Best Books for Teens of 2021
Last updated: July 03, 2024
We pick some of our favourite books for teens and young adults that have come out in 2021, and scan prestigious book awards—such as the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature—to keep abreast of all the excellent new books for teens coming out. It's a slightly tricky age, as kids become more aware of specific types of book they like or don't like, but there are lots of good books out there so it's just a question of finding the right one. Our list of new books in popular series also contains several excellent titles for teens, and you can see our full selection of books for teens here.
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Part of our best books of 2021 series.
Clap When You Land
by Elizabeth Acevedo
***2021 Audie Awards Best Audiobook for Young Adults***
This novel in verse by multi-award winning writer Acevedo is alternately narrated by two teenagers, Camino and Yahaira. Camino lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. Yahaira lives in New York with her father. When their father dies in a plane crash they learn of each other for the first time. The story brims with both grief and love for their imperfect father, questions of identity, and an emerging sisterhood. Based on the crash in New York of Flight AA587 on its way to the Dominican Republic, this story is also an exploration of what it means to have tragedies that are both private and public.
The Gilded Ones
by Namina Forna
Let’s get this out of the way first: this book is not for squeamish readers. It is violent. Now then, The Gilded Ones is a fabulous epic fantasy set in a West African-inspired world. When Deka turns sixteen, she has to prove her purity in a ritual. All she wants is to obey the Infinite wisdoms and start to wear a beautiful mask like other women in Otera. To her horror, when she is cut her blood runs not red but gold: she is a demon. Deka’s superpowers – strength, speed and a body that heals itself after injury – are not considered gifts in Otera’s extremely patriarchal society; her own father disowns her as a monster when she fails the purity test. Deka has the body of a warrior, but in her own mind can she overcome the emotional violence inflicted upon her and fight back? The Gilded Ones is the first book in a projected trilogy.
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team
by Christina Soontornvat
***2021 Newbery Honor Book***
***2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book***
All Thirteen is a gripping and insightful non-fiction account of the most ambitious cave rescue operation ever undertaken. Twelve members of a junior football team and their assistant coach were trapped in a flooded cave for over two weeks while thousands of specialists from around the world worked to save them, ultimately at the cost of two rescue divers’ lives. Writing in the present tense, Soontornvat vividly brings to life this region of Thailand, the engineering operation, and the mental struggles of thirteen young people trapped in the dark without supplies. A very well-researched, suspenseful book with plenty of illustrations.
When Shadows Fall
Sita Brahmachari, Natalie Sirett (illustrator)
This is something unusual for teens: an illustrated novel. The artwork - with media including pencil drawing, graphite crayon and ink - adds intensity to this emotionally charged story. Kai senses his father’s mental unravelling but isn’t sure how to help. Reeling from loss himself, Kai is drawn to dangerous new friends and excluded from school. His old friends try to help Kai in different ways, but is it too late? A very finely crafted book which highlights the importance of friends and community, of asking for help when it’s needed, and the restorative powers of nature and art.
Empress & Aniya
by Candice Carty-Williams
When Empress arrives at a private London school on a scholarship, she intends to keep her head down and focus on her studies. She is suspicious of the friendly Aniya, whose privileged life is the polar opposite of her own. In fact Aniya has no ulterior motives. Growing up safe and loved and nurtured has made her genuinely nice; she stands up for what is right and has no time for snobbery. Things take an unpredictable turn on the girls' 16th birthday when a spell they recite for a lark actually works and they switch bodies! While Empress tries in vain to teach Aniya that in some environments being nice makes you a liability, Aniya finds out that Empress' home life is far worse than she had imagined. A warm-hearted story about seeing and being seen, and the life-changing impact of a loyal friend.
Meet the Georgians: Epic Tales from Britain's Wildest Century
by Robert Peal
It can be hard to find good history books for teenagers, when they get to an age when kids' history books are too simplistic, but adult books too serious. Meet the Georgians by Robert Peal, teacher of history at the West London Free School, does a brilliant job of bridging the gap. There are 12 chapters, each about a different 18th century character, and so much fun to read. The general premise is that this was a wild time before things got dull and straitlaced under the Victorians.
