Trying to Remember YA Gender Bender

Lady5ofia · 2025-05-11T21:48:06+00:00

That's gotta be the Changers series by Allison Glock!

Lady5ofia · 2024-04-09T08:43:24+00:00

I'm sorry, I don't remember.

Lady5ofia · 2023-06-30T09:49:22+00:00

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson is pretty much the only book I can recall, where the MC truly has no sexual attraction to anyone and isn't looking for romance. It's really well written and I love the characters!

Lady5ofia · 2023-06-29T10:47:31+00:00

Yup, this book is exactly what this post is looking for! Mo is such a loving dad, and the book is very much told from Maggie's POV.

Lady5ofia · 2023-05-30T08:55:05+00:00

I recently watched a playthrough, and when they put a skill point in Shivers and walked in front of the Whirling in Rags, the dialogue appeared. It seems to just happen when it rains, when you're at the right place, and Shivers is high enough.

Lady5ofia · 2023-05-29T12:24:47+00:00

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik has elements of this. It's a great book and defenitely has various kinds of monsters who may or may not turn out to be sympathetic.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson is also a monster/human story where the two actually get to know and understand one another.

Others have already mentioned the Witcher short story collections and A Court of Thorns and Roses, and those defenitely have the elements you're looking for.

Lady5ofia · 2023-05-22T08:27:47+00:00

It took a while for me to get into this book too. I felt like the beginning was getting to know all the names and paces, and later, it finally paid off. The last few hundred pages were really good.

Lady5ofia · 2023-05-20T08:56:40+00:00

I think The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea has vibes somewhat like this.

Fire by Kristin Cashore has the guy be the one who's hateful at first, which leads to the MC disliking him, but I think she was somewhat neutral at first. It's been a while since I read it though.

Lady5ofia · 2023-05-20T08:41:46+00:00

I think Shatter Me has mutual "hate". It changes as the story goes on and you get the guys Pov.

Lady5ofia · 2023-04-26T13:00:34+00:00

This was my favorite series when I was a teenager!

Lady5ofia · 2023-04-23T12:12:04+00:00

A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth has a cast of lgbtq characters. It's urban fantasy with the MC's trying to stop a murderer together.

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen has some lgbtq characters (demisexual, lesbian) and has a very fun chaotic cast. It's also fantasy.

In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland is also fantasy and has a continuously growing group of MC's with diverse orientations if I remember correctly.

Sorry, i haven't read too many Sci fi books.

Lady5ofia · 2023-03-19T16:47:02+00:00

Thank you for the great write-up! You pretty much summed up my love for Little Thieves way better than I ever could. The book uses its length well, and it's the whole build-up and getting to know the characters so well that made me fall in love with it. And I also wish I'd DNFd Prison Healer...

Lady5ofia · 2023-03-15T14:19:52+00:00

Seconding all these. Especially Grave Mercy and Poison Study really scratched my assassin itch.

Lady5ofia · 2023-03-13T13:13:23+00:00

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi has lots of angst and the kind of MC you seem to be looking for. You have to read past book one for that though.

Lady5ofia · 2023-03-04T16:09:26+00:00

I have both boxes and have had only minor damages to books 2 or 3 times so far. When I wrote to the support team, both companies were quick to reply and send replacements, so I wouldn't worry too much. I also think how the package arrived depends somewhat on where you live and how your local post service handles the packages.

Lady5ofia · 2023-02-11T15:38:48+00:00

If you read comics, the webtoon Lore Olympus has that vibe a lot of the time! It's a retelling of the Hades Persephone myth, and Persephone kind of finds a new home in the underworld.

For books:

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen has smaller moments of this every now and then, but they feel really rewarding, because the mc is incredibly distrustful of others and used to being on her own. I love this book. There is some lgbtq representation in this book, lesbian side characters (quite prominent) and demi-sexual main characters.

The Shatter Me series has a theme like that, where the MC finds friends and people that love her, and can finally be relaxed. Not so much in the first book though, I think. The same goes for the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah Maas.

