Generally, these coming out stories share common features but also tell of wildly different experiences — the characters range in ages, gender, religion, culture, race, and class. Each story has complications, beauty, and nuance. Coming out is rarely simple, and most of these characters do the best they can to lead honest and open lives. I’d also like to recommend that if you enjoy these books, you might also want to take a look at this list of must read LGBTQ fiction and this list of YA coming out stories. So there you go, 20 must-read coming out stories. Regardless of whether you personally have ever lived the experience of coming out, these are well-written and delightful books that I know you’ll enjoy reading. These characters and their love stories are not easy to forget.