2022 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults

Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted. Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones. Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching...

Ronan, Hennessy, and Bryde are dreamers; Ronan's dreams always seem to end in random destruction, using up the power of the ley lines he cannot even sense; Hennessy makes multiple copies of herself, dreaming them into reality in search of her own fragile identity, and Bryde dreams of power and reordering his companions and the world to his own specifications; their families and duplicates are the collateral damage of their dreams--and meanwhile they...

Publisher Annotation: Aideen has plenty of problems she can't solve. But when she stumbles upon overachiever Meabh Kowalska having a full-blown meltdown, she sees one that she can actually fix. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help-by pushing her down the stairs. Problem? Solved. Meabh's sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when one of their classmates...

Although distraught, Happi is also unsettled by the way people have idealized the memory of her sister who was killed after attending a social justice rally -- why do people have to be perfect in order to be missed? As a way to honor the memory, however, Happi and her other sister Genny go on a roadtrip using the original "Green Book" -- but the trip reveals secrets neither sister knew about the dead Kezi.

"An emotional story about a former ballerina who is thrust back into 'normal' high school after a life-changing injury, and who comes to terms with life without her passion as well as discrimination in the ballet world"--

Publisher Annotation: Waylon Russell Brewer is a fat, openly gay boy stuck in the small West Texas town of Clover City. His plan is to bide his time until he can graduate, move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and finally go Full Waylon so that he can live his Julie-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-Andrews truth. So when Clementine deviates from their master plan right after Waylon gets dumped, he throws caution to the wind and...

"For most of America's history, rural people and culture have been casually mocked, stereotyped, and, in general, deeply misunderstood. Now an array of short stories, poetry, graphic short stories, and personal essays, along with anecdotes from the authors' real lives, dives deep into the complexity and diversity of rural America and the people who call it home. Fifteen extraordinary authors--diverse in ethnic background, sexual orientation, geographic...

In 1860 Louisiana, eighty-year-old Madame Sylvie decides to sit for a portrait, as horrific stories that span generations from the big house and the fields are revealed.

"An openly gay track star falls for a closeted, bisexual teen beauty queen with a penchant for fixing up old cars"--

Bullied and shamed her whole life for being fat, twelve-year-old Ellie finally gains the confidence to stand up for herself, with the help of some wonderful new allies.