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 Libraries Youth team at Wellington City Libraries
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Emil and Karl
Glatstein, Jacob
Paper Book
Written in the form of a suspense novel, "Emil & Karl" draws readers into the dilemma faced by two young boys--one Jewish, the other not--when they suddenly find themselves without homes or families in Vienna on the eve of World War II. A taut, gripping page-turner, it offers a picture of life...

Austria | Polish-born Jewish author writing about Jewish life in Vienna prior to World War II

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, New York Times bestselling author of Lore In...

Greece | Greek author

Voices from Chernobyl : the oral history of a nuclear disaster
Aleksievich, Svetlana
Paper Book
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe.Voices from Chernobyl is the first...

Belarus | Belarusian author

The diary of a young girl : the definitive edition
Frank, Anne
Paper Book
The diary as Anne Frank wrote it: "The single most compelling personal account of the Holocaust ... remains astonishing and excruciating" (The New York Times Book Review). In a modern translation, this definitive edition contains entries about Anne's burgeoning...

The Netherlands | German-born author writing in the Netherlands during World War II

The city of Belgium
Evens, Brecht
Paper Book
An exquisitely drawn exploration of three lost souls' emotional terrain As night falls in the City of Belgium, three strangers in their late twenties--a most dangerous age--arrive at a popular restaurant. Jona is about to move away; he calls his wife, who's already settled in...
Belgium | Belgian author-illustrator
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

Street without a name : childhood and other misadventures in Bulgaria
Kassabova, Kapka.
Paper Book
Kassabova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and grew up under the drab, muddy, grey mantle of one of communism's most mindlessly authoritarian regimes. Escaping with her family as soon as possible after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, she lived in Britain, New Zealand, and Argentina, and several other...

Bulgaria | Bulgarian 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
A special 20th anniversary hardcover edition of this classic work of world literature When The Unbearable Lightness of Being was first published in English, it was hailed as "a work of the boldest mastery, originality, and richness" by critic Elizabeth Hardwick and named one of the best...

Czechia | Czech author

The Marco effect : a Department Q novel
Adler-Olsen, Jussi
Paper Book
The New York Times and internationally bestselling author returns with an astonishing and sinister case for Department Q All fifteen-year-old Marco Jameson wants is to become a Danish citizen and go to school like a normal teenager. But his uncle Zola rules his former...

Denmark | Danish author

Maresi
Turtschaninoff, Maria.
Digital file
With publishers in a dozen countries, this first in a young adult fantasy trilogy with strong feminist themes is by an exciting new talent, Finnish writer Maria Turtschaninoff Only women and girls are allowed in the Red Abbey, a haven from abuse and oppression. Maresi, a thirteen-year-old novice...

Finland | Finnish author (originally written in Swedish)

The Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas, Alexandre
Paper Book
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read A popular bestseller since its publication in 1844, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great page-turning thrillers of all time. Set against the tumultuous years of...

France | French author

No and me
De Vigan, Delphine.
Ebook
Parisian teenager Lou has an IQ of 160, OCD tendencies, and a mother who has suffered from depression for years. But Lou is about to change her life-and that of her parents-all because of a school project about homeless teens. While doing research, Lou meets No, a teenage girl living on the...

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

Boy on the edge
Friðrik Erlingsson
Paper Book
Can a boy on the edge find his way back? From award-winning Icelandic author Fridrik Erlings comes a novel as cruel as it is tender. Henry has a clubfoot and he is the target of relentless bullying. One day, in a violent fit of anger, Henry lashes out at the only family he has --...

Iceland | Icelandic author

Bog child
Dowd, Siobhan.
Paper Book
DIGGING FOR PEAT in the mountain with his Uncle Tally, Fergus finds the body of a child, and it looks like she’s been murdered. As Fergus tries to make sense of the mad world around him—his brother on hunger-strike in prison, his growing feelings for Cora, his parents arguing over the...

Ireland | Irish author

The call
© 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

Among the living and the dead : a tale of exile and homecoming on the war roads of Europe
Verzemnieks, Inara
Paper Book
"It's long been assumed of the region where my grandmother was born...that at some point each year the dead will come home," Inara Verzemnieks writes in this exquisite story of war, exile, and reconnection. Her grandmother's stories recalled one true home: the family farm left behind in Latvia,...

Latvia | Latvian author

Between shades of gray
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
The inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the Snow! "Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both." --The Washington Post From New York Times and international bestseller and Carnegie Medal...

Lithuania | Lithuanian-American author

The letter for the king
Dragt, Tonke.
Paper Book
Sixteen-year-old Tiuri must spend hours locked in a chapel in silent contemplation if he is to be knighted the next day. But as he waits by the light of a flickering candle, he hears a knock at the door and a voice desperately asking for help.A secret letter must be delivered to King Unauwen...

The Netherlands | Dutch author

On the edge of gone
Duyvis, Corinne
Paper Book
A thrilling, thought-provoking novel from one of young-adult literature's boldest new talents. January 29, 2035. That's the day the comet is scheduled to hit - the big one. Denise and her mother and sister, Iris, have been assigned to a temporary shelter outside their hometown of...

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

Mr. Lightbulb
Wawszczyk, Wojtek
Paper Book
Our protagonist comes from a broken home. Quite literally. Freak accidents at the steelworks where his parents work have left his mom snapped and his dad flattened. One day, he mistakenly swallows a glob of molten metal giving himself the strange power to radiate heat and light - like a lightbulb....

Poland | Polish author-illustrator

The hunger angel : a novel
Mu?ller, Herta.
Paper Book
A masterful new novel from the winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize, hailed for depicting the "landscape of the dispossessed" with "the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose" (Nobel Prize Committee) It was an icy morning in January 1945 when the patrol came for seventeen-year...

Romania | Romanian-German author

Anya's ghost
Brosgol, Vera.
Paper Book
Already love Vera's work? Don't miss her first novel Return to Sender! 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...

Russia | Russian-American 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

Marina
Ruiz Zafo?n, Carlos
Paper Book
Carlos Ruiz Zafon's haunting gothic mystery, which has long been a cult classic in Spain and is now an international bestseller.   "We all have a secret buried under lock and key in the attic of our soul. This is mine."   ...

Spain | Spanish author

Heidi
Spyri, Johanna
Paper Book
Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child Let's enjoy the beautiful things we can see, my dear, and not think about those we cannot. Little Heidi loves living with her gruff grandfather in his secluded hut high is the...

Switzerland | Swiss author


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