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I don't know if anyone has done this before, but I will make one anyway. When I was still questioning, I was in search of different works that represented transmasculine individuals, not just as side stories or background characters, but a story witten from the eyes of a transmasc character and focused on his/their journey. It took a lot of work to actually find some of these but I did. So I decided to compile a list of books I've found so far, the gender of the main character, genre, and romantic pairing where applicable.
For some of the ones I've read, I have added additional information, but I'll try to leave out spoilers. I may make a mistake with that though so please let me know if that's the case so I can edit it. Also, just because I didn't add the romantic pairing for some, doesn't mean there's no romance in them; they may be key to the plot, minor parts of the story or are non-fiction.
In addition to the above, for books marked as horror --especially books by Andrew Joseph White, this man does not joke-- PLEASE READ THE WARNING PAGE ON THEIR BOOK SITES. THERE ARE ALSO WARNINGS IN THE BOOKS, DIGITAL OR PHYSICAL. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
Please note some of these stories may or may not contain some level of transphobia, homophobia or other forms of discrimination. I have not read many of them so please look into them before you read.
β’ The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill (trans man)- Contemporary, coming-of-age, time travel fiction || It's a cozy book, the time travel isn't anything big enough to warrant a scifi label.
β’ Can't Take That Away by Steven Salvatore (genderqueer)- Contemporary, music, YA.
β’ Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve (trans boy)- Contemporary, YA || Theatre kids, mostly focuses on the main character growing to accept himself and how to handle that topic with others.
β’ Man o' War by Cory McCarthy (transmasc nonbinary mc and nonbinary sc) (t4t)- Contemporary, YA, mental health, romance|| The main character comes to terms with their transness while dealing with some internalized transphobia and dysphoria.
β’ Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander (trans man) (mxm)- Comedy, romance, contemporary.
β’ Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa (trans man) (mxm)- Romance, YA, historical || It might not be as enjoyable if you try to compare it too much to the original Pride & Prejudice story. Just think of it as an author's canon-divergent AU.
β’ Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (transmasc, poc) (mxm)- Romance, YA, contemporary.
β’ Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner (trans boy and trans girl mc)- Horror, paranormal, YA, Contemporary.
β’ Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (trans boy, neurodivergent(autistic))- Horror, contemporary, thriller || I absolutely adore this book and especially the author for all his works. It handles the topic of generational trauma and existing as a neurodivergent person so well.
β’ Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore (trans boy and nonbinary mcs, neurodivergent(ADHD and dyslexia)) (t4t)- YA, fantasy, romance, contemporary.
β’ The Transition by Logan-Ashley Kisner (trans boy)- Horror, paranormal, fantasy, YA, werewolves || A book I also adore, especially for our horror werewolf fans. This book really hit close to home for me, I also highly recommend.
β’ The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White (trans boy and trans girl mc) (mxf, t4t)- Horror, YA, historical, fantasy, gothic || Also a good read, not finished with it yet but it's amazing so far.
β’ Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore (trans man) (mxm, c4t)- Romance, contemporary, comedy, paranormal.
β’ Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Mari McLemore (two trans boys, poc) (mxm, t4t)- Romance, historical, YA || Remember, Canon-divergentβ’.
β’ Cementery Boys by Aiden Thomas (trans boy, poc) (mxm, c4t)- YA, romance, contemporary, fantasy, paranormal || Many recommend this one.
β’ Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White (trans boy) (mxm, c4t)- YA, post-apocalyptic, (body) horror, survival thriller || Also recommended.
β’ Sunbearer Trials by Aidan Thomas (trans boy, poc)- Fantasy, YA, mythology.
β’ Venom and Vow by Anne-Marie McLemore and Elliot McLemore (trans boy and bigender mcs, poc)- Fantasy, YA, romance.
β’ And They Were Roomates by Page Powars (trans boy) (mxm, c4t)- YA, romance, contemporary, comedy.
β’ The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons (trans boy, poc) (mxm, c4t)- YA, romance, contemporary, sports.
Non-fiction/Memoirs and Autobiographies
β’ Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place by Jackson Bird (trans man)- Memoir & Autobiography.
β’ He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters by Schuyler Bailar (trans man)- Memoir, educational guide || Not finished with it yet, it's a book more suited for allies or people to help understand trans folks in general. He talks about his personal experiences and journey, and also includes explanations and educational information on trans people, our care, and experiences.
β’ Self-Made Man: Autobiography of a Black Transgender Man by Kevin Thompson (trans man, poc)- Memoir & Autobiography.
