Written by Eleanor Surridge

It’s been a pleasure for me to return to my roots and seek out recent YA Canadian Literature. In some ways, the writing that is coming out of Canada is similar to what we’re seeing from the US and the UK but, like Canada itself, the stories are distinct, infused with unique culture and varied voices.

I’ll begin by sharing some of my thoughts on three of the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Awards’ short-listed titles for Young People’s Literature.

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Crash Landing (2024) by Li Charmaine Anne (Winner; 296 pages; realistic fiction, LGBTQ2S, coming-of-age)

The winner of the 2024 Governor General’s Award for Young People’s Literature is the debut novel by Li Charmaine Anne. The story barrels along beside Jay, a rising high-school senior in a Vancouver suburb. Of Cantonese descent but feeling that second-generation pull away from her mother tongue as well as her parents’ traditional outlook on life, Jay loves skateboarding and filmmaking and when she meets Ash, she starts to flip out. It’s Labour Day Monday, 2010, and Jay is working on her kickflip when Ash skates up out of nowhere and what follows is a ride worth taking. This is a coming-of-age novel that addresses the realities of teenage life in much of Canada—drugs, sex, peer pressure, parental expectations—but with a skater twist and an LGBTQ2S focus. At its heart, this novel is about friendship and family and the freedom to choose; Charmaine Anne achieves a balance of all three in a story to which many of our nonconforming teens can connect.

You can buy a copy of Crash Landing here or find it in a library here. (Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission.)

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Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams (2024) by Shari Green (304 pages; novel-in-verse, historical fiction)

It is August, 1989, and Helena’s life will never be the same. In this music-infused history of the weeks leading up to the break-up of the Soviet Union, our narrator, Helena, is a 16-year-old classical pianist and aspiring conductor in Leipzig, GDR (East Germany). Her voice is compelling—cautious and caring and drenched in the love of the classical piano she plays as she dreams of becoming “Conductor,” the nickname given by her best friend, Kristen. When the latter’s family secretly escapes to Austria, Helena is bereft but finds the courage to love, trust, and move to the streets alongside others to peacefully protest corrupt elections and travel bans. An unlikely character in this narrative is the Nikolaikirche—or St. Nicholas Cathedral—whose voice in the novel speaks of history and strength and the witness long-standing architecture bears on ephemeral political experiments. Green compels the reader to marvel along with Helena that the world can actually change overnight. Beautifully rendered, Helena’s story of this tumultuous time reminds us that giving voice and not violence can upend tyranny and that young adults have a place in these historical turning points. This book will strike a chord with lovers of classical music, lovely words, and historical fiction.

You can buy a copy of Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams here or find it in a library here. (Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission.)

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Surviving the City: We Are the Medicine (Surviving the City #3) (2024) by Tasha Spillett and illustrated by Natasha Donovan (64 pages; graphic novel, First Nations) 

This is the final volume in the Surviving the City trilogy by Tasha Spillett. Set in Winnipeg in May of 2021, this brief episode in the lives of Dez, Miikwan, Riel, Kacey and Ginebig, is motivated by the discovery of the remains of over 200 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, BC. Spillett’s narrative presents readers with horrific episodes in Canadian colonial history as seen through the eyes of engaged and active First Nations youth. While their anger is justified, these young people find peaceful means to protest the injustices they see continuing to be perpetuated against their people. Although brief, this book is also rich in history, presence, and artistry. Donovan’s illustrations illuminate the narrative in distinct and relevant ways. The careful use of light and contrast dapple daydreams and shimmer in the heat of the campfire. Portrayal of lost family and friends in reflections and standing behind the living show more than the characters can say. While it works as a stand-alone graphic novel, We Are the Medicine is best read within the series in order to get a fuller sense of character development and growth throughout Dez and Miikwan’s story.

You can buy a copy of We Are the Medicine here or find it in a library here. (Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission.)

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The other two books nominated for the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Awards for Young People’s Literature were A Crane Among Wolves (2024) by June Hur (363 pages; historical fiction, romance) and Into the Bright Open (2023) by Cherie Dimaline (Remixed Classic #8 The Secret Garden; 288 pages; historical fiction, fantasy, LGBTQ).

You can find past GG winners here. 

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If you are looking for other recent publications written by Canadians writing for young adults, here are two English-language Canadian publishers worth following.

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Groundwood Books, part of the House of Anansi, specializes in finding and developing new Canadian YA and children’s writers. Here are some of their more recent YA publications. Title links will take you to the website where you can read a full description of each book.

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Title: Genocide: Revised and Expanded Edition (2024)

Written and edited by: Jane Springer
(NB: She is also a translator)
Series: Groundwork Guides
Teachers Guide from the publisher
Illustrated by: Santiago Solís Montes de Oca (Mexican)

(186 pages; graphic novel; nonfiction)

What is genocide? Why does it happen? What can be done to prevent it from happening again?

