New & Noteworthy: Books for Teens
This year has a lot to offer YA readers so far. Here are a few books our staff here at NYPL are calling out as special. Give them to your teen or read them yourself. There is something here for every reader.
Fiction
The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser
A romantic, atmospheric, gothic fantasy. Emma finds an old book and everything she writes in it comes true.
Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankensteinby Lita Judge
A free verse biography of Mary Shelley with black and white illustrations.
The Cruel Princeby Holly Black
High fantasy with a strong female lead, inventive world-building, and high suspense.
You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Emotionally intense, realistic fiction, about two sisters who are tested for a degenerative disease they have seen ravage their mother.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
A free-verse, coming of age story, set in Harlem. A teenager learns to express herself through a slam poetry class.
Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
Another novel in verse! This one is historical fiction set in Renaissance Italy about a painter who endures the worst a misogynist culture has to offer a woman.
Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet
A short story collection of when they first met stories by beloved YA authors.
Nonfiction
Underneath It All: A History of Women’s Underwearby Amber J. Keyser
Lingerie is used as a lens to examine sexuality, gender identity, and body image.
March Forward Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Beals
An artful and thought-provoking memoir about civil rights heroine Melba Patillo with photographs and illustrations.
Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge
The personal stories of six American soldiers, one American nurse, and one Vietnamese refugee.
Graphic Novels
The Prince and the Dressmakerby Jen Wang
Frances, the prince’s dressmaker, is the only one who knows the prince sometimes likes to wear dresses. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend?
Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.
Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!