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

Updated June 19, 2024
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Love in English
Andreu, Maria E
Paper Book
A fresh, joyful YA novel that is layered with themes of immigration, cultural identity, and finding your voice in any language.  Sixteen-year-old Ana is a poet and a lover of language. Except that since she moved to New Jersey from Argentina, she can barely find the...
Argentina | Spanish-Argentinian-American author
Furia
Méndez, Yamile Saied
Paper Book
A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK Recipient of the 2021 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Medal One of BuzzFeed's Must-Read YA Books of 2020 A Best Book of the Year: Cosmopolitan * Kirkus...

Argentina | Argentinian-American author

Red Moon
Trillo, Carlos
Paper Book
Published between 1998 and 2000, and set in a mythical medieval world, Red Moon follows the fortunes of Antolin, a young juggler, as he attempts to free the Land of Burien from the evil Lord of Leona. In a swashbuckling adventure that will remind readers of The Never-Ending Story (Puffin, 2009), a...

Argentina | Argentinian author-illustrator

The alchemist
Coelho, Paulo
Paper Book
Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of...

Brazil | Brazilian author

Here the Whole Time
Martins, Vitor
Paper Book
"I read this in one sitting, laughing out loud and cheering for Felipe to follow his heart. I love this book!" --Rainbow Rowell, New York Times bestselling author of Carry On and Wayward SonFelipe can't wait for winter break: Finally, he'll get some time away from the...

Brazil | Brazilian author

Two brothers
Moon, Fa?bio
Paper Book
Twin brothers Omar and Yaqub may share the same features, but they could not be more different. After a brutally violent exchange between the young boys, Yaqub, 'the good son,' is sent from his home in Brazil to live with relatives in Lebanon, only to return five years later as a virtual stranger to...

Brazil | Brazilian author-illustrator

I lived on Butterfly Hill
Agosi?n, Marjorie.
Paper Book
An eleven-year-old's world is upended by political turmoil in this searing novel from an award-winning poet, based on true events in Chile. Celeste Marconi is a dreamer. She lives peacefully among friends and neighbors and family in the idyllic town of Valparaiso, Chile--until...

Chile | Chilean-American author

City of the beasts
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold is about to join his fearless grandmother on the trip of a lifetime. An International Geographic expedition is headed to the dangerous, remote wilds of South America, on a mission to document the legendary Yeti of the Amazon known as the Beast. But there are many...

Chile | Chilean author

Kingdom of the Golden Dragon
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
Not many months have passed since teenager Alexander Cold followed his bold grand-mother into the heart of the Amazon to uncover its legendary Beast. This time, reporter Kate Cold escorts her grandson and his closest friend, Nadia, along with the photographers from International Geographic, on a...

Chile | Chilean author

Forest of the Pygmies
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
Alexander Cold knows all too well his grandmother Kate is never far from an adventure. When International Geographic commissions her to write an article about the first elephant-led safaris in Africa, they head -- with Nadia Santos and the magazine's photography crew -- to the blazing, red plains...

Chile | Chilean author

What remains : personal and political histories of Colombia
Aguirre, Camilo
Paper Book
What Remains is an innovative graphic novel that weaves documentary and memoir forms to capture the sociopolitical fabric of Colombia, spanning 200 years. Camilo Aguirre dips in and out of pivotal historical periods, all while skillfully interweaving family histories and anecdotes of students...

Colombia | Colombian author

Amazona
Canizales
Paper Book
This socially conscious thriller from graphic novelist Canizales examines the injustices of his home country in a stark, distinctive style. Andrea, a young Indigenous Colombian woman, has returned to the land she calls home. Only nineteen years old, she comes to mourn her lost child,...

Colombia | Colombian author-illustrator

Fruit of the drunken tree : a novel
Rojas Contreras, Ingrid
Paper Book
"One of the most dazzling and devastating novels I've read in a long time...Readers of Fruit of the Drunken Tree will surely be transformed." --San Francisco Chronicle "Simultaneously propulsive and poetic, reminiscent of Isabel Allende...Listen...

Colombia | Colombian author

The revolutionaries try again
Cardenas, Mauro Javier
Paper Book
Extravagant, absurd, and self-aware, The Revolutionaries Try Again plays out against the lost decade of Ecuador's austerity and the stymied idealism of three childhood friends--an expat, a bureaucrat, and a playwright--who are as sure about the evils of dictatorship as they are...

Ecuador | Ecuadorian author

The inheritance of Orquídea Divina : a novel
Córdova, Zoraida
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Isabel Allende, and Sarah Addison Allen, a family searches for the truth hidden in their past in this "expertly woven tale of family power, threaded with as much mystery as magic" (V.E. Schwab, #1 New York Times...

Ecuador | Ecuadorian-American author

Guerra en la penumbra : cuentos
Alarc{243}n, Daniel
Paper Book
En el mundo, algo extraño está sucediendo: hay movimientos masivos de gente, lenguas y culturas que crecen dislocadas entre guerras y economías en crisis. En pocas palabras, nuestro mundo está cambiando. En este asombroso libro de cuentos, Daniel Alarcón transporta al lector de los centros urbanos...

Peru | Peruvian author

Lituma en los Andes
Vargas Llosa, Mario
Paper Book
In a mining camp in the mountains of Peru, Corporal Lituma and his assistant Tomas live in hostile and primitive conditions, under constant threat from the Shining Path and obsessed by several inexplicable disappearances. This prize- winning novel comprises an impressive mosaic of human...

Peru | Peruvian author

Lulu and Milagro's search for clarity
Velez, Angela (Author of young adult fiction)
Paper Book
Booksmart meets Never Have I Ever in this Latinx road trip adventure--a big-hearted, voice-driven YA about two sisters who couldn't be more different, but become begrudging partners on their school's cross-country college trip--from debut author Angela Velez. Perfect for fans of...

Peru/USA | Peruvian-American author


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