Cultural Diversity Week 2026 - YA Books

A curated reading guide celebrating cultural diversity in young adult literature.

Updated February 26, 2026
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Immortal Dark
Girma, Tigest.
Paper Book
The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.  It...
Ace of spades
Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah
Paper Book
Go back to school with this instant New York Times-bestselling thriller by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully. "Readers will love this thriller-mystery... A revelatory, buzzworthy debut." --...
Four Eids and a Funeral
Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah.
Paper Book
Celebrate Valentine's Day with this romantic story of rekindling and rebuilding, from award-winning authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Ace of Spades) & Adiba Jaigirdar (Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating)! South Asia Book Award Honor Book! ...
Hani and Ishu's guide to fake dating
Jaigirdar, Adiba
Paper Book
Everyone likes Humaira "Hani" Khan--she's easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can't be bi if she's only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she's in a relationship...with a girl...
The sun is also a star
Yoon, Nicola
Other
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE * An all-encompassing, whirlwind romance that's "beautifully crafted" (People) and "full of intelligence, understanding and hope" (Los Angeles Times) ONE OF THE...
How we fall apart
Zhao, Katie
Paper Book
In a YA thriller that is Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying, students at an elite prep school are forced to confront their secrets when their ex-best friend turns up dead. Nancy Luo is shocked when her former best friend, Jamie Ruan, top-ranked junior at...
Feminist AF : a guide to crushing girlhood
Cooper, Brittney C.
Paper Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2021 Hip-hop and feminism combine in this empowering guide with attitude, from best-selling author Brittney Cooper and founding members of the Crunk Feminist Collective. Loud and rowdy girls, quiet and...
Lucy and Linh
Pung, Alice
Paper Book
From an author Amy Tan calls "a gem," this is a witty, highly acclaimed novel that's "part Mean Girls, part Lord of the Flies" (The Bulletin, Starred review) about navigating life in private school while remaining true to yourself. ...
Hood feminism : notes from the women that a movement forgot
Kendall, Mikki
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "The fights against hunger, homelessness, poverty, health disparities, poor schools, homophobia, transphobia, and domestic violence are feminist fights. Kendall offers a feminism rooted in the livelihood of everyday women." --Ibram X. Kendi,...
When Dimple met Rishi
Menon, Sandhya
Paper Book
The inspiration for the Netflix original series Mismatched! A New York Times bestseller A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) An NPR Best Book of 2017 A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of 2017 A Kirkus...
Counting down with you
Bhuiyan, Tashie
Paper Book
"A witty, romantic, deeply insightful debut." --Emma Lord, author of Tweet Cute In this sparkling and romantic YA debut, a reserved Bangladeshi-American teenager has twenty-eight days to make the biggest decision of her life after agreeing to fake date her school's...
The henna wars
Jaigirdar, Adiba
Paper Book
"Impossible to put down." - Kirkus, starred review Nishat doesn't want to lose her family, but she also doesn't want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat falls for...
This woven kingdom
Mafi, Tahereh
Paper Book
New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller from the acclaimed author of the Shatter Me series! Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people--Tahereh Mafi's first in an epic romantasy series inspired by Persian mythology. To...
Brazen rebel ladies who rocked the world
Bagieu, Penelope
Paper Book
2019 Eisner Award Winner for Best U.S. Edition of International Material Throughout history and across the globe, one characteristic connects the daring women of Brazen: their indomitable spirit. With her characteristic wit and dazzling drawings, celebrated...
Snowglobe
Park, Soyoung, (Young adult author)
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The groundbreaking Korean phenomenon that Entertainment Weekly called "The Hunger Games meets Squid Game"--now in English for the first time! A COSMOPOLITAN BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST...
A cruel thirst
Montoya, Angela
Paper Book
"Vampires, ancient evil, and forbidden romance? Montoya brings it all!"--Tracy Wolff, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Crave series A fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together--against their better judgment--to rid the world of monsters...
Layers : a memoir
Bagieu, Pénélope
Paper Book
Following the Eisner-award winning Brazen, Pénélope Bagieu pens her first autobiographical work in this hilarious and bitter sweet graphic memoir. Pénélope Bagieu never thought she'd publish a graphic memoir. But when she dusted off her old diaries (no, really--this...
Iron widow
Zhao, Xiran Jay
Paper Book
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant robots that battle aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall of China, no matter that the girls die from the mental strain. When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male...
We hunt the flame
Faizal, Hafsah
Paper Book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Tempest of Tea An Ignyte Award Winner A TIME Magazine Top 100 Fantasy Book of All Time A Paste Magazine Best YA Book A PopSugar Best YA Book A TeenVogue Book Club Pick A New York...
Mad, bad & dangerous to know
Ahmed, Samira (Fiction writer)
Paper Book
Told in alternating narratives that bridge centuries, the latest novel from bestselling author Samira Ahmed traces the lives of two young women fighting to write their own stories and escape the pressure of familial burdens and cultural expectations in worlds too long defined by men.
Felix ever after
Callender, Kacen
Paper Book
A Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time From Stonewall and Lambda Award-winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time. Felix Love has...

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