While college reading can be great--who doesn't love Dante's "Inferno" or Marx's "Communist Manifesto?" --sometimes all I want is a good young adult novel to bring me back to earth and remind me that a book doesn't have to be part of the English canon to positively influence my worldview and the way I think. In honor of the genre that shaped my childhood and adolescence, I've compiled a list of some YA novels that I believe are worth a careful read. With no further ado, and in no particular order, I give you 11 YA novels worth reading.
1. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
"TATDoaPTI" follows Native American teenager Arnold "Junior" Spirit as he leaves his reservation to attend a primarily white school. Hilarious and heartrending, it reveals truths about celebrating one's heritage while trying to break out of cycles of racism and poverty.
2. "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
A subtly stunning work of science fiction, "Ender's Game" shows Earth facing the peril of alien invasion, and the government's strategy of finding and training brilliant children to be commanders in the coming war. Political, psychological, and suspenseful, it's the kind of book that only gets more thought provoking as you get older.
3. "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Recently made into a major motion picture, this love story between a budding concert cellist and her punk rocker boyfriend breaks the boundaries of romantic love to examine the love between friends, the bonds of family, and what really makes life worth living.
4. "Secrets of Truth and Beauty" by Megan Frazer
Set primarily on a goat farm in Massachusetts, "SoTaB" tells the story of a high school girl who leaves home to reconcile with her estranged sister. Along the way, it tackles issues of homosexuality, body image, and self worth.
5. "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
No YA book list is complete without a John Green novel. This one explores the complexity of adolescent worldview and experiences through the eyes of Miles Halter as he goes to a boarding school in Alabama.
6. "Ella Minnow Pea" by Mark Dunn
A quirky novel about a fictional nation off the coast of South Carolina, "Ella Minnow Pea" addresses totalitarian government and freedom of speech through alphabetically radical epistles between characters. (Just read it. You'll see what I mean.)
7. "Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
This high school love story follows the relationship of awkward, lower-class Eleanor and Asian-American, upper-class Park, addressing class divides, poverty, ethnic identity, body image, and self worth.
8. "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
"TMBS" provides a biting argument about the effects of media and failure to think critically through the heroic undercover efforts of four extraordinary children and their eccentric mentors.
9. "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
"Speak" is the poignant narrative of high school freshman Melinda's difficulty in advocating for herself while dealing with post traumatic stress disorder and other effects of rape.
10. "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
Set in a dystopian, utopian society, "The Giver" tells the story of Jonas, a teenager who is assigned the task of remembering history so his fellow citizens don't have to. It explores what a perfect society might really look like, and what humanity might be willing to do to achieve it.
11. "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusak
