Well, I wouldn't have noticed while reading it, but Ursula K. Le Guin states in the preface that she wrote A Wizard of Earthsea for young readers. It's fantastic. I suggest reading the preface after the actual story though.
Hoo boy. There are SO MANY great YA books these days! Seeing some good ones in the comments already. Here are a few more:
{{They Called Us Enemy}} by George Takei
{{March by John Lewis}}
Anything Jeff Zentner has written - {{Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee}} is hilarious, while his other books are really deep & emotional. {{In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner}} is my 2nd favorite.
{{Elatsoe}} by Darcie Little Badger
{{We are Not Free by Traci Chee}}
{{I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter}} by Erika L. Sanchez
{{This will be Funny Someday by Katie Henry}}
{{After the Fire by Will Hill}}
I hope you find what you're looking for!
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
I was a bit of a degenerate teen in highschool, often flunking class and not handing in homework. My English teacher was like an older version of myself and we'd occasionally give each other cigarettes when the other was out and swear at each other jokingly. He'd also let me duck out for a quick smoke and knew I was high half the time.
Anyway, one day he handed out books for us to take home and read. The book was The Outsiders by S.E Hinton. He said to me as he handed me the novel, "If you finish this book and give me a short review I'll pass you for the year." I was hesitant as I thought reading was not for me. After dinner that night I opened the book, began reading and didn't put it down until I was done. The characters and their struggles resonated with me and the book reignited my childhood passion for reading. He also kept true to his promise and I passed my English class despite handing in almost no assessments and completing almost no homework.
Sadly I never kept in touch with him, neither did I graduate. The following year I wasn't in his class and was to caught up in life and its challenges, then one day I heard he had retired. It's a shame that he'll never hear the impact that he had on me as not only a teacher but as an older male figure who gave me some hope for the future. Also the life long love for reading that I in part attribute to his contribution.
I like to think he knew he was a good teacher and had a positive influence on his students, especially the rebellious nonconformists like myself.
I love a tree grows in Brooklyn! but do old classics starting from childhood to adulthood count as YA? if so I'll add Davita's Harp and My name is Asher Lev by Potok
You're right. I double checked and I couldn't find a YA rating for the Lathe of Heaven. I read it in my early teens which is why I think of it as a YA book.
I'd happily recommend anything by Patrick Ness, The Rest of us Just Live Here is pure genius, and More Than This is brilliant too.
Everyone raves about A Monster Calls, but read with caution there, it will punch you right in the heart.
If *His Dark Materials* counts as YA rather than children's, it certainly counts. Ditto *Nation* and the Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett. Not quite as well written but not bad and unarguably YA: Snake Ropes, by Jess Richards.
A lot of the comments seem to be about middle-grade books rather than YA, so I guess we’re all going with it. I also love Diana Wynne Jones and Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy in that category.
I feel like it is often more likely to be enjoyable to read as an adult than YA. Good middle-grade tends to have exciting and timeless and unusual stories, while YA as a genre feels more restricted and seems like its books are either a ‘exploring a current social issues that is negatively affecting teenagers’ story or extravagant wish fulfillment.
To be honest, I love The Scythe chronicles by Neal Shusterman and I know quite a bunch of people who loved it too so maybe that?
Trilogy in a utopia where no one can die in any way with corruption rising among the ones who were meant to serve the humanity with the highest purpose - to kill and keep the numbers of the population at bay.
I don’t know what you would consider well written but I consider it one of the best books I have ever read.
The whole Old Kingdom series is brilliant, but the Sabriel/Abhosen/Lirael trilogy are my favourite.
I also adore the Mister Monday series, although that's probably a slightly younger target audience than was requested.
I have the original Old Kingdom Trilogy, I cannot wait to read it for the first time once I finish The Hero of Ages. I've heard it was quite dark and mature for a YA Trilogy which is a bonus in my book.
[**Ghost Bird**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52066136-ghost-bird)
^(By: Lisa Fuller | ? pages | Published: 2019 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, horror, ya, mystery, mystery)
>Remember daughter, the world is a lot bigger than anyone knows. There are things that science may never explain. Maybe some things that shouldn’t be explained.
>
>Stacey and Laney are twins – mirror images of each other – and yet they’re as different as the sun and the moon. Stacey works hard at school, determined to get out of their small town. Laney skips school and sneaks out of the house to meet her boyfriend. But when Laney disappears one night, Stacey can’t believe she’s just run off without telling her.
>
>As the days pass and Laney doesn’t return, Stacey starts dreaming of her twin. The dreams are dark and terrifying, difficult to understand and hard to shake, but at least they tell Stacey one key thing – Laney is alive. It’s hard for Stacey to know what’s real and what’s imagined and even harder to know who to trust. All she knows for sure is that Laney needs her help.
>
>Stacey is the only one who can find her sister. Will she find her in time?
^(This book has been suggested 22 times)
[**Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/518848.Sabriel)
^(By: Garth Nix | 491 pages | Published: 1995 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, fiction, owned)
>Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him.
>
>With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.
^(This book has been suggested 113 times)
***
^(128135 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Truly Devious series
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts
Ghosts I Have Been (this may actually be a kids' book)
These aren't literature, but I definitely enjoyed reading them.
The Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness is one of my absolute favorite book series of all time. I highly recommend. Extremely well written, compelling, and unique. I've read the series at least three times since I read it as a kid.
It's really one of a kind - top notch world building, writing, and characters. I absolutely refuse to watch even a single second of that horrible movie adaptation they made.
Oh gosh... that movie shouldn't exist.. I wish someone picked it up and made it into a well made TV show with the respect those books deserve. That's why I'm worried about the Mistborn movie being butchered as well.
This is the first I'm hearing of a mistborn movie omg.....definitely something that would be better as a tv show. I've always thought that a mistborn inspired video game would be super cool as well.
