Books From Around the World (YA): Africa

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 Africa. Check out our lists for authors from Asia, Europe, North and Central America, Oceania, and South America for even more recommendations!

Updated June 19, 2024
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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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Algeria is beautiful like America
Burton, Olivia
Ebook
Olivia had always heard stories about Algeria from her maternal grandmother, a Black Foot (a "Pied-Noir," the French term for Christian and Jewish settlers of French Algeria who emigrated to France after the Algerian War of Independence). After her grandmother's death, Olivia found some of her...

Algeria | Author is a descendent of an Algerian 'pied-noir' - a person of European descent born in Algeria.

The stranger
Camus, Albert
Paper Book
Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd." First published in 1946; now in a new translation by Matthew Ward.

Algeria | Algerian-French author

Angola Janga : kingdom of runaway slaves
Salete, Marcelo D'
Paper Book
An independent kingdom of runaway slaves founded in the late 16th century, Angola Janga was a beacon of freedom in a land plagued with oppression. In stark black ink and chiaroscuro panel compositions, D'Salete brings history to life; the painful stories of fugitive slaves on the run, the brutal...

Angola | Brazilian author writing about communities of escaped Angolan slaves in the 17th century

My friends : a novel
Matar, Hisham
Paper Book
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE * A "masterly" (The New York Times, Editors' Choice), "riveting" (The Atlantic) novel of friendship, family, and the unthinkable realities of exile, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Return ...

Libya | Libyan-British author

The impatient : a novel
Amadou Amal, Djai?li
Paper Book
A powerful, heartrending, and insightful novel of a trio of women in Cameroon who dare to rebel against oppressive, long-held cultural traditions--including polygamy and domestic abuse--that define and limit their lives. Three women, three stories, three linked destinies . . . In...
Cameroon | Cameroonian author
Behold the dreamers : a novel
Mbue, Imbolo
Paper Book
A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream--the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy New York Times ...

Cameroon | Cameroonian-American author

A house without windows
Ellison, Marc
Ebook
Central African Republic | Central African illustrator
Akissi : tales of mischief
Abouet, Marguerite
Paper Book
"utterly unputdownable"--The New York Times A Kirkus Best Book of 2018, Akissi: Tales of Mischief brings together the first volume of the hilarious and heartfelt Akissi comics by Marguerite Abouet, the award winning author of Aya of Yop City.

Cote d'Ivoire | Ivorian author

Alpha : Abidjan to Gare du Nord
Bessora
Paper Book
Doctors Without Borders Prize PEN Promotes Award GLLI (Global Literature in Libraries Initiative) Translated YA Book Prize Shortlist CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Longlist Library Journal "Best Book of the Year" selection School Library Journal "Best Adult...

Cote d'Ivoire | Gabonese-Belgian author writing about an Ivorian man migrating to find his family in France

City of saints & thieves
Anderson, Natalie C
Audiobook
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo meets Gone Girl in this enthralling murder mystery set in Kenya.   In the shadows of Sangui City, there lives a girl who doesn't exist. After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya looking for the...

Democratic Republic of the Congo | American author writing a story with a Congolese protagonist based on extensive work with Congolese refugees in Nairobi, Kenya. Read more about the author's approach on the Invisible Children blog.

The republic of false truths
Aswa?ni?, ?Ala??
Paper Book
A "glorious, humane novel" (The Observer) about the Egyptian revolution, taking us inside the battle raging between those in power and those prepared to lay down their lives in the defense of freedom--this globally-acclaimed narrative from one of the foremost writers in the Arab...
Egypt | Egyptian author
What strange paradise
El Akkad, Omar
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR * From the widely acclaimed, bestselling author of American War--a beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic, and profoundly moving novel that looks at the global refugee crisis through the eyes of a child. "Told from...

Egypt | Egyptian-Canadian author

Shubeik lubeik
Muh?ammad, Di?na?
Paper Book
* Winner of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation *Eisner Award Nominee * Hugo Award Nominee A brilliantly original debut graphic novel that imagines a fantastical alternate Cairo where wishes really do come true. Shubeik Lubeik--a fairy tale rhyme that means...

Egypt | Egyptian author

The shadow king
Mengiste, Maaza
Paper Book
With the threat of Mussolini's army looming, recently orphaned Hirut struggles to adapt to her new life as a maid in Kidane and his wife Aster's household. Kidane, an officer in Emperor Haile Selassie's army, rushes to mobilize his strongest men before the Italians invade. His initial kindness to...
Ethiopia | Ethiopian-American author
The Arab of the future : a graphic memoir : a childhood in the Middle East (1978-1984)
Sattouf, Riad
Paper Book
The Arab of the Future, the #1 French best-seller, tells the unforgettable story of Riad Sattouf's childhood, spent in the shadows of 3 dictators--Muammar Gaddafi, Hafez al-Assad, and his father In striking, virtuoso graphic style that captures both the immediacy of...

