This summer, I vowed to make more time for reading. My favorite haunt in my small town is the teen room in our library. Not only is it a cozy room with natural light and comfy seats, but it houses a lot of my favorite books. I feel like those young adult fiction books raised me, and I guess I'm still growing, because there are always more YA books I want to read. These are the YA books I got through this summer and what I thought of them.
1. Will Grayson, Will Grayson
You gotta love John Green. Of course, this book was also written by David Levithan, and I thought it was an interesting pairing. Their styles and humors are juxtaposed in their characters, both Will Graysons. This was one of two John Green novels I hadn't read yet and though it's different than the others I had previously read (TFIOS, Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns) it was by no means disappointing.
2. The Divergent Series
I'd read the first book or two before, but I felt the need to finally catch up this summer. I'm glad I did. Veronica Roth does an excellent job with both action and emotion. It's also really cool to picture the dystopian version of Chicago she creates. Plus, and maybe it's just that I'm also a writer, but I think it's really badass Roth started writing "Divergent" in college - total inspiration.
3. Whale Talk
Go find yourself some Chris Crutcher books if you haven't already cracked one or two or all of them open. Whale Talk was the second I've read by Crutcher, and I loved it just as much as the first (Deadline). I'm not particularly into sports, but man can Crutcher take a typical high school kid interested in a sport like football or swimming and cover so many deep, relevant and complex life issues from just about every angle. Crutcher embodies the entire young adult fiction concept of teaching about life and loss. I will definitely be reading more Crutcher books in the future.
4. Before I Fall
I'm not going to lie - this isn't the best YA book I've ever read. But it definitely wasn't the worst. I'm interested enough to want to read more Lauren Oliver, mostly because of her characters. The girls in this book? Wow. It was very much like I knew them. They weren't always likable, but they were honest, which is sometimes more important. There were times when I wanted the book's progression to happen faster, but there were enough scenes with valuable lessons to keep me going.
5. Just One Day series
Okay, so let's just talk about Gayle Forman - what a great writer. I saw the movie "If I Stay" and loved it, so I thought why not try some books by that author. I am so glad I did! I'm still amazed by how Forman intertwines a pretty straightforward, though extraordinary, story with such beautiful language. There were lines that were so eloquent that would just appear every so often and I'd have to sit and think about them. I loved that and proceeded on to the next book, "Just One Year." I literally just figured out there's a third book, "Just One Night," that wraps it all up and I'm reading to figure out how it ends.
6. An Abundance of Katherines
I had to read my last unread John Green novel. While reading this, it occurred to me that Green's books continue to add to my swearword vocabulary, and I love that. I also loved the splash of different cultures, the trivia and even the math and science, though I can't pretend I read the full *optional* math explanation in the back. Anyhow, I think math should always and only be presented in the midst of a hilarious and well-written story of self-discovery. I won't spoil it, but I loved the particular discovery the main character made at the end.
7. I Was Here
Like I said, I'm a big Forman fan now. This book is like a different tone in Forman's voice as a writer. Different, but just as strong. This sucks you in like a mystery, but also strikes you with profound lines of loss and growth. I can't wait to see how it ends.
I hope this gave you some ideas for your own reading list. You might think young adult fiction is too young or too easy for you, but I'd like to argue that good books are just good books, no matter the age bracket -- Harry Potter is being put in tween sections these days. Whether or not YA is your thing, do some searches for authors similar to your own favorites. Better yet, head to your local library and let them help you find your next favorite novel. There are way too many good books to have nothing to read.