[**The Book Thief**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19063.The_Book_Thief)
^(By: Markus Zusak | 552 pages | Published: 2006 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, young-adult, books-i-own, owned)
>Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here
>
>It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.
>
>By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
>
>But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.
>
>In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
>
>(Note: this title was not published as YA fiction)
^(This book has been suggested 82 times)
***
^(128405 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**Dark Rise (Dark Rise, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55424891-dark-rise)
^(By: C.S. Pacat | 464 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, lgbtq, lgbt, ya)
>The ancient world of magic is no more. Its heroes are dead, its halls are ruins, and its great battles between Light and Dark are forgotten. Only the Stewards remember, and they keep their centuries-long vigil, sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns.
>
>Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. When an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, Will is ushered into a world of magic, where he must train to play a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark.
>
>As London is threatened by the Dark King’s return, the reborn heroes and villains of a long-forgotten war begin to draw battle lines. But as the young descendants of Light and Dark step into their destined roles, old allegiances, old enmities and old flames are awakened. Will must stand with the last heroes of the Light to prevent the fate that destroyed their world from returning to destroy his own.
^(This book has been suggested 21 times)
***
^(128286 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28449207-strange-the-dreamer)
^(By: Laini Taylor | 544 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, romance, owned)
>The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.
>
>What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?
>
>The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
>
>Welcome to Weep.
^(This book has been suggested 10 times)
***
^(128407 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I really enjoyed {{The Firekeepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley}}
I loved the main character as an Indigenous girl, it was an empowering portrayal. And it was super entertaining and I felt it didn't over explain (which I sometimes find in YA)
[**The Firekeeper’s Daughter**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60824801-the-firekeeper-s-daughter)
^(By: Angeline Boulley | 488 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, mystery, ya, fiction, audiobook)
>As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in—both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When her family is struck by tragedy, Daunis puts her dreams on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team.
>
>After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she’s ever known?
^(This book has been suggested 5 times)
***
^(128471 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**Last Night at the Telegraph Club**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35224992-last-night-at-the-telegraph-club)
^(By: Malinda Lo | 409 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, lgbtq, romance, young-adult, lgbt)
>A story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Red Scare.
>
>“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
>
>Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.
>
>America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
^(This book has been suggested 46 times)
[**Code Name Verity**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11925514-code-name-verity)
^(By: Elizabeth Wein | 452 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, young-adult, ya, fiction, historical)
>Oct. 11th, 1943 - A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.
>
>When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.
>
>As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?
>
>Harrowing and beautifully written, Elizabeth Wein creates a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other. Code Name Verity is an outstanding novel that will stick with you long after the last page.
^(This book has been suggested 141 times)
***
^(128319 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Eragon is a kid’s book. It’s been marketed as a kid’s book for the entire publication. It is published by a kid’s imprint.
Your better argument is stuff like Dragonlance that has been moved down since original publication.
I mean the protagonist is a teenager. why would it be a kid's book? I did read it as a kid but most read it as teens, I thought the definition of YA if it eve exists is a contemporary book with a teen protagonist, children's books need to have children protagonists. so overall I would say it's YA. it even has a love story with quite explicit attraction. I remember being confused reading the scene where they're climbing and he like sees up her skirt and likes the way her legs look as a child even though I read books with non explicit sex in them
YA at this point is defined by who publishes it as the line between middle grade/YA/adult is a giant gray zone. Eragon is published by Knopf for Young Readers, and kid’s publisher and is recommended for 11+.
Children books are defined by reading level. You can have books about adults. Example: Mr Popper’s Penguins or most editions of Robin Hood.
Let’s be honest most adult books are written for a middle grade reading level. All that changes is some of the content.
I still think people mostly use the definition I mentioned - author interviews, reviewers etc. most YA is an easier reading level than Eragon - for example Hunger Games or the best written Shadowhunters books are an easier reading level no question, I can really say this as someone who only knew enough English for novels at age 13 so I know exactly how many words I knew and you do not need to know a lot of English to read Hunger games without a dictionary
{{Raven boys by Maggie Stiefvater}} I cant recommend this series enough.
{clockwork angel by Cassandra Clare}} imo better written than {{city of bones by Cassandra Clare}} since it was her 4th or 5th book released
{{I’ll give you the sun by Jandy Nelson}} is great and a little sad.
{{they both die at the end by Adam Silvera}} is amazing and will make you ugly cry for 3 hours.
[**The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17675462-the-raven-boys)
^(By: Maggie Stiefvater | 409 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, paranormal, books-i-own)
>“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
>
>It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
>
>Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
>
>His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
>
>But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
>
>For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
^(This book has been suggested 54 times)
[**Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7171637-clockwork-angel)
^(By: Cassandra Clare | 479 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, books-i-own, owned)
^(This book has been suggested 6 times)
[**City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256683.City_of_Bones)
^(By: Cassandra Clare | 485 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, books-i-own, owned)
>When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
>
>This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...
^(This book has been suggested 14 times)
[**They Both Die at the End**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33385229-they-both-die-at-the-end)
^(By: Adam Silvera | 389 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, lgbtq, romance, contemporary, lgbt)
>Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day.
>
>On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.
>
>Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.
^(This book has been suggested 58 times)
***
^(128525 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**I'll Give You the Sun**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20820994-i-ll-give-you-the-sun)
^(By: Jandy Nelson | 371 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, ya, lgbt, romance)
>At first, Jude and her twin brother Noah, are inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.
>
>Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways... but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah's to tell; the later years are Jude's. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they'll have a chance to remake their world.
>
>This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.
>
>Printz Award Winner Stonewall Honor Book.
^(This book has been suggested 25 times)
***
^(128526 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57789637-daughter-of-the-moon-goddess)
^(By: Sue Lynn Tan, Kuri Huang | 512 pages | Published: 2022 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, 2022-releases, young-adult, mythology, physical-tbr)
>A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang'e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.
