Best Books for Teens 2021

50 Books Found

  • Bad Witch Burning

    When Katrell realizes she has the power to raise the dead, she sees a way out of poverty for herself and her family. But messing with the supernatural has consequences, and she’ll have to decide if she’s willing to pay the price.
    Cover of Bad Witch Burning
  • Beasts of Prey

    Ekon and Koffi must work together to hunt the Shetani in the dangerous, magical Greater Jungle—but not everything is as it seems.
    Cover of Beasts of Prey
  • Black Birds in the Sky

    A searing exploration of the history and legacy of the Tulsa Race Massacre, including the aftermath and its devastating effects, which are still felt today. Full Title: Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
    Cover of Black Birds in the Sky
  • Boys Run the Riot, Vol 1

    Ryo, a transgender artist, and his growing group of friends build a fashion brand that gives them a creative outlet to voice their feelings as outsiders.
    Cover of Boys Run the Riot, Vol 1
  • Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History (Young Adult Edition)

    A comprehensive history of hip-hop from its origins in the Bronx to its current status as one of the biggest cultural phenomena in American history.
    Cover of Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History (Young Adult Edition)
  • Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms

    Art by Val Wise | Pressured to join the cheerleading squad, Annie reconnects with her former friend, BeBe. As they navigate training, cheer meets, and high school, can they navigate the feelings springing up between them?
    Cover of Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms
  • Chlorine Sky: A Novel

    Picked on at home, criticized for talking trash while beating boys at basketball, and always seen as less than her best friend, Sky struggles with how to love herself when the world seems determined to stop her.
    Cover of Chlorine Sky: A Novel
  • The City Beautiful

    Alter Rosen is determined to raise enough money to bring his family to America. But when his best friend is murdered and Alter possessed by his dybbuk, Alter teams up with an old friend and an aspiring journalist in a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late.
    Cover of The City Beautiful
  • Clockwork Curandera, Volume 1: The Witch Owl Parliament

    Christina, a cyborg traditional healer resurrected from death by her engineer-alchemist brother, must use her new powers and allies to follow in her parents' footsteps, fight injustice, and stop the Witch Owl Parliament once and for all.
    Cover of Clockwork Curandera, Volume 1: The Witch Owl Parliament
  • The Cost of Knowing

    With the power to see the future of anything—or anyone—he touches, Alex deals with extreme anxiety. But when he gets a vision of his brother's death in just a few days' time, Alex has to reconnect with his brother and see if he can stop what he knows is coming.
    Cover of The Cost of Knowing
  • The Crossroads at Midnight

    Desolate fields, missing sisters, ghosts, and swamp creatures? Is this book haunted?
    Cover of The Crossroads at Midnight
  • Dagger Hill

    After a plane literally crashes into them, Gabe, Charlie, and Sonya must fight a government conspiracy, scientists, and someone, or something, wearing a gasmask to save their abducted friend… or die trying.
    Cover of Dagger Hill
  • Darling

    When a boy named Peter appears at Wendy Darling's window and invites her to join him and his friends for a night out in Chicago, she eagerly agrees. But as the night slowly spirals out of control, not even Wendy can predict the secrets she'll uncover.
    Cover of Darling
  • Determined to Stay: Palestinian Youth Fight for Their Village

    In Silwan, a Palestinian village outside the Old City of Jerusalem, children, teens, and adults struggle to live and build a community under Israel's efforts to remove them.
    Cover of Determined to Stay: Palestinian Youth Fight for Their Village
  • The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor

    Illustrated by Christopher Baldwin | Gothic romance superfan Haley saves a stranger from drowning and wakes up at Willowweep Manor, which embodies the settings of her favorite books. Willowweep harbors a device that prevents evil from entering our world—but it's falling apart.
    Cover of The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor
  • Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today

    From everyday ableism and its challenges to celebrating disabled existence and disabled joy, Disability Visibility challenges common disability narratives. Full Title: Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today (Adapted for Young Adults).
    Cover of Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today
  • Dustborn

