High School Battle of the Books 2025-2026

North Carolina School Library Media Association's High School Battle of the Books list for the 2025-2026 school year.

Updated October 30, 2025
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Love from A to Z
Ali, S. K.
Paper Book
A Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick "The bighearted, wildly charming, painfully real love story I've been waiting for." --Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda From William C. Morris Award...
The Naturals
Barnes, Jennifer Lynn
Paper Book
Cold cases are about to get hot. Don't miss this exhilarating crime thriller--perfect for fans of Criminal Minds and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder--from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The...
The marrow thieves
Dimaline, Cherie
Paper Book
Winner of the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award (Young People's Literature - Text) Winner of the 2017 Kirkus PrizeWinner of the 2018 Sunburst Award Winner of the 2018 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award Winner of the 2018 Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit...
Dancing at the pity party : a dead mom graphic memoir
Feder, Tyler
Paper Book
Part poignant cancer memoir and part humorous reflection on a motherless life, this debut graphic novel is extraordinarily comforting and engaging. From before her mother's first oncology appointment through the stages of her cancer to the funeral, sitting shiva, and afterward,...
The great cool ranch Dorito in the sky
Galarza, Josh
Paper Book
A National Book Award Finalist! A Kids Indies Introduce/Next List Selection! Perfect for fans of Mark Oshiro and Adam Silvera comes a fiercely funny and hopeful story of one boy's attempts to keep everything under control while life has other plans. Ever...
Everyone dies famous in a small town
Hitchcock, Bonnie-Sue
Paper Book
A lyrical and heartfelt collection by an award-winning writer that connects the lives of young people from small towns in Alaska and the American west. Each story is unique, yet universal. In this book, the impact of wildfire, a wayward priest, or a mysterious disappearance...
Raybearer
Ifueko, Jordan
Paper Book
Fans of Sabaa Tahir and Tomi Adeyemi won't want to miss Raybearer, an instant New York Times bestselling fantasy from breakout YA sensation Jordan Ifueko! Named one of the best books of the year by People magazine, Buzzfeed, New York Public...
You have a match
Lord, Emma
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A REESE'S BOOK CLUB WINTER YA PICK INDIE NEXT PICK A BEST YA PICK OF 2021 BY POPSUGAR * PARADE A new love, a secret sister, and a summer she'll never forget. From the beloved author...
Angel of Greenwood
Pink, Randi
Paper Book
A piercing, unforgettable love story set in Greenwood, Oklahoma, also known as the "Black Wall Street," and against the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Isaiah Wilson is, on the surface, a town troublemaker, but is hiding that he is an avid reader and secret poet, never leaving...
Everything we never had
Ribay, Randy
Paper Book
Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Longlisted for the National Book Award Winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction Award From the author of the National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing comes an emotionally charged, moving...
Powerless
Roberts, Lauren
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! This sparkling edition includes a special case stamping, bonus content, and a teaser to book two in this heart-pounding series! Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, this young adult fantasy follows the forbidden romance...
The cat I never named : a true story of love, war, and survival
Sabic-El-Rayess, Amra
Paper Book
The stunning memoir of a Muslim teen struggling to survive in the midst of the Bosnian genocide-and the stray cat who protected her family through it all. *Six Starred Reviews*"Extraordinary." - Booklist | "A must-read." - School Library...
STARTER VILLAIN
SCALZI, JOHN.
Paper Book
Now a New York Times bestseller! Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher...
Impossible escape : a true story of survival and heroism in Nazi Europe
Sheinkin, Steve
Paper Book
From three-time National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin, a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust--one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape. It is 1944. A teenager named Rudolf (Rudi...
Cemetery boys
Thomas, Aiden
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature! A New York Times Bestseller! A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten pick! "Goundbreaking." -Entertainment Weekly A trans boy determined to prove his gender to...
Fable
Young, Adrienne
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK Filled with all of the action, emotion, and lyrical writing that brought readers to Sky in the Deep, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young...

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