Kirkus Best Books of the Year Winners YA Mystery and Thriller

Awards List

2024

Pangu's Shadow

Pangu's Shadow (*)
Karen Bao

Feb-2024
/ Mystery

Icarus

Icarus (*)
K. Ancrum

Apr-2024
/ Mystery

Sheine Lende

Sheine Lende (*)
Darcie Little Badger

Apr-2024
/ General Fiction

A Darker Mischief

A Darker Mischief (*)
Derek Milman

Jul-2024
/ General Fiction

Compound Fracture

Compound Fracture (*)
Andrew Joseph White

Sep-2024
/ General Fiction

Ruin Road

Ruin Road (*)
Lamar Giles

Sep-2024
/ Science Fiction / Fantasy

Tangleroot

Tangleroot (*)
Kalela Williams

Oct-2024
/ General Fiction

Darkly

Darkly (*)
Marisha Pessl

Dec-2024
/ General Fiction

2023

My Flawless Life

My Flawless Life (*)
Yvonne Woon

Feb-2023
/ Mystery

A Long Stretch of Bad Days

A Long Stretch of Bad Days (*)
Mindy McGinnis

Mar-2023
/ Mystery

Into the Light

Into the Light (*)
Mark Oshiro

Apr-2023
/ General Fiction

Warrior Girl Unearthed

Warrior Girl Unearthed (*)
Angeline Boulley

May-2023
/ General Fiction

Good as Gold

Good as Gold (*)
Candace Buford

Jun-2023
/ Mystery

Some Shall Break

Some Shall Break (*)
Ellie Marney

Jun-2023
/ Mystery

And Don't Look Back

And Don't Look Back (*)
Rebecca Barrow

Oct-2023
/ Mystery

Bittersweet in the Hollow

Bittersweet in the Hollow (*)
Kate Pearsall

Oct-2023
/ Fantasy

The Voice Upstairs

The Voice Upstairs (*)
Laura E. Weymouth

Oct-2023
/ Horror

2022

Queen of the Tiles

Queen of the Tiles (*)
Hanna Alkaf

Apr-2022
/ Mystery

Very Bad People

Very Bad People (*)
Kit Frick

Apr-2022
/ Mystery

Family of Liars

Family of Liars (*)
E. Lockhart

May-2022
/ Mystery

Hollow Fires

Hollow Fires (*)
Samira Ahmed

May-2022
/ Mystery

The Arc

The Arc (*)
Ben Oliver

Aug-2022
/ Mystery

I'm the Girl

I'm the Girl (*)
Courtney Summers

Sep-2022
/ Mystery

Nothing More to Tell

Nothing More to Tell (*)
Karen M. McManus

Sep-2022
/ Mystery

The Lies We Tell

The Lies We Tell (*)
Katie Zhao

Nov-2022
/ Mystery

2021

The Girls I've Been

The Girls I've Been (*)
Tess Sharpe

Feb-2021
/ Mystery

The Project

The Project (*)
Courtney Summers

Feb-2021
/ Thriller

She's Too Pretty to Burn

She's Too Pretty to Burn (*)
Wendy Heard

Apr-2021
/ Mystery

The Block

The Block (*)
Ben Oliver

May-2021
/ Mystery

All Our Hidden Gifts

All Our Hidden Gifts (*)
Caroline O'Donoghue

Jun-2021
/ Paranormal Romance

The Box in the Woods

The Box in the Woods (*)
Maureen Johnson

Jun-2021
/ Mystery

The Dead and the Dark

The Dead and the Dark (*)
Courtney Gould

Aug-2021
/ Paranormal Romance

The River Has Teeth

The River Has Teeth (*)
Erica Waters

Aug-2021
/ Mystery

White Smoke

White Smoke (*)
Tiffany D. Jackson

Sep-2021
/ Mystery

2020

The Hand on the Wall

The Hand on the Wall (*)
Maureen Johnson

Jan-2020
/ Mystery

The Loop

The Loop (*)
Ben Oliver

Apr-2020
/ Mystery

Agnes at the End of the World

Agnes at the End of the World (*)
Kelly McWilliams

Jun-2020
/ General Fiction

Girl, Unframed

Girl, Unframed (*)
Deb Caletti

Jun-2020
/ Mystery

Elatsoe

Elatsoe (*)
Darcie Little Badger

Aug-2020
/ Fantasy

The Inheritance Games

The Inheritance Games (*)
Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Sep-2020
/ Mystery

Surrender Your Sons

Surrender Your Sons (*)
Adam Sass

Sep-2020
/ General Fiction

Throwaway Girls

Throwaway Girls (*)
Andrea Contos

Sep-2020
/ Mystery

Me & Mr. Cigar

Me & Mr. Cigar (*)
Gibby Haynes

May-2021
/ General Fiction

Award Categories

Affirming Picture Books

Beginning Readers

Book Club Fiction

Books for Beginning Readers

Empowering Picture Books

Environmental Fiction

Fiction in Translation

Fictional Families

Fictional Voices

Funniest Picture Books

Historical Fiction

Informational Picture Books

Joyous Picture Books

Middle-Grade About Speaking Up

Middle-Grade Activist

Middle-Grade Adventures

Middle-Grade Family Stories

Middle-Grade Fantasy and SF

Middle-Grade Fiction

Middle-Grade Friendship Stories

Middle-Grade Graphic Fiction

Award Years