Here are ten books for teens that our staff loved in 2021!
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
“Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.” — NoveList
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
“Ji-young Baek, or Jayne, is a fashion marketing student at a Manhattan design college when her overachieving older sister, June, tracks her down to tell her that she has cancer. The sisters’ relationship has been one of intense conflict since high school, but now the cancer brings them into an awkward closeness, forcing them outside their selfish bubbles as they unite in hiding June’s illness from their overly critical mother back in Texas.” —Booklist
Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
“Six critically acclaimed, best-selling and award-winning authors celebrate Black teen love in this interlinked novel of heartwarming and hilarious stories that shine a bright light through the dark.” — NoveList
Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline
“Indigenous people continue to fight for survival in the face of environmental devastation and a predatory government.This follow-up to 2017’s acclaimed The Marrow Thieves picks up in the middle of the action: Miig’s joyful reunion with his husband, Isaac, is followed by Frenchie’s tragic capture by the Recruiters.” — Kirkus
Cheer up! Love and Pom Poms by Crystal Frasier
“Two high school cheerleaders learn from each other while falling for one another.” — Kirkus
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
“East-Asian inspired re-telling of the Grimm brothers’ The Six Swans. Princess Shiori’s evil step-mother turns her six brothers into cranes and banishes her to take the throne for herself. Fierce but broke and unable to speak or else one of her brothers dies, she must find a way to break the curses with the help of some unlikely friends along the way.” — Jennifer
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
“Lily Hu has spent all her life in San Francisco’s Chinatown, keeping mostly to her Chinese American community both in and out of school. As she makes her way through her teen years in the 1950s, she starts growing apart from her childhood friends as her passion for rockets and space exploration grows—along with her curiosity about a few blocks in the city that her parents have warned her to avoid.” – Kirkus
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag
“Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She’s desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends…who don’t understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan’s biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl.” — NoveList
Aristotle and Dante Dive in to the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
“It has been a while since a book has moved me this much and so often.” – Jessica / “As the final year of high school approaches, Ari and Dante explore their love for each other—and their love for others—in Sáenz’s long-awaited sequel to 2012’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.” — Kirkus
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Society has set Wu Zetian up to be just another sacrifice to power one of the mecha war machines that protects this retro-futurist (?) version of China, but this poor, disabled girl will get revenge against the murderer of her big sister or die trying. Heroine’s righteous anger at her misogynistic reality is great, her continual refusal to be shamed into compliance cured my maskne, soft boy/murder boy love interests are delightful, and best solution to a love triangle ever written. I read it in a day and can’t wait for the rest of the trilogy. — Buck
Find the full list of staff recommended teen books at Staff Faves 2021: Teens.
Book descriptions are from the NoveList database, Kirkus, Booklist (a publication of the American Library Association), and by staff members, as noted.
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