2022 YA Reads by Authors of Color
After life (Blue Bloods) by Melissa De La Cruz: After defeating Lucifer and sacrificing the love of her life, Schuyler wakes up back in New York, only to discover that an alternate reality where Lucifer is alive and well and she is the only person who can defeat him.
Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black in America right now.
Akata Woman (The Nsibidi Scripts #3) by Nnedi Okorafor: 15-year-old Sunny embarks on a mission to find a precious object and return it to the spider deity Udide, but defeating the guardians of Udide’s ghazal will put all of Sunny’s hard lessons and abilities to the test.
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir: A story crossing generations and continents and addressing themes of cultural identity, family, forgiveness, love, and loss; told through the eyes of two best friends, Salahudin and Noor, growing up as outcasts and trying to find a way out of a world set on destroying them.
All the Right Reasons by Bethany Mangle: Cara Hawn and her mother go to Key West to join a reality show to pair single parents. There, Cara meets Connor and now she must juggle her growing feelings while helping her mom pick a bachelor they both love.
Almost There: Twisted Tales by Farrah Rochon: A year after Tiana makes a deal with Dr. Facilier, she has her restaurant, but soon shadows begin to gather and Tiana must work with Naveen and Charlotte to set things right or risk losing her soul.
Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate: A thriller set in a future in which First Daughter Leigh Chen and 53 other teens end up on the only ship escaping a dying Earth and must contend with being the last hope for humanity’s survival.
An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan: Star-crossed lovers Hunter Yee and Luna Chang must navigate their families’ enmity and secrets as everything around them begins to fall apart.
And We Rise: The Civil Rights Movement in Poems by Erica Martin: A powerful, impactful, eye-opening journey that explores through the Civil rights movement in 1950s-1960s America in spare and evocative verse, with historical photos.
Anne of Greenville by Mariko Tamaki: In this contemporary retelling, Anne Shirley, a queer, half-Japanese disco superfan, moves to a town that seems too small for her big personality and where she becomes embroiled in a series of dramatic and unfortunate events.
As Long as the Lemon Tree Grows by Zoulfa Katouh: Set during the Syrian Revolution, former pharmacy student Salama Kassab volunteers at a hospital in Homs. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf .But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive.
Ashes of Gold (Wings of Ebony #2) by J. Elle: In the heart-pounding conclusion to the Wings of Ebony duology, Rue makes her final stand to reclaim her people’s stolen magic.
Azar on Fire by Olivia Abtahi: 14-year-old Azar Rossi sets out to find her voice and win her local Battle of the Bands contest.
Bad at Love by Gabriela Martins: Ever since Daniel moved to L.A. from Brazil to join the band Mischief & Mayhem, he’s become the tabloids’ bad boy. When a chance encounter brings Daniel and Sasha together, Sasha sees an opportunity to get close to Daniel and write a story that will make a name for herself at the celebrity gossip magazine where she interns. But Daniel is surprisingly sweet and extremely cute—could she be falling for him?
Ballad & Dagger by Daniel Jose Older: When 16-year-old Mateo and Chela discover each other and their powers during a political battle between neighborhood factions, they set aside their differences to unravel the mystery behind their sunken homeland.
Beasts by Ruin (Beasts of Prey #2) by Ayana Gray: Now separated,16-year-old indentured beastkeeper Koffi and 17-year-old warrior candidate Ekon will have to find their way back to each other as they face off against the god of death.
Beauty and the Besharam by Lillie Vale: Exhausted by Kavya Joshi and Ian Jun’s years-long feud, their friends hatch a plan to end their rivalry by convincing them to participate in a series of challenges throughout the summer.
Before Takeoff by Adi Alsaid: Two teens, James and Michelle, meet and fall in love during a layover-gone-wrong at the Atlanta airport.
Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min: 17-year-old Santi Arboleda finally feels settled in his new life in Los Angeles with a growing found family and a relationship with musical prodigy Suwa - until Suwa is offered the chance to step into the spotlight that he has always denied himsel fand they must finally face their dreams, their pasts, and their futures, whether together or apart.
Beneath the Wide Silk Sky by Emily Inouye Huey: With the recent death of her mother and the possibility of her family losing their farm, Samantha Sakamoto does not have space in her life for dreams, but when faced with prejudice and violence in her Washington State community after Pearl Harbor, she becomes determined to use her photography to document the bigotry around her.
Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi: Pulled between old friendships, her creative passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn’t sure where she belongs - in the art studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost?
The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman: 16-year-old Beau Willet’s world is upended when her older sister is killed by a white cop who claims she was breaking into his house; desperate to find out what really happened, she sets out to find the only other witness who was there that night—her sister’s boyfriend.
Blood Like Fate (Blood Like Magic #2) by Liselle Sambury: While struggling with her new role as Matriarch, Voya has a vision of a terrifying, deadly future, and with a newfound sense of purpose, she vows to do whatever it takes to bring her shattered community together and prevent the destruction of them all.
Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye: 15-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.
Bloodmarked (Legendborn #2) by Tracy Deonn: When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide an ancient war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick. If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first—without losing herself in the process.
Boys I Know by Anna Gracia: High school senior June Chu navigates messy boys and messier relationships.
Boys of the Beast by Monica Zepeda: Cousins Matt, Ethan and Oscar embark on a road trip through California and the Southwest come to terms with truths about their families and themselves.
Break This House by Candice Iloh: Yaminah Okar left Obsidian and the wreckage of her family years ago. She and her father have made lives for themselves in Brooklyn. But when a Facebook message about her estranged mother pierces Yaminah’s new bubble, she must finally reckon with the truth about her mother and the growing collapse of a place she once called home.
Briarcliff Prep by Brianna Peppins: In this coming-of-age story, Avi LeBeau juggles navigating her first year at a historically Black boarding school after she learns a devastating secret about her big sister’s boyfriend.
Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado: When an urban legend rumored to trap people inside subway tunnels seems to be behind mysterious disappearances in the Bronx, 16-year-old Raquel and her friends team up to save their city–and confront a dark episode in its history in the process.
Cafe Con Lychee by Emery Lee: A dual pov enemies-to-lovers contemporary romcom following Theo Mori and Gabe Moreno, rival sons of competing family businesses–a Puerto Rican bakery and an Asian American cafe–who form an unlikely alliance running an underground coffee and boba shop at school after a new fusion cafe threatens their parents’ stores.
The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian: At Chandler, the elite boarding school, five teens are brought together in the Circle, a coveted writing group where life-changing friendships are born—and secrets are revealed.
The Charmed List by Julie Abe: 16-year-old Ellie Kobata’s summer plans to shed her wallflower persona are upended when she is forced to go on a road trip to the Magical Retailers’ Convention with her former best friend Jack Yasuda, but what starts out as a punishment turns into an opportunity to find forgiveness and possibly love.
Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Morrow: 17-year-old Farrah Turner manipulates her way into lives of her Black best friend Cherish Whitman’s white adopted family, but she soon begins to suspect that she may not be the only one invested in engineering a place in the affluent household, and someone else’s motives may be more disturbing than her own.
The Dragon’s Promise (Six Crimson Cranes #2) by Elizabeth Lim: Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined.
Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland: Kelsie Miller and Eric Mulvaney Ortiz, rivals for valedictorian, team up on an overnight road trip to the University of Pennsylvania to win back their exes.
Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong: In 1931 Shanghai, two Nationalist spies, Rosalind Lang and Orion Hong, pose as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders causing unrest in the city.
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