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 21 - 39 of 39  There are a total of 92 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for Once there was.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;12-up
Description:
Once was, once wasń€™t. So began the stories Marjań€™s father told her as a little gir倔fables like the story of the girl who sprung a unicorn from a hunteŕ€™s snare, or the nomad boy who rescued a baby shirdal. Tales of extraordinary beasts that filled her with curiosity and wonder. But Marjań€™s not a little girl anymore. In the wake of her fatheŕ€™s sudden...
Book cover for Only this beautiful moment.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;14-up
Description:
Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this sweeping intergenerational story, examining queer identity at the end of different decades, follows three boys in the same Iranian family as they each gain a new understanding of their history, culture--and themselves.
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 The probability of everything.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:
"Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter loves scientific facts, specifically probability. It's how she understands the world and her place in it. Kemi knows her odds of being born were 1 in 5.5 trillion, and that the odds of her having the best family ever were even lower. Yet somehow, Kemi lucked out. But everything Kemi thought she knew changes when she sees an asteroid hover in the sky, casting a purple haze over her world. AMPLUS-68 has an 84.7% chance...
Book cover for Remember us.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:
"The summer before seventh grade, as the constant threat of housefires looms over her Brooklyn neighborhood, basketball-loving Sage is trying to figure out her place in her circle of friends, when a new kid named Freddy moves in"--
Book cover for Rez ball.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;12-up
Description:
"These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team--even though he can't help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. This is the first step toward his...
Book cover for Saints of the household.
Author:
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;14-up
Description:
When brothers Max and Jay help a classmate in trouble, they struggle with the consequences of their violent actions and worry they may be more like their abusive father than they thought, so the brothers turn to their Bribri roots to find their way forward.
Book cover for Simon sort of says.
Author:
Description:
Two years after a tragedy saddles him with viral fame, twelve-year-old Simon O'Keeffe and his family move to Grin And Bear It, Nebraska, where the internet and cell phones are banned so astrophysicists can scan the sky for signs of alien life, and where, with the help of two new friends, a puppy, and a giant radio telescope, Simon plans to restart the narrative of his life.
Book cover for Something like home.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
"Laura Rodríguez Colón has a plan: no matter what the grown-ups say, she will live with her parents again. Can you blame her? It’s tough to make friends as the new kid at school. And while staying at her aunt’s house is okay, it just isn’t the same as being in her own space. So when Laura finds a puppy, it seems like fate. If she can train the puppy to become a therapy dog, then maybe she’ll be allowed to visit her parents. Maybe the dog...
Book cover for Stars in their eyes.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;11-up
Description:

A Stonewall Honor Book

In this lighthearted YA romance, Maisie and Ollie discover that nothing beats the feeling of falling in love for the first time.

Maisie is on her way to Fancon! She's looking forward to meeting her idol, Kara Bufano, the action hero from her favorite TV show, who has a lower-leg amputation, just like Maisie. But when Maisie and her mom arrive at the convention center, she is stopped

...
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 Unraveller.
Notes:
Fiction for Young Adults;12-up
Description:
In a world where anyone can create a life-destroying curse, only one person has the power to unravel them. Kellen does not fully understand his talent, but helps those transformed maliciously—including Nettle. Recovered from entrapment in bird form, she is now his constant companion and closest ally. But Kellen has also been cursed, and unless he and Nettle can remove his curse, Kellen is in danger of unravelling everything—and everyone—around...
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 We still belong.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
"Wesley's hopeful plans for Indigenous Peoples' Day (and asking her crush to the dance) go all wrong--until she finds herself surrounded by the love of her Indigenous family and community at the intertribal powwow"--
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 Wishing season.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
A moving story...about the enduring bond between twins: Anders, who has recently died, and Lily, who has to balance her grief and confusion with a brother who isn't quite gone--and how to navigate a world that is moving forward without him. Of course Anders wasn’t lonely in the afterlife. He still, like always, had Lily. Lily doesn’t believe in making wishes. Not anymore. Not since Anders died. Wishes can’t fix the terrible thing that happened....
Book cover for The year my life went down the toilet.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;8-12
Description:
Twelve-year-old Al Schneider is too scared to talk about the two biggest things in her life: 1. Her stomach hurts all the time and she has no idea why. 2. She’s almost definitely 100% sure she likes girls. So she holds it in…until she can’t. After nearly having an accident of the lavatorial variety in gym class, Al finds herself getting a colonoscopy and an answer—she has Crohn’s disease. But rather than solving all her problems, Al's...
Book cover for You are here.
Author:
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:
"Twelve young Asians Americans cross paths, meeting challenges and victories, in a busy airport"--