Taiohi: Non-fiction titles you'll enjoy

There isn't very much non-fiction out there that is published specifically for young adults, so we've brushed off some of our favourite titles from across our library collections that we promise you will enjoy.

Updated May 3, 2026
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Make a zine! : start your own underground publishing revolution
Biel, Joe
Paper Book
Do you have a passion that you want to obsess about in a love letter to the world? In this new edition of Microcosm's popular DIY guide to zine-making, Joe Biel updates the information provided in the first edition (edited by Biel and the late and great Bill Brent) to address zine making in today's...
Trans history : from ancient times to the present day
Combs, Alex L.
Paper Book
"Combs and Eakett do a fantastic job of providing readers an incredibly comprehensive and strongly researched--yet somehow compact--look into the history of trans identity." --School Library Journal (starred review) An essential introduction to trans history, from...
Smoke gets in your eyes : and other lessons from the crematory
Doughty, Caitlin
Paper Book
Most people want to avoid thinking about death, but Caitlin Doughty--a twenty-something with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre--took a job at a crematory, turning morbid curiosity into her life's work. Thrown into a profession of gallows humor and vivid characters (both...
Will my cat eat my eyeballs? : big questions from tiny mortals about death
Doughty, Caitlin
Paper Book
Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens of questions about death. The best questions come from kids. What would happen to an astronaut's body if it were pushed out of a space shuttle? Do people poop when they die? Can Grandma have a Viking funeral? In Will My Cat Eat My...
Mythos
Fry, Stephen
Audiobook
Mythos is a modern collection of Greek myths, stylishly retold by legendary writer, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry. Fry transforms the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians into emotionally resonant and deeply funny stories, without losing any of their original wonder. ...
We are all Greta : be inspired to save the world
Giannella, Valentina
Paper Book
Humans are very adaptable: We can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses' GRETA THUNBERG Follow in the footsteps of the Swedish teenage activist and Nobel Peace Prize candidate in We Are All...
The Anthropocene reviewed : essays on a human-centered planet
Green, John
Paper Book
Goodreads Choice winner for Nonfiction 2021 and instant #1 bestseller! A deeply moving collection of personal essays from John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down. "The perfect book for right now." -People <...
Sapiens : a graphic history. Volume one, The birth of humankind
Harari, Yuval N.
Paper Book
Official U.S. edition with full color illustrations throughout. #1 New York Times Bestseller The Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg, now available as a beautifully packaged paperback From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking...
The story of art without men
Hessel, Katy
Paper Book
Instant New York Times bestseller One of Vanity Fair's Favorite Books to Gift * One of PureWow's 42 Books to Gift This Year * One of Kirkus's Best Books of 2023 The story of art as it's never been told before, from the Renaissance to the present day,...
Amazons, abolitionists, and activists : a graphic history of women's fight for their rights
Kendall, Mikki
Paper Book
A bold and gripping graphic history of the fight for women's rights by theNew York Timesbestselling author ofHood Feminism "A beautifully drawn, hold-no-punches, surprisingly deep dive through the history of women's rights around the world, which will entrance...
Into thin air : a personal account of the Mount Everest disaster
Krakauer, Jon.
Ebook
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The epic account of the storm on the summit of Mt. Everest that claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray. "A harrowing tale of the perils of high-altitude climbing, a story of bad luck and worse judgment...
Insectopolis : a natural history
Kuper, Peter
Paper Book
This visually immersive work of graphic nonfiction dives into a world where ants, cicadas, bees, and butterflies visit a library exhibition that displays their stories and humanity's connection to them throughout the ages. Kuper's thrilling visual feast layers history and science, color and...
The age of magical overthinking : notes on modern irrationality
Montell, Amanda
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A BookPage Best Nonfiction Book of 2024 From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores...
What If? 10th Anniversary Edition: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Munroe, Randall
Paper Book
From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, a hilarious and informative book of popular science that provides answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick...
What if? 2 : additional serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions
Munroe, Randall
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! An NPR Best Book of 2022 "The questions throughout What If? 2 are equal parts brilliant, gross, and wonderfully absurd and the answers are thorough, deeply researched, and great fun. . . . Science isn't easy, but...
Fuzz : when nature breaks the law
Roach, Mary
Paper Book
What's to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are...
Side quest : a visual history of roleplaying games
Sattin, Samuel
Paper Book
A Mary Sue Best YA Graphic Novel Runner-Up! For fans of dungeon crawls and dice rolls--and anyone wanting to know more about them--Side Quest is a stand-alone graphic novel history of roleplaying games (RPGs), from ancient games to those played today, with personal...
Kid activists : true tales of childhood from champions of change
Stevenson, Robin
Paper Book
Moving, relatable, and totally true childhood biographies of Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Malala Yousafzai, and 12 other inspiring activists. Every activist started out as a kid--and in some cases they were kids when their activism began! But even the...
No one is too small to make a difference
Thunberg, Greta
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller by Time's 2019 Person of the Year "Greta Thunberg is already one of our planet's greatest advocates." --Barack Obama "A powerhouse compendium of [Greta's] greatest hits." --Teen Vogue The groundbreaking...

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