So many people think that because a book is marketed towards young adults, it must lack substance and instead be filled with useless love triangles and simple, one-dimensional characters. This couldn't be farther from the truth: the YA, or Young Adult, section of your local bookstore or library has the most diverse, rich characters and stories you could find. Are you looking for imaginative retellings of your favorite fairy tales? YA has it. Historical fiction that makes you laugh and cry and learn all at the same time? YA has it. Stories about the horrible choices we have to make, or the reality that parents and friends aren't always what you need them to be? YA has it. Magic, madness, heaven, sin? YA has it all, and people of all ages can appreciate the vivid characters and settings of these books.
1. "Anything Could Happen," Will Walton
Tretch Farm may live in a small town, but he has a big secret: he's gay and in love with his best friend, Matt Gooby. He's trying to balance his first love and coming out of the closet with high school and familial obligations, but none of that is easy when Matt wants to set Tretch up with a girl so they can go on double dates. The only way he knows how to cope is his secret hobby: dancing. Alone in his room, he choreographs dances to his favorite pop songs (like "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift). With the holidays approaching, Tretch begins to realize that with faith in yourself, a little Christmas magic, and some serious moves, anything really can happen.
2. "Gorgeous," Paul Rudnick
After the death of her mother, Becky Randall journeys to New York to meet legendary fashion designer Tom Kelley. He promises her to make her three unique dresses that will transform her into the most beautiful woman in the world. After putting on the first dress and attending a gala, Becky becomes an instant sensation. However, in order to keep her newfound outer beauty, she must fall in love within a year. When she sets her sights on the Prince of England, all hell breaks loose. "Was I Cinderella, or Dr. Frankenstein's monster, and were both of those characters equally freakish?" Introspective and heartwarming, Gorgeous will make you laugh out loud.
3. "Tiger Lily," Jodi Lynn Anderson
Everyone has heard the story of Peter Pan, but have you ever wondered how he got involved with Tiger Lily? What's her story? In this story, Tiger Lily was found orphaned in the forest and taken in by the Shaman, Tik Tok, but shunned by the rest of the tribe. She avoids all the typical feminine jobs such as sewing, and instead prefers to hunt or explore the forest surrounding her home. Everyone's favorite fairy, Tinker Bell, is drawn to her. Tink is the one telling us the story as Tiger Lily and Peter Pan meet for the first time. In her lyrical prose, Anderson explores a Neverland unlike any you've experienced before, where a tribe of Native Americans live in fear of the "aging disease," where Captain Hook isn't the villain we all remember, where Tinker Bell frequently alludes to her father's infidelity, and where Wendy isn't quite how she appeared in the Disney version. Tiger Lily is a dark and bittersweet rendition of a familiar story.
4. "Panic," Lauren Oliver
From Lauren Oliver is a fast-paced thriller where three teenagers, Heather, Dodge, and Natalie, take part in their school's annual summer-long game. The contestants must perform dangerous stunts every few weeks for the chance to win a huge sum of money (collected from the student body during the year). Each of them have something to prove by winning Panic, but the game quickly becomes more dangerous than any of them could've ever guessed. Hearts and lives are on the line as these high schoolers fight their classmates--possibly to the death--for the prize. Your heart will be racing until the very end.
5. "If I Stay," Gayle Forman
Mia has it all--loving parents, an adorable little brother, a sweet boyfriend, and a clear shot at getting into an intensive music program at Julliard. That all changes one winter morning when her and her family are in a devastating car crash. Mia has an out of body experience and observes the traumatic aftermath of the accident. Told partially in flashbacks that feature moments from life events such as her and her boyfriend's first date or the birth of her brother, If I Stay is sure to induce some seriously ugly crying.
6. "Fangirl," Rainbow Rowell
Cath is so not ready for college. Her twin sister, Wren, refuses to room with her, she doesn't want to leave her dad behind at home, and she has absolutely no interest in awkward ice breakers with people she will probably never speak to again. All she wants to do is hang out in her room and reread her favorite book series, Simon Snow, and continue updating her online fanfiction of it, called "Carry On." Her online goals keep getting thwarted, however. Whether it's her sister's drinking problem, her father's mental illness, the professor that thinks fanfiction is a cardinal sin, the absentee mom who is trying to work her way back into her life, or the totally cute guy who won't stop pulling her pigtails, Cath has no shortage of anxiety-inducing things to deal with. With the Simon Snow series coming to a close, Cath feels as though life as she knows it is changing for the worse. However, as Cath begins to explore the world outside of her bubble, she realizes that she doesn’t have to give up what she loves to find out what she’s missing.
