Best Teen Fiction of 2021Like this list

28 items

• Be Dazzled

  La Sala, Ryan,

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  Raffy is determined to win first prize at the Controverse Championship of Cosplay, the biggest contest of the year, but his fiercest rival turns out to be his ex-boyfriend Luca. Competitive cosplay and love collide in this funny gay…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Beasts of Prey

  Gray, Ayana,

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  Koffi, a poor indentured servant girl, and Ekon, a young warrior trying to fulfill his duty to become a "son of the six," cross paths during a fire at the village zoo of Lkossa. Motivated by their own secrets, they team up on a wild…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Blackout

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  Six of the strongest voices in YA lit have combined forces to bring you interconnected short stories that take place during a blackout in New York City on a hot summer night. Authors including Nicola Yoon and Angie Thomas contribute tales…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Blood Like Magic

  Sambury, Liselle,

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  Voya has finally reached the age for her Calling as a witch. However, in order to pass her ancestor’s Calling trial, she must find and kill her first love. If she doesn’t, she and her family will be stripped of their generational magic.

• Chlorine Sky

  Browne, Mahogany L.,

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  In this novel written in verse, Skyy is dealing with bullying from her friends, sister and boys. She thrives in swimming and basketball, but sometimes she is asked to tone it down because she intimidates the boys. This is a coming-of-age…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Darkness Outside Us

  Schrefer, Eliot, 1978-

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  Prepare yourself for meteor-sized plot twists in this unforgettable science fiction novel about Ambrose and Kodiak, two teen astronauts on a mission to rescue Ambrose’s sister, Minerva. What is the Operating System on the Coordinated…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Electric Kingdom

  Arnold, David, 1981-

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  After the world has been devastated by Fly Flu, a few survivors attempt to find hope and meaning in the wreckage. Avoiding swarms of flies, a group of young people search for a mythical portal that might deliver them to a place called home…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Firekeeper's Daughter

  Boulley, Angeline,

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  Daunis’s life has always been divided between her mother’s white family and her father’s Ojibwe community, but when her best friend Lily is murdered by her boyfriend, things get even more complicated. In this fascinating thriller, Daunis…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Gilded Ones

  Forna, Namina,

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  During her purity ceremony, Deka finds out that she’s an alaki, a descendant of evil demons called the Gilded Ones who have magical gold blood. She’s sent away to train with an elite fighting force to defeat the terrifying deathshrieks,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Girls I've Been

  Sharpe, Tess,

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  Now that her con artist mom is in jail, Nora’s been trying to act like a normal teen. But when she gets trapped in the middle of a bank robbery along side her girlfriend Iris and her ex Wes, she uses her criminal skills to save their lives…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating

  Jaigirdar, Adiba,

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  Although Hani and Ishu are the only Bengali students in their high school in Ireland, antisocial Ishu and gregarious Hani don’t really know each other until Hani comes out to her friends as bisexual and pretends that Ishu is her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love With the Universe

  Vasquez Gilliland, Raquel,

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  In this romantic, emotional book with elements of magical realism, Moon Fuentez accompanies her influencer sister as camerawoman and merch girl on a cross-country tour of social media stars. Along for the ride is the gorgeous, talented…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• In the Wild Light

  Zentner, Jeff,

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  When Cash's best friend secures him a spot at an east coast elite boarding school, his ticket out of his addiction-riddled Appalachian town, he finds a world outside the grief and loss he has known. He puts pen to paper in this subtly…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Indivisible

  Aleman, Daniel,

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  In this debut novel, Mateo, a shy aspiring actor living in New York City, works after school at Adela's Corner, the bodega owned by his family owns. Unfortunately, his parents are undocumented and one day while Mateo is in school they are…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Last Night at the Telegraph Club

  Lo, Malinda,

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  In this fascinating historical novel, seventeen-year-old Chinese-American Lily falls for her friend Kath during their outings to San Francisco lesbian bar The Telegraph Club. Set in the early 1950s, the book shows how Lily copes with…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Mirror Season

  McLemore, Anna-Marie,

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  Ciela works in her family’s pastelería, where Ciela possesses el don, the gift, to make enchanted pan dulce. After attending a house party, Ciela and a new boy in town, who is unconscious, are both sexually assaulted. This is a story about…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Muted

  Charles, Tami,

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  In a story told through verse that seems ripped from the headlines, Denver's talent and love of music are manipulated by a famous R&B singer who threatens to steal much more than her songs, maybe even her very soul.

• On the Hook

  Stork, Francisco X.,

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  Hector has always been mild-mannered, except when it comes to competitive chess. But after an incident of violence that occurs in his neighborhood, he has full cause for revenge. Things will never return to the way they were, but what kind…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Perfectly Parvin

  Abtahi, Olivia,

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  In a rare book about younger teens, 14-year-old Parvin (pronounced PAR-veen in Farsi) feels totally humiliated when her boyfriend dumps her at freshman orientation. She vows to become a less loud, more rom-com friendly version of herself…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Six Crimson Cranes

  Lim, Elizabeth,

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  A banished Princess, hidden magic seeped in Eastern mythology and a cute dragon-hybrid man make this a delightful series opener where curses are not always what they seem. Princess Shiori must save her kingdom of Kiata from her evil…Read moreRead more of this annotation