Current List
A high school reading list for the State of Texas.
TAYSHAS takes its name from the Caddo Indian word meaning “friends or allies.” Written as texas, texios, tejas, teyas or tayshas, the word was applied to the Caddos by the Spanish in eastern Texas, who regarded them as friends and allies against the Apaches.
The goal of the TAYSHAS reading list is to motivate young adults to become lifelong readers and to participate in the community of readers in Texas. Students in grades 9 – 12 are encouraged to read books for pleasure from the list which includes fiction and nonfiction titles.
2021 TAYSHAS Reading List – Printable Versions
2021 TAYSHAS READING LIST – by Author
2021 TAYSHAS Reading List – by Title
2021 TAYSHAS ANNOTATED READING LIST
2021 TAYSHAS Reading List by Author
Titles in bold indicate a TAYSHAS Top Ten Book.
*Top Ten Books are selected from those which received a unanimous vote in the committee’s initial voting process.
| Author | Title |
| Acevedo, Elizabeth | Clap When You Land |
| Ali, S.K. | Love from A to Z |
| Bates, Laura | The Burning |
| Bieschke, Marke | Into the Streets: A Young Person’s Visual History of Protest in the United States |
| Buxbaum, Julie | Hope and Other Punchlines |
| Charbonneau, Joelle | Verify |
| Colbert, Brandy | The Revolution of Birdie Randolph |
| Colbert, Brandy | The Voting Booth |
| Collins, Bridget | The Binding |
| Cook, Eileen | You Owe Me a Murder |
| Culley, Betty | Three Things I Know Are True |
| Dessen, Sarah | The Rest of the Story |
| Deuker, Carl | Golden Arm |
| Devos, Kelly | Day Zero |
| Diaz, Natasha | Color Me In |
| Dugan, Jennifer | Hot Dog Girl |
| Dugan, Jennifer | Verona Comics |
| Edsel, Robert M. | The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History: The Story of the Monuments Men |
| Elston, Ashley | 10 Blind Dates |
| Ernshaw, Shea | Winterwood |
| Feder, Tyler | Dancing at the Pity Party |
| Fountain, Ele | Refugee 87 |
| Ha, Robin | Almost American Girl |
| Herbach, Geoff | Cracking the Bell |
| Hunter, CC | In Another Life |
| Iacopelli, Jennifer | Break the Fall |
| Jackson, Holly | A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder |
| Jackson, Tiffany | Grown |
| King, A.S. | Dig |
| Kisner, Adrienne | Six Angry Girls |
| Konigsberg, Bill | The Bridge |
| Kuhn, Sarah | Shadow of the Batgirl |
| Lake, Nick | Nowhere on Earth |
| Lawson, Liz | The Lucky Ones |
| Levenseller, Tricia | The Shadows Between Us |
| Levenseller, Tricia | Warrior of the Wild |
| Liggett, Kim | The Grace Year |
| Lord, Emma | Tweet Cute |
| Loutzenhiser, Katy | If You’re Out There |
| Lyga, Barry and Morgan Baden | The Hive |
| Mann, J. Albert | The Degenerates |
| Mather, Adriana | Killing November |
| McCauley, Kyrie | If These Wings Could Fly |
| McGinnis, Mindy | Be Not Far From Me |
| McLaughlin, Kate | What Unbreakable Looks Like |
| McManus, Karen | One of Us is Next |
| Mendez, Matt | Barely Missing Everything |
| Menon, Sandhya | Of Curses and Kisses |
| Morris, Brittany | Slay |
| Napolitano, Ann | Dear Edward |
| Noone, Gabby | Layoverland |
| Panetta, Kevin | Bloom |
| Peevyhouse, Parker | Strange Exit |
| Peterson, Megan Cooley | The Liar’s Daughter |
| Power, Rory | Burn Our Bodies Down |
| Quinn, Kate Karyus | Not Hungry |
| Reynolds, Jason | Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You |
| Rhoads, Sandra Fernandez | Mortal Sight |
| Rothenberg, Jess | The Kingdom |
| Ryan, Tom | Keep This to Yourself |
| Scholte, Astrid | The Vanishing Deep |
| Segal, Gilly and Kimberly Jones | I’m Not Dying With You Tonight |
| Sheinmel, Alyssa | What Kind of Girl |
| Shields, Breeana | The Bone Charmer |
| Smedley, Zack | Deposing Nathan |
| Smith, Sherri L. | The Blossom and the Firefly |
| Spaulding, Amy | We Used to Be Friends |
| Stolarz, Laurie Faria | Jane Anonymous |
| Stone, Nic | Jackpot |
| Takei, George, with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott | They Called Us Enemy |
| Vega, Danielle | The Haunted |
| Walker, Suzanne | Mooncakes |
| Wibberley, Emily and Austin Siegemund-Broka | If I’m Being Honest |
| Wilson, Kip | White Rose |
| Winters, Cat | The Raven’s Tale |
| Yang, Gene Luen | Dragon Hoops |
| Yoon, David | Frankly in Love |
| Yousafzai, Malala | We Are Displaced |
| Zoboi, Ibi (Editor) | Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America |
TLA Thanks Our Sponsor:
 |
Young Adult Reading Incentive Award
Latest News
View all NewsBetween the Lines: September Member Spotlight
Jenny Filardo Middle School Librarian Presbyterian School in Houston What inspired you to become a librarian? When I began my master’s degree at UT Austin over 28 years ago, it was with the intent of working in museums or archives. The very last class of my degree, however, was Materials for Children, and that one […]
Read MoreStatement Opposing Restrictions on Education Related to Racism and History
The Texas Library Association Executive Board approved the following statement related to efforts to restrict education related to racism and history on August 10. The Texas Library Association’s (TLA) core values include diversity and inclusiveness, equity of access to information, ethical responsibility and integrity, intellectual freedom, literacy and lifelong learning, and social responsibility and the […]
Read More
Great benefits for TLA Institutional members!
POs accepted for TLA Annual Conference registration, discounted pricing for Grant Station, NonProfit Liability Insurance, and more.