Books From Around the World (YA): Europe

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 Europe. Check out our lists for authors from Africa, Asia, North and Central America, Oceania, and South America for even more recommendations!

Updated June 19, 2024
W
Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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A song for summer /
Ibbotson, Eva
Paper Book

Austria | Austrian author

Threads that bind
Hatzopoulou, Kika
Paper Book
"Dripping with atmosphere and edged with danger, Threads That Bind weaves together a gorgeous dark tapestry of mystery, fated romance, and modern myth. You won't be able to put this one down." --Alexandra Bracken, New York Times bestselling author of Lore In...

Greece | Greek author

The diary of a young girl
Frank, Anne
Paper Book
One of the most moving and eloquent accounts of the Holocaust, read by tens of millions of people around the world since its publication in 1947. The Diary of a Young Girl is the record of two years in the life of a remarkable Jewish girl whose triumphant humanity in the...

The Netherlands | German-born author writing in the Netherlands during World War II

The cat I never named : a true story of love, war, and survival
Sabic-El-Rayess, Amra
Paper Book
The stunning memoir of a Muslim teen struggling to survive in the midst of the Bosnian genocide--and the stray cat who protected her family through it all. *Six Starred Reviews*"Extraordinary." - Booklist | "A must-read." - School Library...

Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian author

The island of missing trees
Shafak, Elif
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK Winner of the 2022 BookTube Silver Medal in Fiction * Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction "A wise novel of love and grief, roots and branches, displacement and home, faith and belief. Balm for our bruised times." -David...

Cyprus | Turkish author writing in the context of the Greek-Turkish conflict on the island of Cyprus

The unbearable lightness of being
Kundera, Milan
Paper Book
International Bestseller * Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction "Far more than a conventional novel. It is a meditation on life, on the erotic, on the nature of men and women and love . . . full of telling details, truths large and small, to which just about every...

Czechia | Czech author

The Marco effect : a Department Q novel
Adler-Olsen, Jussi
Paper Book
The New York Times and internationally bestselling author returns with an astonishing and sinister case for Department Q All fifteen-year-old Marco Jameson wants is to become a Danish citizen and go to school like a normal teenager. But his uncle Zola rules his former...

Denmark | Danish author

You can't kill Snow White
Alemagna, Be?atrice
Paper Book
In this dark, genre-defying picture-book adaptation of Snow White, acclaimed artist Beatrice Alemagna tells the story from the point of view of the jealous stepmother queen, to complicate the question of goodness and set into high relief the shadow side, with its capacity...

France | French author-illustrator

A winter's promise /
Dabos, Christelle,
Paper Book
Amazon Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book of 2018 One of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best YA Books of 2018 One of Publishers Weekly's Best YA Book of the Year A National Indie Bestseller Longlisted for Irish YA prize Great Reads Award<...

France | French author

The Count of Monte Cristo /
Dumas, Alexandre,
Paper Book
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read A popular bestseller since its publication in 1844, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great page-turning thrillers of all time. Set against the tumultuous years of...

France | French author

Golden boy : Beethoven's youth
Ross, Mikae?l
Paper Book
Master cartoonist Mikael Ross (The Thud) tells the story of Beethoven's years leading up to Beethoven's first major public appearance in Vienna in 1795. The Beethoven family lived a difficult life in Bonn. Only young Ludwig and his talent at the piano offer any hope for the future - if he would stop...

Germany | German author-illustrator

Boy on the edge
Friðrik Erlingsson
Paper Book
Can a boy on the edge find his way back? From award-winning Icelandic author Fridrik Erlings comes a novel as cruel as it is tender. Henry has a clubfoot and he is the target of relentless bullying. One day, in a violent fit of anger, Henry lashes out at the only family he has --...

Iceland | Icelandic author

The solitude of prime numbers
Giordano, Paolo
Paper Book
A bestselling international literary sensation about whether a "prime number" can ever truly connect with someone else A prime number can only be divided by itself or by one--it never truly fits with another. Alice and Mattia, both "primes," are misfits who seem destined to be...

Italy | Italian author

Between shades of gray
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
The inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the Snow! "Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both." --The Washington Post From New York Times and international bestseller and Carnegie...

Lithuania | Lithuanian-American author

On the edge of gone
Duyvis, Corinne
Paper Book
A thrilling, thought-provoking novel from one of young-adult literature's boldest new talents. January 29, 2035. That's the day the comet is scheduled to hit - the big one. Denise and her mother and sister, Iris, have been assigned to a temporary shelter outside their hometown of...

The Netherlands | Dutch author

172 hours on the moon :
Harstad, Johan,
Paper Book
A terrifying thriller for young adult fans of The Martian and paranormal space adventure that will be devoured in one heart-pounding sitting. It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide...

Norway | Norwegian author

Flights
Tokarczuk, Olga
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE A visionary work of fiction by "A writer on the level of W. G. Sebald" (Annie Proulx) "A...

Poland | Polish author

Anya's ghost
Brosgol, Vera.
Paper Book
Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part . . . Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century. Falling down a...

Russia | Russian-American author-illustrator

The librarian of Auschwitz
Iturbe, Antonio
Paper Book
Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along...

Spain/Germany | Spanish author

Marina
Ruiz Zafo?n, Carlos
Paper Book
Carlos Ruiz Zafon's haunting gothic mystery, which has long been a cult classic in Spain and is now an international bestseller.   "We all have a secret buried under lock and key in the attic of our soul. This is mine."   ...

Spain | Spanish author

The end
Strandberg, Mats
Paper Book
When will the world end? With a massive comet, hurtling toward Earth, humanity now knows the exact date. 17-year-old Simon wants to spend his last weeks with the people he cares about most, especially his ex-girlfriend, Tilda. Since Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer, she's retreated into herself....

Sweden | Swdish author

Swimming in darkness
Harari, Lucas
Paper Book
Pierre is a young man at a crossroads. He drops out of architecture school and decides to travel to Vals in the Swiss Alps, home to a thermal springs complex located deep inside a mountain. The complex, designed by architect Peter Zumthor, had been the subject of Pierre's thesis. The mountain holds...

Switzerland | Swiss author

Heidi /
Spyri, Johanna,
Paper Book
Johanna Spyri's classic tale is brought to life with beautiful illustrations from Maja Dusíková in what is sure to become a picture book classic!  The story of Heidi is as fresh today as it was when it was written. It's impossible not to love the little girl who scrambles...

Switzerland | Swiss author

Vita nostra
Di?a?chenko, Marina
Paper Book
"Vita Nostra" -- a cross between Lev Grossman's "The Magicians" and Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian" [...] is the anti-Harry Potter you didn't know you wanted." -- The Washington Post "Vita Nostra has become a powerful influence on my own writing. It's a book that has the potential...

Ukraine | Ukrainian author


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