CCBC Choices 2024 -- Teens (ages 12 and up)

The Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison compiles a yearly list of excellent books for youth readers.

Showing 1 - 15 of 15  There are a total of 92 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for Code red.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;10-13
Description:
Thirteen-year-old former elite gymnast Eden is feeling lost after a career-ending injury, but when she meets new friends who open her eyes to period poverty, the struggle that low-income people have trying to afford menstrual products, she becomes an advocate for fair treatment and rediscovers her passion and drive.
Book cover for Forever is now.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;12-up
Description:
"When sixteen-year-old Sadie, a Black bisexual recluse, develops agoraphobia the summer before her junior year, she relies on her best friend, family, and therapist to overcome her fears."--
Book cover for Ginny off the map.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;8-12
Description:
On the last day of fifth grade, super-smart eleven-year-old Ginny learns that her father, who is a military ER doctor, is being deployed to Afghanistan--devastating news because they are already moving to another post in Maryland and Ginny depends on her father to help her manage her obsessions, panic attacks, and general meltdowns. One of her obsessions is geographical facts, and somehow Ginny hopes to use her geographical knowledge to overcome her...
Book cover for Highly suspicious and unfairly cute.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;13-up
Description:
"Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine. Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the...
Book cover for The Isles of the Gods.
Series:
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;12-up
Description:
Selly has salt water in her veins. So when her father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter at home while he sails off to adventure. But any plans to follow him are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician's marks on his arm commandeers her ship. He is Prince Leander of Alinor and he needs to cross the Crescent Sea without detection so he can complete a ritual on the sacred Isles...
Book cover for Julia and the shark.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:
Ten-year-old Julia loves the mysteries of the ocean and marine biology, just like her scientist mother. Her family is spending the summer on a remote island where her mom is searching for the elusive Greenland shark, a creature that might be older than the trees, and so rare that it’s only been seen a few times. But the ocean is reluctant to give up its secrets, and Julia tries not to worry as her mother returns disappointed at the end of each...
Book cover for Nigeria Jones.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;14-up
Description:
Warrior Princess. That's what Nigeria Jones's father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother--the perfect matriarch of their Movement--disappears, Nigeria's world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping...
Book cover for Parachute kids.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:

**National Book Award Longlist Title**

**Asian/Pacific American Award Honor Book**

This funny, fast-paced, and heartrending story about three siblings living on their own as undocumented new immigrants is perfect for fans of New Kid and Front Desk.

A DREAM TRIP TO AMERICA TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE!

Feng-Li can't wait to discover America with her family! But after an action-packed

...
Book cover for Paul Bunyan.
Notes:
Historical People, Places, and Events;10-14
Description:
"Did you know that a mainstay of American folk culture was in fact created as an advertising ploy? Few people realize that Paul Bunyan, the legendary lumberjack, and his blue ox are the product of corporate marketing by a highly industrialized commercial enterprise. Cartoonist Noah Van Sciver shows us the myth creation as real life marketing man extraordinaire W.B. Laughead spins ever more wondrous tall tales. Van Sciver's story is bracketed by...
Book cover for Stateless.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;12-up
Description:
When Stella North is chosen to represent Britain in Europe’s first air race for young people, she knows all too well how high the stakes are. As the only participating female pilot, it’ll be a constant challenge to prove she’s a worthy competitor. But promoting peace in Europe feels empty to Stella when civil war is raging in Spain and the Nazis are gaining power—and when, right from the start, someone resorts to cutthroat...
Book cover for Tethered to other stars.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;10-13
Description:
Seventh grader Wendy Toledo knows that black holes and immigration police have one thing in common: they can both make things disappear without a trace. When her family moves to a new all-American neighborhood, Wendy knows the plan: keep her head down, build a telescope that will win the science fair, and stay on her family's safe orbit. But that's easier said than done when there's a woman hiding out from ICE agents in the church across the alley,...
Book cover for Warrior girl unearthed.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;14-up
Description:
Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is - the laidback twin, the troublemaker, the best fisher on Sugar Island. Her aspirations won't ever take her far from home, and she wouldn't have it any other way. But as the rising number of missing Indigenous women starts circling closer to home, as her family becomes embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation, and as greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe...
Book cover for Where you see yourself.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;12-up
Description:
By the time Effie Galanos starts her senior year, it feels like she’s already been thinking about college applications for an eternity―after all, finding a college that will be the perfect fit and be accessible enough for Effie to navigate in her wheelchair presents a ton of considerations that her friends don’t have to worry about. What Effie hasn’t told anyone is that she already knows exactly what school she has her heart set on: a college...
Book cover for The Windeby puzzle.
Author:
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:
The suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive. In an utterly one-of-a-kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the mystery and life of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body. Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just...
Book cover for The worlds we leave behind.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:
After an accident in the woods involving a young girl, eleven-year-old Hex meets a mysterious woman who offers him a deal to change his world, which sets off a ripple effect that Hex's best friend Tommo must rectify.