Popular European Young Adult Books
Find young adult books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (91)
71.
The Copenhagen Trilogy : Childhood; Youth; Dependency by Tove Ditlevsen EN
DenmarkDescription:
Called "a masterpiece" by The Guardian, this courageous and honest trilogy from Tove Ditlevsen, a pioneer in the field of genre-bending confessional writing, explores themes of family, sex, motherhood, abortion, addiction, and being an artist. This single-volume hardcover contains all three volumes of her memoirs Tove Ditlevsen is today celebrated as one of the most important and unique voices in twentieth-century Danish literature, and The Copenhagen Trilogy (1969–71) is her acknowledged masterpiece. Childhood tells the story of a misfit child’s single-minded determination to become a poet; Y... continue
72.
The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke EN
BelarusDescription:
Sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum time-travels to 1988 East Berlin, where she meets members of an underground guild who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the wall, and learns that someone is using dark magic to change history.
73.
The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea EN
IrelandDescription:
When a ten-year-old boy finds an old book of magic in a bookshop in Ireland, the forces of good and evil gather to do battle over it.
74.
The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers EN
GermanyDescription:
It has been more than two hundred years since Bookholm was destroyed by a devastating fire, as told in Moers's The City of Dreaming Books. Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, hailed as Zamonia's greatest writer, is on vacation in Lindworm Castle when a disturbing message reaches him, and he must return to Bookholm to investigate a mystery. The magnificently rebuilt city has once again become a metropolis of storytelling and the book trade. Mythenmetz encounters old friends and new denizens of the city - and the shadowy "Invisible Theater." Astonishingly inventive, amusing, and engrossing, this is a cap... continue
75.
The mauve umbrella by Alki Zei EN
GreeceDescription:
The Mauve Umbrella is a story of two worlds – the adult world of approaching war and the children’s world of close friendships, rivalry and games of the imagination. Eleftheria lives somewhere in Marousi, Athens, with her parents and younger, identical twin, brothers. It is shortly before the war in 1940 and she is nine, going on ten. The children’s best friend is the daughter of a rich family in the neighbourhood. Later, a young French boy arrives, escaping from Nazi occupied France, to live with his French uncle, who lives in the apartment above Eleftheria’s family.
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76.
The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg EN
SwedenDescription:
Mika is not your average twelve-year-old--and she's about to prove it. It's 1880, and in the frigid city of Stockholm, death lurks around every corner. Twelve-year-old Mika knows that everyone in her orphanage will struggle to survive this winter. But at least the notorious serial killer the Night Raven is finally off the streets...or is he? Mika is shocked when a newborn baby is left at the orphanage in the middle of the night, by a boy with a cryptic message. Who is he? And who is this "Dark Angel" he speaks of? When a detective shows up, Mika senses something even more sinister is going on.... continue
77.
The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder EN
NorwayDescription:
'My father died eleven years ago. I was only four then. I never thought I'd hear from him again, but now we're writing a book together' To Georg Røed, his father is no more than a shadow, a distant memory. But then one day his grandmother discovers some pages stuffed into the lining of an old red pushchair. The pages are a letter to Georg, written just before his father died, and a story, 'The Orange Girl'. But 'The Orange Girl' is no ordinary story - it is a riddle from the past and centres around an incident in his father's youth. One day he boarded a tram and was captivated by a beautiful g... continue
78.
The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven EN
Country: Europe / 
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
A dark academia thriller romance with a supernatural twist. From the winner of the Comedy Women in Print Prize 'An intimate exploration of women's anger, bladed with mystery and sapphic desire. Laura Steven has cut a modern Gothic gem, leaving room for glints of her trademark humour' - Samantha Shannon Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the infamous North Tower murders at the elite Carvell College of Arts, forcing Carvell to close its doors. Now Carvell is reopening, and fearless student Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her roommate, Alice, stumbles... continue
79.
The Surface Breaks: a Reimagining of the Little Mermaid by Louise O’Neill EN
Description:
Think you know the story of The Little Mermaid? Think again... This is a book with the darkest of undercurrents, full of rage and rallying cries: storytelling at its most spellbinding. Deep beneath the sea, off the cold Irish coast, Gaia is a young mermaid who dreams of freedom from her controlling father. On her first swim to the surface, she is drawn towards a human boy. She longs to join his carefree world, but how much will she have to sacrifice? What will it take for the little mermaid to find her voice? Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminis... continue
80.
The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke EN
Country: Europe / 
Netherlands
Netherlands
Description:
Neil Gaiman meets Hans Christian Andersen in this delicious fairy tale full of mysterious spirits, daring escapes, and a beautiful message about the power of found families. In all the years that Elinora Gassbeek has been matron of the Little Tulip Orphanage, not once have the Rules for Baby Abandonment been broken. Until the autumn of 1880, when five babies are left in outrageous circumstances; one in a tin toolbox, one in a coal bucket, one in a picnic hamper, one in a wheat sack, and finally, one in a coffin-shaped basket. Those babies were Lotta, Egg, Fenna, Sem, and Milou. And although th... continue