Books From Around the World (YA): Oceania

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 Oceania (including Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia). Please note that this list does NOT include books by New Zealand authors – for those titles, please visit our Aotearoa Fiction list. Check out our lists for authors from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Central America, and South America for even more recommendations!

Updated June 19, 2024
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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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The boy from the Mish
Lonesborough, Gary
Paper Book
A remarkable YA love story between two Aboriginal boys -- one who doesn't want to accept he's gay, and the boy who comes to live in his house who makes him realize who he is.It's a hot summer, and life's going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It's almost Christmas, school's out, and...

Australia | Australian author

Tomorrow, when the war began
Marsden, John
Paper Book
When Ellie and six of her friends return home from a camping trip deep in the bush, they find that their country has been invaded and everyone in town has been taken prisoner. Life-and-death decisions must be made as they struggle with how to survive. A riveting adventure through which Marsden...

Australia | Australian author

The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME * A NEW YORK TIMES READER TOP 100 PICK FOR BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times...

Australia | Australian author

Bridge of Clay
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
The unforgettable, New York Times bestselling family saga from Markus Zusak, the storyteller who gave us the extraordinary bestseller THE BOOK THIEF, lauded by the New York Times as "the kind of book that can be life-changing." NAMED ONE OF THE BEST...

Australia | Australian author

A disappearance in Fiji
Rao, Nilima
Paper Book
1914, Fiji: 25-year-old Akal Singh would rather be anywhere but this tropical paradise-or, as he calls it, 'this godforsaken island.' After a promising start to his police career in his native India and Hong Kong, Akal has been sent to Fiji as punishment for a humiliating professional mistake....

Fiji | Fijian-Australian author

Mister Pip
Jones, Lloyd
Paper Book
Intense, beautiful, and fable-like, Joness Mister Pip is a remarkable work of fiction that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the power of literature to transform lives. Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize. (Literary Fiction)

Papua New Guinea | New Zealand author; book is based partly on his experiences as a journalist during the Bougainville Island civil war (1988-98) and his connections with Papua New Guinean soldiers during that time

Devil-devil
Kent, Graeme.
Paper Book
It's not easy being Ben Kella. As a sergeant in the Solomon Islands Police Force, as well as an aofia, a hereditary spiritual peacekeeper of the Lau people, he is viewed with distrust by both the indigenous islanders and the British colonial authorities. In the past few days he has been cursed...

Solomon Islands | British author who worked for many years in the Solomon Islands

Black marks on the white page
Ihimaera, Witi
Paper Book
A stunning collection of Oceanic stories for the 21st century. Stones move, whale bones rise out of the ground like cities, a man figures out how to raise seven daughters alone. Sometimes gods speak or we find ourselves in a not-too-distant future. Here are the glorious, painful,...

Pasifika anthology | Contains works by authors from Aotearoa, Australia, Fiji, Hawai'i, New Caledonia, Samoa and Tonga


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