Editor's note: This article was originally published on the Seattle Public Library blog and is reprinted here with permission.
What are the teenagers checking out these days? We were curious, so as a follow-up to our post on The Seattle Public Library’s most popular books for adults in 2022, we’ve compiled the top-circulated 10 fiction and nonfiction books for teen audiences. It’s a diverse, fascinating list, ranging from award-winning graphic novels to an Ojibwe coming-of-age story to a youth edition of Trevor Noah’s memoir. Maybe you’ll find a new book for your young adult reader — or for yourself.
Top teen fiction: Print books
- Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, by Art Spiegelman
- Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club, by Malinda Lo
- We Hereby Refuse: Japanese-American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration, by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, with art by Ross Ishikawa, Matt Sasaki
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins
- The Girl from the Sea, by Molly Knox Ostertag
- Maus, I, A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History, by Art Spiegelman
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
- Heartstopper, Volume 1, by Alice Oseman
- The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
Top teen fiction: E-books
- Shadow and Bone: The Grisha Trilogy, Book 1, by Leigh Bardugo
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah M. Maas
- Siege and Storm: The Grisha Trilogy, Book 2, by Leigh Bardugo
- A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger
- The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
- Ruin and Rising: The Grisha Trilogy, Book 3, by Leigh Bardugo
- The Summer I Turned Pretty, Book 1, by Jenny Han
- Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
- Heartstopper, Volume 1, by Alice Oseman
- We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart
Top teen nonfiction: Print books
- Ain’t Burned All the Bright, by Jason Reynolds & Jason Griffin
- All Boys Aren’t Blue: a Memoir-Manifesto, by George M. Johnson
- You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things, by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth
- The Hill We Climb, by Amanda Gorman
- Stamped: a Remix of Stamped From the Beginning, adapted by Jason Reynolds with Ibram X. Kendi
- An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese
- Messy Roots: a Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American, by Laura Gao
- It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Adapted for Young Readers, by Trevor Noah
- The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives, by Dashka Slater
- Candlekeep Mysteries, by Wizards of the Coast
Top teen nonfiction: E-books
- They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei
- All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto, by George M. Johnson
- Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults, by Robin Kimmerer
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning, adapted by Jason Reynolds with Ibram X. Kendi
- March, Book One, by John Lewis
- This Book Is Gay, by James Dawson
- Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir, by Ron Ha
- Master Builder: The Unofficial Guide to Minecraft & Other Building Games, by Megan Miller
- The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives, by Dashka Slater
- Beyond the Gender Binary, by Alok Vaid-Menon
Also be sure to see the Library’s most popular books of the year in visual form at “Your Checked-Out 2022.”
Want more book inspiration? Check out our series of 2022 staff favorites for kids, teens and adults, and new fiction and nonfiction for 2023.
