The Best Books of the Century So Far: Young Adult

Journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson's memoir-manifesto explores gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, consent, marginalization, Black joy, and more in deeply personal essays about their early life. The book is critically acclaimed and beloved by readers; it was also the most challenged book in the United States in 2024 and has been consistently challenged for years. Despite these attempts at censorship, its impact cannot be denied, nor will its message be silenced. All Boys Aren't Blue remains a powerful testimony for young queer men of color and a primer on effective allyship.

- Vanessa Diaz

Writer and illustrator Gene Luen Yang changed the YA graphic novel game with American Born Chinese, a playful, fantastical story that weaves together Chinese mythology and the realistic experiences of coming of age as a first-generation Chinese American kid. Bouncing between Jin Wang’s daily life in middle school, a sit-com-esque sidebar of a Chinese kid ruining his cool cousin’s reputation, and the fable of the Monkey King, it’s a bold and imaginative story that was also adapted into a popular Disney+ series.

- Susie Dumond

There was a time not long ago when queer YA stories were in short supply, and LGBTQIA+ kids couldn't find themselves on the page. Benjamin Alire Sáenz's Stonewall Award-winning YA novel about the deep and special bond between friends Ari and Dante was a revelation when it was published in 2012. It gave us one among too few enduring examples of how YA could explore hefty, complex topics like identity and sexuality with respect for its readers' intelligence. Quiet, contemplative, and magical, it's easy to understand why this book, following the ups and downs in the lives of two teens, is so widely praised.

- S. Zainab Williams

The 2000s have been an era of evolution in YA nonfiction. These are stories written with teen readers in mind, with the best in the category utilizing the hallmarks of fiction to create compelling, immersive narratives. Among the best of this century is Steve Sheinkin, whose books like Bomb straddle the line between perfect for older middle grade readers and for teen readers across the board. This is a high-action story of science, war, and the race to build an atomic bomb. Bomb embodies what makes YA nonfiction so special, marrying smart prose with a visually impactful package.

- Kelly Jensen

Before Heartstopper, there was Boy Meets Boy, a gay YA novel set at an idyllic, accepting high school. Here, the cheerleaders ride out on motorcycles, the star quarterback is also the homecoming queen, and our main character has been out since second grade. It's hard to overstate how unheard of this was in 2003. Queer YA tended towards tragic stories of unrelenting homophobia and rejection. While bigotry is mentioned in Boy Meets Boy, it stars a gay character who is out, secure in his identity, and supported by his family and peers. Add to that a sweet romcom plot with the new guy in town, and this secures its spot as a modern classic of YA.

- Danika Ellis

When trans boy Yadriel's traditional Latine family is reluctant to accept his gender, he decides to perform a ritual over Dia de Muertos to prove he's a brujo and summons the wrong ghost. That ghost is Julian, a very cute classmate (and human golden retriever) who needs Yadriel's help solving a mystery before he can cross over. This romantic fantasy is a witchy, magical, and culturally rich exploration of identity and so many kinds of love, including the cousin/bestie dynamic that is so special in Latine culture. It's the kind of book I wish I could gift to my younger self, and I'm so glad it exists. Graveyard Gays forever.

- Vanessa Diaz

Zombies. Alternate history. Conspiracy theories. This high-stakes horror novel has it all. When the U.S. Civil War is interrupted by a zombie outbreak, Black and Indigenous Children are forced to train to protect white folks. Trained for combat and parlor etiquette, Jane McKeene plans to return to Kentucky instead. Families start going missing, and soon, Jane and her classmate Katherine are caught up in a dangerous conspiracy that could mean freedom or death. Ireland balances the action and gore with social commentary and humor in this powerful duology. 

- Courtney Rodgers

"As told from the afterlife" is a trope that's buzzed in and out of YA literature throughout the 2000s. Zevin–who many readers know from her adult novels–started her career in teen literature, and this book helped launch the ever-engaging afterlife perspective. Elsewhere is the story of a teen girl who wakes up dead, living with a relative she's never met, and aging backward, rather than forward. Liz wants nothing more than to experience all life has to offer: driving, college, and her family. What happened to her, and whether she'll accept where she is now, are at the heart of this memorable read.

- Kelly Jensen

While fandom culture existed long before Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, she certainly described the fan fiction antics of an entire generation through timeless characters like Cath, Levi, Wren, and Regan. What makes Fangirl still read so fresh more than a decade since it was published is not only how much more digital fandoms have become entrenched in pop culture but also how well Rowell captures the spirit of an introverted child coming to terms with the adult world for the first time. In the 2020s, Cath’s experience of trying to adapt to a world beyond the scope of her favorite fictional characters rings all the more true.

