Book Award Winners (YA)

You might find yourself having to read an award winning book for school at some time, so we thought we'd help out a bit and produce a list of recent award-winning books (with one or two critically acclaimed almost-award-winning books) from our Young Adult Fiction collection.

For space reasons we haven't included all past winners of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults -- but you can find them all in this list if you're looking for them.

Updated June 19, 2024
W
Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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The impossible story of Hannah Kemp : a novel
Agnew, Leonie
Paper Book
The unpublished manuscript was the winner of the 2022 Tessa Duder Award: a powerful exploration of guilt, forgiveness, choice and personal responsibility. Hannah Kemp is dealing with a traumatic accident for which she was responsible. Struggling to come to terms with her guilt...

Storylines Tessa Duder Award (NZ) -- 2022 winner

All my rage
Tahir, Sabaa
Paper Book
National Book Award WINNER Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature WINNER An INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! An INSTANT INDIE BESTSELLER! "All My Rage is a love story, a tragedy and an infectious teenage fever dream about what home...

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Book Awards (USA) -- 2023 Printz Award winner

I must betray you
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
Trapped by an evil dictatorship, will Cristian be forced to betray his family or will he risk everything he loves to resist? A powerful, heart-breaking thriller based on real events. *Winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers' Choice Medal for Writing 2023*

The Carnegie Medal (UK) -- 2023 Shadowers' Choice

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...

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Book Awards (USA) -- 2022 Printz and Morris Award winner

Goodreads Choice Awards -- 2021 YA Fiction winner

Black spiral
Merriman, Eileen (Haematologist)
Paper Book
THE SUSPENSE-FILLED CONCLUSION TO THE BLACK SPIRAL TRILOGY Violet and Johnno have escaped the Foundation's compounds. Reunited, they need somewhere safe for the three of them to hide- Violet, Johnno and their unborn child. Beat. Heartbeat. One, two, three. I only just...

Storylines Notable Book List 2022 (NZ)

Black wolf
Merriman, Eileen (Haematologist)
Paper Book
THE SECOND RIVETING BOOK IN THE FAST-PACED BLACK SPIRAL TRILOGY. Back from Germany and the assignment that went horribly wrong, Violet doesn't know who to trust- It's fortunate for me that the Foundation staff can't read my thoughts. . . If they could read...

Storylines Notable Book List 2022 (NZ)

Tiger daughter
Lim, Rebecca
Paper Book
Wen Zhou is determined to create a future for herself that is more satisfying than the life her parents expect her to lead. Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, the CBCA shortlisted Tiger Daughter is a wonderfully compelling and authentic Own Voices novel about growing up Asian in Australia...

Children's Book Council of Australia: Book of the Year for Older Readers (AU) -- 2022 winner

This is how we change the ending
Wakefield, Vikki
Paper Book
Sixteen-year-old Nate McKee is doing his best to be invisible. He's worried about a lot of things - how his dad treats Nance and his twin half-brothers; the hydro crop in his bedroom; the way his friend Merrick always drags him into fights. And he has never forgiven his mother for leaving. But none...

Children's Book Council of Australia: Book of the Year for Older Readers (AU) -- 2020 winner

Between us
Atkins, Claire
Ebook
From the award-winning author of Nona & Me comes a stunning new novel about two teenagers separated by cultural differences, their parents' expectations and twenty kilometres of barbed-wire fence. Is it possible for two very different teenagers to fall in love despite high...

Children's Book Council of Australia: Book of the Year for Older Readers (AU) -- 2019 winner

Take three girls
Crowley, Cath
Paper Book
"This beautifully crafted, lively novel captures the good and the bad of female friendship" Bec Kavanagh Books + Publishing, 5 stars. WINNER OF THE CBCA AWARD FOR BOOK OF THE YEAR: OLDER READERS3 award-winning authors.1 compelling book.ADY - not the confident A-Lister she appears to be.KATE - brainy...

Children's Book Council of Australia: Book of the Year for Older Readers (AU) -- 2018 winner

One would think the deep
Zorn, Claire
Paper Book
Sam stared at the picture of the boy about to be tipped off the edge of the world- the crushing weight of water about to pummel him. Sam knew that moment exactly, the disbelief that what was about to happen could even be possible. The intake of breath before the flood. Sam...

Children's Book Council of Australia: Book of the Year for Older Readers (AU) -- 2017 winner

The blood traitor
Noni, Lynette
Paper Book
She'd failed them. All of them. And now she was paying the price. Kiva thought she knew what she wanted - revenge. But feelings change, people change . . . everything has changed. After what happened at the palace, Kiva is desperate to know if her...

Australian Book Industry Awards: Book of the Year for Older Children (AU) -- 2023 winner

The prison healer
Noni, Lynette
Paper Book
From bestselling Australian author Lynette Noni comes a dark, thrilling YA fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Sabaa Tahir. Here at Zalindov, the only person you can trust is yourself. Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years...

Australian Book Industry Awards: Book of the Year for Older Children (AU) -- 2022 winner

The left-handed booksellers of London
Nix, Garth
Paper Book
This ABIA award-winning fantasy set in 1980s London follows one girl's quest to find her father, leading her to a secret society of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World when it disastrously intrudes into the modern world. For anyone who likes light-hearted adventure and...

Australian Book Industry Awards: Book of the Year for Older Children (AU) -- 2021 winner

Welcome to your period!
Stynes, Yumi
Paper Book
The #1 best-selling, award-winning guide to getting your period for the first time, from 'Dolly Doctor' Dr Melissa Kang and journalist Yumi Stynes (Ladies, We Need to Talk). Getting your period for the first time can be mortifying, weird and messy - and asking...

