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
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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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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
#1 New York Times Bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal! A gut-wrenching, startling historical thriller about communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation, from the #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of Salt to...

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

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

Take three girls
Crowley, Cath
Paper Book
Three authors. Three appealing and relatable characters. One smart YA novel about a trio of unlikely friends who team up to take down the school cyberbully.    "Mean stuff spreads so fast. One click. Post. Send. Share. Online bullying = sometimes...

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

The blood traitor
Noni, Lynette
Paper Book
"Lynette Noni is a masterful storyteller. A must-read for any fantasy lover!" --Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author 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 ....

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

The prison healer
Noni, Lynette
Paper Book
"Lynette Noni is a masterful storyteller. A must-read for any fantasy lover!" -- SARAH J. MAAS, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer. ...

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

Everything sad is untrue : (a true story)
Nayeri, Daniel
Paper Book
Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award Christopher Award Winner Middle East Book Award Winner National Indie Bestseller NPR Best Book of the Year New York Times Best of the Year Amazon Best of the Year Booklist Editors' Choice ...

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Book Awards (USA) -- 2021 Printz Award winner

Welcome to your period!
Stynes, Yumi
Paper Book
This frank, funny guide to getting your period gives preteens all they need to master--and even celebrate!--menstruation. Getting your period for the first time can be mortifying, weird, and messy--and asking questions about it can feel even worse. But it doesn't have to be that...

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

Look both ways : a tale told in ten blocks
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A National Book Award Finalist Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book UK Carnegie Medal winner An NPR Favorite Book of 2019 A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2019 A Time Best Children's Book of 2019 A...

The Carnegie Medal (UK) -- 2021 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...
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
For fans of Love, Simon and I Wish You All the Best, a funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of a girl who realizes that love can be found in many ways that don't involve sex or romance. From the marvelous author of Heartstopper comes an exceptional YA novel about...

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

Goodbye, perfect
Barnard, Sara.
Paper Book
Winner of The Bookseller's YA Book Prize A YALSA 2020 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Friendship bonds are tested and the very nature of loyalty is questioned in this lyrical novel about a teen whose best friend runs away with her teacher after...

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

The life and crimes of Hoodie Rosen
Blum, Isaac
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD! A WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD WINNER! The Chosen meets Adam Silvera in this irreverent and timely story of worlds colliding in friendship, betrayal, and the hatred that divides us. Hoodie Rosen's life isn't that bad....

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

Man made monsters
Rogers, Andrea L.
Paper Book
Uncover the Terrifying Intersection of History and Horror Imagine a chilling horror collection that weaves classic monsters like werewolves and vampires with the true horrors of colonialism, domestic violence, and displacement. Man Made Monsters, by...

The International Literacy Association Children's and Young Adults' Book Awards -- 2023 winner

We deserve monuments
Hammonds, Jas
Paper Book
"An absolute must read." --Buzzfeed "A gripping portrayal of the South's inherent racism and a love story for queer Black girls." --Teen Vogue Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery...

The International Literacy Association Children's and Young Adults' Book Awards -- 2023 Honour Award

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
Ebook
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
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives. Camino Rios lives for the...

Goodreads Choice Awards -- 2020 YA Fiction winner

The beauty that remains
Woodfolk, Ashley
Paper Book
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 5 MILLION COPIES SOLD OF THE #1 BESTSELLING SERIES! Avery's fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be 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
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! 2021 Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fantasy! See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone -- Season 2 streaming now! Discover what...

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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