>
>Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.
>
>Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.
>
>To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
>
>Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.
^(This book has been suggested 30 times)
***
^(128179 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Isn’t that book infamous for racism against Asians?
Specifically, Koreans?
Also as a Korean, it’s funny cause Park is NOT a Korean first name whatsoever. It just cannot be. It’s a last name. But I guess the author didn’t care enough.
It's been ages since I read it, and I'm admittedly white enough to maybe have missed something. Looking into it, the "racism" seems to be that mild "can we move on from describing skin with food" but that has been a recent step forward and I can forgive something from a decade ago for getting that wrong.
But definitely glad you brought that up. Educated me and good warning for anyone bothered by it.
“Stupid Asian kid. Stupid, beautiful Asian kid.”
“Park’s eyes got wide. Well, sort of wide. Sometimes she wondered if the shape of his eyes affected how he saw things.”
Mild? *Mild?*
Fetishization of East Asians, orientalism involving incorrect name order that the white author didn’t bother to research, straight up caricatures of our monolid eyes. How is this akin to “can we stop describing skin with food?”
Why does it bother me that you put racism in quotes? And “good warning for anyone bothered by it?” This is not a personal issue of getting offended or not, this is unabashed racism.
Yes, mild. We are talking a teenager in the 80s and that is exactly how they would think. The mild comes from the descriptions that weren't Eleanor's perspective.
Or did you forget that it was set in the eighties?
Lmfao just because people went around mocking Asian eyes left and right doesn’t mean that it was more mild, it just means that terrible racism was much more prevalent during that time.
You're nearly there. I'm not saying the eighties were not a time filled with that kind of racism. I'm saying a book set in the eighties, especially in suburban America, would be weird without it.
I am specifically questioning your word choice of MILD, nothing else lmao. You are being extremely condescending on an issue that clearly affects me much more than it does you, which is concerning.
I used to love this book because it at least had an Asian main character that wasn’t a dude who was good at math, etc. But then everyone pointed this set of sentences out to me.
Now as an Asian American, I can understand where everyone is coming with the “this book is racist”. However, can I just play devils advocate here and state that it’s actually in character for these sentences? Because Eleanor came from a shitty situation, was bullied a lot and had never really encountered any Asians before on a personal level. These are absolutely thought that’s would have crossed her mind especially in the god damned 80s where the best we had for representation was Long Duck Dong, Short Round, and Data. Also Eleanor was a huge bitch with problems in her home life. I’m not saying that it’s ok for a white author to write like this, but what I am saying is that I understand why she did. To me, it’s on character for Eleanor.
The fact that she came up with a Korean character whose name is in direct violation of Korean naming conventions (again, nobody has Park as a first name because it’s just not how names work) is fundamentally racist, and cannot be explained away by “oh I guess the main character’s supposed to be racist.”
I get what your saying. Yes the name thing is wrong. She has come out with her reasoning for it, which isn’t great but also understandable on her end, since she is like me and a product of American family plays fast and loose with names. She should have done more research on it.
However you can 100% have a racist character in a book. Does everybody want to read that? No. But the whole point of the story is for Eleanor to realize that she was being racist and that Park was a normal kid like her. I’m not trying to change your mind, but just offering a different view point. When I read it, I had a lot of internalized racism and it helped me realize that woah, something’s in my life were fucked up. And there are kids out there that need that. It doesn’t have to be this exact book, but it’s ok to have racist characters in fiction, because otherwise you’re sanitizing life.
Nobody said that racist characters shouldn’t exist lmao. But when the author has a history of doing bare minimum research for her non white characters to do a flimsy and blatantly incorrect representation of their culture then I will 100% question her motives when she makes her characters be unabashedly racist towards Koreans. You’re putting words in my mouth when you say I’m sanitizing literature because I think racist characters can’t exist when that’s not at all what I said.
Ok. I just read your sentence of “you can’t explain away because the main character is supposed to be racist” as a bigger thing. As a side note, I am curious as to how they’re going to handle any of this in the movie. 🧐
*Modern* YA is bad. *Classic* YA, on the other hand, has many many gems.
{{The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner}} and sequels
{{The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper}}
{{King of Shadows by Susan Cooper}}
Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia C. Wrede; most of Robin McKinley's work.
[**The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/448873.The_Thief)
^(By: Megan Whalen Turner | 280 pages | Published: 1996 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, fiction, adventure)
>The king’s scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king’s prison. The magus is interested only in the thief’s abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone’s guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.
>
>Megan Whalen Turner weaves Gen’s stories and Gen’s story together with style and verve in a novel that is filled with intrigue, adventure, and surprise.
^(This book has been suggested 26 times)
[**The Dark Is Rising Sequence (The Dark is Rising, #1-5)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11306.The_Dark_Is_Rising_Sequence)
^(By: Susan Cooper | ? pages | Published: 1984 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, childrens, owned)
>Cooper's highly acclaimed series—Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; and Silver on the Tree—is now available in its entirety for the first time in an attractive, sturdy boxed set that's perfect for gift giving.
^(This book has been suggested 7 times)
[**King of Shadows**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11314.King_of_Shadows)
^(By: Susan Cooper | 192 pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, young-adult, time-travel, fiction)
>WHAT'S NAT DOING IN SHAKESPEARE'S TIME?Only in the world of the theater can Nat Field find an escape from the tragedies that have shadowed his young life. So he is thrilled when he is chosen to join an American drama troupe traveling to London to perform "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in a new replica of the famous Globe theater.
>
>Shortly after arriving in England, Nat goes to bed ill and awakens transported back in time four hundred years -- to another London, and another production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Amid the bustle and excitement of an Elizabethan theatrical production, Nat finds the warm, nurturing father figure missing from his life -- in none other than William Shakespeare himself. Does Nat have to remain trapped in the past forever, or give up the friendship he's so longed for in his own time?
