Tag: Spring Round Up

2027 Best Fiction for Young Adults Spring Round-Up

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the officially nominated titles to date. These titles have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple team members, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, each team will choose the final list of nominations and determine the Selected List’s Top Ten from these titles.

– Erica Schimmel, 2027 BFYA Coordinator

The Secret Astronomers. By Jessica Walker, 2025. 304 p. Viking Books for Young Readers, $19.99 (9780593692677). Gr. 7-12.

Two students find an unexpected friendship when they begin communicating through notes and drawings in an old, abandoned astronomy textbook in their high school library. Using code names, the two develop a closer relationship than either would ever expect – and discover a mystery tied to the town’s past.

The House Saphir. By Marissa Meyer, 2025. 432 p. Feiwel and Friends, $19.99 (9781250320957). Gr. 9-12

Legend has it that Bluebeard killed his wives. Mallory uses that legend to con people to pay for a tour of Bluebeard’s house. One night Bluebeard’s heir joins the tour and wants to hire Mallory to solve the mystery of who is murdering people at his haunted family estate.  Is the killer a ghost or alive?

Sisters in the Wind. By Angeline Boulley, 2025. 384 p. Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), $19.99 (9781250328533). Gr. 9-12

When severely injured due to a pipe bomb explosion, 18-year-old Lucy is forced to reckon with her dangerous past and learn about her Indigenous heritage while on the run.

K-Jane. By Lydia Kang, 2025. 326 p. Quill Tree Books, $19.99 (9780063354623). Gr. 7-12.

With the impending arrival of a new baby brother, 17-year-old Jane Choi questions her family’s lack of Korean-ness. To save her baby brother from the same fate, Jane begins exploring everything Korean on a private social media channel. When more people find out about the channel, everything falls apart.

The Last Resort. By Erin Entrada Kelly, 2025. 240 p. Scholastic, $17.99 (9781546132431). Gr. 3-7.

The Last Resort will appeal to fans of many genres (such as horror, supernatural, mystery and realistic fiction) and across many grade levels. Lila’s grandfather passes and her family inherits his old house, which happens to be a portal for ghosts (that only Lila can see) to cross to the other side.


Season of Fear. By Emily Cooper, 2025. 352 p. Christy Ottaviano Books, $19.99 (9780316581639). Gr. 9-12.
Ilse is unable to feed fear she doesn’t feel to the terrifying Saint of Fear, endangering both her sister’s and her own life. In her quest to shield her sister from certain death, Ilse discovers the truth behind her fearlessness.

Winter White. By Annie Cardi, 2026. 272 p. Union Square & Co., $18.99 (9781454960584). Gr. 9-12.

Pia and her family live in isolation, earning money by selling eggs in town. When an accident sidelines her father, Pia must make the deliveries on her own. But what is really being delivered underneath the egg cartons? Is Pia’s entire life a lie?

Reasons We Break. By Jesmeen Kaur Deo, 2025. 416 p. Disney Hyperion, $18.99 (9781368113748). Gr. 9-12.

In the midst of personal setbacks, against a background of a gang war, Simran and Rajan find themselves pursuing an risky star-crossed romance.

The Faraway Inn. By Sarah Beth Durst, 2026. 384 p. Delacorte Press, $14.99 (9798217024308). Gr. 7-12.

Calisa just wanted to escape her bad breakup by escaping to Vermont for the summer. She planned to stay at her Great Aunts bed and breakfast, but she arrives to a failing inn. There are some very odd things happening at the Inn. Things like a swirling portal in the broom cupboard, a very strange reptile, and whispers coming from under the porch.

Freddie and Stella Got Hot. By Maggie Horne, 2026. 336 p. Feiwel & Friends, $19.99 (9781250377371). Gr. 9-12.

Freddie and Stella enter a school contest to take down their former bestie, Levi. When Stella turns ruthless, taking down every popular girl in their class, Freddie starts to get uncomfortable. The only way she can stop Stella is by befriending the enemy that started this whole mess–Levi.

Last Chance Live! By Helena Haywoode Henry, 2025. 544 p. Nancy Paulsen Books, $21.99 (9780593625309). Gr. 7-12

Eternity Price enters the popular reality TV show Last Chance Live, hoping to earn her freedom and amnesty following a crime that leaves her on death row, but when she starts to make friends for the first time in her life, she’s forced to make the difficult decision of which she wants more: companionship or freedom?

The Lion’s Run. By Sara Pennypacker, 2026. 288 p. Balzer + Bray, $18.99 (9781250392817). Gr. 4-6.
Though others call him a coward, 13-year-old Lucas proves his bravery by rescuing kittens, aiding the French Resistance, and helping mothers. Determined to help his friend’s horse evade Nazi capture, he embarks on an extraordinary journey of courage.

