Young Adult Fiction

This pacy urban thriller is the US debut for an award-winning Irish author.

Joey’s stepdad, Vinnie, ran away from Dublin over a year ago. Now he’s back, and everyone wants to know if he’s still a wolf.

Joey wants to believe Vinnie has given up his dodgy ways and returned to be near his family. But he’s in no hurry to meet him. With his girlfriend going to Trinity College and his new start living with his aunt, Joey is trying to move on.

But fate doesn’t sit on a fence and Joey will have to confront his own painful past and the role his stepdad played in it.

Between a dying ocean and a divided world, a mermaid must grapple between the sea that made her and the surface that might break her — in this stunning novel-in-verse.

Muireann is a mermaid – fierce, curious and proud of the body that keeps her warm beneath the waves. But life in the ocean is becoming impossible. The merfolk are at war with the human ramifications of climate change: food is scarce, and her twin sister has been killed in a mass-fishing net. With her mother lost in grief and her world falling apart, Muireann longs to escape to the surface to find some answers. But the human world isn’t the haven she hoped for. It’s colder, crueller – and here, her large body is seen not as strength, but as something to be ashamed of.

In this beautiful novel in verse, Muireann must find her voice and fight for where she belongs – whether that be beneath the waves, or above them.

Bewitched retellings of classic fairy-tales with brave and resilient heroines.

A multi-award winning collection of twelve dark, feminist retellings of traditional fairytales from one of Ireland’s leading writers for young people. In the tradition of Angela Carter, stories such as Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin are given a witchy makeover.

Bewitched retellings of classic fairy-tales with brave and resilient heroines.

A multi-award winning collection of twelve dark, feminist retellings of traditional fairytales from one of Ireland’s leading writers for young people. In the tradition of Angela Carter, stories such as Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin are given a witchy makeover.

This pacy urban thriller is the US debut for an award-winning Irish author.

Joey’s stepdad, Vinnie, ran away from Dublin over a year ago. Now he’s back, and everyone wants to know if he’s still a wolf.

Joey wants to believe Vinnie has given up his dodgy ways and returned to be near his family. But he’s in no hurry to meet him. With his girlfriend going to Trinity College and his new start living with his aunt, Joey is trying to move on.

But fate doesn’t sit on a fence and Joey will have to confront his own painful past and the role his stepdad played in it.

A suspenseful teen fantasy about young love, dark mystery and magic.

16-year-old orphan Tom Swinton is not looking forward to spending the summer at his boarding school. So when he receives a strange message from his uncle James, inviting him to visit his Suffolk farm, he jumps at the chance.

However, Tom quickly realises that something is menacing Mundham Farm. But does it come from outside, or within? The mystery deepens when Tom finds old diaries describing a romance with a member of a supernatural race known as the Samdhya.

As the secrets of the farm begin to unravel, pressure mounts, and Tom finds his loyalties under threat. On one hand, he is offered infinite power. On the other, his freedom. Which will he choose?

Be careful. The dark is listening.

Hanan is supposed to be dead. The forest outside Skenashogue sent him home alive – but changed. A strange new magic makes every emotion a physical force he can’t control.Bright and gentle, fox-like Pax is everything Hanan is not. And when he touches Hanan he mutes his secret power, quiets the curse.

To survive their own darknesses they'll need to be honest with each other. But Hanan isn’t sure Pax will like what he finds out… Can their love help them find their way back to the light?

For fans of Daniel Jose Older.

A queer love story with a dark magical twist, from an astonishing new Irish voice.

Be careful. The dark is listening.

Hanan is supposed to be dead. The forest outside Skenashogue sent him home alive – but changed. A strange new magic makes every emotion a physical force he can’t control.

Bright and gentle, fox-like Pax is everything Hanan is not. And when he touches Hanan he mutes his secret power, quiets the curse.

To survive their own darknesses they'll need to be honest with each other. But Hanan isn’t sure Pax will like what he finds out…

Can their love help them find their way back to the light?

For fans of Daniel Jose Older.

Winner of the 2025 An Post Irish Book Awards' International Education Services Teen & YA Book of the Year

A lyrical YA verse novel about a teenager’s journey to heal from heartbreak, rediscover her inner strength, and find harmony again – perfect for readers who love emotional, empowering coming-of-age stories.