- Jeffrey Davies

"We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck" is the first line in this prescient dystopian novel published in 2002. Titus and his friends have their spring break upended when hackers cause their feeds to malfunction, rendering them empty inside. Violet, whose life's mission is to defy the feed and live outside tech-assigned categories of human feelings and experiences, may be the person who can help save her hijacked peers. Anderson's book is a masterclass in sci-fi, and it will go down as one of the best and most influential YA books of all time. Trust me: listen to this one on audio.

- Kelly Jensen

In New York City, Felix Love yearns for a great love of his own that could prove being Black, queer, and trans doesn’t remove him from the dating pool entirely. When a student at his school posts Felix’s deadname and pre-transition photos, Felix wants revenge. Finding unexpected romance and self-discovery on the road to vengeance, Felix experiences his unexpected happily ever after. Callender’s impeccable Black queer young adult romance proved that readers are drawn to the beautiful world of diverse storytelling, whether it's a window, a mirror, or a sliding glass door.

- R. Nassor

With publishing’s history of gatekeeping, it was thrilling to see a 12-bidder auction for Angeline Boulley’s debut mystery, which was selected by Reese’s Book Club, landed on the best-sellers lists, and won more than a handful of awards upon publication. At 18, Daunis Fontaine plays hockey and loves science. Then, her world is turned upside down by a traumatic crime she witnesses. Enter the FBI and Daunis agreeing to go undercover to help her Ojibwe community. Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians wrote a character who is a joy to follow and whom I will always carry with me.

- Jamie Canaves

It’s hard to convey the impact this book has had on YA, the queer community, and the world. While the series started in May 2020 and exploded with the 2022 Netflix TV series, we were first introduced to Nick and Charlie in Oseman’s novel Solitaire in 2014. What we have gotten in the years since is a six-volume exploration of what it means to be a queer teen today. It’s a hopeful, heartwarming look at family, friendship, and first love, but it doesn’t shy away from exploring the hard parts of being a teenager, regardless of identity. The honest look at life, secrets, and self-discovery is what brings people back to it over and over again.

- Jessica Pryde

When Huda and her family move from a small town to Dearborn, Michigan, she suddenly isn't the only girl with a hijab. She goes through a few cliques and iterations of herself, trying to find that new thing that sets her apart now. Huda's journey of self-discovery is super funny and full of pop culture references, but also one of the realest depictions of the teenage years I've ever seen in graphic novel form.

- Erica Ezeifedi

Ahmed’s all-too-possible vision of the near future hits hard, and it is even more prescient now than it was when it was published seven years ago. The premise is based on World War II-era Japanese incarceration camps in the U.S. When 17-year-old Layla Amin and her family are forced to live in a Muslim internment camp, she joins an underground resistance group intent on bringing down the system and breaking free. It’s a swift, high-energy read with powerful messages about resistance, Islamophobia, power, and the necessity of hope.

- Margaret Kingsbury

We've already named this one of the best romances and historical fiction books of the century so far, but it deserves a spot on this list, too. This may be a perfect book. And it's not just me: its long list of accolades, including the National Book Award, speaks for itself. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a masterclass in setting, immersing readers in 1950s San Francisco. Lily Hu struggles to reconcile her identity as the "good Chinese girl" at home with her budding romance with a white female classmate. Meanwhile, her father faces deportation for being swept up in the Red Scare. This is a beautifully written, transportive read.

- Danika Ellis

Though trends have come and gone in YA throughout the 2000s, two staples of the category this quarter century are the growth of inclusive literature and the range of engaging anthologies. Leitich Smith, whose Native fiction has been a YA staple, showcases her skills as both writer and editor in this highly decorated collection of interwoven, intertribal stories. What is Legendary Sandy June’s Frybread Drive-In? That's the question each of the Indigenous authors explores in their sumptuous and dynamic tales. Through each, readers experience a wealth of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors (terminology courtesy of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop).

- Kelly Jensen

Arthuriana retellings, so many reimaginings of canon literature, were sorely lacking in the diversity department for a very long time. That's started to change, at long last, and Tracy Deonn is one of the very best to do it. Legendborn is the first entry in the now complete Legendborn Cycle, a contemporary YA fantasy trilogy that remixes Arthuriana on a college campus setting. When sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews enrolls at UNC-Chapel Hill, she has no idea what awaits her: a magical attack, a secret society, the revelation that she's descended from the Knights of the Round Table, and the small matter of a centuries-old magical war. This book and series are a ride from start to finish, and are every bit worth the hype.