One Word, Six Letters. By Adib Khorram, 2026. 224 p. Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), $19.99 (9781250405555). Gr. 7-12.
On a dare, Dayton yells a gay slur at school. Farshid hears and wonders if it was directed at him. If he gets stronger, maybe no one will question him. As the school year continues, the incident looms over both boys as they question the men they are becoming.

Check out our interview with the author of One Word, Six Letters, Adib Khorram!

Beth is Dead. By Katie Bernet, 2026. 400 p. Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99 (9781665988698). Gr. 7-12.

Told through alternating POVs of the famous Marsh sisters from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Beth Is Dead reimagines everyone’s favorite sisters as they grapple with the death of the second youngest, Beth, and band together to solve the mystery of how their sister died in the woods.

The Danger of Small Things. By Caryl Lewis, 2026. 272 p. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $19.99 (9781665977517). Gr. 7-12.

In this near-future dystopian novel that takes place after the last bee has died, a young girl uses the power of Art to incite change during what feels like the darkest of times.

Soundtrack. By Jason Reynolds, 2026. 336 p. Crown Books for Young Readers, $19.99 (9798217231591). Gr. 7-12.

Emotional and fast paced, Soundtrack will immediately draw readers in. Those involved in the arts will relate to the band that becomes a family. A message that a family doesn’t always have to share blood will resonate with readers. Reynolds has mass market appeal and this book will be no different.

2026 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Spring Round-Up

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the officially nominated titles to date. These titles have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple team members, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, each team will choose the final list of nominations and determine the Selected List’s Top Ten from these titles. 

–Kim Keown Farnsworth, Great Graphic Novels for Teens Coordinator

Aria of the Beech Forest, vol. 2 by Yugiri Aika, 2025. 179 p. Yen Press, $15.00 (9781975380168). Gr. 8-12.

With the help of her new friends, young witch Aria is stepping outside of her comfort zone and into a whole new world. Just when Aria begins to feel more comfortable taking on these adventures, a mysterious visitor comes to visit and puts everything on its head.

Cosmos, vol. 1 by Ryuhei Tamura, 2025. 216 p. VIZ Media, LLC, $14.99 (9781974754649). Gr. 9-12.

Kaede is a high school student who can smell when people are lying, literally. He discovers that aliens do exist, and starts working with a hardcore insurance investigator, Rin, and goes on fascinating trips and learns about so many humans and aliens along the way.

Dreamover by Dani Diaz, 2025. 208 p. Top Shelf Productions, $19.99 (9781603095464). Gr. 7-12.

Amber and Nico have been friends since third grade. When Amber confesses her crush on Nico she discovers the feeling is mutual and they start dating. But in High School things get complicated as their friend group starts changing and they face bullies who pick on them. One night Amber and Nico wish they could escape and be alone. They get their wish when they wake up inside one of their favorite video games.

Evil-ish by Kennedy Tarrel, 2025. 208 p. Feiwel & Friends, $17.99 (9781250839954). Gr. 8-12.

Hawthorne has always wanted to join the evil Brigade of Shade and become a well known villain, but they are in competition with a bubbly girl who doesn’t scream evil. Once they enter that world, they find out that being a villain isn’t everything they thought it was.

Extra Large by Tyler Page, 2025. 201 p. First Second, $14.99 (9781250851567). Gr. 4-8.

In this graphic memoir, things have changed now that Tyler has started 7th grade. There are a lot more bullies at school and people seem to care about their appearance more. Tyler is struggling a bit to fit in since he’s gained some weight, but he’s learning to accept himself and find the right friends.

Fall In Love, You False Angels by Coco Uzuki, 2025. 176 p. Kodansha Comics, $13.99 (9798888773772). Gr. 9-12. 

Class president Otogi presents the perfect facade. When she accidentally drops her facade near “perfect” vice-president Toki, she learns he has his own facade and a match for dominance (or love?) ensues.

Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand, 2025. 288 p. HarperAlley, $18.99 (9780063237537). Gr. 10-12.

Nitasha is struggling with her parent’s expectations of being “the perfect Indian daughter” and trying to balance belonging at school. As things start to feel like they are falling apart around her, Nitasha turns to alcohol and self-harm as she tries to answer the question: will she be enough for her friends and family, and more importantly, herself.

Flip by Ngozi Ukazu, 2025. 320 p. First Second, $18.99 (9781250179524). Gr. 9-12.

In her senior year Chi-Chi Ekeh, a shy, nerdy scholarship student of color, switches bodies with her rich white crush, Flip Henderson. As the switches between bodies become longer and longer, they learn more about each other’s experiences, but can they break the curse?

