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 - 20 of 55  There are a total of 92 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for Chinese menu.
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Contemporary People, Places, and Issues;8-up
Description:
"From fried dumplings to fortune cookies, here are the tales behind your favorite foods . . . Separated into courses like a Chinese menu, these tales -- based in real history and folklore -- are filled with squabbling dragons, magical fruits, and hungry monks. This book will bring you to far-off times and marvelous places, all while making your mouth water. And, along the way, you might just discover a deeper understanding of the resilience and triumph...
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 The cricket war.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
Escaping from Communist Vietnam by boat in 1980, eleven-year-old Tho Phạm tries to be brave as he sets out into the unknown without his family, in this gripping survival story drawn from real-life experiences.
Book cover for Cross my heart and never lie.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:
★ WINNER of the 2024 Stonewall Book Award, American Library Association
Perfect for fans of The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag, HeartStopper by Alice Oseman, and Jen Wang's The Dressmaker and the Prince.

In this fresh, sensitive, diary-style graphic novel, 12-year-old Tuva's questions about becoming a teenager are confusing—so when her first crush turns out to be on another
...
Book cover for Dear Mothman.
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Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
After the death of his best friend and the only other trans boy at school, Noah starts writing letters expressing his feelings to the humanoid creature Mothman and risks everything when he treks into the woods to prove Mothman's existence.
Book cover for Desert queen.
Notes:
The Arts;10-up
Description:
"This picture book biography in verse follows the life of beloved Rajasthani drag performer Queen Harish, known as the Whirling Desert Queen of Rajasthan. Lit by an inner fire and propelled by a family tragedy, Harish defied the gender conventions of middle class Indian life, battled discrimination and intimidation, and eventually grew up to dance with Bollywood movie stars and on stages across the world. Jyoti Gopal's rhythmic phrases evoke the particular...
Book cover for The dubious pranks of Shaindy Goodman.
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Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
Helping her popular next-door neighbor Gayil set up what she thinks are harmless pranks, 12-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl Shaindy must figure out how to stop them before she becomes the next target when the pranks escalate and turn malicious.

8. Duel

Book cover for Duel.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;10-14
Description:
A rivalry between sisters culminates in a fencing duel in this funny and emotional debut graphic novel sure to appeal to readers of Raina Telgemeier and Shannon Hale.
Sixth grader Lucy loves fantasy novels and is brand-new to middle school. GiGi is the undisputed queen bee of eighth grade (as well as everything else she does). They've only got one thing in common: fencing. Oh, and they're sisters. They never got along super well, but ever...
Book cover for Eagle drums.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;10-13
Description:
In preparation for winter, a skilled young hunter embarks on a perilous journey up the mountain to gather obsidian, where he encounters the fearsome eagle god Savik and is presented with a life-altering choice.
Book cover for Elliot Jelly-Legs and the Bobblehead Miracle.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
Is a magical Carey Price bobblehead the key to Elliot's success on the ice? Eleven-year-old Elliot loves hockey and finally convinces his parents to sign him up. There's just one problem: he can barely skate. But he is determined. He practices every chance he gets and even takes extra lessons. He is still miles behind the rest of his teammates in terms of skills and speed, though. So when the goalie gets injured, Elliot surprises everyone by offering...
Book cover for Enlighten me.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
When Bình fights back against a bully who makes fun of his Vietnamese heritage, he expects to be cheered as the hero. He defeated the bad guy, right? Instead, it gets him a stern warning from his vice principal and worried parents. Now he's stuck on a family trip to a silent meditation retreat. That means no talking--and no video games!--for a whole weekend. Could things possibly get any worse? However, when a nun gathers all the kids to tell them...
Book cover for The fire of stars.
Notes:
Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir;8-12
Description:
Astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne was the first person to discover what burns at the heart of stars. But she didn't start out as the groundbreaking scientist she would eventually become. She started out as a girl full of curiosity, hoping one day to unlock the mysteries of the universe. With lyrical, evocative text by Kirsten W. Larson and extraordinary illustrations by award-winning illustrator Katherine Roy, this moving biography powerfully...
Book cover for A first time for everything.
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Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir;10-14
Description:
In this feel-good coming-of-age memoir, the best-selling author and Caldecott Medalist shares his life-changing middle school trip to Europe during which he experiences a series of firsts, including first love.
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 Hamra and the jungle of memories.
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Fiction for Children;9-12
Description:
Courage is the strongest magic there is. On Hamra's thirteenth birthday, she receives nothing but endless nagging and yet another errand to run in the Langkawi jungle that looms behind her home. No one has remembered her special day. And so, stifled and angry, Hamra ignores something she shouldn’t: the rules of the jungle. Always ask permission before you enter. Hamra walks boldly in. Never take what isn’t yours. Hamra finds the most perfect...
Book cover for Holding her own.
Notes:
The Arts;8-12
Description:
"When Jackie Ormes sees an opportunity, she takes it. She's a journalist, cartoonist, fashionista, philanthropist, and activist -- and she wants to use her artistry to bring joy and hope to Black people everywhere. But in post-World War II America, Black people are still being denied their civil rights, and Jackie has a dilemma: How can her art remain true to her signature Jackie joy, while also staying honest about the inequalities Black people have...
Book cover for The house of the lost on the cape.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;8-12
Description:
"In the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Yui, fleeing her violent husband, and Hiyori, a young orphan, are taken in by a strange but kind old lady named Kiwa in the small town of Kitsunezaki. The newly formed family finds refuge in a mayoiga, a lost house, perched atop a beautiful cape overlooking the sea. While helping to rebuild Kitsunezaki, the three adapt to their new lives and supernatural new home, slowly healing from their troubled...
Book cover for The house that whispers.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;9-13
Description:
Eleven-year-old Simon and his siblings, Talia and Rose, are staying the week at Nanaleen's century-old house. This time, though, it’s not their usual summer vacation trip. In fact, everything’s different. It’s fall, not summer. Mom and Dad are staying behind to have a “talk.” And Nanaleen’s house smells weird, plus she keeps forgetting things. And these aren’t the only things getting under Simon’s skin: He’s the only one who knows...
Book cover for In the tunnel.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;10-14
Description:
Myung-gi knows war is coming: War between North and South Korea. Life in communist North Korea has become more and more unbearabl途there is no freedom of speech, movement, association, or thought́€”and his parents have been carefully planning the familý€™s escape. But when his father is abducted by the secret police, all those plans fall apart. How can Myung-gi leave North Korea without his dad? Especially...
Book cover for The in-between.
Notes:
Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir;11-up
Description:
"In the early 2000s, thirteen-year-old Katie Van Heidrich has moved more times that she can count, for as long as she can remember. There were the slow moves where you see the whole thing coming. There were the fast ones where you grab what you can in seconds. When Katie and her family come back from an out-of-town funeral, they discover their landlord has unceremoniously evicted them, forcing them to pack lightly and move quickly. They make their...