For as long as I can remember, the majority of literature about queer people has portrayed us either as targets of brutal physical and emotional violence or as wanting desperately to be just like heterosexuals. Of course, for many LGBTQ individuals, our stories don’t fit neatly into these molds. If we’re being honest, queer life is often messy as hell, full of human complications and contradictions that make our experiences rife for literary treatment. Our list of the best queer books of 2019 not only reflects our multihued lives, but also heralds what is hopefully a trend of having those lives worthy of both entertainment and high art.