Daisy can feel like a solo act at home. On the outside of her twin brothers’ intense relationship, she leans towards her parents, particularly her father, for support. As a passionate classical musician, she is not wildly popular at school, but she has one close friend and a life filled with musical performance. Her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend suddenly breaks up with her, and Daisy is left disconnected from her one true love, music.

When she makes a new friend at school, mysterious Flora, Daisy finds a glimmer of peace in her chaotic life. Just as everything seems to be getting better, they all fall apart. Family tensions heighten as Daisy’s dad falls ill and Daisy needs to decide should she find her way back to who she was or look towards who she is going to become.

A YA verse novel about LGBTQ+ desire, identity — and vampires.

From the multi-award winning author of The Deepest Breath (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021), a Junior Library Guild Selection.

The blood
Feeds the hunger
That threatens everything

It starts when Claudia offers her a yellow rose.
Immy has been in love before – many times, across many lifetimes. But never as deeply, as intensely as this.
The forbidden thirst for blood runs deep in Immy. And within her mind clamour the voices, of all the others she has been, their desires, and their wrongs.

You’re caught in a time loop and there’s only one way out. You have to call out your best friend.

Kirkus Reviews: Best Young Adult Books of the Year 2023

Chicago Public Library, “Best of the Best Books 2023

Spence hates Anthony’s sexist jokes, but he never says anything. Anthony’s his buddy, and Spence doesn’t have many. One Friday, Spence finds Anthony assaulting their classmate, Clara Hart, at a party. Clara flees from the house, is hit by a car, and dies. But the next day, it’s Friday again and Clara is alive. Caught in a time-loop, Spence finds himself living the same 24 hours on repeat. Can he change Clara’s fate? And what if it’s not that simple?

From the multi-award winning author of The Deepest Breath (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021), a Junior Library Guild Selection, comes a YA verse novel about LGBTQ+ desire, identity — and vampires.

The blood
Feeds the hunger
That threatens everything

It starts when Claudia offers her a yellow rose.
Immy has been in love before – many times, across many lifetimes. But never as deeply, as intensely as this. Claudia smells like paint and peppermint tea. She wears her hair in a plait, and has a green thumb, and Immy is utterly besotted. Claudia has never been in love like this either. But then, this is her first time with a vampire. But a love like this can't last. The forbidden thirst for blood runs deep in Immy. And within her mind clamour the voices, of all the others she has been, their desires, and their wrongs.

For fans of Elizabeth Acevdeo and Dean Atta.

Kirkus Reviews, “Best Teens and YA Books of 2023”

Bank Street Best Children's Books 2024

2024 USBBY Outstanding International Books

A feminist retelling of favourite Irish fairytale The Children of Lir.

Aífe marries Lir, a chieftain with four children by his previous wife. Jealous of his affection for his children, the witch Aífe turns them into swans for 900 years. Retold through the voice of Aífe, Savage Her Reply is unsettling and dark, yet nuanced in its exploration of the guilt of a complex character.

Winner of the 2025 An Post Irish Book Awards' International Education Services Teen & YA Book of the Year

A lyrical YA verse novel about a teenager’s journey to heal from heartbreak, rediscover her inner strength, and find harmony again – perfect for readers who love emotional, empowering coming-of-age stories.

Daisy can feel like a solo act at home. On the outside of her twin brothers’ intense relationship, she leans towards her parents, particularly her father, for support. As a passionate classical musician, she is not wildly popular at school, but she has one close friend and a life filled with musical performance. Her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend suddenly breaks up with her, and Daisy is left disconnected from her one true love, music.

When she makes a new friend at school, mysterious Flora, Daisy finds a glimmer of peace in her chaotic life. Just as everything seems to be getting better, they all fall apart. Family tensions heighten as Daisy’s dad falls ill and Daisy needs to decide should she find her way back to who she was or look towards who she is going to become.

A Raven Award Winning Irish author's North American debut. A moving YA novel about mental illness and recovery. 

18-year-old Saoirse can’t wait to leave school – but just before the final exams her ex-boyfriend dies by suicide. Everyone blames Saoirse – even Saoirse herself, who cheated on him with his best friend. She is shunned by her schoolmates and suffers unbearable levels of anxiety, which her useless counsellor does nothing to alleviate.

