Books From Around the World (YA): Europe

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 Europe. Check out our lists for authors from Africa, Asia, North and Central America, Oceania, and South America for even more recommendations!

Updated June 19, 2024
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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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A dictator calls : a novel
Kadare, Ismail
Paper Book
Longlisted for the International Booker Prize The Wall Street Journal, A Best Book of the Year Using a sophisticated and literary version of the ever-popular game of telephone to examine the relationship of writers with tyranny, Ismail Kadare reflects on three particular...
Albania | Albanian author
Threads that bind
Hatzopoulou, Kika
Paper Book
'Dripping with atmosphere and edged with danger, Threads That Bind weaves together a gorgeous dark tapestry of mystery, fated romance and modern myth. You won't be able to put this one down' Alexandra Bracken, bestselling author of Lore In the city...

Greece | Greek author

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...

Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian author

The island of missing trees
Shafak, Elif
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK Winner of the 2022 BookTube Silver Medal in Fiction * Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction "A wise novel of love and grief, roots and branches, displacement and home, faith and belief. Balm for our bruised times." -David...

Cyprus | Turkish author writing in the context of the Greek-Turkish conflict on the island of Cyprus

The unbearable lightness of being
Kundera, Milan
Paper Book
International Bestseller * Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction "Far more than a conventional novel. It is a meditation on life, on the erotic, on the nature of men and women and love . . . full of telling details, truths large and small, to which just about every...

Czechia | Czech author

The Marco Effect : a Department Q novel
Adler-Olsen, Jussi
Paper Book
A teenaged boy on the run propels Detective Carl Mørck into Department Q's most sinister case yet in the fifth novel in Jussi Adler-Olsen's New York Times bestselling series.   Fifteen-year-old Marco Jameson longs to become a Danish citizen and go to school like a...

Denmark | Danish author

A winter's promise
Dabos, Christelle
Paper Book
Long ago, following a cataclysm called 'The Rupture', the world was shattered into floating celestial islands, known now as Arks. Ophelia lives on Anima, an Ark where objects have souls. Beneath her worn scarf and thick glasses, Ophelia hides two powers- the ability to read the past of objects and...

France | French author

The Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas, Alexandre
Paper Book
Alexandre Dumas's epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment--nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to...

France | French author

Dream a little dream
Gier, Kerstin
Paper Book
Liv has been dealing with a lot lately. She and her family have just moved in with her mother's new boyfriend in London, and she's starting over (again) at a new school. But Liv isn't sure that explains her dreams, which have gone from odd to...well, bizarre. Lately, her nighttime hours have been...

Germany | German author

My soul twin
Haratischwili, Nino
Paper Book
Eight years have passed since Stella last saw Ivo, but when he returns, the reunion of their unconventional family will change the course of her ordinary life. As children, Stella and Ivo grew close as their parents embarked on an affair that would shatter both families. Later, as teenagers,...

Germany | Georgian-born German author

The call
Ó'Guilin, Peadar
Paper Book
You have three minutes to save your life . . .THREE MINUTESYou wake up alone in a horrible land. A horn sounds. The Call has begun.TWO MINUTESThe Sidhe are close. They're the most beautiful and terrible people you've ever seen. And they've seen you.ONE MINUTENessa...

Ireland | Irish author

The letter for the king
Dragt, Tonke
Paper Book
A young messenger. A secret mission. A kingdom in peril.

The Netherlands | Dutch author

Sophie's world : a novel about the history of philosophy
Gaarder, Jostein.
Paper Book
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old...

Norway | Norwegian author

Lena, the sea and me
Parr, Maria.
Paper Book
A heartwarming and action-packed story of friendship from Norway's answer to Astrid Lindgren. This classic in the making from award-winning author Maria Parr is packed full of laugh-out-loud adventures and paints an honest picture of the highs and lows of friendship and growing up. Dark clouds are...

Norway | Norwegian author

A curse of roses
Pinguicha, Diana
Paper Book
Based on Portuguese legend, this #OwnVoices historical fantasy is an epic tale of mystery, magic, and making the impossible choice between love and duty... With just one touch, bread turns into roses. With just one bite, cheese turns into lilies. There's a famine...

Portugal | Portuguese author

Anya's ghost
Brosgol, Vera.
Paper Book
Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part . . . Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century. Falling down a...

Russia | Russian-American author-illustrator

Gamayun tales I : an anthology of modern Russian folktales
Utkin, Alexander
Paper Book
Enter a world of magic and adventure in this stunning series based on traditional Russian folklore. Collected into a beautiful new paperback edition for the first time! Alexander Utkin's Gamayun Tales are fresh and modern adaptations of familiar Russian folktales, teamed with...

Russia | Russian author-illustrator

The librarian of Auschwitz
Iturbe, Antonio
Paper Book
Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along...

Spain/Germany | Spanish author

Heidi
Spyri, Johanna
Paper Book
The classic story of a little orphan girl in the Swiss Alps, with beautiful cover illustrations by Anna Bond, the artist behind world-renowned stationery brand Rifle Paper Co. At the age of five, little orphan Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. Everyone in...

Switzerland | Swiss author

Vita nostra
Di?a?chenko, Marina
Paper Book
"Vita Nostra" -- a cross between Lev Grossman's "The Magicians" and Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian" [...] is the anti-Harry Potter you didn't know you wanted." -- The Washington Post "Vita Nostra has become a powerful influence on my own writing. It's a book that has the potential...

Ukraine | Ukrainian author


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