Books From Around the World (YA): North and Central 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 North and Central America, including the Caribbean. Check out our lists for authors from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and South America for even more recommendations!

Updated June 19, 2024
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The island of forgetting
Sealy, Jasmine
Paper Book
'Inventive, excellent ... a pure pleasure to read' THE TIMES In this compelling debut, an unknowable legacy passes through generations of one family living on the beautiful island of Barbados. In this compelling debut, an unknowable legacy passes through...

Barbados | Barbadian-Canadian author

Bad Cree
Johns, Jessica
Paper Book
When Mackenzie wakes up with a severed crow's head in her hands, she panics. Only moments earlier she had been fending off masses of birds in a snow-covered forest. In bed, when she blinks, the head disappears. Night after night, Mackenzie's dreams return her to a memory from before her...

Canada | Canadian author (Cree)

The break
Vermette, Katherena
Paper Book
A stunning and multiple prize-winning first novel by a First Nations Canadian writer who is being acclaimed around the world.

Canada | Canadian author (Metis)

How the one-armed sister sweeps her house : a novel
Jones, Cherie
Paper Book
In the tradition of Zadie Smith and Marlon James, a brilliant Caribbean writer delivers a powerful story about four people each desperate to escape their legacy of violence in a so-called "paradise." In Baxter's Beach, Barbados, Lala's grandmother Wilma tells the story of the one-armed...

Barbados | Barbadian author

Fire rush
Crooks, Jacqueline
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023 AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR It's time to dance, to love, to be free...

Jamaica | Jamaican-British author (Windrush community)

Hearts unbroken
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Paper Book
Winner of an American Indian Youth Literature Award New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school -- and first love. ...

United States of America | American author (Muscogee Creek)

Here comes the sun
Dennis-Benn, Nicole
Paper Book
A New York Times Cool Reads for Hot Days PickOne of BBC's Ten New Beach Reads to DevourA Publishers Weekly Writer to WatchA Cosmo Reads selection for JulyMarie Claire What We're Reading ListOne of Elle's 19 Summer Books That Everyone Will Be Talking AboutOne of Bustle's 73 New Summer Books to Enjoy...

Jamaica | Jamaican author

Small island
Levy, Andrea
Paper Book
Small Island by bestselling author Andrea Levy won the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Orange Prize 'Best of the Best' as well as the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Whitbread. Possibly the definitive fictional account of the experiences of the Empire Windrush generation, it...

Jamaica/UK | Jamaican-British author (Windrush community)

The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian
Alexie, Sherman
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller--over one million copies sold!   A National Book Award winner A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Bestselling and award winning author Sherman Alexie tells the hearbreaking yet funny story about a boy...

United States of America | American author (Spokane)

River sing me home
Shearer, Eleanor
Paper Book
" Rare. Moving. Powerful. This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother's gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery is a remarkable debut. Her search begins with an ending...<...

Barbados | Caribbean-British author; ancestor of Windrush generation immigrants

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe
Sáenz, Benjamin Alire
Paper Book
Now a major motion picture starring Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, and Eva Longoria! A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) This Printz Honor Book is a "tender, honest exploration of identity" (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about...

United States of America | Mexican-American author

Clap when you land
Acevedo, Elizabeth
Paper Book
The second poignant, powerful and passionate novel in verse from the 2019 Carnegie Medal winning author of The Poet X.

Dominican Republic | Dominican-American author

Love is a revolution
Watson, Renée
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Renée Watson comes a new YA novel - a love story about not only a romantic relationship but how a girl finds herself and falls in love with who she really is. 'Reading a Renée Watson novel is like having...

United States of America | Jamaican-American author

Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER! A MORRIS AWARD WINNER! AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK! A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Soon to be adapted at Netflix...

United States of America | American author (Ojibwe)


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