In YA books, most stories have a girl as the protagonist. That's not a bad thing, but sometimes I want to read a book from a boy's perspective because they don't necessarily have the same experiences as girls do. There are times where all I want to read are books that are told from a boy's perspective because when I write with my own characters, my protagonists usually tend to be male. Don't ask me why, because I don't really know.
I don't have any issue at all with most YA protagonists being girls, but I feel like sometimes we need more boy protagonists. There should be more gay boys, bi/pan boys, transboys, disabled boys, overweight boys, underweight boys, mentally ill boys, and even boys who aren't your standard "hot dude" love interest. So today I thought that I would list ten books with male protagonists that are on my TBR.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera - Adam Silvera is an author who I see recommended all the time so the fact that I still haven't read any of his books yet is shocking to me.
Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu - One word: DUH. (also, i don't care for catwoman or sarah j. maas at all, so the wait for the superman book is going to kill me.)
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Vertue by Mackenzie Lee - One of the many keys to my heart is for a book to have bisexual characters. I don't particularly care for historical fiction or pirate stories, but this one has caught my interest for quite some time now, so I must have it.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater - I know that Blue's name is in the title of this book and she is technically the main character of this series, but I consider the boys to be main characters just as much as she is one. But that might be because Gansey is my absolute favourite ever.
Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg - It's been a good couple of years since I read Openly Straight and I didn't expect it to get a sequel. Also, this one features a bisexual boy character, which makes me kind of happy because bisexual characters in just about everything tend to be girls, while queer boys are gay.
Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live by Sacha Lamb - So far I have read exactly one book with a transboy character and I want to read more books about transboys because they deserve love and representation too.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown - Here's another book that I've been wanting to read for quite some time, especially after seeing so many rave reviews about it. I still don't really know that much about it - obviously other than the main character being a boy - but that doesn't bother me because sometimes I like going in blind.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - I am hanging my head in shame because I still have not read this book (it is on my december tbr, though). And even though I haven't read the book yet, something tells me that Kaz will end up being my absolute favourite ever who I will love and cherish.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling - Someday I will get around to this series. When exactly? That's a mystery, but I will get to it!
Vicious by V.E. Schwab - I am absolutely dying to read V.E. Schwab's books, and since Vicious is the one I'd heard of first, it is the one that I want to read the most. Friends to enemies? Supervillains and anti-heroes? Um, yes, please.
What books with male protagonists do you recommend? Do you have a preference of what gender characters you like to read, or does it not really matter?