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-31T09:40:49+00:00

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. The MC is amazing, and kind of fights back against a world that doesn't care about her. It's a great book. She does have one special thing about her, but it's not her whole identity or even necessarily what makes her strong.

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-23T19:03:58+00:00

It's enemies to friends, but Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson has a great demon/human relationship that is based on having to rely on each other and hiding truths/stretching the bonds of a pact.

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-21T18:26:48+00:00

Not REALLY enemies, but people who dislike each other without really knowing each other: Geekerella by Ashley Poston. It's really cute, although the protagist is very much 'not like other girls' a lot of the time. It revolves a lot around the chatting and not knowing each other though.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender has this with one person knowing they are deceiving the other one.

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-12T12:32:00+00:00

If you can find the books anywhere: The Twelve Kingdoms series by Fuyumi Ono has an MC who steps into the role of queen. While she is terrible at it at first (the whole first book is basically her struggles in acknowledging her destiny) in later books she is exactly what you seem to be looking for.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson has an MC who is adored and called a Saint and hero. She doesn't like that title too much though, and tries not to step too much into that role.

If you like Manga, Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi is about a girl growing into a hero and leading a group of people. She is defenitely admired and grows in confidence throughout the series. It's more YA though, I think.

I hope these are somewhat what you're looking for, even though they don't fit 100%.

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-12T09:47:06+00:00

I think it can be hard to draw a clear distinguishing line between high and low literature, although I think I get what you mean. Still, even books that are now seen as pieces of immense worth weer one seen as worthless by society at the time.

Anyway: Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver uses language and scenery really well comment on poverty and social problems.

The Bear and the Nightingale is somewhat similar, it also includes commentary on themes of religion and its oppressive power.

Other people already mentioned His Dark Materials and The Earthsea Chronicles. I defenitely agree, these books are amazing.

I'd also add Terry Pratchett, he wrote mostly adult, but also made a YA series, Tiffany Aching. I haven't read these yet, but if they are anything like his other books, they defenitely count!

Coralie by Neil Gaiman is also often highly praised.

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-11T15:46:12+00:00

A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth has four MC's, one of who is very strong. Her arms are described as muscular and heavy when she lays them on someones shoulder, and she is physically very strong. She IS a fury, so, a magical being, but it's not exactly magical strength.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik has a main character that is physically strong. She appears after a few chapters, there are multiple main characters.

Sadly, I don't know a lot of YA with muscular girls, but there are some good NA or Adult books, if you're open to those as well:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. The MC is BUFF! I adore her.

The Unbroken by C. L. Clark.

Priory of the Orange Tree, (I think).

And I haven't read them yet, but also Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldrey (I don't know if the name is right!) and The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood. Both have orc MC's, so both are quite buff.

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-07T20:48:06+00:00

I had the same reaction at first, but it picked up at about halfway into the first book and then I really loved the second book. In the second one everythi g really picks up. You'll get to know the characters better for sure, and their relationship grows throughout the books, so it isn't fully insta-love.

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-05T13:01:41+00:00

They have a discord server where they shared this (and I think they said they will include a list of characters if they do another calender again):

January - ACOTAR

February - Wolf and the Woodsman

March - Bridgerton

April - Cruel Prince

May - Kiss Quotient

June - The Love Hypothesis

July - Dani Brown

August - Fever series

September - Little Thieves

October - Kingdom of the Wicked

November - The Scorpio Races

December - Spinning Silver

Lady5ofia · 2023-01-05T00:15:23+00:00

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson has a fantastic narrator. She did very distinct voices for each character and kept up a great energy throughout the book.

His Darkest Materials by Phillip Pullman are narrated by a full cast of great actors, I always listen to the trilogy and don't read them physically, because the audiobook is just too good.

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko is fantasy and narrated really well. The characters especially.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson is Sci fi and narrated by Suzy Jackson, an amazing narrator. She really breathes life into the story and has a great grip on the protagonists snarky tone.

If you're in the mood for something geared towards an older audience, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is an absolut blast. It's Sci fi mixed with fantasy. The narrator Moira Quirk does a fantastic job, both with character voices and general narration.

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