Books From Around the World (YA): South America

It’s often interesting to get a different perspective on the world. Here are some books set in some far-flung places – and some places close to home – grouped by continent/large body of water with islands in it. The books on this list are (mostly) written by authors from the countries they are about, and in many cases have been translated into English from their mother tongues (the book we’ve chosen for Madagascar, Return to the enchanted island by Johary Ravaloson, is only the second book to have ever been translated from Malagasy into English!).

Not all of the books are in the Young Adult collection, but we’ve tried to make sure that they all at least feature kids or teens in prominent places in the story. Our eventual goal is to have at least one book for every country in the world! Help us out by sending in recommendations if you’ve found one we’ve missed!

This list contains books written by authors from South America. Check out our lists for authors from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Central America, and Oceania for even more recommendations!

Updated June 19, 2024
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The alchemist
Coelho, Paulo
Paper Book
An international bestseller Over 80 million copies sold worldwide A PBS Great American Read Top 100 pick A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho. Combining magic, mysticism...

Brazil | Brazilian author

Two brothers
Moon, Fa?bio
Paper Book
Twin brothers Omar and Yaqub may share the same features, but they could not be more different from one another. And the possessive love of their mother, Zana, stirs the troubled waters between them even more. After a brutally violent exchange between the young boys, Yaqub, "the good son," is sent...

Brazil | Brazilian author-illustrator

Space invaders : a novel
Ferna?ndez, Nona
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Translated Literature A dreamlike evocation of a generation that grew up in the shadow of a dictatorship in 1980s Chile Space Invaders is the story of a group of childhood friends who, in adulthood, are preoccupied...

Chile | Chilean author

It would be night in Caracas : a novel
Sainz Borgo, Karina
Paper Book
As seen in the New York Times Book Review  Told with gripping intensity, It Would be Night in Caracas chronicles one woman's desperate battle to survive amid the dangerous, sometimes deadly, turbulence of modern Venezuela and the lengths she must go to secure her future....

Venezuela | Venezuelan author


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