Popular African Young Adult Books
Find young adult books written by authors from Africa for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (15)
1.
Auf dem Strom by Hermann Schulz DE
TanzaniaDescription:
Als der Missionar Friedrich Ganse nach einer Reise nach Bujora zurückkehrt, ist seine Frau Eva tot und seine Tochter Gertrud lebensgefährlich erkrankt. Der herbeigeeilte Schamane des afrikanischen Dorfes hilft Gertrud mit seinen Heilkünsten, und doch sieht er nur einen Weg, das Leben des Kindes zu retten: Vater und Tochter müssen die lange Fahrt mit dem Boot flussabwärts auf sich nehmen, damit Gertrud im Krankenhaus behandelt werden kann. Fünf Tage und fünf Nächte ist er mit dem Kind unterwegs. Unterbrochen wird ihre Fahrt mit dem Boot durch kurze Landg&... continue
2.
Aya: Life in Yop City by Marguerite Abouet, Clément Oubrerie EN
Country: Africa / 
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast
Description:
"Aya is an irresistible comedy, a couple of love stories and a tale for becoming African. It's essential reading." -Joann Sfar, cartoonist of The Rabbi's Cat Ivory Coast, 1978. It's a golden time, and the nation, too-an oasis of affluence and stability in West Africa-seems fueled by something wondrous. Aya is loosely based upon Marguerite Abouet's youth in Yop City. It is the story of the studious and clear-sighted nineteen-year-old Aya, her easygoing friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It's a wryly funny, breezy account of the simple pleasures and private tr... continue
Kenya4.
Der Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien DE
Country: Africa / 
South Africa
South Africa
Description:
Als der Hobbit Bilbo Beutlin eines Tages Besuch von dem grossen Zauberer Gandalf bekommt, schwant ihm nichts Gutes. Fast gegen seinen Willen, aber dann doch von der Abenteuerlust gepackt, schliesst er sich einer Expedition von 13 Zwergen an, um ihnen als Meisterdieb zu helfen, ihren Zwergenschatz zurückzustehlen, auf dem der Drache Smaug tief im Schicksalsberg schläft. Auf seiner Reise findet Bilbo einen Ring, der ihn zu seinem Entzücken unsichtbar macht, als er vor dem mordlustigen Gollum weglaufen muss. Auch beim Auskundschaften des Drachenhorts leistet der Ring ihm unschätzbare Dienste. Als... continue
5.
Iyanu - Child of Wonder Volume One by Roye Okupe EN
NigeriaDescription:
It has been over a thousand years since the age of wonders - a time where the Divine Ones blessed Yorubaland with spiritual, structural, and technological marvels. But in the blink of an eye, it all vanished, and all that was left were remnants of an ancient, advanced civilization. As humankind forges ahead, culture becomes knowledge, knowledge becomes history, and history becomes mythology. Until Iyanu. A teenage orphan girl with no recollection of her past who suddenly discovers that she has hidden powers that rival the Divine Ones themselves. It is these abilities that are the key to bringi... continue
6.
Le dernier frère by Nathacha Appanah FR
MauritiusDescription:
Lorsque David lui apparaît en rêve, Raj se retrouve projeté dans son enfance : une plantation de champs de canne, le père à la violence imprévisible, la tendresse de la mère, les jeux près de la rivière avec ses frères... Un bonheur précaire balayé par un cyclone, et l’installation de la famille au centre de l’île, près d’une prison où vivent de mystérieux réfugiés. Le 26 décembre 1940, L’Atlantic accoste à Port-Louis avec, à son bord, quelque 1500 Juifs refoulés de Palestine et déportés à l’île Maurice, alors colonie britannique. À cette époque, Raj ignore tout du monde et des tragédies qui s... continue
7.
Our Beautiful Darkness by Ondjaki EN
AngolaDescription:
A blackout leads two teens to discover the intimacy and vulnerability that can only be shared in darkness in Our Beautiful Darkness, a fully illustrated YA novella from celebrated Angolan author Ondjaki and illustrator António Jorge Gonçalves. Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann The light goes out suddenly. And in this absence of light, a pair of teenagers bare their souls. Into the warm silence of the night, they share a conversation filled with their stories and dreams... and maybe even a first kiss. Set against the backdrop of the civil war that ravaged Angola in the 1990s, th... continue
8.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi EN
Description:
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by The New York Times • Time • Buzzfeed • NPR • New York Public Library • Publishers Weekly • School Library Journal A genre-defying novel from the award-winning author NPR describes as “like [Madeline] L’Engle…glorious.” A singular book that explores themes of identity and justice. Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look? There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best... continue
9.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie EN
Description:
Fifteen-year-old Kambili's world is circumscribed by the high walls and frangipani trees of her family compound. Her wealthy Catholic father, under whose shadow Kambili lives, while generous and politically active in the community, is repressive and fanatically religious at home. When Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili's father sends her and her brother away to stay with their aunt, a University professor, whose house is noisy and full of laughter. There, Kambili and her brother discover a life and love beyond the confines of their father's authority. The visit will li... continue
10.
Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn EN
EswatiniDescription:
From Los Angeles Times Book Prize Award winner and Edgar Award nominee Malla Nunn comes a stunning portrait of a family divided and a powerful story of how friendship saves and heals. When Amandla wakes up on her fifteenth birthday, she knows it's going to be one of her mother's difficult days. Her mother has had another vision. This one involves Amandla wearing a bedsheet loosely stitched as a dress. An outfit, her mother says, is certain to bring Amandla's father back home, as if he were the prince and this was the fairytale ending their family was destined for. But in truth, Amandla's fathe... continue