Young Adult 
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Lee debuts with this breathtaking graphic novel romance about loss and moving forward that expertly captures a teen’s feelings of isolation and emotional intensity as he processes his girlfriend’s death. Pham’s fluid illustrations amplify the storytelling, combining moody, grayish-blues and warm, uplifting buttery yellows to deliver a hopeful tale that will incite both heartache and joy.
Bernet’s brilliantly snappy debut, a contemporary riff on Little Women, follows Jo as she investigates Beth’s murder. Chapters shift between the March sisters’ distinctive voices, injecting suspense and true crime podcast energy into the inquiry. The girls’ closely held desires and ambitions honor the cozy domesticity of the inspiration material and add fuel to the fire of this electrifying whodunit.
This engrossing fantasy series opener sees a teenage priestess unexpectedly chosen as a vessel for her kingdom’s ancient dragon gods. When a transgression prompts the gods to abandon her people, the protagonist takes her kingdom’s protection into her own hands. Via African mythology-inspired worldbuilding and invigorating twists, Bowen crafts a gripping tale of first love, divided loyalties, and loss.
A spacefaring teenage ship captain travels the cosmos seeking vengeance against the sentient, self-sustaining spacecraft that killed her crew in Chan’s exhilarating Moby-Dick-inspired debut. Contending with romantic feelings en route, the captain must choose between her future and pursuing the creature that destroyed her life. Steadfast first-person narration relays a sweeping interstellar adventure that boasts wholly unique worldbuilding.
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Informed by the son of a legendary Lipan Apache being that “a terrible fate looms,” a teen attempts to save her home from forces both supernatural and benign in Little Badger and Rajunov’s stunning contemporary fantasy. Mystery and speculative elements converge across this sinuous, elaborately constructed story that balances suspenseful plotting with emotional resonance and cultural depth.
In this distinct and emotionally vulnerable verse novel, a Native Hawaiian teen rebels against her intimidating father’s rigid expectations. Following the revelation of her dad’s extramarital affair, she wrestles with feelings of invisibility and conflicting emotions about her role within her church-going community. With assuredness, Adams’s measured debut emerges as an aching story about one teen’s internal growth and cultural awakening.
Former friends team up to expose a company’s complicity in their community’s increasing death toll in Ixta’s riveting and intelligent novel. As the protagonists grapple with their desire to make a difference and find their place in the world, clever and empathetic narration poses challenging questions about the things one is willing to compromise for love and justice.
In this comprehensive nonfiction work, debut author Duckels teams up with Levithan to recount the history of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. and its physical and emotional impact on those affected. Highlighting the intensity of the virus’s influence on society and culture as well as important aspects of its past and its present-day status, it’s an essential portrait of the epidemic.
One’s body and soul are separate entities in debut author Lord’s mind-bending series opener, which sensitively explores identity and self-actualization. Determined to obtain a vessel that matches her spirit, the protagonist—a female consciousness bound to a male figure—becomes embroiled in a dangerous war. Sophisticated worldbuilding and sumptuous set pieces are enriched by exquisitely rendered characters in this dazzling tale.
After the uncle who physically assaulted her suddenly dies, a teen reckons with past trauma as well as fraught family dynamics and her mother’s mysterious worsening illness. Graff infuses viscerally wrought realities with moments of lightheartedness via funny and compassionate narration, resulting in a meticulously calibrated story about familial abuse and the psychological effects of a lasting injury.
Kennedy makes her YA debut with a taut, emphatic thriller that follows the intelligent, resilient teenage daughter of a serial killer as she wrestles with her memories of her father and his monstrous actions. Anticipatory writing and nuanced, morally complex characterization relays an introspective examination of the ripple effects of violence and a grimly layered mystery about reconciliation.
In Hardinge’s rousing, medieval-inspired historical fantasy, a kingdom’s castles occasionally swap places thanks to a Great Game involving godlike Players. Tired of mercenaries plundering his village’s livestock and food stores, a teen attempts to turn the tides of the brutal sport. Witty and wildly inventive mythology and indomitable characters distinguish this triumphant tale of derring-do.
Dapier and Dungo’s profound graphic novel fictionalizes the story of the Chicago public school system’s 2013 removal of Persepolis from classroom libraries. As teens contest the ban, their protests garner national attention, forcing them to consider their actions’ impact. Organic dialogue adds verve to sophisticated conversations about censorship, while understated artwork complements the complex, multifaceted tale.
A transgender teen’s discovery of a magical liminal space empowers them to be their most authentic self in St. Jude’s cathartic story. Intimate prose traces the protagonist’s grappling with their gender identity as they—and five queer strangers—find refuge in an isolated farmhouse where time stands still. The result is a luminous and affirming novel about healing and moving forward.
Broyles delivers a searing historical novel about a Cherokee teen’s forced removal from her Tennessee home. Characters inspired by real people are vividly brought to life through raw prose, poems, and fictionalized diary and journal entries. It’s a triple threat: an illuminating historical telling, a tender portrait of adolescence, and a harrowing call to action against the U.S.’s inhumane treatment of Indigenous peoples.
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