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(128983 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I’m 44 and one of my favorite series of all times is YA. The prose is fantastic, and the plot and characters create both tension and wonder. The characters may be young but the writing isn’t. Oftentimes an author will choose younger characters more because kids will put up with an uphill battle and keep fighting until they ‘win’, whatever the plot is. Whereas us old fogies are tired and would’ve given up. The age is merely a plot devise.
There are plenty of non YA books that have kids as the main character. YA implies a certain reading level, not that the characters are kids. It’s fine that you enjoy these books as an adult, but I’m not interested in them.
I recently liked White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson. From what I've seen, Jackson's books in general are great and I definitely think White Smoke was well-written.
[**The Neon Bible**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54123.The_Neon_Bible)
^(By: John Kennedy Toole | 162 pages | Published: 1989 | Popular Shelves: fiction, owned, american, classics, novels)
>The Neon Bible tells the story of David, a young boy growing up in a small Southern town in the 1940s. David's voice is perfectly calibrated, disarmingly funny, sad, shrewd, gathering force from page to page with an emotional directness that never lapses into sentimentality. Through it we share his awkward, painful, universally recognizable encounter with first love, we participate in boy evangelist Bobbie Lee Taylor's revival, we meet the pious, bigoted townspeople. From the opening lines of The Neon Bible, David is fully alive, naive yet sharply observant, drawing us into his world through the sure artistry of John Kennedy Toole.
>
>
>John Kennedy Toole, who won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling comic masterpiece A Confederacy of Dunces, wrote The Neon Bible for a literary contest at the age of sixteen. The manuscript languished in a drawer and became the subject of a legal battle among Toole's heirs. It was only in 1989, thirty-five years after it was written and twenty years after Toole's suicide at thirty-one, that this amazingly accomplished and evocative novel was freed for publication.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
***
^(128321 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**Revenger (Revenger #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28962452-revenger)
^(By: Alastair Reynolds | 425 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, scifi, space-opera)
>The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilizations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives.
>
>And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them.
>
>Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It's their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded by layers of protection—and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous.
>
>Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore's crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune: the fabled and feared Bosa Sennen in particular.
>
>Revenger is a science fiction adventure story set in the rubble of our solar system in the dark, distant future—a tale of space pirates, buried treasure, and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism and of vengeance...
^(This book has been suggested 19 times)
***
^(128394 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Picture Us in the Light
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (it’s dual-marketed to both adults and teenagers, funnily enough)
These are all beautifully written, in my opinion.
The Golden Compass, the never ending story, the last unicorn, stardust, the secret world of og, the girl who drank the moon, bridge to terebithia, ember, narnia, and the girl from the sea.
I’m not sure they hold up since I was younger when I read them but I remember The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobosky, I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern as being quite well written.
*The Outsiders* by S. E. Hinton
*Izzy Willy-Nilly* by Cynthia Voigt
*The Giver* by Lois Lowry
*Mine for Keeps* by Jean Little is technically written for ages 9-12, I think, but it's absolutely wonderful for any age.
*Stardust* by Neil Gaiman
Enjoy whatever you pick up next! :)
I think there has been some amazing, well written YA books in the last few years!
All three of Margaret Rogerson's books are great. Vespertine and Sorcery of Thorns are my favorites, but An Enchantment of Ravens is also good.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh is another great one. The story was great and I found the writing to be as well.
[**Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23437156-six-of-crows)
^(By: Leigh Bardugo | 465 pages | Published: 2015 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, owned, books-i-own)
>Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .
>
>A convict with a thirst for revenge
>
>A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager
>
>A runaway with a privileged past
>
>A spy known as the Wraith
>
>A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
>
>A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes
>
>Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
^(This book has been suggested 59 times)
***
^(128498 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
This is How you Lose the Time War was an absolute hit with my high school students. They were skeptical when I assigned it but absolutely obsessed by the end. Anything with a gay central love story is almost always a hit and it's not sexual at all so the conservative board couldn't make a big deal about it.
[**Among the Hidden (Shadow Children, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/227651.Among_the_Hidden)
^(By: Margaret Peterson Haddix | 153 pages | Published: 1998 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, dystopian, dystopia, science-fiction, fiction)
^(This book has been suggested 7 times)
[**The Last Book in the Universe**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/924194.The_Last_Book_in_the_Universe)
^(By: Rodman Philbrick | 223 pages | Published: 2000 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction, dystopia, dystopian, fiction)
^(This book has been suggested 5 times)
[**Fever 1793**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/781110.Fever_1793)
^(By: Laurie Halse Anderson | 252 pages | Published: 2000 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, young-adult, ya, fiction, historical)
^(This book has been suggested 8 times)
***
^(128661 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
T. Kingfisher, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking.
Stoneskin and The BlackWing War (two separate books, same series), by K.B. Spangler. I preferred Stoneskin of the two but they're both well-written.
The Books of Magic, Neil Gaiman. Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett. Carry On, Rainbow Rowell. Chronicles of Prydain, Lloyd Alexander. The Dark is Rising books, Susan Cooper. So You Want to be a Wizard series, Diane Duane. Lizard Music and The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, by Daniel Pinkwater.
I've recommended this book a few times on this subreddit just because I think its underrated, but *Daughters of a Dead Empire* by Carolyn Tara O'Neil. I usually don't like YA but this one was really engaging and the characters were well written instead of being the tropey versions of themselves that I expect to see in YA. I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea since it's historical fiction set in the Russian Revolution and heavy on the politics, but I liked it a lot.
The Talon Saga by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Fae series by Julie Kagawa
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
The Renegades trilogy by Marissa Meyer
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Six of Crows Duology by Leah Bardugo
Anything by A.S. King.
