Aotearoa Fiction (YA)

Looking for a great book by a New Zealander, for business (NCEA) or pleasure (it just makes you happy to read a good book)? Look no further than this very list, with approximately 45 of our fave Aotearoa YA titles. These books have been hand-selected for their delicious use of language and gripping, yet relatably Kiwi, narratives. You can find a much deeper exploration of Māori authors over on this list, so be sure to check it out as well.

Updated June 19, 2024
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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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Tonight, I burn
Adams, Katharine J.
Paper Book
From one of the most exciting new voices in romantasy comes the tale of a thorn witch with the power to walk between the realms of Life and Death who finds herself at the center of a magical rebellion--and a dangerous romance--that could destroy her coven and her soul in this dark and decadent...
I am not Esther
Beale, Fleur
Paper Book
Imagine that your mother tells you that she is going away. She is leaving you with relatives whom you have never heard of-and they are members of a strict religious cult. Your name is changed to a biblical one, Esther, and you are forced to follow the severe set of social standards set by the cult....
Salt
Gee, Maurice.
Paper Book
Salt is an utterly compelling fantasy adventure, the work of a master storyteller at the peak of his powers. When his father Tarl is captured and enslaved to work in Deep Salt, Hari vows to rescue him. This is a forbidding task: no one returns from Deep Salt. But Hari was born and...
The 10 pm question
De Goldi, Kate
Paper Book
Worry-prone Frankie keeps his family secret under control--until a bold, inquisitive girl enters his life--in this warm, witty, and captivating YA novel. Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons is a talented kid with a quirky family, a best friend named Gigs, and a voice of anxiety...
Eddy, Eddy
De Goldi, Kate
Paper Book
A series of earthquakes exposes the fault lines in a teenager's unconventional life in a powerful crossover novel that explores raw emotion with wit and warmth. After the deadly 2011 earthquakes in Christ Church, New Zealand, Eddy Smallbone must navigate the ruins of his hometown...
These violent delights
Gong, Chloe
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! A BuzzFeed Best Young Adult Book of 2020 Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai...
When we wake
Healey, Karen
Paper Book
My name is Tegan Oglietti, and on the last day of my first lifetime, I was so, so happy. Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027--she's happiest when playing the guitar, she's falling in love for the first time, and she's joining...
The whale rider
Ihimaera, Witi
Paper Book
Eight-year-old Kahu, a member of the Maori tribe of Whangara, New Zealand, fights to prove her love, her leadership, and her destiny. Her people claim descent from Kahutia Te Rangi, the legendary "whale rider." In every generation since Kahutia, a male heir has inherited the title of chief. But...
Juggling with mandarins
Jones, V. M.
Paper Book
Pip dreads every soccer match. His father is always there, yelling and arguing, pushing him to be more like his older brother, a winner. Plus, there's the girl next door who outshines him on the field and overlooks him off of it. Then one day, Pip stumbles into a new world inside a rock-climbing...
The raging quiet
Jordan, Sherryl.
Paper Book
Marnie comes to the remote fishing hamlet of Torcurra as the reluctant bride of Isake Isherwood, a lord of her parents' farm. But two days later, while thatching the roof, Isake falls to his death. Marnie's only kindness comes from Father Brannan, the village priest, and Raver, the strange mad boy...
The tricksters
Mahy, Margaret
Paper Book
While gathered together for the Christmas holiday, a large New Zealand family and their various guests and hangers-on find their lives suddenly invaded by three fascinating but rather sinister brothers and by New Year nothing is the same again.
Wildwood dancing
Marillier, Juliet.
Paper Book
High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It's an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle's hidden...
Gideon the ninth
Muir, Tamsyn
Paper Book
Gideon the Ninth is the first book in the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Locked Tomb Series, and one of the Best Books of 2019 according to NPR, the New York Public Library, Amazon, BookPage, Shelf Awareness, BookRiot, and Bustle!...
Dawn Raid
Smith, Pauline
Paper Book
"Imagine this: You're having an amazing family holiday, one where everyone is there and all 18 of you are squeezed into one house. All of sudden it's 4 o'clock in the morning and there's banging and yelling and screaming. The police are in the house pulling people out of bed ..." Sofia...
Tim Te Maro and the subterranean heartsick blues
Valley, H. S.
Paper Book
What happens when your enemy becomes your friend ... with benefits? Red, White and Royal Blue meets The Magicians in this surprising, wildly original and joyously funny LGBTQ YA novel set in a magical boarding school. 

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