Amanda Mastrull

SLJ's 2024 best middle and high school nonfiction selections run the gamut from insightful memoir; thoughtful explorations of cultural, biological, and environmental phenomena; to unrelenting exposures of dark times in our world's sociopolitical history—and the crucial lessons we must learn from the past.

These 28 middle grade and YA nonfiction titles invite readers to delve into different facets and figures of history, science, social justice topics, and more. With a range of titles from a graphic memoir by Jerry Pinkney to a logbook-style look at an Arctic expedition to a history of the Scopes Monkey Trial that ties to contemporary censorship, there's much to explore and consider.

Readers will find engaging plots and unforgettable characters in these 25 Best YA novels of 2023. They span genre and setting, from a fantasy in alternate Tang dynasty China to a contemporary novel in modern-day NYC, but share common threads of teens coming of age and finding and embracing their truth.

These 27 picks for teens offer so much for young people pushing to define themselves--first love, fantastical worlds, betrayal, political upheaval, and more.

Stellar research, unexplored histories, scientific breakthroughs, and heartbreaking truths loom large in this whopping list of 52 choice nonfiction works.

Serena Kaylor, who earned a star for her debut novel Long Story Short, shares her journey to publication. 

Malinda Lo’s National Book Award-winning Last Night at the Telegraph Club, the blockbuster Blackout, and Angie Thomas’s latest are just some of the 25 YA titles that made our Best Books of 2021. 

A whopping 35 books were selected for this year’s Best Nonfiction list---our longest yet. From STEM works to eye-opening historical accounts, these titles will fill all of your curricular needs.

For the first time in years, we created a breakout list of poetry titles. These six selections include the latest from powerhouse poets Joyce Sidman, Jack Prelutsky, and Nikki Grimes.