The best YA fiction to read this Christmas

Phantom Hearts by Rosie Talbot and Sarah Maxwell (Scholastic, £10.99) is a ghostly graphic novel following 16-year-old Malia as she navigates life following a tragic crash that leaves her school bus driver father in a coma and four of her classmates dead. As if the grief and horror of this event weren’t difficult enough to process, the restless spirits of her classmates keep appearing in front of her and her unconscious father is facing accusations of deliberately causing the crash. It’s up to Malia and her crush, Keezy, to clear her father’s name, as well as discover who really did cause the crash and unearth the secrets that are keeping her high school friends lingering on. Scooby Doo meets Heartstopper in this stylishly illustrated queer mystery that will keep you guessing with every twist and turn.

Set in Dublin’s criminal underworld, James Butler’s Crying Wolf (Little Island, £8.99) is a gritty, edge-of-your-seat urban thriller that packs a real punch. When Joey’s stepdad, Vinnie, suddenly returns after a year away it sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to upend the new life he had been building while living with his aunt. Vinnie, despite claiming he’s a changed man having spent a year on the run, had always been dodgy and Joey’s not convinced that he’ll able to be anything other than trouble. With a local crime boss now on the scene and the pressure mounting, Joey’s world is unravelling and everything he holds dear is now at risk. Fast-paced and brutal, Crying Wolf is a bold and gutsy novel from master storyteller.

Louisa Reid’s Handle with Care (Guppy Books, £8.99) is a stunning novel written in both verse and prose, examining the realities of teenage pregnancy, friendship and inner strength. Ruby’s pregnancy came as a surprise to everybody, including Ruby, and with the father’s identity a secret, her world is suddenly turned upside down. Relying on her best friend Ashely for support, she must traverse an adult world that thinks it knows best, but ultimately lacks any empathy in favour of judgement and disapproval. Told with real sensitivity, Handle with Care is an emotional and poignant tale about love, loss and friendship, devastating and uplifting in equal measure.

Damien Ike and the Fallen House of Draven by Dee Benson and David Arlo (Bonnier Books, £8.99) takes us deep into a world of magic, with a tale of prejudice and what it means to belong. Supposedly destined to wield powerful magic and follow in the footsteps of his mage father, Damien Ike’s future looks desperately uncertain as the magic he expects shows no sign of developing. With society ready to shun this apparent “nullborn”, Damien must uncover some of the secrets of his world, including one that his mother, Ida, has kept hidden for a long time. Building a complex world of magic and politics, as well as weaving in elements of the authors’ Nigerian heritage, we follow Damien’s exploration of identity and resilience as he uncovers the truth about the world he thought he knew.