From the American Library Association, this award is given to the top YA book of the year.
WINNER
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
HONOR BOOKS
Cope Field by T. L. Simpson
The House No One Sees by Adina King
Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout
Sundown Girls by L. S. Stratton
Naomi has been returned to her biological family after living until recently with the woman she thought was her mother but who actually abducted her. Her family calls her by a different name and adjustment has been rocky. That’s why they decide to take a long summer vacation together in the Shenandoah Valley. However, the town they are near used to be a Sundown town and still holds some of the same beliefs about Black people living there. Naomi starts seeing a young Black girl outside her window who suddenly bursts into flames. As Naomi learns more about the history of the region, she realizes that it may not just be girls from the past who are in danger there.
Incredibly gripping and tense, this is a layered thriller for teens that speaks directly to the Black experience in sundown towns across the country. It also looks at how girls are exploited and ignored on multiple levels, becoming missing girls. Naomi is a great protagonist, strong and resilient while still struggling with her past and her current situation. Her messy relationship with her family is shown with empathy and honesty, adding to the questions of what is due to previous trauma and what is real.
A dark thriller full of personal trauma, history and ghosts.
Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet
When Beth is found dead near the March family home in Concord, Massachusetts, her family is devastated. Their father is gone, having left the country months earlier due to the negative reaction to his book about his daughters. In that same book, Beth dies at the end. As the sisters grieve and start to work out the mystery of her death, there are many suspects and suspicious situations that led up to the night of her death. Each of the sisters have times when they think that their own actions caused Beth’s death, but the truth is far more sinister.
This modern mystery takes the Little Women cast and manages with great skill to maintain their unique characters. Readers who love the original book will enjoy seeing Jo navigate social media fame, Amy struggle to find attention for her artistic talent, and Meg make choices about how to keep up with her more wealthy friends at Harvard. Bernet never loses sight of the original book while still creating something new and fresh, even allowing Beth’s voice to be heard through flashbacks. Readers who don’t know the original characters will find a great mystery here filled with sisters you never want to leave.
A grand mystery done with great skill and a real fondness for the original.
Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: October 7, 2025
Reviewed from library copy
ISBN: 9780593125472
Angelica is burned out after trying to do too much. So when she gets an internship at the Log House Theater in town, she decides to focus all her attention on that. Oh, and perhaps also on texting with an account that seems to be related to the theater’s famous Per the Bear. As Angelica gets closer to Per, she is losing connections with her mother and her best friend. Meanwhile, Gable has returned to town and is living with his grandmother after his grandfather died. All of them are involved in the theater too. Gable had been best friends with Angelica before moving away, and now he happens to be the person behind Per the Bear in the costume and on the account.
What could have been just a frothy fun romance based on the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon becomes something much deeper in the hands of Nguyen. He deftly incorporates queerness into the tale as well as offering a story of loss, grief and community that resonates throughout the book. Beautifully designed and filled with lovely moments of connection and humor, this is a graphic novel worth sharing with your own Per.
Fun, deep and delightful. Appropriate for ages 12+.
The five finalists for YALSA’s Excellence in Nonfiction Award have been announced. The awards are given for the best nonfiction for young adults aged 12-18 for the year. Here are the finalists:
American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad That Haunted a Nation by Barb Rosenstock
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming
White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups by Gail Jarrow
White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum
A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day
The five finalists for YALSA’s 2026 William C. Morris Award have been announced. The award is given to best book written for young adults by a debut author. Here are the five finalists:
All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis
First Love Language by Stefany Valentine
Love, Misha by Askel Aden
Red Flags and Butterflies by Sheryl Azzam
You and Me on Repeat by Mary Shyne
On Starlit Shores by Bex Glendining
Publisher: Abrams Fanfare
Publication Date: September 30, 2025
Reviewed from library copy
ISBN: 9781419765049
Alex hasn’t been back to Indigo Harbour where her grandmother lived in years. Now her grandmother has died and Alex offers to help pack up her house. Her best friend Grim comes with her and the two explore Indigo Harbour, meeting the people who were close to Alex’s grandmother. When Alex discovers that her grandmother had a beloved girlfriend that she never knew about, she sets out to meet her. But Indigo Harbour has a certain magic about it. It’s a magic that makes people who leave forget it, that protects those who live there and that offers sanctuary to resident witches. Alex must remember her own memories and build new ones to discover who her grandmother was.
This YA graphic novel uses magical realism to grapple with loss. It takes a magical place, offering solace to those who may not have visited relatives as much as they would have liked in retrospect and giving space for grief. The beautiful town is a mix of warm acceptance for the queer characters as well as being a space for magical beings. The use of metaphor throughout is thoughtfully done, supporting the Alex through her journey.
A beautiful graphic novel about loss and love. Appropriate for ages 13+.
Truth Is by Hannah V. Sawyerr
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication Date: September 23, 2025
Reviewed from library copy
ISBN: 9781419776830
Truth is 17 and not sure what she wants to do after she graduates this year. When she finds out that she is pregnant, she has one more choice to make. Her best friend assumes that Truth will have the baby, but Truth isn’t sure. She can’t tell her verbally abusive mother about being pregnant, since her mother has made it clear that her own teenage pregnancy that resulted in Truth being born ruined her life. She doesn’t want to let the baby’s father know either. Luckily, Truth finds a space in which she can start to process her own decisions and find a way forward: slam poetry. As Truth struggles to make slam practice while dealing with her pregnancy and her decision, she continues to lie until one of her poems gets released online and people learn what her decision was. It’s time for truth.
Brilliantly written in verse, this story of a teenage Black girl finding her voice in slam poetry and standing on her own despite the many critical people around her is triumphant. It is one of the few YA novels about choosing to have an abortion that shares that as a valid choice without ongoing emotional trauma. Truth is such a real person, making mistakes, dealing with consequences and still dreaming of a different future than others see for her. Her relationship with her best friend and her mother are rendered with complexity and a deep understanding for Truth herself.
A great verse novel that speaks to the power of choice and voice. Appropriate for ages 15+.
Flip by Ngozi Ukazu
Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: September 23, 2025
Reviewed from library copy
ISBN: 9781250179517
Chi-Chi is a Black scholarship student in a mostly-white affluent private boarding school. She finds herself once again crushing on a rich white boy, this time it’s Flip Henderson. When her promposal video is shown accidentally to the entire class, Flip rejects her in front of everyone. In her anger, Chi-Chi makes a wish that becomes a curse. Afterwards, she and Flip switch bodies, and worse it seems to be getting exponentially longer each time they do it. As she and Flip learn about one another’s lives, they both have to face aspects of wealth, privilege, race and bias that they weren’t expecting.
This graphic novel for teens is a delightful mix of the fun and magic of body swapping mixed with serious commentary and questions about social issues. Add in the zest of a k-pop obsession, the questions of who to trust with the truth, and trying to break the curse together, and you have a truly marvelous story that takes readers deep into both characters and their lives. The emphasis on self-worth despite outside pressures is key in the success of the graphic novel and will resonate with young readers.
Honest and timely, take the time to flip this one over. Appropriate for ages 13+.
Waking Brain Cells 