In a world where attention spans are short and people are always anticipating the next new thing—even in the book world, where patience is rewarded!—it’s easy to miss some real gems. Before we enter 2024, make sure you check out these 2023 titles that may have flown under your radar. They present original voices and memorably told stories.

All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri (Norton Young Readers, Jan. 3): It may come in at under 200 pages, but this slim novel from an award-winning Zimbabwean author carries an emotional impact out of all proportion to its length. When Mama dies and the family starts unraveling, Baba takes 14-year-old Mati and her siblings to Zimbabwe to visit family. During their road trip, British-born Mati meets Meticais, a fantastical being only she can see.

Free Radicals by Lila Riesen (Nancy Paulsen Books, March 21): Mafi, 16, has an ordinary public persona and an undercover role as her school’s anonymous prankster-for-hire, doling out doses of karma. She also has a dual cultural identity as the blond daughter of an Afghan immigrant dad and a white American mom. Family traumas, Islamophobia, institutional exploitation of diversity, and the fear-motivated secrets of loving parents converge in this page-turning debut.

The Bones of Birka: Unraveling the Mystery of a Female Viking Warrior by C.M. Surrisi (Chicago Review Press, April 18): The Vikings have inspired a legion of myths and misconceptions, a testament to their hold on our imaginations—and the ways we use this historical people to support contemporary cultural narratives. Surrisi offers a meticulously researched, clearly explicated account of a fascinating 19^th-century archaeological find: a settlement in Sweden with a grave containing bones that continue to upend our assumptions about Viking gender roles.

Hope Against Hope by Sheena Wilkinson (Little Island, May 9): Ireland’s complex, painful history of division and strife is given a human face and a hopeful twist in this charming, accessible story that centers on a Belfast hostel for Catholic and Protestant girls. Polly, 15, flees domestic and emotional burdens, leaving behind her village for Helen’s Hope and staking out bold dreams for her future. But rising political tensions spill over, affecting the young women residents.

I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C.F. Rogers (Feiwel & Friends, July 11): This gut-wrenching debut tells the story of Marisol, a white and Filipina teen whose life is spiraling out of control in the wake of her mother’s sudden death. Wracked with guilt over their conflict-filled relationship, Marisol manifests her grief through harmful acting out, soon landing her in juvie. But a new friendship opens up a path to genuine healing and self-acceptance.

I’ll Tell You No Lies by Amanda McCrina (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Aug. 1): Would you trust a stranger you’ve just met, someone the government regards as dangerous? The summer of 1955, right before she leaves for college, Shelby and her intelligence officer father move to upstate New York’s Griffiss Air Force Base, where she meets Soviet defector Maksym, a Ukrainian pilot. When he’s suspected of being a KGB agent, Maksym turns to Shelby for help, setting off a nail-biting series of events.

Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.