Libya | Libyan-French author

Nightbloom : a novel
Medie, Peace Adzo
Paper Book
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction Inseparable when they were girls but now estranged, cousins Akorfa and Selasi have to repair the silences between them or lose each other forever in this moving novel set in Ghana and America from the author of Reese's Book...

Ghana | Ghanaian author

She would be king : a novel
Moore, Waye?tu
Ebook
A novel of exhilarating range, magical realism, and history--a dazzling retelling of Liberia's formation Wayétu Moore's powerful debut novel, She Would Be King, reimagines the dramatic story of Liberia's early years through three unforgettable characters who share an...

Liberia | Liberian author

The boy who harnessed the wind : creating currents of electricity and hope
Kamkwamba, William
Paper Book
Now a Netflix Film, Starring and Directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor of 12 Years a Slave William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger. But William had read about windmills, and he dreamed of...

Malawi | Malawian author

My life as a chameleon
Anyakwo, Diana
Paper Book
"A story of touching resilience."--Kirkus "In My Life As a Chameleon, Diana Anyakwo renders this emotional tale with such truthful and realistic eye that one feels like they're reading a memoir. Lily asks important questions about her multiple...

Nigeria | Nigerian-Irish author

An orchestra of minorities : a novel
Obioma, Chigozie
Ebook

Nigeria | Nigerian author (Igbo)

Akata witch
Okorafor, Nnedi.
Paper Book
Affectionately dubbed "the Nigerian Harry Potter," Akata Witch weaves together a heart-pounding tale of magic, mystery, and finding one's place in the world. Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she's albino. She's a...

Nigeria | Nigerian-American author

Things fall apart
Achebe, Chinua.
Paper Book
The most widely read book in modern African literature tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around a fearless Igbo warrior in Nigeria in the late 1800s, before and after the European colonization of the continent. "African literature is...

Nigeria | Nigerian author (Igbo)

Black Moses
Mabanckou, Alain
Paper Book
The "heart-breaking" (New York Times Book Review), rollicking, award-winning novel that has been described as "Oliver Twist in 1970s Africa" (Les Inrockuptibles) "One of the most compelling books you'll read in any language this year." --Rolling Stone Winner of the Hurston-Wright...

Republic of the Congo | Congolese author

A long way gone : memoirs of a boy soldier
Beah, Ishmael
Ebook
In A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah tells a riveting story in his own words: how, at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he...

Sierra Leone | Sierra Leonean author

Radiance of tomorrow
Beah, Ishmael
Paper Book
This hauntingly beautiful first novel by the bestselling author of A Long Way Gone is an affecting, tender parable about postwar life in Sierra Leone.Longtime friends Benjamin and Bockarie go home to Imperi after the civil war and find it in ruins, the ground covered in bones. As more villagers...

Sierra Leone | Sierra Leonean author

Journey to Jo'burg : a South African story
Naidoo, Beverley.
Ebook
"Has no equal. Evocative and haunting." (School Library Journal starred review) The bestselling classic set in South Africa during the apartheid era, in which two siblings must face the dangers of their divided country. Mma lives and works in Johannesburg, far from...

South Africa | South African author (Afrikaner)

Born a crime : stories from a South African childhood
Noah, Trevor
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * More than one million copies sold! A "brilliant" (Lupita Nyong'o, Time), "poignant" (Entertainment Weekly), "soul-nourishing" (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid  

South Africa | South African author (Coloured, Xhosa)

Songs of a war boy
Adut, Deng Thiak
Paper Book
'A reminder that every childhood is different, and some are jaw-droppingly, mind-bendingly, heart-wrenchingly different.' - Morris Gleitzman, Australian Children's Laureate Deng Adut was six years old when war came to his village in South Sudan. Taken from his mother, he...

South Sudan | South Sudanese author

Listen, Layla
Abdel-Magied, Yassmin
Paper Book
Exploring the diaspora experience, race, politics and identity, Listen, Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied is an own voices novel for young readers, which bursts with passion, humour and truth. Layla has ended the school year on a high and can't wait to spend the holidays hanging out...

Sudan | Sudanese-Australian author

Home is not a country
Elhillo, Safia
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD   "Nothing short of magic." --Elizabeth Acevedo, New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X   From the  acclaimed poet featured on Forbes Africa's "30 Under 30" list, this...

Sudan | Sudanese-American author

The Old Drift : a novel
Serpell, Namwali
Paper Book
"A dazzling debut, establishing Namwali Serpell as a writer on the world stage."--Salman Rushdie, The New York Times Book Review   NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Dwight Garner, The New York Times * The New York Times Book Review *...

Zambia | Zambian-American author


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