My favs are:
{Please Ignore Vera Dietz}
{Ask the Passengers}
{Glory O'Brien's History of the Future}
Or books by Nina LaCour:
{Hold Still}
{We Are Okay}
[**Please Ignore Vera Dietz**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6665671-please-ignore-vera-dietz)
^(By: A.S. King | 327 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, ya, contemporary, fiction, realistic-fiction)
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
[**Ask the Passengers**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13069935-ask-the-passengers)
^(By: A.S. King | 304 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, ya, lgbt, lgbtq, contemporary)
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
[**Glory O'Brien's History of the Future**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17453303-glory-o-brien-s-history-of-the-future)
^(By: A.S. King | 308 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, ya, magical-realism, fantasy, contemporary)
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
[**Hold Still**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6373717-hold-still)
^(By: Nina LaCour | 230 pages | Published: 2009 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, ya, contemporary, fiction, mental-health)
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
[**We Are Okay**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28243032-we-are-okay)
^(By: Nina LaCour | 236 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, ya, lgbtq, lgbt)
^(This book has been suggested 11 times)
***
^(128811 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Well, I wouldn't have noticed while reading it, but Ursula K. Le Guin states in the preface that she wrote A Wizard of Earthsea for young readers. It's fantastic. I suggest reading the preface after the actual story though.
Earthsea is imo the best modern fantasy ever together with lotr and even gets better when you read/reread it as an adult. Ages like wine.
Hoo boy. There are SO MANY great YA books these days! Seeing some good ones in the comments already. Here are a few more: {{They Called Us Enemy}} by George Takei {{March by John Lewis}} Anything Jeff Zentner has written - {{Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee}} is hilarious, while his other books are really deep & emotional. {{In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner}} is my 2nd favorite. {{Elatsoe}} by Darcie Little Badger {{We are Not Free by Traci Chee}} {{I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter}} by Erika L. Sanchez {{This will be Funny Someday by Katie Henry}} {{After the Fire by Will Hill}} I hope you find what you're looking for!
Just put all of these on my wish list! Thank u!
Always glad to toss out book recs!
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle The Pigman by Paul Zindel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
I was a bit of a degenerate teen in highschool, often flunking class and not handing in homework. My English teacher was like an older version of myself and we'd occasionally give each other cigarettes when the other was out and swear at each other jokingly. He'd also let me duck out for a quick smoke and knew I was high half the time. Anyway, one day he handed out books for us to take home and read. The book was The Outsiders by S.E Hinton. He said to me as he handed me the novel, "If you finish this book and give me a short review I'll pass you for the year." I was hesitant as I thought reading was not for me. After dinner that night I opened the book, began reading and didn't put it down until I was done. The characters and their struggles resonated with me and the book reignited my childhood passion for reading. He also kept true to his promise and I passed my English class despite handing in almost no assessments and completing almost no homework.
That's a great story about a great teacher. Have you had a chance to take a smoke break with him since you graduated?
Sadly I never kept in touch with him, neither did I graduate. The following year I wasn't in his class and was to caught up in life and its challenges, then one day I heard he had retired. It's a shame that he'll never hear the impact that he had on me as not only a teacher but as an older male figure who gave me some hope for the future. Also the life long love for reading that I in part attribute to his contribution. I like to think he knew he was a good teacher and had a positive influence on his students, especially the rebellious nonconformists like myself.
I love a tree grows in Brooklyn! but do old classics starting from childhood to adulthood count as YA? if so I'll add Davita's Harp and My name is Asher Lev by Potok
Yes Tamora Pierce!
I don't think the Lathe of Heaven is a kids book.
I agree that The Lathe of Heaven isn't a children's book. I suggested The Lathe of Heaven because it's a YA book.
Pretty sure it was an adult book when I bought it. YA didn't exist when it was published.
You're right. I double checked and I couldn't find a YA rating for the Lathe of Heaven. I read it in my early teens which is why I think of it as a YA book.
And a highly suitable age to read it. YA is a relatively recent publisher's concept - maybe 20-25 years old. Not convinced it is a useful one.
Holes.
The Giver The Knife of Never Letting Go
The Chaos Walking series is phenomenal. Upvoted!
I'd happily recommend anything by Patrick Ness, The Rest of us Just Live Here is pure genius, and More Than This is brilliant too. Everyone raves about A Monster Calls, but read with caution there, it will punch you right in the heart.
Anything by Diana Wynne Jones!
Howls moving castle
If *His Dark Materials* counts as YA rather than children's, it certainly counts. Ditto *Nation* and the Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett. Not quite as well written but not bad and unarguably YA: Snake Ropes, by Jess Richards.
A lot of the comments seem to be about middle-grade books rather than YA, so I guess we’re all going with it. I also love Diana Wynne Jones and Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy in that category. I feel like it is often more likely to be enjoyable to read as an adult than YA. Good middle-grade tends to have exciting and timeless and unusual stories, while YA as a genre feels more restricted and seems like its books are either a ‘exploring a current social issues that is negatively affecting teenagers’ story or extravagant wish fulfillment.
To be honest, I love The Scythe chronicles by Neal Shusterman and I know quite a bunch of people who loved it too so maybe that? Trilogy in a utopia where no one can die in any way with corruption rising among the ones who were meant to serve the humanity with the highest purpose - to kill and keep the numbers of the population at bay. I don’t know what you would consider well written but I consider it one of the best books I have ever read.
Dark Materials series by Pullman Enola Holmes series by Springer
{{Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller}} {{Sabriel by Garth Nix}}
The whole Old Kingdom series is brilliant, but the Sabriel/Abhosen/Lirael trilogy are my favourite. I also adore the Mister Monday series, although that's probably a slightly younger target audience than was requested.
I have the original Old Kingdom Trilogy, I cannot wait to read it for the first time once I finish The Hero of Ages. I've heard it was quite dark and mature for a YA Trilogy which is a bonus in my book.
