“What are the best Young Adult books released in 2023?” We looked at 225 of the top Young Adult books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 22 books, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Young Adult” book lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 200+ titles, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Our other Best Of 2023 Articles:
Previous Years: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
Happy Scrolling!
Lists It Appears On:
Ren Monroe has spent four years proving she’s one of the best wizards in her generation. But top marks at Balmerick University will mean nothing if she fails to get recruited into one of the major houses. Enter Theo Brood. If being rich were a sin, h…
Lists It Appears On:
Athanasios “Athan” Bakirtzis has made it far in life relying on his charm and good looks, even securing an invitation to a mysterious penthouse soiree for New York City’s artsy elite. But when he sneaks off to the bathroom, he hears a slam, followed …
Lists It Appears On:
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columni…
Lists It Appears On:
“At once tender, poetic and ferocious, Enter The Body breathes new life into the Bard’s most tragic heroines. More than a tribute to Shakespeare, this kaleidoscopic, ambitious novel-in-verse gives Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and Lavinia the chance to …
Lists It Appears On:
Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Known for being their peers’ queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath. The only person privy to their authentic self is …
Lists It Appears On:
It’s been hundreds of years since King Arthur’s reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on i…
Lists It Appears On:
Andre Jackson is determined to reclaim his identity. But returning from juvie doesn’t feel like coming home. His Portland, Oregon, neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying, and COVID-19 shuts down school before he can return. And Andre’s suspicions about …
Lists It Appears On:
The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled t…
Lists It Appears On:
It’s been almost two years since Simon died in detention, and the aftermath has been hard to shake. First the Bayview Four had to prove they weren’t killers. Then a new generation outwitted a vengeful copycat. Now the entire Bayview Crew is back home…
Lists It Appears On:
Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep…
Lists It Appears On:
Frederieke Teitler and her older sister, Astra, live in a house, in a city, in a world divided. Their father ran out on them when Rieke was only six, leaving their mother a wreck and their grandfather as their only stable family. He’s done his best t…
Lists It Appears On:
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 stran…
Lists It Appears On:
Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she b…
Lists It Appears On:
2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new und…
Lists It Appears On:
The prestigious Urban Promise Prep school might look pristine on the outside, but deadly secrets lurk within. When the principal ends up murdered on school premises and the cops come sniffing around, a trio of students―J.B., Ramón, and Trey―emerge as…
Lists It Appears On:
Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson’s half-sisters fin…
Lists It Appears On:
London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old trans, autistic Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than be…
Lists It Appears On:
Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter wha…
Lists It Appears On:
In a desperate bid, she enters the Thieves’ Gambit, a series of dangerous, international heists where killing the competition isn’t exactly off limits, but the grand prize is a wish for anything in the world—a wish that could save her mom. When she l…
