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2024 will welcome a bumper crop of new YA books to shelves — and if you're searching for more South Asian characters, these South Asian authors have got you covered. There's crime thrillers and romances and fantasies (oh my!), as well as touching, emotional coming-of-age tales that are guaranteed to jerk some tears.
The following list of 10 titles written by South Asian authors includes something for every reader. These stories are set in imaginary worlds and our own world, depicting experiences across the South Asian diaspora.
They touch on family and faith, the personal and the political; debut works abound, including Arushi Avachat's cinematic Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment, Ambika Vohra's hijinx-filled The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal, and Suja Sukumar's suspenseful When Mimi Went Missing.
Ready for a good read in the new year? Below, check out the top 10 YA books by South Asian authors to keep an eye out for in 2024.
JANUARY
Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat
As her sister's wedding approaches, high school senior Arya must navigate her father’s workaholism and her mother’s depression, the fallout of her two best friends breaking up, and a tense partnership with Dean Merriweather, her rival and the very handsome student council president. UCLA senior Avachat’s Bollywood-esque and culturally rich debut about first love, family, and forgiveness is “lovable, frothy, and happy-making,” according to Kirkus.
A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel
Sajni Patel “unflinchingly addresses themes of sexual assault and rape culture, trauma, and consent in this bold fusion of the Medusa myth and Indian folklore,” writes Publishers Weekly in its starred review. Told in the alternating perspectives of 16-year-old Manisha, a fierce temple priestess who can turn men into stone, and 17-year-old Pratyush, a charismatic monster-slayer who has to kill the woman he loves in service of an evil king, this feminist reimagining of Medusa’s origins is equal parts thrilling fantasy and slow-burn romance.
Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia
When 15-year-old Tara Rituveni, who is the first trans student at all-girls Ainsley Academy, tries to join an illustrious society that offers hefty scholarship dollars called the Sibyls, the club’s sponsor and Ainsley’s most successful alumna Evangeline Beaumont attacks her in the media. Tara is unwittingly thrust into the center of a larger argument about the meaning of girlhood and whether the club should exist at all. “Kanakia’s exploration of the spaces between social and medical transition is heartfelt and necessary, and Tara’s complex and realistically contradictory emotions around her experiences are effectively conveyed,” writes Publishers Weekly in its review.
FEBRUARY
This is How You Fall in Love by Anika Hussain
First published in the U.K. in 2023, Anika Hussain’s U.S. debut pairs two Bangladeshi-British teens, 90’s rom-com superfan Zara and her best friend Adnan, who agree to fake-date in an effort to cover up Adnan's secret relationship. “The fake dating scenario may be familiar but this delightful romantic comedy takes a thoughtful look at romance tropes and expectations, full of heart and candour,” writes The Guardian.
Illusions of Fire by Nisha Sharma
Nisha Sharma, who is perhaps best known for her swoony contemporary YA romances, turns to paranormal urban fantasy in this richly imagined magic and Hindu mythology-infused thriller. Raised by a trio of rakshasi demon-aunties in sleepy, upstate New York, Laila Bansal descends from a bloodline entrusted with Lord Krishna’s secrets of the universe. Avhi, on the other hand, is a cocky demigod and warrior-in-training. Dark forces are set into motion when the pair’s paths collide, and it rests on them to save the world from destruction.
MAY
This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed
In this ripped-from-the-headlines social suspense thriller, senior Noor Khan discovers that hundreds of books by queer and BIPOC authors have been labeled “obscene” or “pornographic” and are being removed from her school library. Alongside librarians and teachers, authors and parents, Noor and her peers fight for their values: democracy and free speech. Ahmed draws from personal experience: her novels have been widely-banned. “The voices of those who want to challenge books or censor books or ban books are very loud,” she said in an interview with NPR. “But I assure you, they are the minority.”
Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin
In this near-future dystopia by Emmy-winning and Pulitzer-nominated journalist Seema Yasmin, two Muslim girls in Texas are forced to navigate bodily autonomy in a post-Roe landscape. In response to unfair laws, aspiring OB-GYN Laylah and aspiring journalist Noor work on an illegal guide to abortion in the state; amidst the fight for their lives, the best friends also uncover secrets closer to home within their family and community.
JUNE
Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar
This enemies-to-lovers rom-com is co-penned by Black-British and Bangladeshi-Irish writers Àbíké-Íyímídé (author of Ace of Spades) and Jaigirdar (Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating). Four Eids and a Funeral stars Said Hossain and Tiwa Olatunji, a pair who used to be inseparable but haven’t spoken after an incident during a fateful Eid eight years ago. When disaster strikes and the Islamic center in their town burns down, Tiwa desperately needs Said’s help. “It felt right to write a story that takes back the narrative of Muslims in the media, and centres Black and brown Muslims with nuance,” the authors told The Bookseller.
AUGUST
The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Ambika Vohra
When a Stanford University admissions essay prompt asks straight-laced high school senior Aisha Agarwal to detail what she’s done to get out of her comfort zone, she strikes a deal with a new friend, fellow senior Quentin Santos. If she can get him to pass math, he will create a wall of sticky notes containing daring, boundary-pushing to-dos. Ambika Vohra’s debut is a charming story of finding yourself when you least expect it.
NOVEMBER
When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar
In this heartstopping debut, nerdy Tanvi must uncover what happened to Mimi, her popular cousin, before she is framed for a crime. With her beloved aunt suffering a mental breakdown, Tanvi hunts for suspects — including Mimi’s dealer boyfriend, an ex-best friend turned stalker, and the school jock — and desperately tries to uncover who is behind a letter left on Tanvi’s bed giving her a week to confess to a crime she doesn’t remember committing.
