YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults Blogging Team presents fiction titles published for young adults in the past 14 months that are recommended reading for ages 12 to 18. The purpose of the annual list it to provide librarians and library workers with a resource to use for collection development and reader’s advisory purposes.
Although now a blogging team, the group was originally a committee. The committee evolved from a committee established under the School Libraries Section of ALA, which was charged with producing a list of 1930’s “Best Books for Young People.” The committee has undergone several changes of focus and names over the years, including the Book Selection Committee (1954), and later the Committee for the Selection of Significant Adult Books for Young People (1963). It became the Best Books for Young Adults Committee (BBYA) in 1966. As publishing for the young adult market grew exponentially (over 2,000 titles per year in 2008) and seven other YALSA selection and award lists for young adults were created since its inception, Best Books for Young Adults was restructured and named Best Fiction for Young Adults by the YALSA Board of Directors at the Midwinter Meeting in 2010.
Suggest a Title for the 2026 List Here
See Current Committee Contacts Here
Download the Complete 2025 List Here
Click the titles to be directed to the original reviews. Click the authors names to be directed to author’s website.
- All the Fighting Parts
- by Hannah V. Sawyerr
- 2023, Amulet, $19.99, (9781419762611), Gr. 9 – 12
- Sixteen-year-old Amina Conteh clashes with her religious father in many ways, and is forced to spend more time at their church because of her rebelliousness. When she is assaulted by a church leader, Amina uses poetry to find her voice and seek justice for what happened to her.
- Bright Red Fruit
- By Safia Elhillo
- 2024. 368 p. Make Me a World, $19.99 (9780593381229), Gr. 8 – 12
- When sixteen-year-old Samira’s overprotective Sudanese immigrant mother grounds her for the umpteenth time, she takes refuge in an online poetry community. There she meets Horus, an older poet. When she ignores her friends’ warnings about him, there’s more at risk than her reputation, risks her mom didn’t prepare her for.
- Dragonfruit
- By Makiia Lucier
- 2024. 356 p. Clarion Books, $19.99 (9780358272106). Gr. 8 – 11.
- As a child, Hanalei and the princess of Tamarind were poisoned. Hanalei’s father stole a rare dragon egg intended to resurrect the princess and fed it to Hanalei, forcing them into exile. Now years later, Hanalei has a chance to find a new dragon egg and right the past.
- Libertad
- Bessie Flores Zaldivar
- 2024. 417 p. Dial Books, $19.99 (9780593696125). Gr. 9 – 12.
- Libertad Morazán creates an anonymous Instagram profile to share her political poetry about the 2017 Honduran presidential election, while trying to reconcile her feelings for her best friend, Cami, and her new girlfriend, Dani. After tragedy strikes her family, Libertad has to decide the best course of action for her future.
- Looking for Smoke
- By K.A. Cobell
- 2024. 402 p. Heartdrum, $19.99 (9780063318670). Gr. 9 – 12.
- When a Blackfeet girl is found murdered during a giveaway honoring a missing teen girl, four teens with complicated pasts find themselves named suspects. They have to work together to clear their names. But as time goes on, it looks increasingly likely that one of the four is the murderer.
- The Merciless King of Moore High
- By Lily Sparks
- 2024. 365 p. Flux, $16.99 (9781635830965). Gr. 9 – 12.
- Exiled from her school and left to fend for herself against the monsters outside, Kay seeks shelter with the rival school, Moore High, and its king. However, she soon discovers a deadly secret that could destroy both schools.
- Rez Ball
- By Byron Graves
- 2023. 357 p. Heartdrum, $19.99 (9780063160378). Gr. 9 – 12.
- Tre Brun is trying to prove he’s a great basketball player, but it’s hard when everyone compares him to his older brother Jaxon who died in a car accident. Jaxon nearly took Red Lake Reservation High School state. Now Tre is ready to take his team to state. . .and win.
- Thirsty
- By Jas Hammonds
- 2024. 318 p. Roaring Brook Press, $19.99 (9781250816597). Gr. 9 – 12.
- As a biracial girl from a poor background, Blake Brenner has just wanted to feel seen. Now four years into a relationship with her beautiful and rich girlfriend who enables her drinking problem, Blake must navigate the summer before college and pledging a secret sorority for women of color.
- Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… : A Love Story
- By Jason Reynolds
- 2024. 239 p. Atheneum, $19.99 ( 978-1665961271). Gr. 9 – 12
- Neon is just twenty-four seconds away from losing his virginity to Aria, but nerves are getting the best of him. Told in reverse, the story unravels the moments that brought Neon to this moment, highlighting the relationship advice he receives from significant figures in his life.
- Under This Red Rock
- By Mindy McGinnis
- 2024. 326 p. Katherine Tegen Books, $19.99 (9780063230415). Gr. 10 – 12.
- Neely, still reeling from her brother’s suicide, has been secretly living with schizophrenia. She finds comfort and stability working as a guide in the caverns–until her coworker and crush Mila is found brutally murdered and Neely begins to worry she’s the one responsible.
Committee Members
Coordinator: Jodi Kruse
Team members: Cathy DeCampli, Molly Dettmann, Michael Fleming, Candace Fox, Alicia Kalan, Beth Krebs-Smith, Kameron Morton, Megan Nigh, Julianne Novetsky, Yona Yurwit