On the night of the prom, everything becomes too much and Saoirse makes a decision that lands her in a psychiatric hospital. Slowly, painfully, with the support of a friendly hospital cleaner, her old best friend, her kind and hilarious grandmother, and even her irritating sister, Saoirse regains hope of finding herself again.

A brave and simple story, written in the alternating voices of its two heroines, this is a touching story of the redemptive power of friendship from an award-winning author.

The last thing either Jana (13) or Louise (17) is looking for on this hot and boring summer is a friend of totally the wrong age. But then one day, they abandon their responsibilities and irritating families, and head off in a ‘borrowed’ car for a day by the lake. Their adventure is simple — beer, ice-cream, swimming, singing — but the friendship it forges between them turns out to be profound. When Jana experiences loss, it is only Louise’s tender and funny postcards that can haul her out of depression — right out of her bedroom window and off on another adventure.

Canadian teenager Evie Wilder just found out she’s a werewolf. Now her mom’s gone missing, she and her sister Kate have to go into hiding, and there’s not a single helpful vampire slayer to be found.

With the help of Kevin, the dorky-hot manager of the guesthouse where she and Kate lie low, Evie starts to harness her wolfish side. But Kevin seems to know a suspicious amount about vampires…

Meanwhile, animal attacks are increasing, local teens are going missing, and Evie is about to find herself at the centre of a supernatural showdown.

Ros has finally found Eddy, the girlfriend they’ve always wanted. But Ros can’t tell her the truth: that they are trans, and want to live in a male body.

At a party Ros’s classmates “discover” they’re a lesbian – but that’s not the true story. As Ros’s life gets ever harder to navigate, a new friendship with a boy changes everything and Ros confides in him. Once the truth is out, things take on a momentum that Ros can’t control.

Ros is surprised that their school turns out to be supportive of their identity. But what’s the next move?  And what will happen when Eddy finds out?

Mik flees a living nightmare, hoping his journey will lead him home.

Mik has been skating on thin ice his entire life. When he is forced to leave his new home with his aunt Lena, he leaves behind icy northern Sweden and all his new friends, and his life becomes a living nightmare. Through forests and along train lines, over rapids and waterfalls, Mik is determined that nothing will stop him from finding home at last.

How far would you go to fit in?

17-year-old Drew has just won a scholarship to Cooke's Academy, an elite high school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He's the first in his neighbourhood to be accepted, and his family and community couldn't be prouder. Especially because going there gives Drew a shot at a valuable college scholarship. But the pressure at Cooke's Academy is intense, and Drew isn't sure he fits in.

When Adam, leader of the toxic Stewards club, a privileged group of students who control everything that goes on at the school, invites Drew to join, Drew realises that if he can just play by the rules for long enough, he will have a shot at the scholarship.

Wealthy, popular Charlotte seems to have everything going for her, but she struggles with the expectations heaped on her by her family and the school. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend Adam is terrorising her with a video of them having sex.

As the friendship between Drew and Charlotte grows, both begin to come into their own through a growing love of Spanish poetry, poetry slams, and drag. A school trip to Spain brings them closer together, and pushes them further than ever from who they used to be.

An unflinching verse novel about a teenage boy who is sexually assaulted in an attack he struggles to remember by the award-winning author of Gut Feelings 

Kirkus Best Teen & YA Verse Novels 2024
Children's Book Council Winner 2025: Young Adult Favorites, Teacher Favorites & Librarian Favorites

Jay wakes in a park, beaten and bruised. He can’t remember what happened the night before. But he has suspicions. Jay realises he has been raped — and that his ex-boyfriend may have been involved. Counselling sessions cause Jay to question everything. His new friend Rain encourages his pursuit of justice. Jay wants answers, but his search will lead him down a perilous path. Once the trigger is touched you can't tell who to trust.

An black Iraq war veteran and an Iraqi-American Muslim teenager form an unlikely friendship through their shared love of John Coltrane. A supreme coming-of-age story of friendship, forgiveness — and jazz.

Tariq is is a young Iraqi-American Muslim man, beset by danger on the streets and conflict at home. Music is his only consolation. When he forms a friendship with the volatile but intriguing record-store owner and Iraq war veteran, Jamal, Tariq discovers the world of jazz — and the man he could become.

