

Violet in Fourth Wing has some variation of Ehlers-Danlos

In Mooncakes The MC is hard of hearing, and I believe wears a hearing aid? (it's been a while.)
In general, if you're looking for Disability and LGBTQ rep, YA Graphic novels are the way to go.

[justagirlwholovesthecolorgreen]

Words on Bathroom Walls

Main character has schizophrenia, but does not want anyone at school to know so his friends are unaware. but it follows him as he develops romantic feelings for a girl at school.

[justagirlwholovesthecolorgreen]

Boy Toy

This is about a senior in highschool who was groomed by one of his teachers in middle school. It is the story of how he processes the world around him and understands himself as he begins to explore feelings for someone his age and how his past impacts him.

[justagirlwholovesthecolorgreen]

Holding Up the Universe

About a boy (senior in hs) who has prosopagnosia and a girl (senior in hs) who is obese to the point where some years ago she had to be cut out of her home during an emergency. She is coming back to oublice school after being homeschooled for years, he is trying to make it to graduation without anyone realizing the truth about his condition. She puts him in his place when he acts badly to fit in and then they develop a mutual respect.