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
W
Wellington City Libraries Youth team at Wellington City Libraries
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Looking for Alibrandi
Marchetta, Melina
Paper Book
For as long as Josephine Alibrandi can remember, it's just been her, her mom, and her grandmother. Now it's her final year at a wealthy Catholic high school. The nuns couldn't be any stricter--but that doesn't seem to stop all kinds of men from coming into her life. Caught between the...

Australia | Australian author

Tomorrow, when the war began
Marsden, John
Paper Book
World War III becomes an unstoppable reality in the action-packed first installment of the Tomorrow series--an international bestseller in an eye-catching new paperback.When Ellie and her friends go camping, they have no idea they're leaving their old lives behind forever. Despite a less-than...

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

The sailmaker's daughter
Johnson, Stephanie
Paper Book
Sent to stay with her childless aunt and uncle on their early twentieth-century Fiji Island sugar plantation while her mother lies dying of the Spanish flu, twelve-year-old Olive grieves while she uncovers well-kept family secrets. 10,000 first printing.

Fiji | New Zealand-Fijian author

Mr. Pip
Jones, Lloyd
DVD

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

Breadfruit : a novel
Vaite, Ce?lestine Hitiura
Paper Book
When a drunken Pito proposes to Materena, she initially thinks it's just the booze talking. As she nevertheless starts planning, she juggles everyday life only to have Pito act as though he's forgotten his proposal.

Tahiti (French Polynesia) | Tahitian author


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