Lists It Appears On:
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 whe…
Lists It Appears On:
She’s never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There’s Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen’s biases in check. An…
Lists It Appears On:
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 …
23) A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #3) – Stephanie Garber List: (Amazon, Barnes & Noble)
24) A Study in Drowning – Ava Reid List: (Barnes & Noble, NPR)
25) America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History – Ariel Aberg-Riger List: (NYPL, Publishers Weekly)
26) Betting on You – Lynn Painter List: (Amazon, Barnes & Noble)
27) Bitterthorn – Kat Dunn List: (LoveReading 4 Kids, Waterstones)
28) Bonesmith (House of the Dead Duology) – Nicki Pau Preto List: (Amazon, Chicago Public Library)
29) Brooms – Jasmine Walls List: (NYPL, Powell’s)
30) Dear Medusa – Olivia A. Cole List: (NYPL, School Library Journal)
31) Family Style: Memories of an American From Vietnam – Thien Pham List: (NPR, Publishers Weekly)
32) For Lamb – Lesa Cline-Ransome List: (BookPage, NYPL)
33) Foxglove – Adalyn Grace List: (Barnes & Noble, Waterstones)
34) From Here – Luma Mufleh List: (NYPL, Publishers Weekly)
35) Girl, Goddess, Queen – Bea Fitzgerald List: (Shepherd, Waterstones)
36) Give Me a Sign – Anna Sortino List: (NYPL, Shepherd)
37) Heartstopper: Volume Five (Heartstopper, #5) – Alice Oseman List: (Barnes & Noble, Waterstones)
38) Her Radiant Curse – Elizabeth Lim List: (Shepherd, Waterstones)
39) How To Die Famous – Benjamin Dean List: (LoveReading 4 Kids, Waterstones)
40) I Loved You In Another Life – David Arnold List: (Chicago Public Library, Waterstones)
41) Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim – Patricia Park List: (NPR, School Library Journal)
42) Island of Whispers – Frances Hardinge, illustrated by Emily Gravett List: (The Guardian, Waterstones)
43) Lies We Sing to the Sea – Sarah Underwood List: (Shepherd, Waterstones)
44) Mexikid – Pedro Martín List: (Shepherd, The Guardian)
45) My Father, the Panda Killer – Jamie Jo Hoang List: (Amazon, NPR)
46) Never Ever Getting Back Together – Sophie Gonzales List: (Goodreads, Waterstones)
47) Nigeria Jones – Ibi Zoboi List: (BookPage, NYPL)
48) Nine Liars – Maureen Johnson List: (BookPage, Goodreads)
49) Painted Devils – Margaret Owen List: (Powell’s, School Library Journal)
50) Phoebe’s Diary – Phoebe Wahl List: (Amazon, Powell’s)
51) She is a Haunting – Trang Thanh Tran List: (Chicago Public Library, Waterstones)
52) Spin – Rebecca Caprara List: (Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal)
53) Suddenly a Murder – Lauren Muñoz List: (Goodreads, Waterstones)
54) The Davenports – Krystal Marquis List: (Amazon, Goodreads)
55) The Dos and Donuts of Love – Adiba Jaigirdar List: (NPR, Waterstones)
56) The Next New Syrian Girl – Ream Shukairy List: (NYPL, School Library Journal)
57) The Stolen Heir – Holly Black List: (Amazon, Waterstones)
58) Those Who Saw The Sun – Jaha Nailah Avery List: (NYPL, Powell’s)
59) Unraveller – Frances Hardinge List: (BookPage, Chicago Public Library)
60) What Stalks Among Us – Sarah Hollowell List: (NYPL, Publishers Weekly)
61) What the River Knows – Isabel Ibañez List: (Amazon, School Library Journal)
62) You Could Be So Pretty – Holly Bourne List: (LoveReading 4 Kids, Waterstones)
63) A Bright Heart – Kate Chenli List: (NYPL)
64) A Calamity of Mannerings – Joanna Nadin List: (LoveReading 4 Kids)
65) A Crooked Mark – Linda Kao List: (NYPL)
66) A First Time for Everything – Dan Santat List: (Shepherd)
67) A Game of Life or Death – Triona Campbell List: (Waterstones)
