13 Excellent Young Adult Books to Read This Year
When we compiled our list of the best 2023 young adult books to read, we realized that a lot of our favorite books we read this year were not actually published in 2023.
We didn’t want to muddy the waters of that list, but we did want to highlight some of our favorites. The young adult genre is more exciting, creative, and diverse than ever, and while some thought-provoking novels explore important topics like racism, mental health, bullying, and addiction, others feature sweet love stories, suspenseful adventures, and twists on beloved classics. There truly is something for everyone.
Whether you’re looking for young adult books to read for yourself, First Chapter Friday options, or titles to stock on your classroom shelves, you can’t go wrong with any of these selections.
Don’t Miss Out: Young Adult Books to Read
We’ve come to really appreciate the breadth of cultures represented in the YA genre, and Tahir’s moving novel about family, grief, and guilt brought us into the world of a Pakistani immigrant family living in the Southern California desert.
Told from three alternating perspectives—Misbah, who, after an arranged marriage, moved with her new husband from Pakistan to Southern California to open a motel; Salahudin, her teenage son who struggles to support his family when Misbah becomes sick and his father copes by turning to alcoholism; and Noor, Sal’s former best friend who is wrestling with her own family problems—the novel was both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give has gone from being a popular YA recommendation to a recommended novel on curriculum lists across the country, and her prequel, which brings us into the senior year of Star’s father Maverick, is equally compelling.
Maverick’s struggle to determine the kind of man he wants to be—one who is loyal to the King Lords or one who is present for his infant son—is presented with compassion and empathy, and we adored the many iterations of family that came around to support Maverick.
This was probably Steph’s favorite YA read of the year, and we shared about it in both a blog about books from different cultures and books that deal with mental health.
Darius Kellner is an utter delight, and we appreciated the realistic portrayal of a very normal, very awkward teenage boy navigating cultural differences, family conflict, depression, friendship, and (in the sequel) first love.
We were quickly caught up in the pages of Deonn’s fantasy retelling of the classic King Arthur legends, set on a college campus in the American South.
Bree Matthews finds herself at the scene of a frightening demon attack headed off by a mysterious young man named Selwyn, and as she investigates what happened, she discovers a secret society called the Order of the Round Table. These ancestors of the original Knights of the Round Table are preparing for war in the magical world, and as she learns more, Bree starts to discover a connection to her own family and the root magic of her ancestors.
If your students love the Percy Jackson novels as much as ours do, they’ll enjoy Bracken’s exciting take on Greek mythology set in modern-day New York.
As a member of the dwindling House of Perseides, Lore was trained to be a hunter in the Agon, a seven-day period every seven years when Zeus makes the gods mortal as punishment for a rebellion. During that week, any mortal who is able to kill a god gains their power and immortality for themselves. Lore would love nothing more than to escape this world, but when a bleeding Athena winds up on her doorstep, she’s drawn into an exciting adventure that will keep you and your students turning pages until the very end.
We introduced you to La Delle’s novel on our list of books about college since Dani’s struggles to write her college essay after a personal trauma make up a central part of the plot.
But college is only one part of the story since Dani’s also dealing with DJ Prince Jones’s efforts to make her fall in love with him. He’s got plenty on his plate, too: caring for his younger brother with ADHD and his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, while hosting his own one-hour “high school love doctor” show on the local radio station. We especially loved this one because the characters just felt so real and relatable.
Sure, the promposal-gone-wrong humiliation drew us in, and the homophobic and racist bullying that resulted raised important issues, but what we loved most about Couch’s novel was the friendships.
After someone leaks a photo of Sky’s brainstorm of ways to ask Ali (and his beautiful eyebrows) to prom, Sky locks himself in his basement bedroom until he discovers that he’s not alone and, in fact, is more supported than he could ever have imagined. We think Sky’s story will resonate with many students.

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In Johnson’s compelling murder mystery, Tracy Beaumont doesn’t have just one mystery to solve but two: her father is on death row, set to be executed in 267 days, and her brother is the prime suspect when a classmate is found murdered.
Tracy is convinced that neither one of them is guilty, and she works with a lawyer from Innocence X (an organization modeled after the Innocence Project and the Equal Justice Initiative) to prove it, putting herself in danger as she uncovers more about the town’s ugly racist history.
Tian’s novel was a last-minute add to our list of novels about family, and we’re so glad we found it.
In the wake of an ugly act of vandalism at their home, sisters Annalie and Margaret clash all summer about the most appropriate way to respond to the unexpected racism in their community. Of course, this isn’t their only issue: there are summer romances to be had, cultural complexities to navigate, and parental expectations to live up to. And with all these issues to dig into, we’re confident many students will find something they can relate to.
We’re eagerly awaiting our turn at the local library to borrow the follow-up to Mafi’s Persian mythology-inspired fantasy novel about the Cinderella-like Alizeh, heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom but disguised as a servant, and Prince Kamran, caught between loyalty to his grandfather, the king, and his growing recognition that things in his kingdom are not as they should be. The novel reminded us of both Cinder and A Court of Thorns and Roses, and we may have gasped out loud at the final twist.
Our hearts broke for Guatemalan teens Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña as they navigated the treacherous journey from Guatemala to the United States, following the route of the infamous La Bestia.
They’re fleeing from danger in their hometown at the hands of a local gang leader, but their journey is equally dangerous. Tackling the important issue of migrant children, this was a standout on our list of books by Latinx and Hispanic authors.
Jackson’s retelling of Carrie was a top pick on our list of novels about high school dances.
There were so many elements we loved—page-turning paranormal thriller, structure based on a series of podcast episodes—one of the best was the exploration of race issues that Jackson weaves into the narrative.
Addiction runs through Glasgow’s novel in multiple ways: not only do we see Emory and her family deal with her brother Joey’s opioid addiction, giving us empathy for both Joey and his family, but we see Emory’s addiction to popular baseball star Gage Galt, who won’t acknowledge their pseudo-relationship in public and really isn’t good for her. We included it on our list of books that portray mental health struggles, and we found it a rich and moving read.
We’re always looking for good young adult books to read and recommend to you and your students. Please share with us at [email protected] or on Instagram @threeheads.works what books have topped the list in your classroom!
If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our monthly First Chapter Friday Nearpods: we send out FIVE free quick and easy First Chapter Friday activities each month that we think you and your students will love. Looking for YA books to suggest to your students or use for your own FCF activity? Check out the YA book section of our website for all our recommendations.