Here are our reading groups’ favorite young adult books of 2021 based on our survey results.
FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER
Angeline Boulley
With four starred reviews, Angeline Boulley's debut novel, Firekeeper's Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, perfect for readers of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange. Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on…
THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM - 1963
Christopher Paul Curtis
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of this Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree about a hilarious family on a road-trip at one of the most important times in America's history. This special edition makes a perfect gift and includes bonus content. Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family,…
THE FOUNTAINS OF SILENCE
Ruta Sepetys
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray comes a gripping, extraordinary portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship. Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists…
THE HATE U GIVE
Angie Thomas
Eight Starred Reviews and a #1 New York Times Bestseller! Angie Thomas’s searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty. Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is thrust into the national spotlight after her childhood friend is killed by a white…
ALL THIRTEEN
Christina Soontornvat
A unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight. On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach enter a cave in northern Thailand seeking an afternoon’s adventure. But when…
THEY WENT LEFT
Monica Hesse
The New York Times bestselling, Sydney Taylor Honor winning, critically acclaimed tour de force historical mystery from Monica Hesse, author of Girl in the Blue Coat Germany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her…
MAD, BAD & DANGEROUS TO KNOW
Samira Ahmed
Smash the patriarchy. Eat all the pastries. Discover New York Times bestseller Samira Ahmed’s romantic, sweeping adventure through the streets of Paris told in alternating narratives that bridge centuries, continents, and the lives of two young Muslim women fighting to write their own stories. It’s August in Paris and 17-year-old…
BLACK BROTHER, BLACK BROTHER
Jewell Parker Rhodes
From award-winning and bestselling author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presents as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to navigate the world, all while training for a fencing competition — now in paperback! Framed.…