Ella Grace Foutz Lullabies for the Insomniacs A teen with bipolar disorder fights for survival in Ella Grace Foutz’s memoir in verse. Foutz weaves an intimate and gripping chronicle of her experience with mental illness. Amidst the turbulence of manic and depressive episodes, often accompanied by insomnia, Foutz relentlessly pursues stability and self-understanding. She examines…
Young Adult Fiction
NoNieqa Ramos They Thought They Buried Us Horror fan and aspiring film director Yuiza gets a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As one of the few students of color at Our Lady of Perpetual Mercy, Yuiza immediately feels out of place. A brutal work-study schedule makes…
Marcia Argueta Mickelson The Writing Room A slice-of-life coming-of-age story that gracefully addresses larger themes of immigration, economic disparity, and emotional abuse. Immediately after high school graduation, eighteen-year-old Maya is kicked out of her wealthy dad’s NYC home; he prides himself on forcing his kids to “make their own way in the world.” Maya’s mom…
Lars Meyer The Legend of the Shadow Guardians – Batte for the Magic Keys Three keys. Three tests. And a gate that must never be opened. Hamburg, 1897: Fifteen-year-old Armin Sturm ekes out a living doing odd jobs until an unexpected inheritance turns his life upside down. In the mysterious estate in Greifheim, Armin discovers…
Jennie Liu The Red Car to Hollywood Los Angeles, 1924 Sixteen-year-old Ruby Chan considers herself a modern, independent American girl. But when her secret relationship with a white boy implodes—and then is revealed to her very traditional Chinese parents—she’s in a tough spot. Horrified that Ruby’s reputation is at risk, her parents hire a matchmaker…
Jennifer Mason-Black Sometimes the Girl Eighteen-year-old Holiday needs to sort her life out. She’s still shaken from her brother’s recent suicide attempt; still pining over her ex, Maya; and still struggling to write again after a long dry spell. To earn enough money for a rebalancing trip with Maya, Holi gets a short-term job: organizing…
Emma K. Ohland Here Goes Nothing A fun yet thought-provoking modern reimagining of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Eighteen-year-old Beatrice has never been a fan of her neighbor Bennie, but when Beatrice’s beloved younger sister starts dating one of Bennie’s closest friends, Beatrice is drawn into their social circle. As Beatrice wrestles with increasingly confusing…
Lyn Miller-Lachmann Torch Three teens struggle to carve out futures for themselves under a totalitarian regime. Czechoslovakia, 1969 Seventeen-year-old Pavol has watched his country’s freedoms disappear in the wake of the Soviet Union’s invasion. He’s seen his own dreams disappear too. In a desperate, fatal act of protest against the oppressive new government, he sets…
Lyn Miller-Lachmann Eyes Open Portugal, 1967. Sónia thinks she knows what her future holds. She’ll become a poet, and together she and her artist boyfriend, Zé Miguel, will rise above the government restrictions that shape their lives. The restrictions on what Sónia can do and where she can go without a man’s permission. The restrictions…
Kathrin Schrocke Freak City Welcome to the world of silence When Mika meets Lea, his life is turned upside down. She is direct, lively – and beautiful. But Lea has been deaf since birth and lives in a world that Mika finds difficult to access. Does their love stand a chance? Kathrin Schrocke’s award-winning and…
Alexandra Helmig Off the Beat Always out of sync somehow Ina is fifteen and everything in her life seems to be out of sync: School is mediocre, she hates her body, her parents’ marriage is just a façade and her love life is a mess. When Ina falls in love with Phil, the boy from…
Jörg Isermeyer Never Mind was Yesterday A little hate on the mobile phone every day. A political coming-of-age story Everyone at school knows Finn and Lennard because of the funny videos they post on their social media channel. The two meticulously check the number of clicks, likes, and followers and dream of becoming famous. Everything…
Michaela Beck Me, My Awfully Nice Family and Other Disasters Family is really nice and sometimes really exhausting! Once again, 13-year-old Martha has to get used to another one of her mum’s boyfriends. She already has enough on her plate with her stepfathers, her two half-brothers Tobi and Justus and various grandparents. But this time…
Volker Surmann Leon Hertz and the Thing about Sadness Is this still normal, or already depri light? Leon Hertz is 13 3/4 years old and the third Leon in his class – pretty normal and unremarkable, in his opinion. But Rouven has noticed him, and not only that. He even helps Leon with his ethics…
Lena Hach Sweet-Salty Popcorn Everything like in a bad movie? Or worse, like in a romance novel Becoming Phil’s fake girlfriend is really the last thing Ruby wants. Because she’s sick and tired of worn-out clichés. But before she knows it, she and Phil are in the middle of a love story fit for a…
Petra Bartoli y Eckert Behind the Stars Real Close A touching coming-of-age novel about loss, grief, new beginnings and first love After her older sister Sina is killed in a car accident, her entire world falls to pieces for 15-year-old Felicitas. The only thing she has left of her sister is the shared chat. Feli…
Lars Meyer After Dawn – The Flowing Crystal The spectacular finale of the Young Adult dystopia: thrilling, gripping, enthralling. Ember is back in Dornwall after helping her family and best friend Ryan escape from the Dawn Empire’s Wandering City. Thanks to the green crystal, which they have retrieved, there is new hope for the people…
Kathrin Schrocke White Tears Is that racist already, or what? Lenni and Serkan are best friends. Until the new classmate Benjamin shows up, almost breaks up the theatre group, criticises a popular teacher and openly denounces racism. Lenni’s world turns upside down. Suddenly he has to take a stand. But for whom? Who is actually…
Lars Meyer After Dawn – The Wandering City “How are we going to free them? How are we even supposed to get into the city? And how can a whole city wander?” A major earthquake in the Grounders’ underground realm allows Ember and Devan to escape to the surface. At last, Ember is getting closer…
Lars Meyer After Dawn – The Hidden World “Our life is not easy. But it’s the only one I know – now I’m afraid that even that might be taken away from us.” The world is poisoned, in Dornwall the inhabitants have adapted to the inhospitable life. No one ventures out of the town without…