    When raiders working for the General burn down her village and kidnap her clan, Delta of Dead River suspects she was the target. To rescue what's left of her family, she and a childhood friend will have to figure out how to read the map branded on her back.
    Cover of Dustborn
  • Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry

    After being blackmailed and cyberbullied on social media, Quinn must face her fears and recover her stolen journal with the help of a new group of friends.
    Cover of Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry
  • Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome

    What's it like to grow up with facial disfigurement in a society where appearance is often taken as an indicator of worth?
    Cover of Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome
  • Firekeeper's Daughter

    In this fast-paced thriller set within the Ojibwe reservation and the surrounding Michigan town, Daunis becomes an undercover agent for the FBI after witnessing a murder.
    Cover of Firekeeper's Daughter
  • From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry

    A powerful account of the murder of Vincent Chin, the resulting verdicts and civil rights trial, and the growth of the Asian American Movement. Full Title: From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement.
    Cover of From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry
  • The Girls I've Been

    Three teens walk into a bank—and two men with guns follow. Nora is the daughter of a con artist. She and her girlfriend, Iris, and ex-boyfriend, Wes, just wanted to make a deposit, but now it's not even clear if they'll make it out of the bank alive.
    Cover of The Girls I've Been
  • The Hazards of Love, Book 1: Bright World

    After Amparo accidentally allows a talking cat to steal their life, they are plunged into Bright World: a horrific yet colorful bridge between here and the next plane. Amparo is determined to escape and return to their love, Iolanthe... but just how steep is the cost?
    Cover of The Hazards of Love, Book 1: Bright World
  • Himawari House

    Five friends living in a shared house in Tokyo deal with language barriers and culture shock on their varied journeys to self-discovery, friendship, and love.
    Cover of Himawari House
  • House of Hollow

    The Hollow sisters disappeared as children only to return a month later, changed, with no memory of what happened. Now, one of them is missing again. Finding her means remembering what happened years ago—and uncovering a deadly, rotting, fantastic secret.
    Cover of House of Hollow
  • How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe

    Moon and Star are twins, but Star has the spotlight while Moon is the girl behind the camera. But taking great pictures of Star for social media isn't Moon's only gift, and over the course of a summer road trip, Moon learns to embrace her talents and herself.
    Cover of How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe
  • Hurricane Summer

    Tilla's mother says you get two birthdays. One the day you are born and the other when you give birth to yourself. While visiting Jamaica, she faces a storm of dark secrets that threaten to unravel her life while an actual storm threatens the lives of those she loves.
    Cover of Hurricane Summer
  • If I Tell You the Truth

    While fighting to keep her mother, Kiran, from getting deported, 17-year-old Sahaara learns the awful truth behind her conception, and why Kiran left Punjab in the first place. Now they must face the past head-on, even if it could cost them everything.
    Cover of If I Tell You the Truth
  • Iron Widow

    Seeking revenge for her murdered sister, Wu Zetian enlists in the military to pilot giant mechas only to unleash a dormant power within her and uncover a centuries-old lie soaked in the blood of innocent girls.
    Cover of Iron Widow
  • Last Night at the Telegraph Club

    The pulp novels that Lily Hu reads in secret pale in comparison to the real thing as she discovers herself—and romance—at the Telegraph Club, a lesbian bar and refuge in 1950s San Francisco.
    Cover of Last Night at the Telegraph Club
  • Let's Talk About It

    Sex. Relationships. Bodies. They're complicated! Uncomplicate them with this book. Full Title: Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human.
    Cover of Let's Talk About It
  • Love Is a Revolution

    Nala thinks she needs to lie to find love, but she’ll learn that being true to yourself is a revolutionary act.
    Cover of Love Is a Revolution
  • Mao, Vol. 1

    Nanoka is transported to the Taisho Era to fight demons alongside an aloof exorcist named Mao and discovers her life isn't what it seems.
    Cover of Mao, Vol. 1
  • The Mary Shelley Club