The World Between Us
by Sarah Ann Juckes
When Alice caught a virus, nobody expected it to have a lasting effect. Now she lives with an undiagnosed chronic illness, often lacking energy for the everyday tasks that healthy people take for granted. Bed-bound, she has the world brought to her by Stream Cast. When she is introduced to a new streamer, an artistic boy grappling with problems of his own, their connection is transformative. A bittersweet story which reminds us of the beauty of just one perfect day in an imperfect life.
Hide and Secrets
by Sophie McKenzie
After she loses her father, 14 year old Cat distances herself from her friends and quarrels with her mother. When she gets a text message out of the blue from someone claiming that her father is still alive, Cat’s world is turned upside down. With the help of handsome city boy Tyler who is staying next door for the summer, she embarks on a quest to find out the truth about her father. It soon becomes clear that trusting the wrong person can have deadly consequences. A smooth, gripping thriller with a bit of light romance.
The Awesome Power of Sleep: How Sleep Supercharges Your Teenage Brain
by Nicola Morgan
The Awesome Power of Sleep is an informative nonfiction book about the science of sleep for humans in general, but with a focus on the special biology of teenagers. Readers get an overview of concepts such as circadian rhythm, melatonin, different stages of sleep, sleep problems and disorders, and dreaming. Having established the importance of sleep for learning and memory and for our overall mental and physical health, the author goes on to offer plenty of practical advice on how to get adequate sleep, including a list of online resources. The Awesome Power of Sleep is a useful read not only for teenagers but for their parents too.
Ages 11+
How to Grow Up and Feel Amazing: The No Worries Guide for Boys
Dr Ranj, David O'Connell (illustrator)
Paediatrician Ranj Singh has written a reassuring guide to concerns that are common to many adolescent boys. The book doesn’t go into depth on any of the topics; its strength is that it is very up to date. Topics covered include the physical changes that come with puberty, advice on looking after your body, mental health awareness, healthy relationships and friendships, an introduction to sex and consent, social media and online safety. This book provides a useful framework for parents and carers who feel it is time to have this kind of conversation with their boys but are unsure how to start.
Lies Like Wildfire
by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
This is a tense and compelling thriller, but a word of warning: if you prefer your books to have likeable protagonists then it is not for you. A group of friends is spending the golden hours of summer together before going off to college. When they accidentally start a wildfire they make a pact to keep their role secret. As the fire burns out of control, destroying their town and killing ten people, the lies and self-justifications snowball and faultlines appear in the friendship. Then one of the teenagers goes missing. Writing in California, Alvarez vividly describes the terrifying nature of wildfires that consume everything in their path.
Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story)
by Daniel Nayeri
***Winner of the 2021 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature***
Khosrou’s mother converts to Christianity, which leads her to flee Iran with her children in the middle of the night. Following an extended trip via an Italian refugee camp, Khosrou stands in front of his middle school class in Oklahoma explaining how he got there. Doing his best impression of Scheherazade, the legendary storyteller of 1001 Nights, he speaks of blood sacrifices, forbidden love and libraries in the desert. He is weaving memories to help define himself, but his classmates mainly perceive a boy whose lunch smells funny, who makes things up and talks too much about poop. Everything Sad Is Untrue is a true story in that it is autobiographical, but memories are unreliable, they are the stories we choose to tell ourselves. There is sadness (Khosrou - now known as Daniel - will never be able to make new memories with loved ones who are still in Iran) and there is hardship. At the same time, there is truth in the beauty of family tales in jasmine-scented Isfahan, of sensory memories, of food shared, of love and everyday survival.
Throwaway Girls
by Andrea Contos
***Winner of the International Thriller Writers' Awards best young adult novel 2021***
Caroline can’t wait to turn eighteen and finish school, to leave her conservative family who refuse to accept her sexual identity. She struggles with mental health problems and is trying to keep her head down, but when her best friend Madison disappears Caroline gets involved in the investigation. She soon discovers that Madison is not the only girl who has disappeared. This book raises important questions about inequality, entitlement and abuse of power, and how class differences are reflected in law enforcement outcomes.
