Books From Around the World (YA): North and Central 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 North and Central America, including the Caribbean. Check out our lists for authors from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and South America for even more recommendations!

Updated June 19, 2024
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
At the bottom of the river
Kincaid, Jamaica.
Paper Book
At the Bottom of the River is Jamaica Kincaid's first published work, a selection of inter-connected prose poems told from the perspective of a young Afro-Caribbean girl. Collecting pieces written for the New Yorker and the Paris Review between 1978 and 1982, including the seminal 'Girl', these...

Antigua and Barbuda | Antiguan author

The island of forgetting
Sealy, Jasmine
Paper Book
'Inventive, excellent ... a pure pleasure to read' THE TIMES In this compelling debut, an unknowable legacy passes through generations of one family living on the beautiful island of Barbados. In this compelling debut, an unknowable legacy passes through...

Barbados | Barbadian-Canadian author

River sing me home
Shearer, Eleanor
Paper Book

Barbados | Caribbean-British author; ancestor of Windrush generation immigrants

The break
Vermette, Katherena
Paper Book

Canada | Canadian author (Metis)

Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
A ground-breaking, heart-racing thriller perfect for fans of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange An instant no. 1 New York Times Bestseller, April 4 2021 Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for YA Fiction, 2021 Winner of CrimeFest Best YA Crime Fiction Prize, 2022 ...

United States of America | American author (Ojibwe)

The man who loved dogs
Padura, Leonardo
Paper Book
Cuban writer Ivan Cardena Maturell meets a mysterious foreigner on a Havana beach who is always in the company of two Russian wolfhounds. Ivan quickly names him 'the man who loved dogs'. The man confesses that he is Ramon Mercader, the man who killed Leon Trotsky in Mexico City, and that he is now...

Cuba/Mexico | Cuban author

How the one-armed sister sweeps her house : a novel
Jones, Cherie
Paper Book
Women's Prize for Fiction 2021SHORTLISTED'Jones's atmospheric debut has a multiracial, multigenerational cast who are brilliantly and even-handedly portrayed' Sunday Times'Rare is the first book that reveals the writer fully formed, the muscles and...

Barbados | Barbadian author

Fire rush
Crooks, Jacqueline
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023 AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR It's time to dance, to love, to be free... 'Mesmerising' BERNARDINE...

Jamaica | Jamaican-British author (Windrush community)

Here comes the sun : a novel
Dennis-Benn, Nicole
Paper Book
  'My favourite book of all time' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie  A finalist for the New York Public Library Fiction Award A Grand Prix Littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers Selection Named...

Jamaica | Jamaican author

Small island
Levy, Andrea
Paper Book
Small Island by bestselling author Andrea Levy won the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Orange Prize 'Best of the Best' as well as the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Whitbread. Possibly the definitive fictional account of the experiences of the Empire Windrush generation, it...

Jamaica/UK | Jamaican-British author (Windrush community)

Refugee boy
Zephaniah, Benjamin
Paper Book
'Playful, obstinate and courageously humorous ... hilarious and later heartbreaking' Guardian'Sweet, funny, highly inventive' Yorkshire PostThe personal, funny and poignant tale of a young refugee, from acclaimed storyteller Benjamin ZephaniahAcclaimed...

Jamaica/UK | Jamaican-Barbadian-British author

Dominicana
Cruz, Angie
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020 'A story for now, an important story . . . told with incredible freshness' Martha Lane Fox, Chair of Judges, Women's Prize 2020 'The harsh reality of immigration is balanced with a refreshing dose...

Dominican Republic | Dominican-American author

The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian
Alexie, Sherman
CD
Junior, a budding cartoonist, grows up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, he leaves his troubled school to attend an all-white high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely...

United States of America | American author (Spokane)

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe
Sa?enz, Benjamin Alire.
Audiobook

United States of America | Mexican-American author

Love is a revolution
Watson, Rene?e
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Renée Watson comes a new YA novel - a love story about not only a romantic relationship but how a girl finds herself and falls in love with who she really is.'Reading a Renée Watson novel is like having an intimate...

United States of America | Jamaican-American author

Clap when you land
Acevedo, Elizabeth
Paper Book
The second poignant, powerful and passionate novel in verse from the 2019 Carnegie Medal winning author of The Poet X.

Dominican Republic | Dominican-American author


Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.