We pick some of our favourite books for teens and young adults that are coming out in 2022, and scan this year's prestigious book awards - such as the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature - to keep abreast of all the excellent books for teens. 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 2022 series.
Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People
by Kekla Magoon
***2022 Michael L. Printz Honor Book (for Young Adult Literature)***
Revolution in Our Time is a well researched history book by an award-winning author. It places the Black Panther Party in context, from slavery and segregation through the Civil Rights Movement to today’s Black Lives Matter. Many people are familiar with the image of Black men with guns and berets, but Magoon provides a much more complete account of the Panthers - most of whom were women - and their community activism. Plenty of period photos and other illustrations help make this non-fiction book accessible to teenagers, who are the target readership, but it will appeal more broadly to anyone with an interest in US history.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
by Malinda Lo
***2022 Stonewall Young Adult Book Award Winner***
***2022 Michael L. Printz Honor Book (for Young Adult Literature)***
In 1950s San Francisco, 17 year old Lily is a Chinese American who dresses conservatively and does her homework. When she realises that there is such a thing as lesbian romantic love, she feels as if she has “finally cracked the last part of a code she had been puzzling over for so long that she couldn’t remember when she had started deciphering it”. A relationship develops with her classmate Kath who shares Lily’s interest in mathematics. But in the face of the police’s drive against so-called "sex deviates" and the country’s campaign against people who are suspected of communist sympathies (pretty much anyone in Chinatown), can it survive?
Ages 14+
Firekeeper's Daughter
Angeline Boulley, narrated by Isabella Star LaBlanc
***Winner 2022 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature***
“It’s a great combination of a young adult thriller and a love story… It’s a story of a community, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians on reservation in Michigan. The story takes place on and off the reservation. The main character, whose name is Daunis, has grown up between those two cultures. She gets caught up in an investigation into a new street drug that has very devastatingly been impacting their communities… There’s a lot about understanding yourself and your family as well. It’s an engrossing story.” Read more...
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2021
Emily Connelly, Journalist
Concrete Rose
by Angie Thomas
***2022 Michael L. Printz Honor Book (for Young Adult Literature)***
Readers in the United States will know what to expect: set in the late 1990s this is the prequel to Thomas’ bestselling The Hate U Give. For people elsewhere it might take a bit of effort to get into the style, which is written as the narrator speaks, with slang and pop culture references. It is well worth it. Thomas is an excellent writer and readers will come to care about the 17 year old protagonist and the difficult choices he has to make when he finds out that he is a father. Everyone tells Maverick that he has to man up, but in his situation what does that really mean?
Ages 14+
Kemosha of the Caribbean
by Alex Wheatle
Historical fiction set in 1668, shortly after the buccaneers of the Caribbean were rebranded as privateers for the English crown. Kemosha is a teenage slave who gains her freedom and signs up as cook on board Henry Morgan’s ship for a raid on Porto Bello (in today’s Panama). Occasionally the language feels anachronistic, but on the whole Wheatle skilfully balances a modern heroine whom contemporary readers can relate to with a narrator who is convincingly grounded in her own time. The story also vividly brings to life 17th century Jamaica.
Ages 12+
The Last Cuentista
by Donna Barba Higuera
***Winner of the 2022 Newbery Medal**
A novel that blends science fiction and Mexican folklore. Ages 10-14: read more about this book in our selection of best books of 2022 for kids.
Red, White, and Whole
by Rajani LaRocca
***2022 Newbery Honor Book***
An intimate novel in verse about 13 year old Reha who is growing up in 1980s USA when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia. Ages 9-14: read more about this book in our selection of best books of 2022 for kids.