Jamal is exciting, eloquent, and troubled. He suffers from PTSD, is always on edge. Tariq wants to learn from Jamal's knowledge of music, but can he afford to get close to this volatile veteran?

The story of a school shooting and its awful aftermath; a psychologically convincing study of grief, loss and guilt and their effects on young lives

Miriam is an ordinary schoolgirl with a carefree bunch of friends, and she’s just embarked on her first relationship with her sweet and loving boyfriend Toby. She lives with her dad and she has a good relationship with her grandparents. All this ordinary happiness is shattered when one of Miriam’s schoolmates comes to school with a handgun and kills several pupils and teachers. Miriam’s beloved Toby is shot right in front of her. Miriam and her surviving friends are distraught. Shock, grief, bereavement, terror – Miriam and her friends run the gamut of emotions in the days, weeks and months following the shooting. But the worst emotion of all is guilt. ‘Is it our fault?’ is the haunting question that tortures Miriam as she tries to piece her life together again.

Hard-hitting urban drama about friendship, family and loss from the author of Things I Know. 

Kirkus Starred Review

Matt’s mom left home when he was 10. He writes letters to her but doesn’t send them. He keeps them in his Gone Book, which he hides in his room. Five years of letters about his life. Five years of hurt. Matt’s dad won’t talk about her. His older brother is mixed up with drugs and messing with dangerous characters. His friends, Mikey and Anna, are the best thing in his life, but Matt keeps pushing them away. All Matt wants to do is skate, surf, and forget. But now his mom is back in town and Matt knows he needs to find her, to finally deliver the truth.

For fans of Brian Conaghan.

Once the trigger is touched you can't tell who to trust

An unflinching verse novel about a teenage boy who is sexually assaulted in an attack he struggles to remember.

By the award-winning author of Gut Feelings

Jay wakes in a park, beaten and bruised. He can’t remember what happened the night before. But he has suspicions.

Jay realises he has been raped — and that his ex-boyfriend may have been involved.

Counselling sessions cause Jay to question everything. His new friend Rain encourages his pursuit of justice. Jay wants answers, but his search will lead him down a perilous path.

A Raven Award Winning Irish author's North American debut. A moving YA novel about mental illness and recovery. 

18-year-old Saoirse can’t wait to leave school – but just before the final exams her ex-boyfriend dies by suicide. Everyone blames Saoirse – even Saoirse herself, who cheated on him with his best friend. She is shunned by her schoolmates and suffers unbearable levels of anxiety, which her useless counsellor does nothing to alleviate.

On the night of the prom, everything becomes too much and Saoirse makes a decision that lands her in a psychiatric hospital. Slowly, painfully, with the support of a friendly hospital cleaner, her old best friend, her kind and hilarious grandmother, and even her irritating sister, Saoirse regains hope of finding herself again.

You’re caught in a time loop and there’s only one way out. You have to call out your best friend.

Spence hates Anthony’s sexist jokes, but he never says anything. Anthony’s his buddy, and Spence doesn’t have many. One Friday, Spence finds Anthony assaulting their classmate, Clara Hart, at a party. Clara flees from the house, is hit by a car, and dies. But the next day, it’s Friday again and Clara is alive. Caught in a time-loop, Spence finds himself living the same 24 hours on repeat. Can he change Clara’s fate? And what if it’s not that simple?

Canadian teenager Evie Wilder just found out she’s a werewolf. Now her mom’s gone missing, she and her sister Kate have to go into hiding, and there’s not a single helpful vampire slayer to be found.

With the help of Kevin, the dorky-hot manager of the guesthouse where she and Kate lie low, Evie starts to harness her wolfish side. But Kevin seems to know a suspicious amount about vampires…

Meanwhile, animal attacks are increasing, local teens are going missing, and Evie is about to find herself at the centre of a supernatural showdown.

Ros has finally found Eddy, the girlfriend they’ve always wanted. But Ros can’t tell her the truth: that they are trans, and want to live in a male body.

At a party Ros’s classmates “discover” they’re a lesbian – but that’s not the true story. As Ros’s life gets ever harder to navigate, a new friendship with a boy changes everything and Ros confides in him. Once the truth is out, things take on a momentum that Ros can’t control.

Ros is surprised that their school turns out to be supportive of their identity. But what’s the next move?  And what will happen when Eddy finds out?