Top YA Fiction of the Year

The Black Queen by Jumata Emill

When Nova, Lovett High School’s first black homecoming queen, is murdered the night of her coronation, her best friend, Duchess, finds an unlikely ally in her search for the killer–her prime suspect, Tinsley, the white rival nominee for queen.

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Tori Spring feels completely disconnected from her life–until she meets the relentlessly cheerful Michael Holden, and a series of schoolwide pranks starts to draw her out of her shell.

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the Worlds Greatest Ally title locked down. She’s never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There’s Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen’s biases in check. And then there’s Lili–newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends. Imogen’s thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she’s finally visiting Lili on campus, she’s bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen’s all in. Even if that means bending the truth, just a little. Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she’s told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero–not even Lilis best friend, Tessa. Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with…

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

Eight years have passed since the Battle of the Serpent. In the icy north, Lady Nore of the Court of Teeth has reclaimed the Ice Needle Cathedral. She has produced a monster of stick and snow who will do her bidding– and exact her revenge. Suren, child queen of the Court of Teeth, fled to the human world and lives in the woods. When she is chased through the streets by the hag Bogdana, Suren is saved by Prince Oak, the heir to Elfhame– and the boy she was once promised to in marriage. He wants Suren’s help on a mission– but can she trust him?

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it’s 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love — even where they’re not supposed to. There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married…until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love — unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business — and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. But Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can’t seem to keep his interest…until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But all eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris’s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette. But when Iris’s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands — that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper, an unlikely magical connection forms. Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?

The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson’s half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem–efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting bogged down in emotional entanglements. Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. When his mysterious father appears and asks for a favor, Jameson can’t resist the challenge. Now he must infiltrate London’s most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich, the powerful, and the aristocratic, and win an impossible game of greatest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for the impossible. Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson–with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather’s fortune–must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win.

Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds

Miles Morales is still just your average teenager. He has unexpectedly become totally obsessed with poetry and can never seem to do much more than babble around his crush. Nothing too weird. Oh! Except, just yesterday, he used his spidey superpowers to save the world (no biggie) from an evil mastermind called The Warden. And the grand prize Miles gets for that is…Suspension. But what begins as a long boring day of in-school suspension is interrupted by a little bzzz in his mind. His spidey-sense is telling him there’s something not quite right here, and soon he finds himself in a fierce battle with an insidious…termite?! His unexpected foe is hiding a secret, one that could lead to the destruction of the world’s history—especially Black and Brown history—and only Miles can stop him. Yeah, just a typical day in the life of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Nick and Charlie: a Heartopper Novella by Alice Oseman

Absence makes the heart grow fonder… right? Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie love their nearly inseparable life together. But soon Nick will be leaving for university, and Charlie, a year younger, will be left behind. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question… or at least that’s what Nick and Charlie assume at first. As the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie start to question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Charlie is sure he’s holding Nick back… and Nick can’t tell what Charlie’s thinking. Things spiral from there. Everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever. What will it take for Nick and Charlie to defy the odds?

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

When nineteen-year-old international pop sensation Winter Young is recruited by a covert organization to take down a criminal tycoon, he is paired with Sydney Cossette, a fierce and unpredictable secret agent, but suspicions soon turn to sparks as the two are drawn into a tangled web of secrets and deception.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place.

Other books in the series:

• Catching Fire
• Mockingjay
• Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Belly spends the summer she turns sixteen at the beach just like every other summer of her life, but this time things are very different.

Other books in the series:

• It’s not summer without you
• We’ll always have summer

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

When a Connecticut teenager inherits vast wealth and an eccentric estate from the richest man in Texas, she must also live with his surviving family and solve a series of puzzles to discover how she earned her inheritance.

Other books in the series:

• The Hawthorne Legacy
• The Final Gambit
• The Brothers Hawthorne

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers

When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.

Other books in the series:

• New Moon
• Eclipse
• Breaking Dawn
• Midnight sun

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (‘gleaned’) by professional reapers (‘scythes’). Two teens must compete with each other to become a scythe–a position neither of them wants. The one who becomes a scythe must kill the one who doesn’t

Other books in the series:

• Thunderhead
• The Toll
• Gleanings

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel–a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

After witnessing her friend’s death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter’s life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn’s fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

After receiving an invitation to spend the summer with their estranged grandmother, the Story cousins arrive at her house only to discover that she is not there, and the longer they stay on the island, the more they realize their mysterious family history has some deadly secrets.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene

Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and love. 

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally gained the power to stretch like rubber…at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, Luffy sets off in search of the “One Piece,” said to be the greatest treasure in the world…

My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikosh

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless? Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny…

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

In the village of Konohagakure, school is literally a battlefield where classmates are ninjas in training competing to become the greatest ninja in the land.

Demon Slayer = Kimetsu No Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge

In Taisho-era Japan, Tanjiro Kamado is a kindhearted boy who makes a living selling charcoal until his peaceful life is shattered when a demon slaughters his family and turns his sister into another demon, forcing Tanjiro on a dangerous journey to destroy the demon and save his sister.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess by Akira Himekawa

Link must defeat evil at every turn in his perilous quest to help Princess Zelda! Once upon a time, wizards tried to conquer the Sacred Realm of Hyrule. The Spirits of Light sealed the wizard’s power within the Shadow Crystal and banished them to the Twilight Realm beyond the Mirror of Twilight. Now, an evil menace is trying to find Midna, Princess of the Twilight Realm, and the fragments of the Shadow Crystal to gain the power to rule over both the Twilight Realm and the World of Light. Link once trained in swordsmanship, hoping to protect the world of Hyrule. After a fateful meeting, he sought out the anonymity and peace of life in a small village. But danger and adventure always find heroes to set things right, and when the dark minions of the King of Shadows threaten his new home, Link answers the call!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riodan, adapted by Robert Venditti

A collection of books featuring Percy Jackson and his army of young demigods on different adventures.

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn’t think he has a chance. But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.

Miles Morales by Saladin Ahmed

Miles Morales swings back into the spotlight! Balancing a normal life, school, friends, family and super-heroing has never been easy for Miles, but when the rampaging Rhino and a cadre of mysterious criminals start plaguing Brooklyn, things take a dark turn for the young Spider-Man! And Miles doesn’t even know the half of it yet. What mystery lurks under the surface of this newest villainous uprising?

Deadpool

Collects no. 1-5 of “Deadpool” in which Wade Wilson fights aliens, saves a baseball stadium, and surrenders to the Skrulls who use his healing abilities to make a new generation of super-Skrulls

Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates

A new era begins for the Black Panther! MacArthur Genius and National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) takes the helm, confronting T’Challa with a dramatic upheaval in Wakanda that will make leading the African nation tougher than ever before. When a superhuman terrorist group that calls itself The People sparks a violent uprising, the land famed for its incredible technology and proud warrior traditions will be thrown into turmoil. If Wakanda is to survive, it must adapt–but can its monarch, one in a long line of Black Panthers, survive the necessary change? Heavy lies the head that wears the cowl!