- Vanessa Diaz

In award-winning author Jason Reynold's most widely acclaimed work, 15-year-old Will steps into an elevator with a gun tucked into his waistband, intent on revenge for the murder of his brother, Shawn. But as the elevator stops at each floor, in walks the ghost of another gun violence victim, each with a tie to Shawn's life and a story to tell that forces Will to reconsider his plan. This powerful novel in verse takes place in the 60 pivotal seconds of that journey to the ground floor, a meditation on teenage gun violence from one of our staunchest champions for children's and young adult lit.

- Vanessa Diaz

Civil Rights legend John Lewis shares his life story in this YA comic trilogy. Book One dives into Lewis's youngest years in rural Alabama, as well as his meeting Martin Luther King, Jr.–a moment that completely changed his life. Readers move alongside the activist as he participates in the Nashville Student Movement, nonviolent sit-ins, and more. How lucky are we to have access to the voice and experiences of such a crucial American change-maker through this series, and how neat that this series was inspired by a comic that inspired student activists of Lewis's era, "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story."

- Kelly Jensen

Naruto has to be one of the most popular and influential manga ever. The Shintoism- and Japanese mythology-filled manga redefined battle shounen for the 2000s, and it even reached beyond manga readers to become part of global pop culture. Naruto is a high-spirited kid in the Hidden Leaf Village doing his best to graduate from Ninja Academy. He wants to become the greatest ninja ever and the next Hokage, but there is a monstrous secret sealed in him that may change everything.

- Erica Ezeifedi

This Eisner Award-winning graphic novel is a subversive queer classic that was adapted into an Oscar-nominated animated film. In it, Nimona is a havoc-wreaking, villain-tinted shapeshifter who becomes Lord Ballister Blackheart's sidekick. Together, they aim to prove that the powers that be aren't quite as wholesome as they claim. But as the mystery surrounding Nimona's powers reveals itself, the truth of what she is may turn Blackheart away forever. This is refreshingly unpredictable, with its sharks, science, humor, and heartwrenching story of queer acceptance.

- Erica Ezeifedi

This was the first novel with a transgender character I ever read, all the way back in 2011. It's not a perfect book, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to trans readers today unless they're interested in it from a "history of YA" perspective. But it made me feel understood when I was young and often felt alone. I will always be grateful to Ellen Wittlinger for writing it at a time when very few of her contemporaries were addressing LGBTQ+ issues at all.

- Andy Minshew

Juliette is a 17-year-old girl whose touch can kill, and she's imprisoned by her government after one slip-up killed an innocent person. A year into her solitary confinement, she is offered a better prison with company and luxury accommodations. In return, she will become the weapon that quells all rebellion. The series follows Juliette’s journey out of isolation as she begins to build community, despite the dystopian circumstances. An evil authoritarian government, a delicious love triangle, and enough emotional trauma to keep an army of therapists employed, Mafi’s hit series remains captivating to readers over a decade after its release.

- R. Nassor

You can't talk about queer YA books without mentioning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The book was wildly popular before it was adapted into Love, Simon, which was the "first mainstream studio romantic comedy told from the perspective of a gay teen." It follows a closeted gay teen, Simon Spier, who falls for an anonymous classmate over a series of emails. When another classmate discovers the emails, he blackmails Simon, forcing him to choose between being pushed out of the closet or being a pawn. Despite this premise, this story is most associated with a feel-good, romcom tone—something we could still use more of in queer YA.

- Danika Ellis

Six of Crows is Leigh Bardugo at her best: the stakes are high, the characters richly drawn and multidimensional, the world of the Grishaverse beautifully rendered, all in a magical heist story that keeps its foot on the gas for almost 500 pages. While it may not be the blueprint for the "ragtag crew of criminals on a mission" setup in fantasy, it is certainly one of the most memorable and immersive from page one. Netflix adapted the duology in a series that combined its storyline with Shadow and Bone, and I'm still salty it was canceled after only two seasons.

- Vanessa Diaz

The 57 Bus is a unicorn true crime book because nonfiction YA doesn’t get the same amount of space and attention as YA fiction. A bummer, for many reasons, but if ever you need to be swayed to read YA nonfiction, this Stonewall Book Award Winner, which made it onto all the Best of Year lists in 2017, is an excellent choice. Dashka Slater reports on a case involving a Black teen who set fire to a white agender teen's skirt on a bus in 2013. The book is a compassionate—rather than sensationalized—look at the juvenile system, adolescence, race, and gender.

