Rebecca Bendheim, the author of a YA book for teen readers, posted on social media about deliberately designing the cover art to hide the book’s theme from parents while simultaneously advertising it to children.
“When Penguin [Random House] asked me what I wanted for my cover, I said I wanted it to be gay enough for queer kids and teens to clock it, but for homophobic parents to just think it’s a friendship story,” the author and middle school teacher bragged on Instagram.
The book in question is called “When You’re Brave Enough” and has a publication date of April 7, 2026. According to the publisher, it is recommended for children ages 10 – 14.
“So I said, no holding hands, make my character look gay…” She went on to point out the subtle details she and the cover artist agreed on, including flowers growing between the pair to represent a crush that’s “growing.”
“So what do you think? Would you guess this was a queer book?” Bendheim asked her followers.
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In a follow-up video, the author shows her book cover to random people on the street to see if they can guess what it’s about.
“Shoutout to the people who answered and to librarians who help kids and teens find subtle queer books if they need them,” she wrote in the caption. “I’m a firm believer that positive representation saves lives!! Would you be able to tell?”
Her comments come just after another YA book, “Sibylline” by Melissa de la Cruz, made headlines for including graphic sex scenes of necrophilia, threesomes, and rape. “Sibylline” is being promoted as a “Good Morning America” Book Club selection in their Young Adult category.
This has been a hot topic in the publishing community recently. There was a discussion about the importance of “representation” and a lot of hand-wringing over so-called book bans during a SXSW EDU panel on March 11. The panel was called, “Beyond Bans: Defending LGBTQ+ Stories and Literary Freedom.”
“The worst thing we could possibly do is let that fear stop us from continuing to make art,” author Casey McQuiston said at the time, per People. “And not only to make art, but to go out into public libraries to visit, to go out into schools.”
McQuiston’s author page describes her as a “bestselling author of queer romantic comedies.” The most famous of these, “Red, White, & Royal Blue,” is for adults, but she also wrote the YA romantic mystery, “I Kissed Shara Wheeler.”
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