68) A Guide to the Dark – Meriam Metoui List: (School Library Journal)
69) A Spark In The Cinders – Jenny Elder Moke List: (Shepherd)
70) Afterglow – Golden Boys – Phil Stamper List: (Waterstones)
71) Akane-banashi, Vol. 1 – Yuki Suenaga List: (NYPL)
72) All the Dead Lie Down – Kyrie McCauley List: (Shepherd)
73) Alondra – Gina Femia List: (NYPL)
74) Alone: The Journeys of Three Young Refugees – Paul Tom, illustrated by Mélanie Baillairgé, List: (NPR)
75) An Appetite for Miracles – List: (Chicago Public Library)
76) Artifice – Sharon Cameron List: (Amazon)
77) Babushka – Natasha Devon List: (LoveReading 4 Kids)
78) Back to the Bright Before – Katherin Nolte List: (Shepherd)
79) Before the Devil Knows You’re Here – Autumn Krause List: (Amazon)
80) Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything – Justine Pucella Winans List: (NYPL)
81) Bite Risk: The perfect horror for fans of Skulduggery Pleasant – Bite Risk – S.J. Wills List: (Waterstones)
82) Blood Debts – Terry J. Benton-Walker List: (Publishers Weekly)
83) Buzzing – Samuel Sattin and Rye Hickman List: (NYPL)
84) Catch Your Death – Ravena Guron List: (The Guardian)
85) Catfish Rolling – Clara Kumagai List: (Waterstones)
86) Champion of Fate – Kendare Blake List: (Powell’s)
87) Channel Fear – Lisa Richardson List: (Waterstones)
88) Chaos & Flame – Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland List: (Waterstones)
89) Chasing Pacquiao – List: (Chicago Public Library)
90) Chloe and the Kaishao Boys – Mae Coyiuto List: (NYPL)
91) Crossing the Line – Tia Fisher List: (LoveReading 4 Kids)
92) Cursed Crowns – Twin Crowns Book 2 – Katherine Webber List: (Waterstones)
93) Damned If You Do – Alex Brown List: (NPR)
94) Darkhearts – James L. Sutter List: (Waterstones)
95) Daughters of Oduma – List: (Chicago Public Library)
96) Ellie Pillai is – Christine Pillainayagam List: (Waterstones)
97) Emmett – L. C. Rosen List: (Amazon)
98) Enlightened – Sachi Ediriweera List: (Shepherd)
99) Every Exquisite Thing – Laura Steven List: (Waterstones)
100) Every Gift a Curse – All Our Hidden Gifts – Caroline O’Donoghue List: (Waterstones)
101) Fall of the School for Good and Evil – Soman Chainani List: (Waterstones)
102) Fetching Dreams – Mary Bleckwehl List: (Shepherd)
103) Five Survive – Holly Jackson List: (Goodreads)
104) Forget Me Not – Alyson Derrick List: (Goodreads)
105) Forgive Me Not – Jennifer Baker List: (NYPL)
106) From The Grave – Kresley Cole List: (Shepherd)
107) Game Over Girl – Naomi Gibson List: (Waterstones)
108) Gather – List: (Chicago Public Library)
109) Going Bicoastal – Dahlia Adler List: (NYPL)
110) Good Different – Meg Eden Kuyatt List: (Shepherd)
111) Gorgeous Gruesome Faces – Linda Cheng List: (NYPL)
112) Greenwild: The World Behind The Door – Pari Thomson List: (Shepherd)
113) Greymist Fair – Francesca Zappia List: (BookPage)
114) Her Good Side – List: (Chicago Public Library)
115) Hidden Systems – Dan Nott List: (NYPL)
116) Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute – Talia Hibbert List: (Goodreads)
117) Honey and the Valley of Horses – Wendy Orr List: (Shepherd)
118) Houses with a Story: A Dragon’s Den, a Ghostly Mansion, a Library of Lost Books, and 30 More Amazing Places to Explore – Seiji Yoshida, trans. from the Japanese by Jan Mitsuko Cash List: (Publishers Weekly)
119) Huda F Cares – Huda Fahmy List: (NPR)
120) Hunting Moon (The Luminaries #2) – Susan Dennard List: (Powell’s)
121) I am Not Alone – Francisco X. Stork List: (Shepherd)
122) I Wish You All the Best – Mason Deaver List: (Waterstones)
123) I’d Rather Burn than Bloom – Shannon C.F. Rogers List: (NYPL)
124) I’ll Tell You No Lies – Amanda McCrina List: (Shepherd)
125) If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come – Jen St Jude List: (Shepherd)
126) If You’ll Have Me: Exclusive Edition – Eunnie List: (Waterstones)
