13 Days of SummerStephanie Kate StrohmAfter high school graduation, Carson, Noemi, and Eleanor take a cross-country road trip to a Taylor Swift concert. Picking up a stranded traveler introduces romance and tensions that test their friendship before they reach the show.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsCBC Favorites Awards 2026
Annual favorites chosen by children, teachers, and librarians from books submitted by publishers.
2026 CBC Favorites AwardsSee the original list
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Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th Grade
25 of 40 selections on this pageContinued from page 9
13 Days of SummerStephanie Kate StrohmAfter high school graduation, Carson, Noemi, and Eleanor take a cross-country road trip to a Taylor Swift concert. Picking up a stranded traveler introduces romance and tensions that test their friendship before they reach the show.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
All the Hidden Monsters (Book One)Amie JordanWerewolf Sage investigates the murder of her supernatural friend Lucy in the human world. She joins warlock detective Oren Rinallis, even as distrust and conflict complicate their search for the killer.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
All the Tomorrows AfterJoanne YiKorean American teenager Winter Moon plans to escape with her grandmother, but stolen savings force her to accept money from her long-absent father in exchange for spending time with him. Grief, first love, and a family secret complicate their arrangement.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and The Mysterious Fad that Haunted a NationBarb RosenstockThis nonfiction account follows Maggie, Kate, and Leah Fox, whose claimed spirit messages helped popularize séances in nineteenth-century America. It examines their fame, public skepticism, and the Civil War–era demand for contact with the dead.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
And the River Drags Her DownJihyun YunAfter her older sister Mirae drowns, Soojin breaks ancestral rules and uses magic to resurrect her. Mirae’s growing hunger for revenge and a series of deaths force Soojin to question what she brought back.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Beyond They/Them: 20 Influential Nonbinary and Gender-Diverse People You Should KnowEm Dickson, illustrated by Cameron MukwaThis illustrated collection profiles 20 nonbinary, genderqueer, and Two-Spirit people across the arts, sports, politics, science, and activism.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Catalog of Burnt Objects, AShana YoungdahlJust as she starts to get a new footing—falling in love for the first time, uncertainly mending her traumatized relationship with her brother, completing…Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Chappell Roan: A Vibrant Journey Through the Career and Influence of the Indie-Pop SuperstarHarbert DayThe queer queen’s meteoric rise from small-town girl to pop icon is a story of self-discovery, resilience, and triumph. With a back-and-forth journey that resulted in your favorite artists’ favorite artist and a TikTok sensation hit after hit, there is much to discuss about how this Midwesterner paved her own path and made her voice loud in Hollywood.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Climate of ChaosCassandra NewbouldAn exhilarating dystopian YA recalling The Last of Us and Divergent—Climate of Chaos is a hard-hitting survival story featuring a disabled protagonist that explores the chilling effects of climate change and medical debt.In dystopic Seattle, storms have devastated Earth’s population, a new virus is spreading, and the privileged live inside domes controlled by Aegis Corp.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Common Rule Youth Edition, The: Growing Your Faith in a Distracted WorldJustin Whitmel EarleyThe Common Rule Youth Edition provides clarity and purpose, tailored specifically for teens and tweens (grades 6-12). Adapted from Justin Whitmel Earley's bestselling book, The Common Rule Youth Edition empowers youth to break free from the stress and anxiety that modern life can impose.The CommonRule Youth Edition equips young people with the tools to help them find peace…Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Cope FieldT. L. SimpsonA 2026 Printz Honor BookCrawford “Craw” Cope has anger issues.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Everything Is PoisonJoy McCulloughA CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • This young adult historical novel tells the story of the women who risk everything to provide care for those with nowhere else to turn and the deadly secrets hiding in plain sight.“Bracing . . .Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Gay the Pray AwayNatalie NaudusBut when she stumbles upon a queer romance novel at the library, everything about her life—centered around a fundamentalist Christian homeschooling group —is thrown into question. And to make things even more complicated, there’s a new girl in town.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
His Face is the SunMichelle Jabès CorporaFour strangers whose destiny will determine the fate of the kingdom.In the golden heat of Khetara, rebellion smolders and ancient gods stir. As whispers of the pharaoh's illness spread, a long-forgotten oracle begins to awaken―binding a princess, a priestess, a rebel, and a thief to the fate of an empire.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
On Again, Awkward Again: A NovelErin Entrada Kelly and Kwame MbaliaWell, more like love at first fleeting, injury-riddled glance, since the moment is ruined thanks to clumsiness and a criminal case of IBS. Despite their total lack of game, Pacy and Cecil are drawn to each other.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Payback Girls, TheAlex TravisWhy get over your cheating ex when you can get even? John Tucker Must Die meets One of Us Is Lying in a gripping, page-turning debut young adult thriller.Senior year was supposed to be about dreams, not damage control.Meghan's got everything going for her: top of her class, basketball star boyfriend, future Ivy League plans.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Secret Investigator of Astor Street: A Piper Sail Mystery, TheStephanie MorrillA 2026 LIBRARIAN FAVORITE, Children’s Book CouncilAfter high school graduation, Piper Sail isn’t quite sure what her future holds—until a possible murder case lands in her lap. After all, she already solved the case of her missing best friend, and there’s no shortage of crime in 1920s Chicago.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan GenocidePablo Leon, illustrated by Pablo LeonIn 2013 Maryland, Jose’s questions about a genocide trial lead his mother Clara to describe her childhood during Guatemala’s civil war. The graphic novel shifts to 1982, when violence separated Clara and her sister Elena from their village and each other.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeATOS 3.9AR interest Upper Grades (UG 9-12)View book details
They Bloom at NightTrang Thanh TranNoon and her mother have carved out a life in the wreckage, trawling for the mutated wildlife that lurks in the water and trading it to the corrupt harbormaster.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
This Is the YearGloria MuñozThis dazzling YA cli-fi written in prose and verse will speak to any reader struggling with the state of our world and how to…Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Trans History: A Graphic Novel: From Ancient Times to the Present DayAlex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett, illustrated by Alex L. Combs and Andrew EakettDeeply researched, highly readable, and featuring a broad range of voices.What does “trans” mean, and what does it mean to be trans? Diversity in human sex and gender is not a modern phenomenon, as readers will discover through illustrated stories and records that introduce historical figures ranging from the controversial Roman emperor Elagabalus to the swashbuckling seventeenth-century conquistador…Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Truth Is: A NovelHannah V. SawyerrFinalist for the 2025 National Book Award for Young People’s LiteratureFrom the critically acclaimed author of All the Fighting Parts comes an empowering and…Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
We Fell Apart: A We Were Liars NovelE. Lockhart#1 New York Times bestselling author E.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
When Devils SingXan KaurThis deluxe edition is printed with gorgeous stenciled edges! An Instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Yomigaeri Tunnel, TheKelly MurashigeShe’s still grieving the loss of the one classmate who didn’t make it to graduation, a boy named Shun with whom she had a complicated relationship.Then, during her final Japanese Club meeting, Monika hears about the Yomigaeri Tunnel.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details