2023 is at a close, and Iowa City Public Library Staff reflected on some of the literary highlights of the year, voting for new favorites in a variety of genres. In this list, you'll find the staff picks for Young Adult Books released in 2023. "The Spirit Bares its Teeth" by Andrew Joseph White was the standout title among staff, earning the greatest number of votes for this genre.
The spirit bares its teeth
Andrew Joseph White
YOUNG ADULT FICTION White Andrew
Set in an alternate Victorian England where mediums control the dead, sixteen-year-old autistic transgender boy Silas must expose a power-hungry secret society while confined to a cruel finishing school designed to turn him into the perfect wife.
Accountable : the true story of a racist social media account and the teenagers whose lives it changed
Dashka Slater
371.829 /Slater
"When a high school student started a private Instagram account that used racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as "edgy" humor. Over time, the edge got sharper. Then a few other kids found out about the account. Pretty soon, everyone knew. Ultimately no one in the small town of Albany, California, was safe from the repercussions of the account's discovery. Not the girls targeted by the posts. Not the boy who created the account. Not the group of kids who followed it. Not the adults--educators and parents--whose attempts to fix things too often made them worse. In the end, no one was laughing. And everyone was left asking: Where does accountability end for online speech that harms? And what does accountability even mean?" -- Page [2] of cover.
Ander & Santi were here : a novel
Jonny Garza Villa
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Garzavil Jonny
The Santos Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, is all Ander Martínez has ever known. His family's taquería inspired them as a muralist, and, as they get ready to leave for art school, it's all of these things that make them question if they are ready to leave the neighborhood behind. When Ander meets Santiago López Alvarado, the hot new waiter, falling for each other becomes as natural as breathing. When ICE agents come for Santi, Ander realizes how fragile a sense of home can be. -- adapted from jacket
Bianca Torre is afraid of everything
Justine Pucella Winans
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Winans Justine
Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, like Fear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbor's life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choice--succumb to their long list of fears (including #3 Murder and #55 Breaking into a Dead Guy's Apartment), or investigate what happened. Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Bianca's crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13 Beautiful People, #11 Parents Discovering They’re a Raging Lesbian), the trio uncover a conspiracy much larger--and weirder--than imagined. And when the killer catches wind of the investigation, suddenly Bianca's #1 fear of public speaking doesn't sound so bad compared to the threat of being silenced for good.
Imogen, obviously
Becky Albertalli
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Albertal Becky
"Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but shes got the Worlds Greatest Ally title locked down. 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. And then there's Lili--newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends. Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in. Even if that means bending the truth, just a little. Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero--not even Lilis best friend, Tessa. Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with..." --
Saints of the household
Ari Tison
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Tison Ari
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.
The library of shadows
Rachel Moore
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Moore Rachel
"Radcliffe Prep. The third most haunted school in the country, where a student disappearance isn't uncommon and no one dares stay in the library after dark. And Este Logano enrolls with the hopes of finding her dead father. Not literally, of course. She doesn't believe in ghosts. Going to her dad's school just seems like her best hope at figuring out who he was. But then Este meets Mateo, who is maybe--probably--definitely--a real ghost. And an annoying one at that. When Mateo frames Este for the theft of a rare book from the library's secret spire and then vanishes, Este will have to track him down or risk being expelled and leaving Radcliffe early just like her father did. Except following in her father's footsteps might be more dangerous than Este ever anticipated. As she investigates the library with its secret passageways, hidden tunnels, and haunted halls, she learns that the student disappearances aren't just myth. And if she isn't careful, she'll be next" --
The wicked bargain
Gabe Cole Novoa
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Novoa Gabe
On Mar León de la Rosa's sixteenth birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship. When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up their soul to save their father by the harvest moon, or never see him again. The task is impossible--Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there's no way their magic is a match for el Diablo. Then Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate--and the captain's son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption--or it could mean certain death.
Tilly in technicolor
Mazey Eddings
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Eddings Mazey
Tilly Twomley white-knuckled her way through high school with flawed executive functioning has left her burnt out and ready to start fresh. Working as an intern for her perfect older sister’s start up requries her to travel around Europe, offering a much-needed change of scenery as she plans for her future. Oliver Clark's autism often makes it hard for him to form relationships, but his love of color theory and design allows him to feel deeply connected to the world around him. He's earned placement into a prestigious design program, and a summer internship to build his resume. But now he's being forced to spend the summer with a girl that couldn’t be more his opposite-- and feeling things for her he can’t quite name. As their neurodiverse connection grows, they learn that some of the best parts of life can’t be planned. - adapted from jacket
We are all so good at smiling
Amber McBride
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Mcbride Amber
When hospitalized for her clinical depression, Whimsy connects with a boy named Faerry, who also suffers from the traumatic loss of a sibling, and together they work to unearth buried memories and battle the fantastical physical embodiment of their depression.
"The Spirit Bares its Teeth" was ranked the Best of Young Adult by ICPL Staff for 2023.
- Becky