127) Immortality: A Love Story – Dana Schwartz List: (Goodreads)
128) Impossible Creatures – Katherine Rundell List: (Shepherd)
129) In Limbo – Deb JJ Lee List: (NYPL)
130) In My Feelings – Vidal Annan, Jr. List: (NYPL)
131) Into the Light: Stories Volume 2 – Steve Stred List: (School Library Journal)
132) It Found Us – Lindsay Currie List: (Shepherd)
133) Julieta and the Romeos – Maria E. Andreu List: (NPR)
134) Just Do This One Thing for Me – List: (School Library Journal)
135) Let’s Play Murder – Kesia Lupo List: (Waterstones)
136) Lion’s Legacy – L.C. Rosen List: (NYPL)
137) Lose You to Find Me: Swoon-worthy queer YA romance – can you get a second shot at first love? – Erik J. Brown List: (Waterstones)
138) Love’s in Sight!, Vol. 1 – Uoyama List: (NYPL)
139) Made of Stars – Jenna Voris List: (NYPL)
140) Magic Has No Borders – List: (NYPL)
141) Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl – List: (Chicago Public Library)
142) Mascot – Charles Waters and Traci Sorell List: (Publishers Weekly)
143) Money Out Loud: All the Financial Stuff No One Taught Us – Berna Anat List: (NYPL)
144) Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story – Sarah Myer List: (NYPL)
145) Nell & the Netherbeast – Adi Rule List: (Shepherd)
146) Never a Hero – Only a Monster – Vanessa Len List: (Waterstones)
147) Never Trust a Gemini – Never Trust a Gemini – Freja Nicole Woolf List: (Waterstones)
148) Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy – Angie Thomas List: (Shepherd)
149) Nightbane – The Lightlark Saga 2 – Alex Aster List: (Waterstones)
150) Nightshade Revenge – Alex Rider – Anthony Horowitz List: (Waterstones)
151) Plague-Busters! Medicine’s Battles with History’s Deadliest Diseases – Lindsey Fitzharris List: (Shepherd)
152) Plan A – List: (School Library Journal)
153) Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh – Rachael Lippincott List: (Goodreads)
154) Project Nought – Chelsey Furedi List: (NYPL)
155) Promposal – RaeChell Garrett List: (NPR)
156) Reign (American Royals, #4) – Katharine McGee List: (Goodreads)
157) Rez Ball – Byron Graves List: (NYPL)
158) Royal Blood – Royal Blood – Aimée Carter List: (Waterstones)
159) Ruby Lost and Found – Christina Li List: (Shepherd)
160) Ryan and Avery – List: (School Library Journal)
161) Secret of the Moon Conch – David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall List: (NYPL)
162) Silver in the Bone – Alexandra Bracken List: (Waterstones)
163) Simon Sort of Says – Erin Bow List: (Shepherd)
164) Sisters of Sword and Shadow: Signed edition – Laura Bates List: (Waterstones)
165) Six Times We Almost Kissed – Tess Sharpe List: (Waterstones)
166) Something More – Jackie Khalilieh List: (NYPL)
167) Star Splitter – List: (Chicago Public Library)
168) Stars in Their Eyes: A Graphic Novel – Jessica Walton and Aśka List: (NYPL)
169) Superman: The Harvests of Youth – Sina Grace List: (NYPL)
170) That Self-Same Metal – Brittany N. Williams List: (Chicago Public Library)
171) The Beautiful Something Else – Ash Van Otterloo List: (Shepherd)
172) The Boy You Always Wanted – Michelle Quach List: (Waterstones)
173) The Carrefour Curse – Dianne K. Salerni List: (Shepherd)
174) The Department of Truth – James Tynion IV List: (Shepherd)
175) The Door of No Return – Kwame Alexander List: (Waterstones)
176) The Eternal Return of Clara Hart – List: (Chicago Public Library)
177) The Eyes and the Impossible – Dave Eggers List: (Shepherd)
178) The Fall of Whit Rivera – Crystal Maldonado List: (NYPL)
179) The Half Life of Love – Brianna Bourne List: (Waterstones)
180) The Hunting Moon: Exclusive Edition – The Luminaries 2 – Susan Dennard List: (Waterstones)
181) The King Is Dead – Benjamin Dean List: (Publishers Weekly)
182) The Labors of Hercules Beal – Gary D. Schmidt List: (Shepherd)
