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
M©♭ndez, 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

Affections
Hasbu?n, Rodrigo
Paper Book
A haunting novel about an unusual family's breakdown--set in South America during the time of Che Guevara and inspired by the life of Third Reich cinematographer Hans Ertl--from the literary star Jonathan Safran Foer calls, "a great writer." Inspired by real events, Affections is...

Bolivia | Bolivian author

Salt and Sugar
Carvalho, Rebecca
Paper Book
The grandchildren of two rival Brazilian bakeries fall in love despite their families' feud in this delicious debut rom-com perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Gloria Chao.   Trust neither thin-bottomed frying pans nor Molinas.   Lari...

Brazil | Brazilian-American author

The alchemist
Coelho, Paulo
Paper Book
An international bestseller Over 80 million copies sold worldwide A PBS Great American Read Top 100 pick A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho. Combining magic, mysticism...

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 Son Felipe can't wait for winter break: Finally, he'll get some time away...

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

Listen, beautiful Ma?rcia
Quintanilha, Marcello
Paper Book
Márcia is a nurse in a hospital near Rio and lives in a favela with her boyfriend, Aluisio, and her daughter, Jaqueline, whom she had very young with another man. Jaqueline, a troubled young adult, makes life difficult for her mother and Aluisio and rebelliously hangs out with members of a...

Brazil | Brazilian author-illustrator

Where we go from here
Rocha, Lucas
Paper Book
An absorbing debut novel about three gay friends in Brazil whose lives become intertwined in the face of HIV, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Bill Konigsberg.Ian has just been diagnosed with HIV.Victor, to his great relief, has tested negative.Henrique has been living with HIV for the past...

Brazil | Brazilian author

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
A search for the Beast, a Yeti-like creature within the heart of the Amazon, becomes a quest for self-discovery in this young adult coming-of-age story filled with international adventure, rich mythology, and magical realism from globally celebrated novelist Isabel Allende. ...

Chile | Chilean author

Kingdom of the golden dragon
Allende, Isabel
Paper Book
Alexander Cold, his grandmother Kate, and his closest friend Nadia return in the follow-up to City of the Beasts on a new quest to find the fabled Golden Dragon of the Himalayas, another fantastical voyage of suspense, magic, and awe-inspiring adventure from internationally...

Chile | Chilean author

Forest of the pygmies
Allende, Isabel
Paper Book
The final installment of Isabel Allende's celebrated trilogy of the journeys of Jaguar and Eagle soars with radiant settings, spirits, beings, and the transformation of an extraordinary friendship, as Alexander and Nadia embark on mission in Kenya that begins as a search for...

Chile | Chilean author

Space invaders : a novel
Ferna?ndez, Nona
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Translated Literature A dreamlike evocation of a generation that grew up in the shadow of a dictatorship in 1980s Chile Space Invaders is the story of a group of childhood friends who, in adulthood, are preoccupied...

Chile | Chilean 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
Rojas Contreras, Ingrid.
Paper Book
LibraryReads and Indie Next PickThis mesmerizing debut set in Colombia at the height of Pablo Escobar's violent reign is about a sheltered young girl and a teenage maid whose unlikely friendship threatens to undo them both. Inspired by the author's own life, Fruit of the Drunken Tree contrasts two...

Colombia | Colombian author

Oblivion : a memoir
Abad Faciolince, H©♭ctor Joaqu©Ưn.
Paper Book
Oblivionis a heartbreaking, exquisitely written memorial to the author's father, Héctor Abad Gómez, whose criticism of the Colombian regime led to his murder by paramilitaries in 1987. Twenty years in the writing, it paints an unforgettable picture of a man who followed his conscience and...

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 Orqui?dea Divina : a novel
Co?rdova, Zoraida
Paper Book

Ecuador | Ecuadorian-American author

In the key of Nira Ghani
Deen, Natasha
Paper Book
A Guyanese girl must find the balance between her parents' "old world" expectations and traditions while pursuing her dream of being a great trumpeter in this contemporary, coming-of-age story. Nira Ghani has always dreamed of becoming a musician. Her Guyanese...

Guyana | Guyanese author

Guerra en la penumbra : cuentos
Alarc©đn, 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

Death in the Andes
Vargas Llosa, Mario
Paper Book
"The novel tells the story of army corporal Lituma and his deputy Tomas, who have been assigned to treacherous guard duty in an isolated, run-down mining community in the mountains of Peru. The men are homesick and far from enthusiastic about serving as foot soldiers in the Peruvian Army's ongoing...

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

The house of paper
Domi?nguez, Carlos Mari?a.
Paper Book
Bluma Lennon, distinguished professor of Latin American literature at Cambridge, is hit by a car while crossing the street, immersed in a volume of Emily Dickinson's poems. Several months after her untimely demise, a package arrives for her from Argentina-a copy of a Conrad novel, encrusted in...

Uruguay | Uruguayan-Argentine author

La montana invisible
De Robertis, Carolina.
Paper Book
"La clase de novela por la que uno se acuesta tarde para terminarla y acostado sigue pensando en ella". --The San Francisco Chronicle   En el primer día del siglo XX, un pequeño pueblo en lo más profundo del campo uruguayo se reúne para ver un milagro --la misteriosa...

Uruguay | Uruguayan-American author

It would be night in Caracas : a novel
Sainz Borgo, Karina
Paper Book
As seen in the New York Times Book Review  Told with gripping intensity, It Would be Night in Caracas chronicles one woman's desperate battle to survive amid the dangerous, sometimes deadly, turbulence of modern Venezuela and the lengths she must go to secure her future....

Venezuela | Venezuelan author


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