    Rachel loves horror movies, but after joining a secret club dedicated to scaring teens, her life begins to mirror her favorite films. Will she survive the dangerous pranks of the Mary Shelley Club or will she be their next victim?
    Cover of The Mary Shelley Club
  • My Love Mix-Up! Vol. 1

    Art by Aruko | Aoki likes Hashimoto, but Aoki discovers that he may like her crush more. A hilarious mix-up of love and mistaken identity, all caused by a dropped eraser.
    Cover of My Love Mix-Up! Vol. 1
  • Nubia: Real One

    Illustrated by Robyn Smith | Being a Black girl superhero means that even when Nubia comes to the rescue, people still see her as a threat. Can she fight injustice without hiding who she is?
    Cover of Nubia: Real One
  • Perfectly Parvin

    Parvin Mohammadi is ready to start high school with a boyfriend and Hot Cheetos in hand until suddenly, she's only left with Hot Cheetos. Now she's on a quest to change her entire personality all before homecoming.
    Cover of Perfectly Parvin
  • Punching Bag

    Covering life with his abusive mom, angry stepfather, and younger brother, Rex Ogle's autobiographical story of domestic violence, sibling relationships, and forgiveness speaks to the survival instinct in us all.
    Cover of Punching Bag
  • Queer as All Get Out: 10 People Who've Inspired Me

    A personal reflection on the lives of 10 fascinating lesser-known icons from LGBTQ+ history.
    Cover of Queer as All Get Out: 10 People Who've Inspired Me
  • Revolution in Our Time

    The Black Panther Party’s revolutionary activism was more than just a footnote in American history. Learn what they wanted, what they believed, and how their radical vision still resonates today. Full Title: Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People.
    Cover of Revolution in Our Time
  • Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke

    Revisit the story of an icon ahead of his time—Glenn Burke, MLB's first openly gay player and inventor of the high five.
    Cover of Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke
  • A Snake Falls to Earth

    Nina, a Lipan girl, lives on a near-future Earth increasingly impacted by climate change. Olli, a cottonmouth person, lives in the Reflected World, spirit home of the animal people. When Olli’s friend is threatened, two worlds and two stories collide.
    Cover of A Snake Falls to Earth
  • Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet

    Penelope meets Xander at her father's restaurant, right before she's fired and kicked out of her home. Xander, looking for his father, is thrown into the chaos of the restaurant family. Through food and love, they must fight to save their home.
    Cover of Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
  • Spin Me Right Round

    When Luis accidentally travels back in time, he has the chance to change the past and save a life. But how much can one gay Cuban boy change at a conservative Christian boarding school before he gets thrown out or finds a way home?
    Cover of Spin Me Right Round
  • Sway with Me

    Homeschooled Arsalan knows as much about dancing as he does about girls: almost nothing. As he wades into Beenish’s chaotic world, he discovers friends and family he never expected, and maybe love—if only he and Beenish can get in step.
    Cover of Sway with Me
  • This Is Not the Jess Show

    Seventeen-year-old Jess Flynn is a normal '90s girl with a normal life—but that's just what the producers want her to think.
    Cover of This Is Not the Jess Show
  • This Poison Heart

    A mysterious upstate mansion, a deadly secret garden, and new neighbors who are not what they seem all hold answers about Briseis's past and her supernatural affinity for plants.
    Cover of This Poison Heart
  • The Valley and the Flood

    When Rose hears her dead best friend's voice over the radio, she follows it to a strange desert town where her arrival was predicted and no one is happy to see her. Facing a mysterious flood and eldritch beings, Rose and her new friends have only three days to save the community.
    Cover of The Valley and the Flood
  • Witch King, The

    To get out of marrying into the fae royal family, outcast and trans witch Wyatt makes a deal with his enemy only to find he may not want to leave after all.
    Cover of Witch King, The
  • Yasmeen

    Illustrated by Fabiana Mascolo | Captured by ISIS at 16, Yasmeen spends two years in captivity before being freed. Now she must endure a new struggle as she becomes a refugee in a foreign country: the USA.
    Cover of Yasmeen