- Jamie Canaves

Few books have seen such a change in public perception since publication as this one. Absolutely True Diary won the 2007 National Book Award and sold over a million copies. It earned praise for its frank depiction of an Indigenous teen's life on a reservation, and its illustrations made it especially accessible. Often taught in schools, the book was a frequent censorship target for its discussions of masturbation, racism, and inequality. After becoming a leading voice in Indigenous lit, in 2018, Sherman Alexie was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment. That misconduct has irrevocably tainted the legacy of this groundbreaking novel.

- Danika Ellis

The Book Thief is one of the ultimate crossover novels, published as adult fiction in Australia and young adult fiction in the United States. In a sea of World War II historical novels, it stands out with its unconventional narrator: Death. Its beautiful writing and themes of morality, mortality, and the power of words make it a popular choice for teaching—I ran a novel study unit on it during my time as a high school English teacher, and I was impressed by the insightful conversations it inspired. The 2013 movie adaptation boosted its popularity, and it's now solidly a modern classic of young adult literature.

- Danika Ellis

Before this became the multi-award-winning, mega-bestselling, screen-adapted book that it is, it had me ugly crying in a New York City subway car. The love story that unfolds between Hazel, a terminal teen cancer patient, and Augustus is as tender as it is fraught. Reading about the "little infinity" that the two of them create will crack you wide open. John Green is no stranger to YA, and his work has been among the most well-known to both long-time fans and newcomers to the category.

- Erica Ezeifedi

In the wake of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and [Insert Names Of Countless Black Americans Murdered By Cops Here], as well as the Black Lives Matter Movement, Angie Thomas gave us this heartbreaking story. It follows Starr, a teenage girl who witnesses the death of her oldest friend by police violence and has to live with the aftermath. Starr is so many of us in a time when it hadn’t even gotten as bad as it was going to get, and she reacts in a flawed, human way. The book itself is horrifying without being hopeless, and it has resonated with readers of all ages in ways that so few other narratives have in the near-decade since.

- Jessica Pryde

This gorgeously written fantasy explores storytelling and women’s agency through the lens of dark fairytales. Bad luck plagues Alice and her family. When Alice’s grandmother, a famous horror fairytale writer, dies, her mother is kidnapped. To find her mother, Alice ventures into the Hinterland, the setting of her grandmother’s grim fairytales. The Hinterland is all too real, both its monsters and its secrets. Albert layers stories within stories within stories, yet the pacing remains swift and inexorable. It’s a mesmerizing read that led to even more dark fantasy in YA literature.

- Margaret Kingsbury

The Hunger Games had such a moment in both the book world and pop culture at large that the series remains popular nearly 20 years after the first book was published. Maybe it's because the dystopia it's nestled in feels eerily close to becoming our reality, or because Collins drew on real-world tragedies for inspiration. Either way, we grieve and love alongside 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen as she fights to stay alive during the deadly competition known as "The Hunger Games."

- Erica Ezeifedi

Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X is a brilliant novel in verse that introduced a new generation of young people to the power of poetry. Xiomara Batista is a Dominican American teenager in Harlem who doesn’t know what to do with the passion, anger, desire, and drive inside her. When she’s invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, Xiomara finds an audacious new creative outlet that helps her see her own power in a new light. Acevedo’s writing is phenomenal, and her debut novel was an earth-shaking introduction of an unforgettable new voice in YA literature.

- Susie Dumond

There are YA books that become nostalgic, if sometimes forgotten, favorites, and there are YA books that always remain in style. Love for Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries is enduring. Yes, the books increased their cultural currency thanks to the hit adaptation starring a young Anne Hathaway and the internationally beloved Julie Andrews, but you can't deny the YA gold of the book's premise: reengineering the awkward-girl makeover trope by turning our relatable nerdy girl into actual royalty. Cabot spoke to the hearts of teens everywhere, as they experience the uncomfortable, universal process of coming of age and figuring out who they are.

- S. Zainab Williams

This book takes place in an alternate reality where people learn they are going to die 24 hours in advance. On their last day alive, Mateo and Rufus meet, go on several adventures around New York City, and fall in love. The title conveys urgency throughout the story and foreshadows the truly heartbreaking ending. Reading this book will give you “all the tears” as my teenage students would say. In the almost 10 years since it was published, many of them also told me this was their favorite book. As a speculative, queer love story that asks big questions and evokes even bigger emotions, I can see why.

