November’s young-adult fiction: fantasy worlds and alien encounters
Featuring Sabaa Tahir’s Heir; Silver by Olivia Levez; When It’s Your Turn For Midnight by Blessing Musariri; Rani Choudhury Must Die by Adiba Jaigirdar; and Darkly by Marisha Pessl
Unflinching examinations of contemporary teenage life in October’s YA picks
A Kathleen Glasgow novel that asks the big questions, and new works by AS King, Louisa Reid, James Butler and Jason Reynolds
New YA titles for autumn from award-winning writers and illustrators
Jandy Nelson’s ‘delirious, intoxicating’ latest, plus works by Berlie Doherty, Frances Hardinge, Catherine Doyle and Matt Goodfellow
Oppressive regimes and first love: Key teenage themes captured in September’s best YA fiction
A round-up of exciting new works by Moira Buffini, Neil Taylor, Zainab Boladale, Maggie Horne and Meg Rosoff
Celestial bodies, murder and time travel: YA books for August
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Chris Ricketts, Rebecca Anderson, Lauren James and Brian Dungan deal with subjects from gender and love to internet culture
Lemony Snicket: And Then? And Then? What Else?: A Writer’s Life by Daniel Handler - A thoughtful and eloquent celebration of story
Not quite a memoir, this book makes some personal disclosures and illuminates the bestselling author’s artistic influences
July’s YA fiction: from coercive control to Sapphic pirate romance
New novels by Kara A Kennedy; Bea Fitzgerald, Sarah Street, Leanne Egan and Maggie Horne
June’s YA fiction: magical realism grounded by sharp observations about teenage social dynamics
At one point Elk notes the gift of being ‘left alone’ at school: ‘I learned pretty quickly that I could be myself and get away with it’
Tender, hopeful, empowering: YA titles to devour this May
Margaret McDonald, Amy Clarkin, Samira Ahmed, Rebecca Westcott and Sam Blake all write intelligent and entertaining fiction for young adults
YA picks for April: From disordered eating to a believable time-slip mystery
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu, Jenny Ireland’s second book, The Boy Next Door, The Midnight Clock by Jamie Costello, Looking for Lucie by Amanda Addison; and Royal Scandal by Aimee Carter
March YA reads: love in a time of Famine
Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan; Trigger by CG Moore; The Traitor in the Game by Triona Campbell; The Things We Leave Behind by Clare Furniss and more
February YA roundup: Spring into horror mode
Seven Million Sunflowers by Malcolm Duffy; Amy Goldsmith’s debut Those We Drown; On Silver Tides by Sylvia Bishop; The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert; and The Book of Love by Kelly Link
YA fiction round-up: teenage pregnancy, censored fairy tales and a demonic killer of women
Little Bang by Kelly McCaughrain; This Tale Is Forbidden by Polly Crosby; A Cruel Twist of Fate by HF Askwith; The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland; and So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
YA’s December picks: teenagers have a lot of feelings no matter where they are
New books from Blessing Musariri, Deb Caletti, Amber Smith, Abdi Nazemian, Nicholas Bowling and Christelle Dabos
Best YA of 2023: Claire Hennessy’s top picks: sense and censorship
Young adult fiction came under attack this year but there is much to celebrate