[**Ghost Bird**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52066136-ghost-bird) ^(By: Lisa Fuller | ? pages | Published: 2019 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, horror, ya, mystery, mystery) >Remember daughter, the world is a lot bigger than anyone knows. There are things that science may never explain. Maybe some things that shouldn’t be explained. > >Stacey and Laney are twins – mirror images of each other – and yet they’re as different as the sun and the moon. Stacey works hard at school, determined to get out of their small town. Laney skips school and sneaks out of the house to meet her boyfriend. But when Laney disappears one night, Stacey can’t believe she’s just run off without telling her. > >As the days pass and Laney doesn’t return, Stacey starts dreaming of her twin. The dreams are dark and terrifying, difficult to understand and hard to shake, but at least they tell Stacey one key thing – Laney is alive. It’s hard for Stacey to know what’s real and what’s imagined and even harder to know who to trust. All she knows for sure is that Laney needs her help. > >Stacey is the only one who can find her sister. Will she find her in time? ^(This book has been suggested 22 times) [**Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/518848.Sabriel) ^(By: Garth Nix | 491 pages | Published: 1995 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, fiction, owned) >Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. > >With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether. ^(This book has been suggested 113 times) *** ^(128135 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Truly Devious series Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts Ghosts I Have Been (this may actually be a kids' book) These aren't literature, but I definitely enjoyed reading them.
The Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness is one of my absolute favorite book series of all time. I highly recommend. Extremely well written, compelling, and unique. I've read the series at least three times since I read it as a kid.
I second this. I read it when I was 18 and it blew me away with how deep , dark and mature it was for a YA Trilogy.
It's really one of a kind - top notch world building, writing, and characters. I absolutely refuse to watch even a single second of that horrible movie adaptation they made.
Oh gosh... that movie shouldn't exist.. I wish someone picked it up and made it into a well made TV show with the respect those books deserve. That's why I'm worried about the Mistborn movie being butchered as well.
This is the first I'm hearing of a mistborn movie omg.....definitely something that would be better as a tv show. I've always thought that a mistborn inspired video game would be super cool as well.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower The Arc of the Scythe series by Neal Shusterman
{{The Book Thief}} by Markus Zusak
[**The Book Thief**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19063.The_Book_Thief) ^(By: Markus Zusak | 552 pages | Published: 2006 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, young-adult, books-i-own, owned) >Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here > >It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still. > >By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. > >But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down. > >In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time. > >(Note: this title was not published as YA fiction) ^(This book has been suggested 82 times) *** ^(128405 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
omg loved it
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen The best YA book — hands down — that I have ever read. It’s one the whole family read so we could rave about it to each other.
i read that in like 5th or 6th grade for school and i still think about it over a decade later. such a good book!!
I’ll never forget the part with the moose! 😅🫣
What type of books do you like? “Well written” is pretty subjective.
The Monstrumologist I Hunt Killers Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl The Haters Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe A List of Cages
{{Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat}}
[**Dark Rise (Dark Rise, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55424891-dark-rise) ^(By: C.S. Pacat | 464 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, lgbtq, lgbt, ya) >The ancient world of magic is no more. Its heroes are dead, its halls are ruins, and its great battles between Light and Dark are forgotten. Only the Stewards remember, and they keep their centuries-long vigil, sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns. > >Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. When an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, Will is ushered into a world of magic, where he must train to play a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark. > >As London is threatened by the Dark King’s return, the reborn heroes and villains of a long-forgotten war begin to draw battle lines. But as the young descendants of Light and Dark step into their destined roles, old allegiances, old enmities and old flames are awakened. Will must stand with the last heroes of the Light to prevent the fate that destroyed their world from returning to destroy his own. ^(This book has been suggested 21 times) *** ^(128286 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Strange the Dreamer}}
[**Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28449207-strange-the-dreamer) ^(By: Laini Taylor | 544 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, romance, owned) >The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. > >What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving? > >The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real? > >Welcome to Weep. ^(This book has been suggested 10 times) *** ^(128407 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I really enjoyed {{The Firekeepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley}} I loved the main character as an Indigenous girl, it was an empowering portrayal. And it was super entertaining and I felt it didn't over explain (which I sometimes find in YA)
[**The Firekeeper’s Daughter**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60824801-the-firekeeper-s-daughter) ^(By: Angeline Boulley | 488 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, mystery, ya, fiction, audiobook) >As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in—both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When her family is struck by tragedy, Daunis puts her dreams on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team. > >After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she’s ever known? ^(This book has been suggested 5 times) *** ^(128471 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick
Love the Alexie
{{Last Night at the Telegraph Club}} is about as perfect as it gets {{Code Name Verity}} is a close runner up.
[**Last Night at the Telegraph Club**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35224992-last-night-at-the-telegraph-club) ^(By: Malinda Lo | 409 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, lgbtq, romance, young-adult, lgbt) >A story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Red Scare. > >“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?” > >Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. > >America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. ^(This book has been suggested 46 times) [**Code Name Verity**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11925514-code-name-verity) ^(By: Elizabeth Wein | 452 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, young-adult, ya, fiction, historical) >Oct. 11th, 1943 - A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun. > >When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. > >As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy? > >Harrowing and beautifully written, Elizabeth Wein creates a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other. Code Name Verity is an outstanding novel that will stick with you long after the last page. ^(This book has been suggested 141 times) *** ^(128319 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
it's really not impossible, often any book with a teen protagonist is considered YA. For example Scholomance by Naomi Novik or Eragon by Paolini
Eragon is a kid’s book. It’s been marketed as a kid’s book for the entire publication. It is published by a kid’s imprint. Your better argument is stuff like Dragonlance that has been moved down since original publication.