Australian Book Industry Awards: Book of the Year for Older Children (AU) -- 2020 winner

Jane Doe and the cradle of all worlds
Lachlan, Jeremy
Paper Book
Step inside. Don't look back. Forward is the only way. His Dark Materials meets Mad Max in this unforgettable blockbuster adventure series about the world between the worlds, and one girl who is destined to save them all. ⭐ WINNER: ABIA Book of...

Australian Book Industry Awards: Book of the Year for Older Children (AU) -- 2019 winner

October, October
Balen, Katya
Paper Book
_______________ WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL 2022 WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE SHADOWERS' CHOICE AWARD 2022 _______________ 'A very special new addition to the shelf and deserves classic status' - The Times Children's Book of...

The Carnegie Medal (UK) -- 2022 winner

Lark
McGowan, Anthony
Paper Book
Nature's fury tests a brother's courage and a dog's loyalty in this Carnegie Medal winning ending to the story of the beloved brothers of the Truth of Things series. WINNER OF THE 2020 CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL. Things are tense at home for Nicky and Kenny. Their mum's coming to...

The Carnegie Medal (UK) -- 2020 winner

The Poet X
Acevedo, Elizabeth
Paper Book
Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award! Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award...
When our worlds collided
Jawando, Danielle
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE YA BOOK PRIZE AND THE JHALAK CHILDREN'S AND YA PRIZE 2023. A powerful coming-of-age story about chance encounters, injustice and how the choices that we make can completely change our future. The second YA novel from multi-award-winning Danielle Jawando, ...

YA Book Prize (UK and Ireland) -- 2023 winner

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...

YA Book Prize (UK and Ireland) -- 2022 winner

Loveless
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE YA BOOK PRIZE 2021LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI CHILDREN'S & YA BOOK PRIZE 2022A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe fourth novel from the phenomenally talented Alice Oseman, author of Solitaire and the graphic novel series Heartstopper - now a major Netflix series. It was all...

YA Book Prize (UK and Ireland) -- 2021 winner

Goodbye, perfect
Barnard, Sara.
Paper Book
How far would you go to protect a friend? An incredible novel from the bestselling author of Beautiful Broken Things and A Quiet Kind of Thunder.Eden McKinley knows she can't count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So...

YA Book Prize (UK and Ireland) -- 2019 winner

We are okay : a novel
LaCour, Nina
Paper Book
Winner of the 2018 Michael L. Printz Award * An achingly beautiful novel about grief and the enduring power of friendship. "Short, poetic and gorgeously written." --The New York Times Book Review "A beautiful, devastating piece of art."<...

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Book Awards (USA) -- 2020 Printz Award winner

The magic fish
Trung, Le Nguyen
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by New York Public Library . Kirkus Reviews . Booklist . Publishers Weekly In this gorgeous debut graphic novel, fairy tales are the only way one boy can communicate with his Vietnamese immigrant parents. But how will he find the...

The International Literacy Association Children's and Young Adults' Book Awards -- 2021 winner

The lucky ones
Lawson, Liz
Paper Book
For fans of Thirteen Reasons Why, This Is How It Ends, and All the Bright Places, comes a new novel about life after. How do you put yourself back together when it seems like you've lost it all? May is a survivor. But she doesn't feel like one. She feels...

The International Literacy Association Children's and Young Adults' Book Awards -- 2021 Honour Award

How to make friends with the dark
Glasgow, Kathleen
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a novel about love and loss and learning how to continue when it feels like you're surrounded by darkness. "A rare and powerful novel." --Karen M. McManus, New York Times bestselling author of...

The International Literacy Association Children's and Young Adults' Book Awards -- 2020 Honour Award

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.

Goodreads Choice Awards -- 2020 YA Fiction winner

The beauty that remains
Woodfolk, Ashley
Audiobook
Told from three diverse points of view, this story of life and love after loss is one Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, believes "will stay with you long after you put it down." We've lost everything...and found ourselves. Loss pulled Autumn, Shay, and...

The International Literacy Association Children's and Young Adults' Book Awards -- 2019 Honour Award

The final gambit
Barnes, Jennifer Lynn
Paper Book
OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD OF THE #1 BESTSELLING SERIES! Avery's fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone is talking about. To inherit billions, all Avery Kylie Grambs has to do is survive a few...

Goodreads Choice Awards -- 2022 YA Fiction winner

Gallant
Schwab, Victoria
Paper Book
AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A KIRKUS BEST BOOK A USA TODAY BESTSELLER A NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER "A bone-chilling standalone . . . which fuses Shirley Jackson's gothic horror sensibilities with the warmth and dark whimsy of Neil Gaiman."--Publishers Weekly...

Goodreads Choice Awards -- 2022 YA Fantasy winner

Rule of wolves
Bardugo, Leigh
Paper Book
The wolves are circling and a young king will face his greatest challenge in the explosive finale of the instant #1 New York Times-bestselling King of Scars Duology. The Grishaverse will be coming to Netflix soon with Shadow and Bone, an original series! The Demon King....

Goodreads Choice Awards -- 2021 YA Fantasy winner

Five feet apart
Lippincott, Rachael
Paper Book
Now a major motion picture starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson! Goodreads Choice Winner, Best Young Adult Fiction of 2019 A YALSA 2020 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers In this #1 New York Times bestselling novel...

Goodreads Choice Awards -- 2019 YA Fiction winner


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