2025 Global Reads for Teens

Updated April 3, 2025
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Abuela, don't forget me
Ogle, Rex
Paper Book
A Finalist for the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award. Rex Ogle's companion to Free Lunch and Punching Bag weaves humor, heartbreak, and hope into life-affirming poems that honor his grandmother's legacy. In his award-winning memoir...
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! A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century "All My Rage is a love story,...
The bones of Birka : unraveling the mystery of a female Viking warrior
Surrisi, C. M.
Paper Book
How many female Viking warriors does it take to make a fact? When archaeologist Dr. Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson discovers that the bones contained in the most significant Viking warrior grave ever opened are, in fact, female, she and her team upend centuries of...
Conditions of a Heart
Mangle, Bethany
Paper Book
For fans of Talia Hibbert and Lynn Painter comes a funny and unflinchingly honest story about a teen who must come to terms with her disability and what it means for her identity, her love life, and her future. Brynn Kwan is desperate for her high school persona to be real....
Don't look back : a memoir of war, survival, and my journey from Sudan to America
Deng, Achut
Paper Book
In this propulsive memoir from Achut Deng and Keely Hutton, inspired by a harrowing New York Times article, Don't Look Back tells a powerful story showing both the ugliness and the beauty of humanity, and the power of not giving up. I want life.
Eighteen roses
Rogers, Shannon C. F.
Paper Book
From the author of I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Youth Literature, comes a sharply observed YA novel about friendship, family, and self-discovery, amid a backdrop of a Filipino debut. Lucia Cruz may be turning eighteen this...
Ex marks the spot
Chao, Gloria
Paper Book
A swoony rivals-to-lovers romance . . . Family secrets that can't stay buried . . . A globe-spanning treasure hunt with puzzles to solve . . . This latest YA novel by acclaimed writer Gloria Chao takes readers on a soaring adventure through love, loss, and the lively...
First love language
Valentine, Stefany
Paper Book
For fans of Frankly in Love and Tokyo Ever After comes a romantic dramedy about finding love and reconnecting with your culture in the most surprising ways. Taiwanese American Catie Carlson has never fit in with her white family. As much as she loves her stepmom and...
From here : a memoir
Mufleh, Luma
Paper Book
In her coming-of-age memoir, refugee advocate Luma Mufleh writes of her tumultuous journey to reconcile her identity as a gay Muslim woman and a proud Arab-turned-American refugee. With no word for "gay" in Arabic, Luma may not have known what to call the feelings she had...
If you could see the sun
Liang, Ann
Paper Book
"Academic rivals portrayed to perfection... An all-time top favorite." --Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends  "Utterly unique, thought-provoking, and wonderfully written." --Gloria...
Imposter syndrome and other confessions of Alejandra Kim
Park, Patricia
Paper Book
A multicultural teen struggles to fit into her elite prep school, her diverse Queens neighborhood, and even her own home. A hilarious, poignant, and powerful YA novel from the award-winning author of Re Jane. "Simply brilliant!" --David Yoon, New York Times...
Mani Semilla finds her Quetzal voice
Lapera, Anna
Ebook
Most Anticipated Middle Grade Reads of 2024: Teen Librarian Toolbox, School Library Journal For fans of Donna Barba Higuera''s Lupe Wong Won''t Dance and Aida Salazar''s The Moon Within comes Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice - a contemporary middle grade novel full of...
The next new Syrian girl
Shukairy, Ream
Paper Book
A Syrian American and Syrian refugee who are at odds must chase a haunting secret that leads them all the way to Jordan in this sharp-witted novel perfect for fans of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.  Khadija Shami is a Syrian American high school...
Only this beautiful moment
Nazemian, Abdi
Paper Book
Stonewall Book Award Winner * A Best Book of the Year from the Guardian, ALA Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and BookPage From the award-winning author of Like a Love Story comes a sweeping story of three generations of boys in the same Iranian family. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the...
Rana Joon and the one & only now
Etaat, Shideh
Paper Book
"A breath of fresh air and punch to the gut all rolled into one." --Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay This "lyrical" (Kirkus Reviews) coming-of-age novel for fans of Darius the Great Is Not Okay and On the Come Up,...
This time it's real
Liang, Ann (Young adult author)
Paper Book
Get ready to fall in love in this hilarious romcom about a girl who begins a fake relationship with the famous actor in her class, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Jenny Han, by New York Times bestselling author Ann Liang. When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin's essay about meeting the...
The vanishing station
Ellickson, Ana
Paper Book
Eighteen-year-old Filipino American Ruby Santos has been unmoored since her mother's death. She can't apply to art school like she's always dreamed, and she and her father have had to move into the basement of their home and rent out the top floor while they work to pay back her mother's hospital...
The waiting place : when home is lost and a new one not yet found
Nayeri, Dina
Paper Book
An unflinching look at ten young lives suspended outside of time--and bravely proceeding anyway--inside the Katsikas refugee camp in Greece. Every war, famine, and flood spits out survivors. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cites an...
I was born for this
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
From the bestselling creator of HEARTSTOPPER and LOVELESS, a deeply funny and deeply moving exploration of identity, friendship, and fame. For Angel Rahimi life is about one thing: The Ark -- a boy band that's taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark's fandom has given her everything she...
While you were dreaming
Rai, Alisha
Paper Book
In this debut contemporary YA romance by bestselling author Alisha Rai, a girl with undocumented family members goes viral after saving her crush's life in disguise. A must read for fans of Sandhya Menon and Nicola Yoon.  A Phenomenal Book Club Pick! It's a...
¡Viva Lola Espinoza!
Cerón, Ella
Paper Book
A debut young adult novel that's Pride & Prejudice with a dash of magic, about a booksmart teen who spends the summer in Mexico City, meets two very cute boys, attempts to learn Spanish, and uncovers a family secret that changes her life forever. Lola Espinoza is...

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