- Alison Doherty

To avoid ending up like her mom, Remy created a list of rules for her own romantic life. She’s had many boyfriends, but she doesn’t want to ever get attached. She likes to break up with them before they break up with her. But when Remy starts dating Dexter, she starts breaking all her rules. And when it’s time to break up, for the first time, she doesn’t want to. Sarah Dessen popularized YA contemporary romance throughout the 2000s and pioneered an enduring literary formula that blends realistic portrayals of young love with themes of identity, transition, and complex relationships with family and friends.

- Alison Doherty

The popularity of YA fae books owes much to fairytale queen Holly Black. Decades before Black wrote The Cruel Prince, she dipped her toes into the Unseelie court with Tithe, and it’s phenomenal. Like many of Black’s protagonists, 16-year-old Kaye is basically raising herself as her musician mother rocks out. After a near-death experience, Kaye finds herself in her former home in suburban New Jersey, where she becomes embroiled in fae politics while searching for her childhood imaginary friends. Tithe is Black’s first novel, and it was the book for all the weird fairytale girls (like me) in the early 2000s.

- Margaret Kingsbury

Lara Jean likes reading, baking, and hanging out with her sisters more than dating. But she also has a secret habit of writing letters to her crushes that she never plans to send. When they all mysteriously get out, she convinces her first crush, Peter K., to enter into a fake dating scheme to downplay her feelings for her sister’s ex-boyfriend. This book spent 40 weeks on the bestseller lists and was one of the first YA novels to be adapted by Netflix. The story sparked a major YA romance trend in publishing and was groundbreaking at the time for featuring an Asian American main character. 

- Alison Doherty

This graphic nonfiction primer on trans history depicts the myriad ways transgender people have thrived throughout history, from ancient to modern times. It’s an accessible and thoroughly researched highlight reel of trans history, from Roman Emperor Elagabalus to the Stonewall Riots. The art is beautiful. Each chapter uses a different monochromatic color to form a rainbow, with portraits of all the historical figures discussed interspersed with quotes and photographic renderings. It’s such an inviting, empowering, and necessary read.

- Margaret Kingsbury

Truly Devious is simply one of the best young adult murder mysteries on the market. A private elite academy in Vermont, 1930s unsolved kidnappings and murder, and Stevie Bell, a teenager whose special interest is true crime? Sign me up.  Johnson creates well-rounded teenagers who are simultaneously both brilliant and angsty. The series, which has five books–the first three of which focus on the kidnapping mystery–sets the bar high for other YA murder mystery series.  Johnson is a master of her craft and leaves readers eager for what comes next.

- Elisa Shoenberger

Twilight was a cultural phenomenon! I have so many happy tweenage memories tied to the series: Barnes and Noble midnight release parties, homemade "Team Jacob" t-shirts, reading my fanfiction aloud to my friends during lunch recess (cringe but free). Regardless of how you feel about the writing style (or how the series ended... trust me, I have many complaints), it's nothing if not engaging. I also love how the film's been reclaimed as a campy cult classic.

- Andy Minshew

Published in 2005, Westerfeld’s Uglies series is a forerunner of the YA dystopian boom, establishing archetypal plot beats that have since defined the genre. On the cusp of her 16th birthday, Tally will finally find out what it’s like to be pretty. She dreams of living the high-tech, fun-filled, pretty lifestyle. But when Tally meets Shay, she discovers the dark underbelly of the perfect life the government's sold them–and an underground movement of people who don’t want the pretty surgery. When Shay runs away, the authorities hold Tally’s pretty surgery hostage. Now she has to find Shay and bring her back if she wants to be pretty.

- R. Nassor

In a post-Roe world, Shusterman’s Unwind series remains shockingly relevant, exploring the haunting teleological endpoint of the United States abortion debate. Connor, Risa, and Lev are victims of the Second Civil War fought over reproductive rights. In the US, life begins at conception, and abortion is illegal. But from 13 to 18, children can be unwound—taken apart with their organs transplanted to others. Connor’s parents didn’t like his behavior, Risa was an unwanted ward of the state, and Lev was conceived to be unwound. All three want a chance to live, but escape may be impossible in a system that was built for them to be used as parts.

- R. Nassor

The wealthy Sinclair family spends every summer on their private island. But something happened to Cadence during her 15th summer that changed everything and left her with amnesia. She returns to the island two years later, determined to unravel the mystery. This story drew inspiration from female-led thrillers like Gone Girl and translated the genre for a young adult audience, featuring one of the best and most heartbreaking twist endings of all time. Its popularity and acclaim paved the way for other amazing YA thrillers. It was also among the first true BookTok sensations, years after its initial publication.

- Alison Doherty