Halfway There: A Graphic Memoir of Self-Discovery by Christine Mari, 2024. 297 p. Little Brown Ink, $17.99 (9780316416726). Gr. 8-12.

Christine is a Japanese American young adult who has never felt connected to either side of her culture. She moves to Tokyo determined to find herself but learns there is more to self-discovery than she thought.

Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta, 2025. 237 p. RH Graphic, $13.99 (9780593569429). Gr 5-8.

Follow Ave, a middle school teen, as they navigate not only moving to a new school in a new country but also learning that everyone has been keeping a big secret – their parents are getting a divorce.

Hey, Mary! by Andrew Wheeler and Rye Hickman, 2025. 118 p. Oni Press, $17.99 (9781637156384). Gr. 8-12.

Mark, a good catholic boy who goes to church and follows the rules, but he is harboring a secret…one that feels like it might crush him.

The History of Everything by Victoria Evans, 2025. 240 p. HarperAlley, $18.99 (9780063268890). Gr. 7-12.

Harper and Agnes are goth besties who are friends for life…until Agnes learns she has to move away. Daisy and Agnes are making the most of their last summer together and it’s all sunshine and goth rainbows until a cute guy at the record store comes along.

How to Draw a Secret by Cindy Chang, 2025. 269 p. Allida, $15.99 (9780358659655). Gr. 4-8.

Twelve-year-old Cindy is a talented young artist who gets artist block when given an art contest prompt of “What family means to me.” Cindy doesn’t know how to answer this question when her once perfect family is crumbling and she is supposed to keep it all a secret.

Huda F. Wants to Know by Huda Fahmy, 2025. 208 p. Dial Books, $24.99 (9780593855614). Gr. 7-10.

Huda F. is excited to crush her junior year in high school until she finds out her parents are getting a divorce.

Hunger’s Bite by Taylor Robin, 2025. 263 p. Union Square & Co., $24.99 (9781454950240). Gr. 7-12

Neeta Pandy and Vampire Wick Farley join forces to investigate why the zombie-like crew on the luxury SS Lark can’t stop working, but greed, consumption, and a jealous friend stand in their way.

Kirby’s Lessons for Falling (in Love) by Laura Gao, 2025. 305 p. HarperAlley, $18.99 (9780063067790). Gr. 9-12.

Kirby’s life revolves around rock climbing, but when she’s injured during a competition she must stop. Kirby joins the school newspaper where she meets new friends, a crush and possibly a way to heal from her father’s death.

Luminous Beings by David Arnold and Jose Pimienta, 2024. 247 p. Viking, $17.99 (9780593620915). Gr. 9-12.

When a virus attacks the world’s population of squirrels and turns them into mutant zombies, a group of teens must figure out how to find normality in the abnormal.

Monster Locker by Jorge Aguirre and Andrés Vera Martínez, 2024. 236 p. First Second, $14.00 (9781250749734). Gr. 4-8

Middle schooler Pablo finds a monster in his locker who tricks him into unleashing Coatlicue, an Aztec god who is pretty brutal. Now Pablo and his new middle school friends have to figure out a way to get Coatlicue back to the monster world, and save their city.

The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix, 2024. 217 p. Abrams Fanfare, $22.49 (9781419746345). Gr. 7-10

Using a lion and a wizard as guides, Hendrix  portrays the friendship of two of fantasy’s greatest and most influential writers.

Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, vol. 1 by Suzuki, Julietta, 2024. 143 p. VIZ Media LLC, $11.99 (9781974747283). Gr. 9-12.

Hina Alucard is a 300 year old modern vampire who becomes so into the “Vampire Cross” anime that she decided to move to Japan to be closer to the fandom. There she meets human Kyuta who reminds her of Mao from the anime and hilarity ensues.

RuriDragon, vol. 1 by Masaoki Shindo, 2025. 176 p. VIZ Media LLC, $11.95 (9781974738311). Gr. 9-12.

Ruri discovers that she’s half dragon when a pair of horns sprouts from her head. Now she has to navigate high school and learn to cope with her new powers and identity.

Shadows on the Ice by Frederic Bertocchini and Thierry Diette, 2025.108 p. Black Panel Press, $22.95 (9781990521294). Gr. 10-12.

In 1972, an airplane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes. Given up for dead, the survivors had to endure 72 days in the frozen mountain landscape.

Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout, 2025. 256 p. First Second, $17.99 (9781250869821). Gr. 8-12.

A blackbird narrates a story about Dutch Resistance during World War II and a family in 2011 dealing with the repercussions of the war.

Spacewalking With You, vol. 1 by Inuhiko Doronoda, 2025. 224 p. Kodansha Comics, $13.99 (9798888774380). Gr. 8-12.

