Kayla Chase, Auburn Public Library’s teen librarian, has selected her top five young adult fiction books of 2021. They include:

“Raybearer” by Jordan Ifueko: Tarisai was raised by an absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the Aritsar, not to compete to be on the Crown Prince Council, but to kill the prince. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn, but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?

“The Inheritance Games” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: When a Connecticut teenager inherits vast wealth and an eccentric estate from the richest man in Texas, she must also live with his surviving family and solve a series of puzzles to discover how she earned her inheritance.

“Cemetery Boys” by Aiden Thomas: Yadriel, a trans boy, summons the angry spirit of his high school’s bad boy, and agrees to help him learn how he died, thereby proving himself a brujo, not a bruja, to his conservative family.

“Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley: Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.

“What I Carry” by Jennifer Longo: Growing up in foster care, Muir has lived in many houses. And if she’s learned one thing : carry only what fits in a suitcase. Toothbrush? Yes. Socks? Yes. Emotional attachment to friends? Foster families? A boyfriend? Nope.

Muir has just one year left before she ages out of the system. One year before she’s free. One year to avoid anything — or anyone — that could get in her way. Then she meets Francine. And Kira. And Sean. And everything changes.

For more information on the library, visit auburnpubliclibrary.org.