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Title: First Times: Short Stories about Sex (2025)

Edited by: Karine Glorieux, with stories by Laurence Beaudoin Masse, Edith Chouinard, Vanessa Duchel, Schelby Jean-Baptiste, Alexandra Larochelle, Jérémie Larouche, Nicolas Michon, Olivier Simard and Pierre-Yves Villeneuve
Translated from French by: Shelley Tanaka

(137 pages; short stories; works in translation)

A balm for adolescent anxiety, this inclusive collection offers sometimes imperfect but always frank short stories of first sexual experiences.

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Title: Who We Are in Real Life (2024)

Written by: Victoria Koops

(288 pages; romance, LGBTQ, fantasy)

Fans of Rainbow Rowell and Casey McQuiston will fall for this story of tabletop gaming, romance and epic campaigns — both in game and IRL.

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Title: Wavelength (2025)

Written by: Cale Plett

(406 pages; coming in Oct. 2025) 

Hannah Montana meets Heartstopper in this story of a teen pop star on the run from fame who finds family, love and gender euphoria when they become entangled with a local band.

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Annick Press is an independent children’s publisher based in Toronto. Here are some of their more recent YA publications. Title links will take you to the Annick Press website where you can read a full description of each book.

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Title: The Dark Cove Theatre Society (2025)

Written by: Sierra Marilyn Riley

(280 pages; coming in Oct. 2025; dark academia, mental illness) 

An aspiring young actor must find her place at a cutthroat arts boarding school in this gothic YA debut for fans of Ace of Spades and If We Were Villains.

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Title: Soul Machine (2025)

Written by: Jordana Globerman

(228 pages; coming in June 2025; graphic novel)

A Wrinkle in Time meets Brave New World in this thought-provoking debut graphic novel about one girl’s quest to save her family’s livelihood—and maybe existence itself.

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Title: Under All the Lights (2024)

Written by: Maya Ameyaw

Series: When It All Syncs Up #2
Discussion questions from the publisher

(320 pages; realistic fiction, mental health)

A songwriter wrestles with instant stardom and his bisexuality in this raw and propulsive novel for fans of If This Gets Out and Alice Oseman’s I Was Born for This.

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Title: Ours to Tell: Reclaiming Indigenous Stories (2025)

Written by: Eldon Yellowhorn & Kathy Lowinger

(140 pages; nonfiction, First Nations)

A wide-ranging anthology that shines a light on untold Indigenous stories as chronicled by Indigenous creators, compiled by the acclaimed team behind What the Eagle Sees and Sky Wolf’s Call.

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And just a few more…

Read Quebec promotes English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec. Here are some of the more recent YA publications by Canadian authors. Title links will take you to the Read Quebec website where you can read a full description of each book.

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Title: The Language of the Stars: The Scientific Story of a Few Billion Years in a Few Hundred Pages (2025)

Written by Nathan Hellner-Mestelman

(176 pages; nonfiction)

From the 16-year-old science-writing sensation, this book takes you through every reason we’re alive in this universe coupled with every cosmic force trying to kill us. In this quirky medley of science and speculation, we’ll cover every common thread weaving across our cosmos.

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Title: Miss Matty (2025)

Written by Edeet Ravel

(220 pages; historical fiction)

Fran longs to be a star of stage and screen, but she’s too poor to afford elocution and dance lessons. When she lands the leading role of Miss Matty in a school production of Cranford, she’s determined to make a splash even though World War II rages in Europe.

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Title: Muybridge: In a Fraction of a Seconde (2025)

Written by Guy Delisle

Translated from the French by Helge Dascher & Rob Aspinall

(208 pages; graphic novel, nonfiction)

From the acclaimed author of Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China and Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, comes a biography about Eadweard Muybridge, the man who made pictures move.

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Eleanor Surridge has been teaching internationally for 27 years. She completed her undergraduate degree in Canada, her home country, and has a Masters in Library Science from a US university. She is currently the PreK-12 Teacher-Librarian at the International School of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia where she has worked and loved the landscape for 7 years. Before that she worked as the Secondary Teacher-Librarian at the International School of Tianjin, China. She has also worked in international schools in Morocco, Latvia and Turkey. 

Katie Day is an international school teacher-librarian in Singapore and has been an American expatriate for almost 40 years (most of those in Asia). She is currently the chair of the 2025 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize and co-chair of the Neev Book Award in India, as well as heavily involved with the Singapore Red Dot Book Awards. Katie was the guest curator on the GLLI blog for the UN #SDGLitMonth in March 2021 and guest co-curator for #IndiaKidLitMonth in September 2022.