The unlikely friendship of “delinquent” Kobayashi and new kid Uno, who join their high school’s astronomy club.

Rigsby WI: Foothold by S.E. Case, 2025. 120 p. Iron Circus Comics, $15.00 (9781638991410). Gr. 10-12.

In 2002 small-town Wisconsin, Bethany has to deal with her toxic family dynamics while navigating the messy dynamics of her new school.

A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula LeGuin and Fred Fordham, 2025. 270 p. Clarion Books, $26.99 (9780063285767). Gr. 8-12.

Ged, a powerful young sorcerer, makes a prideful decision that releases a dangerous evil spirit in the world.

Weirdo by Tony Weaver, Jr., 2024. 310 p. First Second, $14.99 (9781250772879). Gr. 5-8.

Anime and comic book loving Tony is bullied and has to find his way back to self-acceptance.

We Could Be Magic by Marissa Meyer and Joelle Murray, 2025. 256p. Feiwel & Friends, $17.99  (9781250379399). Gr. 8-12.

Tabitha lands a summer job at Sommerland, a fantasy theme park. She goes thinking she is going to experience magic and joy, but finds that things are not as they seem. Can she rediscover the magic she longs to have?

You and Me on Repeat by Mary Shyne, 2025. 224 p. Henry Holt & Company, $17.99 (9781250851857). Gr. 10-12.

Nadia finds herself caught in a time loop, reliving high school graduation day over and over again with her childhood love, Adam, who has a crush on someone else. As they try to break free from the cycle, they uncover truths about themselves and their relationship that could change everything.

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2026) Nominees Quarterly Round-Up: Spring Edition

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the officially nominated titles to date. These titles have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple team members, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, each team will choose the final list of nominations and determine the Selected List’s Top Ten from these titles. 

–Molly Dettmann, BFYA Coordinator

  • The Art Thieves. By Andrea L. Rogers, 2024. 400 p. Levine Querido, $18.99 (9781646143788). Gr. 7 – 12.

In 2052 Cherokee teen Stevie lives in a world slowly being ravaged by climate change, when she meets a boy from the future who steals art to bring as messages of hope and perseverance in the years after the devastation that is just about to begin in her time.

After a virus leaves survivors in a state of contentment, three teens find themselves in an international battle that will either spread the disease or destroy it at any cost.

  • Compound Fracture. By Andrew Joseph White. 2024. 371 p. Peachtree Teen, $19.99 (9781682636121). Gr. 9 – 12.

In rural Twist Creek County, West Virginia, trans teen Miles is assaulted by local bullies, including the sheriff’s son, and threatened into silence by the sheriff. Miles and other townsfolk set out to put an end to the corrupt sheriff and his feud with Miles’s family.

Carolina, a vampire hunter, and Lalo, a vampire, must ignore their distaste, and growing attraction, of each other in order to destroy a common enemy.

When Reed Beckett’s mother suddenly disappears, he’s left to care for his ailing sister, forcing him to turn to desperate means to keep them afloat.

  • Dust. By Alison Stine. 2024. 320 p. Wednesday Books, $20.00 (9781250878731). Gr. 7 – 12.

Partially deaf, white teen Thea struggles with isolation and extreme poverty on the family’s newly acquired farm in rural Colorado. As dust storms ravage the area, Thea meets neighbors and learns that survival will require support from the community Thea’s father is set on avoiding.

In 17th century Rome, 16 year-old Carmela has just started working in her mother’s apothecary and is eager to put her knowledge to use, but an error in judgement reawakens suspicions of witchcraft, putting the apothecary and everyone connected to it in jeopardy.

  • Heir. By Sabaa Tahir. 2024. 512 p. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, $21.99 (9780593616949). Gr. 7 – 12.

Aiz, a believer, Sirsha, a castaway, and Quil, an heir to an empire embark on journeys brutal and dangerous as slowly their stories become intertwined hunting for an elusive killer and a god only one can hear. With war on the horizon will they survive their dangerous treks?

When Jenna’s wish to become her high-achieving cousin Jessica comes true, Jenna is certain life will be perfect. But things aren’t always what they seem. As people begin forgetting Jenna existed, she must decide if living Jessica’s life is worth walking away from who she’s always wanted to be.

Over the span of 1000 years, Evelyn and Arden have lived many lives. In some, they fall in love; in all lives, one kills the other. This is until Evelyn reaches their current life, where they are determined to put an end to what they’ve been told is their fate.

  • The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine. By Lindsay A. Franklin. 2025. 416 p. Enclave Escape, $24.99 (9798886051780). Gr. 8 – 12. 

In a desperate bid to find her long-lost sister, Emlyn DuLaine travels through a portal to a world that closely resembles the world she created in the stories she used to share with her sister.