2022 Staff Picks for Teens

Our staff read across all genres and have a wide selection of teen titles to recommend this year. So whether you enjoy fantasy, romance, graphic novels, history, sci-fi, or realistic fiction, we hope there’s something for everyone in the titles listed below! And while you’re reading, why not earn prizes too? Check out our 100 Books Before Graduation Challenge page to learn more.

Be sure to also visit our Staff Picks lists for Adults and Children to find new reads for the whole family. Should you need more recommendations, try out our My Next Read service, contact a librarian virtually through our Ask a Librarian feature (green tab on our website), or text us at (571) 536-7695. Of course you can always visit or call!

• Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz — recommended by Kareemah H. at Varina

• And We Rise by Erica Martin — recommended by Kelsey C. at Varina

• A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne Brown — recommended by Kendall H. at Library Administration
  • This is the sequel to A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, and the final book in the duology. It is a West African-inspired high fantasy.

• Blue Flag by KAITO — recommended by Drew C. at Gayton
  • This manga series is about an unlikely friendship between four high school students and all of the super-strong teenage feelings that come with it.

• Diary of A Haunting by M. Verano — recommended by Kelli Y. at Tuckahoe

• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland — recommended by Lauren M. at Libbie Mill

• Fable by Adrienne Young — recommended by Logan F. at Gayton

• Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys — recommended by Kristyn S. at Libbie Mill

• Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega — recommended by Nideria B. at Sandston

• The Getaway  by Lamar Giles — recommended by Tracey B. at Tuckahoe
  • Local author spins a near future dystopian tale where the power difference between the wealthy and the workers of an inclusive resort is played out through the eyes of four teens whose families have come to the resort for very different reasons.

• The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh — recommended by Barbra S. at North Park & Marie R. at Fairfield.
  • I loved this book for its clever mythological re-telling, beautiful world-building, and sheer heart.– Barbra S. 
  • Oh creates a beautiful fairy tale that one would love to be a part of. – Marie R.

• Heartstopper graphic novel series by Alice Oseman — recommended by Alicia A. at Library Administration

• Himawari House by Harmony Becker — recommended by Rachel S. at Fairfield

• I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys — recommended by Savannah C. at Library Administration and Aimee H. at Glen Allen

• Incredible Doom: Volume 2 by Matthew Bogart — recommended by Kristina C. at Library Administration

• Little Thieves by Margaret Owen — recommended by Sophia G. at Varina
  • Vanja Schmidt is a morally grey heroine who takes a princess's identity to commit a series of jewel thefts in order to pay off a debt. There are so many lovable characters and you are rooting for them all as Vanja has to break a curse a god placed on her for her greed and still find some way to evade investigators. 

• My Brain is Different: Stories of ADHD and Other Developmental Disorders  by Monzusu — recommended by Rick S. at Library Administration

• Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell — recommended by Bridget O. at Gayton

• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda  by Becky Albertalli — recommended by Beth H. at Fairfield

• Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim — recommended by Gina F. at Gayton

• This Poison Heart  by Kalynn Bayron — recommended by Antonia P. at Fairfield

• TJ Powar Has Something To Prove by Jesmeen Kaur Deo — recommended by Naila P. at Tuckahoe

• The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew — recommended by Ashby C. at Gayton

• Why is Everybody Yelling by Marisabina Russo — recommended by Lisa K. at Glen Allen
  • This immersive, richly-colorful graphic memoir features both typical autobiographic moments -- new school, first sleep-away camp -- and very specific ones, like how she attends Catholic schools and dreams of being a nun, even as meals with extended family include stories of fleeing Nazis told partly in Yiddish.

• Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi — recommended by Kathryn K. at Tuckahoe