This project explores queer representations in young adult literature by examining the novels The Dove in the Belly (2022) by Jim Grimsley, A Scatter of Light (2022) by Malinda Lo, and Man o’ War (2022) by Cory McCarthy. Reader Response Theory, a literary theory formulated by Louise Rosenblatt, centers the importance of  “a transaction between the reader and the author’s text.” In this project, Reader Response Theory is applied to these works of young adult literature as a theoretical framework that enhances the message and allows the reader to transact with the author's text. Through this method, I am the reader, and as such, I use my own transaction with the text to demonstrate the power of Reader Response Theory  by illuminating key elements of these novels. This project argues not only for the aesthetic and educational value of queer young adult literature in the classroom; it insists on the inclusion of queer texts in a world that is currently plagued by political assaults that dehumanize queer individuals and policies that challenge their right to exist. Behind queer literature are countless real experiences of young LGBTQ+ individuals as they have navigated this complex society throughout history. The lives of these individuals are marked by pain, marginalization, internalized homophobia, and joy. Through this project, I will transact with these three novels and the individuals within, and through my individual experience, I will offer Reader Response Theory as a method for reading queer young adult literature in the high school classroom.