An Almost Certainly Incomplete List of YA Books I Have Loved Lately

Yesterday, Louisa Edwards asked for a list of YA books I recommend. This is far from exhaustive, but here’s a start. It’s not arranged in any order, other than the fact that the first few I thought of are all fantasies, since I write YA fantasy. Then I realized there was a lot of really dark, dark, dark books on the list, so I grouped a bunch of light ones together at the bottom for the people who needed a break from doom and gloom.

Browse at will!

The Midnighter’s Books: The Secret Hour, Touching Darkness, and Blue Noon, by Scott Westerfeld. These are my favorite Westerfeld books, and they’ve just been rereleased in snazzy new versions by Harper Collins. The premise is that the world freezes for an hour at midnight — everything, rain freezes in the act of falling from the sky, etc. — and monsters come out. Only children born at the stroke of midnight have access to this secret midnight hour world, and they all have special powers. It’s thrilling, romantic, magical, and there’s a lot of very, very cool math.

The Uglies Books: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras, by Scott Westerfeld. I blame Uglies for jump-starting my obsession with YA books. The books are set in a futuristic society where everyone gets plastic surgery to make them “beautiful” at age sixteen. There’s dystopia, body image questions, and lots of cool hoverboard chases.

Peeps and The Last Days, by Scott Westerfeld. I know, I know, but Westerfeld is really incredible. The best thing about his books is that, unlike a lot of YA, it crosses genre lines. These books are companion novels, set in New York City on the brink of apocalypse by a vampire-like parasitic plague. The first one is about a vampire hunter. The second one is about a band.

The Gemma Doyle Books: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing, by Libba Bray. The first one is a debut novel. Bray was at the forefront of this new Golden Age of YA. These books are set in Victorian England, where an India-raised girl winds up in a boarding school after the death of her mother and discovers that she has the ability to unlock the entrance into a magical world called The Realms, a world that can give her amazing powers. Only problem is, everyone else wants the power, too, including a group of male mystics, and the madwoman who killed Gemma’s mother. It’s about the Victorian era, Imperialism, feminism… it’s just amazing.

Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside, by Holly Black. Ironside is a sequel to Tithe, but my favorite of these books is Valiant, which can be read independently. All the books are urban fantasy, showing incredibly dark fairies and the doing of the fairy courts as seen by teenage humans who get caught up in that world. Valiant is the story of a teen runaway who winds up living in the subway tunnels of NYC and working as a drug runner… for a troll who lives under a bridge. You will never see trolls the same way again. It’s one of the best books I read that year, a powerful story of addiction, redemption, and love.

Keturah and Lord Death, by Martine Levitt. This unusual novel was the runner up for the National Book Award in 2006. It’s a fairy-tale story about a young woman who gets lost in the woods, and tricks Death into letting her return to her village so she can save them from plague by telling him a Sheherezade type tale over a series of days.

Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin. The word I most often use to describe this off-beat tale of the afterlife, in which people age backwards until they are “born” again is Capra-esque. Heartwarming and imaginative.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry. Totally cheating, because I read this many years ago, in college. In an unspecified future society, the world is stripped of all color, emotion, and memory, except for one person, known as The Giver. The story is about him training his successor. There have since been two sequels.

Magic or Madness?, Magic Lessons, and Magic’s Child, by Justine Larbalestier. The first one is a debut novel. Reason Cansino is forced to make a terrible choice: use the magic in her blood and die young, or go mad. A story about family, Australia, math, and doors that exist in Sydney and New York City.

Uninvited, by Amanda Marrone. A debut novel. A vampire book for people who are sick of vampire books. Jordan is in a deep depression after the death of her boyfriend — one that isn’t helped by the fact that he now appears at her window every night, a vampire, begging to be let in. And she just might be willing to let him… Powerful stuff.

Feed, by M.T. Anderson. Quite frankly, this book blew my mind. I was not in the least bit surprised when Anderson’s next novel won a National Book Award. But this is my favorite. Set in a future world where everyone has the internet in their brains, and dealing with one boy’s adventures after he meets an usual girl and gets “hacked.” It’s difficult to describe in brief how brilliant the writing in this book is, but Anderson perfectly captured the voice of a teen who has never, ever had to “search” for the right word.