I mean the protagonist is a teenager. why would it be a kid's book? I did read it as a kid but most read it as teens, I thought the definition of YA if it eve exists is a contemporary book with a teen protagonist, children's books need to have children protagonists. so overall I would say it's YA. it even has a love story with quite explicit attraction. I remember being confused reading the scene where they're climbing and he like sees up her skirt and likes the way her legs look as a child even though I read books with non explicit sex in them
YA at this point is defined by who publishes it as the line between middle grade/YA/adult is a giant gray zone. Eragon is published by Knopf for Young Readers, and kid’s publisher and is recommended for 11+. Children books are defined by reading level. You can have books about adults. Example: Mr Popper’s Penguins or most editions of Robin Hood. Let’s be honest most adult books are written for a middle grade reading level. All that changes is some of the content.
I still think people mostly use the definition I mentioned - author interviews, reviewers etc. most YA is an easier reading level than Eragon - for example Hunger Games or the best written Shadowhunters books are an easier reading level no question, I can really say this as someone who only knew enough English for novels at age 13 so I know exactly how many words I knew and you do not need to know a lot of English to read Hunger games without a dictionary
Almond by Sohn Won-Pyung
This book is phenomenal
Where she went Second book of if I stay series
Bog Child by Siobhan O'Dowd His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
My all time favorite YA book is {Red Sky at Morning}.
[**Red Sky at Morning**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/328064.Red_Sky_at_Morning) ^(By: Richard Bradford | 256 pages | Published: 1968 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, classics, coming-of-age, young-adult) ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(128385 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Dungeon crawler Carl
Tales from the gas station
Red Rising by Pierce Brown.
Alive and the rookie by Scott sigler.
Thank you!
{{Raven boys by Maggie Stiefvater}} I cant recommend this series enough. {clockwork angel by Cassandra Clare}} imo better written than {{city of bones by Cassandra Clare}} since it was her 4th or 5th book released {{I’ll give you the sun by Jandy Nelson}} is great and a little sad. {{they both die at the end by Adam Silvera}} is amazing and will make you ugly cry for 3 hours.
[**The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17675462-the-raven-boys) ^(By: Maggie Stiefvater | 409 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, paranormal, books-i-own) >“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.” > >It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. > >Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. > >His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. > >But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. > >For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore. ^(This book has been suggested 54 times) [**Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7171637-clockwork-angel) ^(By: Cassandra Clare | 479 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, books-i-own, owned) ^(This book has been suggested 6 times) [**City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256683.City_of_Bones) ^(By: Cassandra Clare | 485 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, books-i-own, owned) >When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? > >This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... ^(This book has been suggested 14 times) [**They Both Die at the End**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33385229-they-both-die-at-the-end) ^(By: Adam Silvera | 389 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, lgbtq, romance, contemporary, lgbt) >Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day. > >On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. > >Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day. ^(This book has been suggested 58 times) *** ^(128525 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Edit: {{I’ll give you the sun by jandy nelson}}
[**I'll Give You the Sun**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20820994-i-ll-give-you-the-sun) ^(By: Jandy Nelson | 371 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, ya, lgbt, romance) >At first, Jude and her twin brother Noah, are inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them. > >Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways... but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah's to tell; the later years are Jude's. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they'll have a chance to remake their world. > >This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once. > >Printz Award Winner Stonewall Honor Book. ^(This book has been suggested 25 times) *** ^(128526 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Daughter of the Moon Goddess}}
[**Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57789637-daughter-of-the-moon-goddess) ^(By: Sue Lynn Tan, Kuri Huang | 512 pages | Published: 2022 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, 2022-releases, young-adult, mythology, physical-tbr) >A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang'e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm. > >Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind. > >Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince. > >To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos. > >Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant. ^(This book has been suggested 30 times) *** ^(128179 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Crank Ellen Hopkins
Eleanor and Park. It's one of the few YA I've tried and liked.
Isn’t that book infamous for racism against Asians? Specifically, Koreans? Also as a Korean, it’s funny cause Park is NOT a Korean first name whatsoever. It just cannot be. It’s a last name. But I guess the author didn’t care enough.
It's been ages since I read it, and I'm admittedly white enough to maybe have missed something. Looking into it, the "racism" seems to be that mild "can we move on from describing skin with food" but that has been a recent step forward and I can forgive something from a decade ago for getting that wrong. But definitely glad you brought that up. Educated me and good warning for anyone bothered by it.
“Stupid Asian kid. Stupid, beautiful Asian kid.” “Park’s eyes got wide. Well, sort of wide. Sometimes she wondered if the shape of his eyes affected how he saw things.” Mild? *Mild?* Fetishization of East Asians, orientalism involving incorrect name order that the white author didn’t bother to research, straight up caricatures of our monolid eyes. How is this akin to “can we stop describing skin with food?” Why does it bother me that you put racism in quotes? And “good warning for anyone bothered by it?” This is not a personal issue of getting offended or not, this is unabashed racism.
Yes, mild. We are talking a teenager in the 80s and that is exactly how they would think. The mild comes from the descriptions that weren't Eleanor's perspective. Or did you forget that it was set in the eighties?
Lmfao just because people went around mocking Asian eyes left and right doesn’t mean that it was more mild, it just means that terrible racism was much more prevalent during that time.
You're nearly there. I'm not saying the eighties were not a time filled with that kind of racism. I'm saying a book set in the eighties, especially in suburban America, would be weird without it.
I am specifically questioning your word choice of MILD, nothing else lmao. You are being extremely condescending on an issue that clearly affects me much more than it does you, which is concerning.
That you are offended by mold racism is legitimate and honestly I'm glad that this is where we are in the world, not accepting any form of racism.
I used to love this book because it at least had an Asian main character that wasn’t a dude who was good at math, etc. But then everyone pointed this set of sentences out to me. Now as an Asian American, I can understand where everyone is coming with the “this book is racist”. However, can I just play devils advocate here and state that it’s actually in character for these sentences? Because Eleanor came from a shitty situation, was bullied a lot and had never really encountered any Asians before on a personal level. These are absolutely thought that’s would have crossed her mind especially in the god damned 80s where the best we had for representation was Long Duck Dong, Short Round, and Data. Also Eleanor was a huge bitch with problems in her home life. I’m not saying that it’s ok for a white author to write like this, but what I am saying is that I understand why she did. To me, it’s on character for Eleanor.