Kent State
by Deborah Wiles
***2021 Odyssey Award: Best Audiobook for Young Adults***
Most of us know it happened: that during protests against the Vietnam War in the United States, at Kent State University on May 4th, 1970, the National Guard opened fire, killing four students and wounding more. What many of us don't know is exactly how and why it happened. Written in verse and a work of historical fiction, Kent State tells the story and answers those questions in the voices of people who were there.
Fighting Words
by Kimberly Brubaker
***2021 Newbery Honor Book***
***2021 Odyssey Honor Audiobook***
Della has always had her older sister Suki to rely on: when their drug-addicted mother went to prison, when they ran away from their mother’s boyfriend, and now that they are in foster care. When Suki starts to unravel, Della’s world is turned upside down and she decides that it’s time to speak out. This is an intense story dealing with traumatic issues including sexual abuse and attempted suicide, but the story is told with compassion and humour. Ultimately it is an uplifting tale about sisterhood and finding your own voice. Says the author: “trust me: no one needs to be afraid. Hope and love win out”.
Apple: Skin to the Core
by Eric Gansworth
***American Library Association Amazing Audiobook for Young Adults 2022***
***2021 Michael L. Printz Honor Book (for Young Adult Literature)***
A haunting memoir about identity and belonging, written in prose so rhythmical and poetic that it can be read as verse. The author’s grandparents were among the children at the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School (there were hundreds of boarding schools like it), where you were taught not how to be an American but how to lose yourself. Only two generations removed from that brutal assimilation process, the author continues to find fragments of his grandparents’ memories, pick up pieces and situate them back in the puzzle, balancing multiple worlds. Apple: Skin to the Core is illustrated with the author’s own visual art.
We Are Not Free
by Traci Chee
***2021 Michael L. Printz Honor Book (for Young Adult Literature)***
***American Library Association Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults 2021***
Pearl Harbor has been bombed. First generation Japanese immigrants like Minoru’s mother are now “enemy aliens”. As life gets increasingly tense in San Francisco’s Japantown, Chinese Americans pin I Am Chinese badges to their lapels to avoid being attacked in the street. We Are Not Free is the collective account of a group of 14 young nisei – second generation Japanese Americans – whose lives are changed forever when they are incarcerated in internment camps, despite being US citizens. These teenagers have grown up together as a community. In the camp they are not free, but they are not alone.
Becoming: Adapted for Younger Readers
by Michelle Obama
This is an edition of Becoming aimed at younger readers, officially aged 10+. But if you’re a teenager and a very keen reader, it’s worth bearing in mind that the adult version of this book is very accessible, so you could also go with that one.
Every Body Looking
by Candice Iloh
***2021 Michael L. Printz Honor Book (for Young Adult Literature)***
Every Body Looking is a story written in engaging verse about Ada, a young dancer just starting college. Among other young people who are different from her, Ada starts to have flashbacks to childhood. Getting away from everything familiar, and with the help of a creative art form to open up, Ada comes to see why she is the way she is and who she really wants to be. There is queer friendship and love, and there is healing. Ada’s readiness to spread her wings will resonate with many a young reader.
Dragon Hoops
by Gene Luen Yang
***2021 Michael L. Printz Honor Book (for Young Adult Literature)***
The author has humorously inserted himself into this graphic novel about basketball: “I’m just not a sports kind of guy. I’m a story kind of guy”. Yang knows where he stands with his favourite stories: heroes are heroic, villains are villainous, and good triumphs in the end. But then he realises that there is a compelling story right there at the California high school where he teaches. When a person as young as 14 steps onto the court in front of crowds, on television, they don’t know if they will make memories that will make them proud or make them cringe. Unlike in superhero comics, in sport you do not know what the outcome will be. This graphic novel celebrates the courage it takes to step into the unknown.
