I love a YA book featuring a road trip. Though these books have historically been white and straight–for reasons that have to do with the types of privilege cishet white teens have being on the open read in America–over the last several years, more YA books have put teens of color in the driver or passenger seats. Some of those books include Get Real, Chloe Torres by Crystal Maldonado and Don’t Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche.
YA road trip books have also been very American based. There’s something to that, of course, as America is a car-based country and there’s plenty of symbolism in a teen being behind the wheel on the open road. Certainly, these books haven’t only been set in America–take, for instance Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard, set in Central America or Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf, set in Germany.
But in 2026, there’s a really fun and welcomed microtrend happening: YA books featuring roadtrips set outside of the U.S. Hopefully, this is the start of a more permanent expansion for YA road trip stories, allowing readers to explore more parts of the world from wherever it is they are. More global road trip books have the added perk that they provide an opportunity to center diverse voices, too–as you’ll see in one of the below titles from this year, an India-based road trip allowed an Indian American teen to tell a story of living at the intersections of several identities and experiences.
Better Catch Up, Krishna Kumar by Anahita Karthik (Available now)
Krishna is in at her dream college, yet she feels like a complete mess. She’s spent the summer in India flirting with Amrit, her neighbor, but nothing came of it. Krishna is convinced she’ll be the only college freshman who has never even been kissed.
So, when her flight back home is delayed, and she receives a flirty text from Amrit, Krishna decides she’s going all in, right now. Amrit is miles away at a family wedding, so Krishna reaches out to her cousin, Priti, for help. Priti needs to dial in more help, too, in the form of her best friend, Rudra Desai-that’s who has the car.
The three are on the road to this wedding so that Krishna can have her happily ever after with Amrit before it’s too late. Except, well, feelings might be bubbling up inside Krishna for someone else on this trip (ahem, Rudra), whose heart may already belong to her cousin.
This is a fun one set in India. It’s full of family misunderstandings, of delicious food, and plenty of romantic feelings.
A Taste of Somewhere Else by Michael Ruhlman (September 8)
Miles is not thrilled about what junior year looks like, since he’ll be spending it in Cleveland with the dad he hardly knows. But Miles knows just surviving this year will help him get things back in order and he can return to New York.
But then Miles gets suspended. Between that, the unexpected death of his mom, and his father’s art house theater facing closure, things go from bad to worse. Then Miles’s dad proposes a road trip across Spain to to track down a long lost film director.
Is it unconventional? Absolutely. Will it work? Probably not. But Miles and his dad are in for a life-changing father-son road trip across Spain that will alter their relationship forever.
This one’s getting compared to Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram.
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An Introvert’s Guide to Kissing in Europe by Brenda Janowitz (August 18)
Emily is the good girl. She’s gotten the perfect grades. She’s gotten into her dream college. She’s been the kid she wants her parents to be proud of. All of it, though, was in service of helping ease her family’s loss of her sister.
But Emily can’t keep playing the role that doesn’t feel right, and she’s decided to take a gap year. Her plan, concocted by her grandmother, sounds magical. Grandma was a member of the 1960s singing duo the Flower Sisters, and in 1966, the Flower Sisters toured Europe. Grandma’s encouraged Emily to follow the same path the Sisters took on their tour, and Emily’s all in.
What transpires is a series of ups, downs, twists, and turns that Emily could have never imagined. It’s her opportunity to learn who she is and who it is she dreams of being, all while taking the time to truly grieve her tremendous loss. There’s romance here, too, as the title might suggest, and not all of the travel will happen via car, either.
Want more YA book lists? Check out these YA authors making their adult debuts in 2026 and these fantastic queer YA books set in space.
English (US) · 