β’ The Build-a-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver (trans man) (mxm, c4t)- Romance, contemporary, new adult, fiction || Explicit sexual content.
β’ Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas (trans man)- Coming-of-age, fiction, contemporary, dark academia.
β’ All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes (trans man)- Horror, survival thriller, historical, mystery, cosmic horror.
β’ The Natural Mother of the Child by Krys Malcolm Belc (transmasc nonbinary)- Memoir & autobiography || Experience with gestational parenthood and childcare as a transmasculine person.
β’ Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel Mallory Ortberg (trans man)- Metafictional memoir.
My blog is already 18+, but to the minors who may stumble on this post and stubbornly and curiously peer into this section, this part is NOT for you. There are appropriate books above you can pick from but the books listed below are not, they are MA for a reason.
Now for the rest of us, here are books categorized as either Mature or Adult. We will start with Fiction:
β’ You Weren't Meant to be Human by Andrew Joseph White (trans man, neurodivergent (autism, non-verbal))- Horror, thriller, scifi, contemporary, psychological horror || This book is visceral, explicit and blunt. Body horror is a major part of the plot among other very dark themes so I repeat, read the warnings on this book. It is my number one book from this author, and I connected so much with the main character I can't even begin to explain it. But others may not be able to read through the book, especially if it is triggering. So please read the warnings.
β’ The Leech by Hiron Ennes (trans man or intersex, unclear but he is trans and uses he/him)- Horror, scifi, gothic, fantasy, dystopian.
β’ The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo (trans man)- Horror, novella, historical || The romance in this one is a little problematic to some and not others due to the age gap. Outside that it's quite good.
β’ A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander (two trans men mcs) (mxm, t4t)- Romance, historical.
β’Ponyboy by Eliot Duncan (transmasc) - Contemporary, mental health and addiction.
β’ Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman (Trans man) (mxf, c4t)- Fantasy, romance, paranormal, vampires, horror.
β’ Confessions of a Fox by Jordy Rosenberg (two trans man mcs)- Historical, literary fiction, metafiction || Get's pretty explicit with sexual content and gory or visceral depictions.
β’ The Church of the Mountain of Flesh by Kyle Wakefield (trans man)- (Body) horror, fantasy, adult, religion, thriller, historical || Again read the warnings, the religious trauma is strong with this one, amongst other things.
β’ I will also like to add another indie trans author named Mars Adler who writes horror and dark novella and novelette with trans or queer main characters. They often include t4t representation as well. You can take a look at his books and stories here or on Pinterest: https://marsadler.itch.io/
Of course, the gender of the character depend on the story you're reading, but there are trans men and transmasc representation as main characters among others. I put this in this section because the author mainly writes stories for a mature audience.
β’ Beautiful Monster: A Beginning by Miles Borrero (transmasc genderfluid, immigrant poc)- Memoir & biography || For heavy themes.
β’ Young Man by Lou Sullivan (trans man)- History, memoir & biography || Compiled private journals written by the American trans activists and historian, Lou Sullivan.
β’ A Trans Man Walks Into a Gay Bar by Harry Nicholas (trans man)- Memoir & biography || This was one of the first memoirs by a trans man that I had ever read when I was figuring out my identity. It helped give me some perspective to my experience and understanding on navigating the gay scene. It was a good read. He does delve into his sexuality and relationship on a very intimate level so it gets explicit.
β’ Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg ( - ) - Historical, social realism, coming-of-age || It follows the journey of a stone butch lesbian and transitions through life both societal and gender wise. According to what I've read, it's supposed to be fiction but the author's life is highly reflected in the story and the main character enough to nearly be non-fiction, so it's in an interesting grey area. Please search up trigger warnings as it delves into very real but triggering experiences.
β’ We Both Laughed in Pleasure by Lou Sullivan (trans man)- History, memoir & autobiography.
β’Pageboy by Elliot Page (trans man) - Memoir & autobiography.
This is not an exhaustive list, there are very much books I am missing from this list so please feel free to mention them in the comments (Only books where the main character or one of the main characters is a trans man/transmasc please). I'll update the list accordingly when I can. And again, please let me know if I've made any mistakes here.
I know a lot of us are starved for representation, but I promise you their are out there. It's not easy to find but it's there. We do not find much representation in movies, series, games, etc, but there are many books with us represented in it, and many written by other trans men and transmasculine people.
I also plan to do another for nonbinary and transfem representation but it may take a while before I get to that.