Inexcusable, by Chris Lynch. It’s the story of a rape, told from the point of view of the rapist. Strong stuff, and controversial as well, but masterfully done.

So Yesterday, by Scott Westerfeld. Honestly, the last Westerfeld rec (until he comes out with something new). A mystery set in New York about “trend spotters,” it’s exciting, and relentlessly cool.

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. Another book that blew my mind. Incredibly powerful and moving story about a high school freshman who is shunned by the entire student body because she broke up a party the previous summer. Isolated from friends and ignored at home,s he slowly stops speaking. When you find out why, I dare you not to cry. The intimate, stream-of-consciousness style voice in this story is phenomenal.

How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff. I think this is also a debut novel. A beautifully written tale of survival. An American teen goes to live with her aunt and cousins at a farm in England. Her aunt leaves the country for a conference, and the nation is taken over by unnamed terrorists. What follows is a heartbreaking account of what the children are forced to do to survive in this scary new world. I cried buckets over this one.

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles. A psychological thriller told from several points of view: a girl who has been kidnapped and buried alive, her kidnapper, and the detecitive who is trying to find them in time. The narrative goes back and forth in time, and deals with social politics, abusive parents, suicide, and the cruelty teens can inflict on each other. Edge of your seat reading!

And, just so you don’t think it’s all doom and gloom and people burying each other alive on my bookshelf, a few lighter reads I’ve enjoyed:

Major Crush, by Jennifer Echolls. One of my favorite romances. This debut novel is about a beauty queen turned drum major clashing with her co-drum major in a small Alabama town. Echolls perfectly captures all the overwhelming feelings of first love. The “hand” scene…. oh! I love it!

The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen. This dishy read has one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve ever seen. I admit it, I was attracted to the cover, but the story inside, a sort of “Gossip Girls in the Gilded Age” is so much fun! Chock full of period details, fabulous clothes, romantic triangles, and scandal scandal scandal! I can’t wait for the next one.

Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, by Tina Ferraro. Another debut! After spending the last of her savings on the perfect dress, Nicolette gets stood up by her dream date, when his old girlfriend moves back to town. Months later, she’s still crushing on Rascal and daydreaming about the junior prom night that never was. But soon she’s got bigger things to worry about — her parents’ broken marriage, her mom’s financial difficulties, her spot on the volleyball team, and of course, the constant pressure of the school social scene, and the rumors going on about her. Great read!

The Book of Luke, by Jenny O’Connell. When Emily gets dumped by her boyfriend, she realizes she’s tired of being a nice girl, and when her family forces her to move back to New England and the private school she left several years before, she’s going to prove it. When her old/new best friend is dumped by the school hottie, they decide to use him to experiment on why boys are such jerks, and how to bring them to heel. Naturally, it backfires.

Angel’s Choice, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. Like Juno, but without the overly precious soundtrack and all that “too hip for our own good” nonsense. Angel is a good kid and a star student on track for Yale, when she gets pregnant. This depiction of how one intelligent girl might deal with her situation is moving and unputdownable.

Jinx, by Meg Cabot. This is my favorite Cabot book, and one of the only “I’ve got a secret” books I’ve actually enjoyed. Jinx moves to NYC under mysterious circumstances to live with her cousin and said cousin’s rich-rich-rich family. There’s country mouse in the big city, cousin rivalry, and a big heaping dash of witchcraft. So much fun!

Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, by Robin Brande. A debut novel. Like the protagonist of Speak, Brande’s Mena starts high school with a whole group of children who hate her. And not just kids. Her whole church hates her too, which means her best friend, a lot of adults, her pastor, even her parents, are furious! To top it off, her favorite new biology teacher is the new target of her old church’s wrath, for teaching evolution. The top-notch characterization, sweet romance, and the timely topics of church and science make this book a must-read.

Girl at Sea, by Maureen Johnson. For you romance readers, this is a RITA finalist this year. Artistic Clio is forced to live with her irresponsible, treasure hunting father and his research team on a yacht in the Mediterranean. So, half dream, half nightmare. Adventure, romance, family drama, and really great settings ensue, all in Johnson’s trademark snappy prose.

____________________

I’m pretty sure I’ll think of more the second I hit post. And I bet that others will have more recommendations in the comments as well. Enjoy!