Indigenous Reads for Teens

A selection of recent novels and graphic novels written by Indigenous authors.

Updated June 2, 2025
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Indiginerds : tales from modern indigenous life
Pete, Alina
Paper Book
YALSA's 2025 Great Graphic Novels for Teens "This colorful, inviting graphic memoir anthology shatters narrow ideas about what a nerd (or a Native person) looks like." -- KIRKUS First Nations culture is...
Between the pipes
McLeod, Albert
Paper Book
Thirteen-year-old Chase's life and identity should be simple. He's the goalie for his hockey team, the Eagles. He's a friend to Kevin and Jade. He's Kookum's youngest grandchild. He's a boy. He should like girls. But it's not that simple. Chase doesn't like girls the way that the other...
This place : 150 years retold
Akiwenzie-Damm, Kateri
Paper Book
Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have...
Ahiahia the orphan
Illuitok, Levi
Paper Book
After his parents are brutally murdered, Ahiahia is raised by his grandmother in a camp surrounded by enemies. His grandmother knows that eventually the camp will turn on Ahiahia, just as it did his parents, so she chants a protection chant over the clothing that she lovingly sews for him, over the...
Funeral songs for dying girls
Dimaline, Cherie
Paper Book
After inadvertently starting rumors of a haunted cemetery, a teen befriends a ghost in this brand-new young adult novel exploring grief and belonging by the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of The Marrow Thieves series. Winifred has lived in the apartment above the...
Four faces of the moon
Strong, Amanda
Paper Book
"Four Faces of the Moon is a visually stunning story of Métis life, love and belonging. A rich, beautiful and immersive reading experience that shouldn't be missed." --Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of Noopiming: The Cure For White Ladies "This is magnificent storytelling. This is...
Rez ball
Graves, Byron
Paper Book
HarperStacks New Voices/debut novel promotion Featured title in Shake Up Your Shelves, a campaign to promote inclusive texts in curriculum and library collections
Hopeless in Hope
John-Kehewin, Wanda
Paper Book
★ Among CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens list, a starred selection of exceptional caliber We live in a hopeless old house on an almost-deserted dead-end street in a middle-of-nowhere town named Hope. This is the oldest part of Hope; eventually it will all be torn...
Hunting by stars
Dimaline, Cherie
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER The thrilling follow-up to the bestselling, award-winning novel The Marrow Thieves, about a dystopian world where the Indigenous people of North America are being hunted for their bone marrow and ability to dream. Years ago, when plagues...
If I go missing
Jonnie, Brianna
Paper Book
If I Go Missing is derived from excerpts of a letter that went viral and was also the basis of a documentary film. In her letter, Jonnie calls out the authorities for neglecting to immediately investigate missing Indigenous people and urges them to "not treat me as the Indigenous person I am...
Sugar Falls : a residential school story
Robertson, David
Paper Book
Inspired by true events, this story of strength, family, and culture shares the awe-inspiring resilience of Elder Betty Ross. Abandoned as a young child, Betsy is adopted into a loving family. A few short years later, at the age of 8, everything changes. Betsy is taken away to a...
Summer of Bitter and Sweet
Ferguson, Jen
Paper Book
Extensive ARC distribution via Big Mouth mailings and giveaways at major institutional conferences Teens' Top 10/YALSA ARE mailing to 15 teen reading groups across the country Advertising in key school & library media Update Heartdrum educator guide ...
Walking in two worlds
Kinew, Wab
Paper Book
Bugz is a shy Indigenous teen who faces the stresses of teenage angst and life on the Rez. But in the virtual world, her alter ego is not just confident but dominant in a massive multiplayer video game universe. Feng is a teen boy who has been sent from China to live with his aunt, a doctor on the...
Iz the apocalypse
Currie, Susan
Paper Book
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection! A fierce voice longs to break free. A spark ignites inside fourteen-year-old Iz Beaufort when she hears school music group Manifesto perform. Even though she hasn't written a song since That Place, she recognizes...
Orange Shirt Day, September 30th
Webstad, Phyllis.
Paper Book
Orange Shirt Day: September 30th aims to create champions who will walk a path of reconciliation through promoting the message that 'Every Child Matters'. Orange Shirt Day, observed annually on September 30th, is a day to honour Residential School Survivors and their families,...

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