20 Best Books to Read After Finishing Heartstopper

OK, first, if you haven't read Alice Oseman's original Heartstopper graphic novels, start here.

Read more: A Guide to All the Heartstopper Books

Sher Lee's Fake Dates and Mooncakes is touted as "Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians," so we're immediately in. Dylan wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs, but he is distracted by Theo, a wealthy and charming customer who convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding.

Pretty much all of Casey McQuiston's novels could be on this list, but we're picking I Kissed Shara Wheeler because it's firmly in the YA genre, and, like Heartstopper, set at a high school. A month before high school graduation, prom queen Shara Wheeler kisses Chloe, then vanishes. Chloe then teams up with other people Shara kissed—Smith, her quarterback boyfriend, and Rory, her neighbor—as they search for her.

Arthur, interning in NYC over the summer, and Ben, who is stuck in summer school, meet by chance at a post office. After their meet-cute, they don't exchange numbers and search for each other. It's a sweet summer romance—and bonus, there's a great sequel, Here's to Us.

In Sonora Reyes's The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, 16-year-old Yamilet Flores is one of the only Mexican kids at her very white Catholic school, and doesn't want to also be known as one of the only gay students. But keeping her sexual orientation secret is challenging when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so cute.

When Ben comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out and forced to move in with Hannah, their estranged older sister, and her husband, Thomas. Suddenly in a new school, Ben is trying to navigate the rest of their senior year when Nathan decides to take them under his wing. Heartstopper author Alice Oseman wrote that I Wish You All the Best is "a soft, sweet, and incredibly important story about a non-binary teen finding their voice. This book is going to be so important to so many people."

Felix, a trans Black teen, has never been in love, but is desperate to fall for someone. But in the immediate present, he has to deal with anonymous transphobic messages—and sets out to get revenge. His plot for revenge, incidentally, sets him on a path for love, and self-discovery.

Prince Tal has been eagerly waiting for his coming-of-age tour, after spending most of his life in the palace. Two days into his journey, the crew discovers a mysterious prisoner, Athlen, and Tal is tasked with watching over him. When Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and guilty—but runs into him days later on land. When Tal is kidnapped, Athlen may just be his only hope.

Jackson Ghasnavi is a high school theater techie who is decidedly not a romantic. But when Liam, a senior swim captain enters the theater world, neither Jackson nor his sister, Jasmine, can stop thinking about him. Kirkus wrote in their review, "Love deserves a standing ovation in this multilayered exploration of what it truly means to feel seen" and noted "this sweet, slow-burn sibling love triangle with an added sprinkling of family drama rivals Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper (2020) in its cuteness and appeal."

Much spicier than the YA fare on this list (this is definitely not YA), Freya Marske's Swordcrossed is one of the most anticipated queer books of fall 2024. The story, which is "high heat and low stakes," follows Matti, the heir to his family's business, who needs to hire a swordsman for his arranged marriage. He finds Luca, a talented swordsman, who is not what he seems. What results is a delightful queer romance. (If you're looking for more Freya Marske that leans more traditional fantasy but still with a healthy dose of queer love, check out A Marvellous Light.)

Googling "books like Heartstopper" will inevitably land you on the recommendation of Bloom, and for good reason: The story follows Ari, who wants to quit his family bakery to move to the city with his band, and Hector, who loves baking as much as Ari hates it. Writer Kevin Panetta and artist Savanna Ganucheau "concoct a delicious recipe of intricately illustrated baking scenes and blushing young love," the publisher writes.

Eighteen-year-olds Ruben and Zach are part of the biggest boy band in America. When their close friendship becomes a romance, they want to tell their fans and live freely, but soon realize they don't have the support to do so. One redditor recommended the book in r/LGBTBooks, writing, "Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich created a queer YA all-time great, a story which is sweet and fluffy and dark and heavy at the same time, a book about love and acceptance, about family and being your true self and about the struggles people in the entertainment industry face."

Described as Love, Simon meets Bend It Like Beckham, The Passing Playbook follows 15-year-old Simon, a trans teen who transfers to a private school after relentless bullying at his old high school. He joins the boys' soccer team, and no one knows he's trans. But when a discriminatory law forces his coach to bench him, Spencer has to decide if he should cheer his team from the sidelines or come out and fight for his right to play.

Emma and Sophia are arch-nemeses, mainly because they're the only two queer girls in their grade, and everyone wants them to date. Now, they're competing against each other for a trip to a film festival in Los Angeles—and realize they have more in common than they think.

Trans teen Yadriel's family isn't accepting of his gender identity, so he is determined to prove himself, and decides to summon the ghost of his murdered cousin. The person he actually summons is Julian, the school's resident bad boy, who wants to know why he died. "It was also really important for me to write a book where LGBTQIA, and Latinx kids could see themselves being powerful heroes," author Aiden Thomas said. "Right now, these kids are living in a world where a lot of hate and suffering is zeroed in on them. I wanted them to see themselves being supported and loved for who they are. I wanted to write a fun book with good representation that they could escape into and have a happy ending."

In Some Girls Do, Morgan is an out-and-proud track star. She's forced to transfer high schools during senior year when it's revealed that being queer is against her private Catholic school's code of conduct. At her new school, she meets Ruby, a beauty pageant queen. The two are drawn to each other, but Ruby doesn't want t come out of the closet.

Set in Texas in 1987, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe follows two Mexican American teens, Aristotle and Dante, and how their friendship becomes romance. "I think I needed to write this book because I had such difficulties coming to terms with my own sexuality," author Benjamin Alire Sáenz shared.

In Icebreaker, teammates (and rivals) Mickey and Jaysen are fighting for the top draft spot in the NHL. But what happens when their rivalry becomes something else?

This queer YA romantasy follows Nova, a teen witch, who unexpectedly comes across Tam, her childhood crush (who happens to be a werewolf), battling a demon in the woods one night. "Mooncakes is a coming of age story that touches on queer identities and experiences with a fun twist of witchcraft," an Amazon reviewer writes. Like Heartstopper, it's a charming and heartwarming graphic novel full of representation.

Bryson Keller accepted a dare where each week, he must date someone new, and say yes to the first person to ask him out. But what happens when a boy asks him out? Kai definitely didn't expect Bryson to say yes—but he does. The heartfelt boy-meets-boy romance will have all readers swooning.