7. "Code Name Verity," Elizabeth Wein
When the Gestapo capture the plucky, outspoken spy “Verity,” they are determined to get all the information they can out of her. On the paper they give her, “Verity” begins a sort of diary, detailing her current imprisonment and torture, and her past missions. She describes her relationship with a pilot, Maddie, and how the two came to be separated. As Verity’s time begins to run out, Maddie rushes to save her friend in this nail-biting story of friendship, hope, and love.
8. "Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe," Benjamin Alire Saenz
Fifteen year old Ari had a perfectly ordinary life until he met Dante. The two boys spend the summer of 1987 swimming, saving birds from BB guns, and stargazing—Ari even saves Dante’s life by pushing him out of the way of an incoming car. For Ari, Dante is a breath of fresh air; he feels detached from his own family. His sisters have both moved out, and his older brother is in prison, though his parents refused to ever discuss him or tell Ari why. At the end of the summer, Dante’s family moves to Chicago, and Ari must begin the school year alone. After the year goes by and summer starts again, the boys reunite. Dante has been on a journey of self-discovery in their time apart, and Ari feels as if his friend has left him behind; but this is only the beginning of their story. It’s a touching, heartfelt, and honest coming-of-age tale.
9. "Say What You Will," Cammie McGovern
Amy and Matthew were strangers until their senior year of high school, when Amy requests Matthew to be one of the peer helpers who assist her during the week. Amy has cerebral palsy, but is constantly cheerful, outgoing, and determined. Matthew is quiet, introverted, and is just starting to realize that some of the habits he’s adopted, like washing his hands up to the elbow, are actually signs of OCD. When he tells Amy what he really thinks of her happy demeanor, she decides she needs someone like him in her life to tell her the truth at all times. They help each other cope with their respective disabilities and disorders, and slowly start to fall for each other. Only nothing is ever easy in a high school romance, and Amy and Matt are no exception: as graduation approaches and the summer goes by, they must decide to speak up about the most important thing before they go their separate ways.
10. "Vanishing Girls," Lauren Oliver
Sisters Dara and Nick were once inseparable, but now, Dara is constantly in pain from the aftermath of a car accident they were in. Now the two sisters barely speak, not even acknowledging each other’s existence; until Dara’s birthday, when she disappears and leaves a note daring Nick to come find her. All the while, the search is underway for nine-year-old Madeline Snow, who vanished months earlier while under her sister’s care. Nick quickly becomes obsessed and, convinced the two disappearances are linked, sets out to find both Dara and Madeline. Her search brings her to the outskirts of her town and to the beginning of the summer, to the moment where it all went wrong. You will be sucker punched by the ending. Keep tissues nearby.
11. "Every Last Promise," Kristin Halbrook
Kayla has just returned home to her beloved small town after a summer away, but her town is not happy to have her back. A few months ago, Kayla was the driver in a car accident that killed one of her high school's star athletes when they were leaving a party. What she can't tell anyone is that it wasn't completely an accident: she knows something that he and his friends did, something unspeakable; but on the other hand, she knows that if she tells the truth, this town that once loved her never will again. As she slowly integrates back into her old life, the truth weighs on her more and more heavily. When only other person who knows her secret tries to speak out, Kayla must decide which is more important: the truth, or her happiness.
12. "We Were Liars," E. Lockhart
On a private island, one family's secrets are about to go up in flames. Cady, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat are the Liars, the third generation of the Sinclair family. They have spent every summer together since they were children, and Summer Seventeen is no different; except everything feels different to Cady. Her chronic migraines keep her isolated from the rest of the family, and while her aunts and uncles seem to have loosened the reigns with her cousins this summer, her own mother is all the more protective. Her cousins themselves seem more distant, and she can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with the accident from two summers ago that she can hardly remember. You won't believe where this one goes.
13. "Burned," Ellen Hopkins
Ellen Hopkins novels are not for the faint of heart. In this novel, Pattyn rebels against her Mormon faith and her abusive father and, as a result, is sentenced to live with her aunt in rural Nevada. She finds her purpose helping out on the ranch, and she finds love with Ethan, a boy who also helps her aunt from time to time. When school starts and Pattyn must return home, she and Ethan vow to stay loyal to each other despite the distance. Fate has other things in mind. This novel will haunt you well after the last page is turned.