183) The Last Hours: Chain of Thorns – The Last Hours – Cassandra Clare List: (Waterstones)
184) The Lost Library – Rebecca Stead List: (Shepherd)
185) The Love Match – Priyanka Taslim List: (Waterstones)
186) The Making of Yolanda La Bruja – Lorraine Avila List: (NYPL)
187) The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 1 – Kuzushiro List: (NYPL)
188) The Narrow – List: (Chicago Public Library)
189) The Prince and the Coyote – David Bowles List: (BookPage)
190) The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich – Deya Muniz List: (NYPL)
191) The Probability of Everything – Sarah Everett List: (Shepherd)
192) The Queens of New York: A Novel – E.L. Shen List: (NYPL)
193) The Queer Girl Is Going to Be Okay – Dale Walls List: (Publishers Weekly)
194) The Scarlet Alchemist (The Scarlet Alchemist #1) – Kylie Lee Baker List: (School Library Journal)
195) The Scarlet Veil – Shelby Mahurin List: (Waterstones)
196) The Space Between Here & Now – Sarah Suk List: (BookPage)
197) The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 1 – Mokumokuren List: (NYPL)
198) The Talk – Darrin Bell List: (NPR)
199) The Thing About Lemons – Tasha Harrison List: (LoveReading 4 Kids)
200) The Twenty-One – Elizabeth Rusch List: (NYPL)
201) The Wicked Bargain – Gabe Cole Novoa List: (NPR)
202) The Wicked Unseen – Gigi Griffis List: (Shepherd)
203) There’s No Way I’d Die First – Lisa Springer List: (NPR)
204) These Infinite Threads – Tahereh Mafi List: (Waterstones)
205) This Indian Kid – Eddie Chuculate List: (Shepherd)
206) This Time It’s Real – Ann Liang List: (Goodreads)
207) Threads That Bind – Kika Hatzopoulou List: (School Library Journal)
208) Tilly in Technicolor – List: (School Library Journal)
209) Tim Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues – H.S. Valley List: (NPR)
210) Together We Rot – Skyla Arndt List: (Goodreads)
211) Treacle Town – Brian Conaghan List: (LoveReading 4 Kids)
212) Vengeance of the Pirate Queen – Tricia Levenseller List: (Waterstones)
213) We Are All So Good at Smiling – List: (School Library Journal)
214) We Could Be Something – Will Kostakis List: (Shepherd)
215) We Deserve Monuments – Jas Hammonds List: (Goodreads)
216) What Happens After Midnight – K.L. Walther List: (Goodreads)
217) When You Wish Upon A Lantern – List: (Chicago Public Library)
218) Where the Light Goes – Sara Barnard List: (LoveReading 4 Kids)
219) Wild Song – Candy Gourlay List: (LoveReading 4 Kids)
220) Wish of the Wicked – A Fairy Godmother Novel – Danielle Paige List: (Waterstones)
221) Wishing Season – Anica Mrose Rissi List: (Shepherd)
222) Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey – Edel Rodriguez List: (NPR)
223) You Think You Know Me – Ayaan Mohamud List: (LoveReading 4 Kids)
224) You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight – Kalynn Bayron List: (Waterstones)
225) Young Queer America: Real Stories and Faces of LGBTQ+ Youth – Maxwell Poth List: (NYPL)
Source | Article |
Amazon | Best Teen and Young Adult Books of 2023 |
Barnes & Noble | Barnes & Noble’s Best Teens & YA Books of 2023 |
BookPage | The Best Young Adult Books of 2023 |
Chicago Public Library | Best Teen Fiction of 2023 |
Goodreads | Best Young Adult Fiction 2023 |
LoveReading 4 Kids | The LoveReading4Kids Best Children’s Books of 2023 |
NPR | Books We Love |
NYPL | Best Books for Teens 2023 |
Powell’s | Best Books of 2023: Kids’ and Young Adult |
Publishers Weekly | Best YA Books of 2023 |
School Library Journal | Best Young Adult Books 2023 | SLJ Best Books |
Shepherd | The 100 best young adult books of 2023 |
The Guardian | Five of the best young adult books of 2023 |
Waterstones | The Best Books of 2023: Teenage & Young Adult |
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