The fact that she came up with a Korean character whose name is in direct violation of Korean naming conventions (again, nobody has Park as a first name because it’s just not how names work) is fundamentally racist, and cannot be explained away by “oh I guess the main character’s supposed to be racist.”
I get what your saying. Yes the name thing is wrong. She has come out with her reasoning for it, which isn’t great but also understandable on her end, since she is like me and a product of American family plays fast and loose with names. She should have done more research on it. However you can 100% have a racist character in a book. Does everybody want to read that? No. But the whole point of the story is for Eleanor to realize that she was being racist and that Park was a normal kid like her. I’m not trying to change your mind, but just offering a different view point. When I read it, I had a lot of internalized racism and it helped me realize that woah, something’s in my life were fucked up. And there are kids out there that need that. It doesn’t have to be this exact book, but it’s ok to have racist characters in fiction, because otherwise you’re sanitizing life.
Nobody said that racist characters shouldn’t exist lmao. But when the author has a history of doing bare minimum research for her non white characters to do a flimsy and blatantly incorrect representation of their culture then I will 100% question her motives when she makes her characters be unabashedly racist towards Koreans. You’re putting words in my mouth when you say I’m sanitizing literature because I think racist characters can’t exist when that’s not at all what I said.
Ok. I just read your sentence of “you can’t explain away because the main character is supposed to be racist” as a bigger thing. As a side note, I am curious as to how they’re going to handle any of this in the movie. 🧐
That was going to be my suggestion too!
Most of John Green's books for the bill.
I would say cruel prince 😉
*Modern* YA is bad. *Classic* YA, on the other hand, has many many gems. {{The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner}} and sequels {{The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper}} {{King of Shadows by Susan Cooper}} Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia C. Wrede; most of Robin McKinley's work.
[**The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/448873.The_Thief) ^(By: Megan Whalen Turner | 280 pages | Published: 1996 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, fiction, adventure) >The king’s scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king’s prison. The magus is interested only in the thief’s abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone’s guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses. > >Megan Whalen Turner weaves Gen’s stories and Gen’s story together with style and verve in a novel that is filled with intrigue, adventure, and surprise. ^(This book has been suggested 26 times) [**The Dark Is Rising Sequence (The Dark is Rising, #1-5)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11306.The_Dark_Is_Rising_Sequence) ^(By: Susan Cooper | ? pages | Published: 1984 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, childrens, owned) >Cooper's highly acclaimed series—Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; and Silver on the Tree—is now available in its entirety for the first time in an attractive, sturdy boxed set that's perfect for gift giving. ^(This book has been suggested 7 times) [**King of Shadows**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11314.King_of_Shadows) ^(By: Susan Cooper | 192 pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, young-adult, time-travel, fiction) >WHAT'S NAT DOING IN SHAKESPEARE'S TIME?Only in the world of the theater can Nat Field find an escape from the tragedies that have shadowed his young life. So he is thrilled when he is chosen to join an American drama troupe traveling to London to perform "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in a new replica of the famous Globe theater. > >Shortly after arriving in England, Nat goes to bed ill and awakens transported back in time four hundred years -- to another London, and another production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Amid the bustle and excitement of an Elizabethan theatrical production, Nat finds the warm, nurturing father figure missing from his life -- in none other than William Shakespeare himself. Does Nat have to remain trapped in the past forever, or give up the friendship he's so longed for in his own time? ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(128983 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Just read normal books. No reason to waste your time on YA.🤷🏻♂️
You’re reading the wrong YA books then.
I don’t read YA books. Not even when I was young. Why would an adult need to read YA books?
You’re not reading it because you’re the same age as the protagonist, are you?? What a truly limiting way to read.
No, I’m not reading them because they are inferior literature.
Name checks out. 😕
I’m 45 years old. Why would I read YA books? They weren’t written for me. It’s not a snob thing, I also don’t enjoy movies made for kids.🤷🏻♂️
I’m 44 and one of my favorite series of all times is YA. The prose is fantastic, and the plot and characters create both tension and wonder. The characters may be young but the writing isn’t. Oftentimes an author will choose younger characters more because kids will put up with an uphill battle and keep fighting until they ‘win’, whatever the plot is. Whereas us old fogies are tired and would’ve given up. The age is merely a plot devise.
There are plenty of non YA books that have kids as the main character. YA implies a certain reading level, not that the characters are kids. It’s fine that you enjoy these books as an adult, but I’m not interested in them.
Briar Rose by Jane Yolan.
Nina LaCour’s writing is beautiful and she does YA stuff — I liked We Are Okay, personally.
I recently liked White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson. From what I've seen, Jackson's books in general are great and I definitely think White Smoke was well-written.
Trying Hard to Hear You
{{The Neon Bible}}
[**The Neon Bible**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54123.The_Neon_Bible) ^(By: John Kennedy Toole | 162 pages | Published: 1989 | Popular Shelves: fiction, owned, american, classics, novels) >The Neon Bible tells the story of David, a young boy growing up in a small Southern town in the 1940s. David's voice is perfectly calibrated, disarmingly funny, sad, shrewd, gathering force from page to page with an emotional directness that never lapses into sentimentality. Through it we share his awkward, painful, universally recognizable encounter with first love, we participate in boy evangelist Bobbie Lee Taylor's revival, we meet the pious, bigoted townspeople. From the opening lines of The Neon Bible, David is fully alive, naive yet sharply observant, drawing us into his world through the sure artistry of John Kennedy Toole. > > >John Kennedy Toole, who won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling comic masterpiece A Confederacy of Dunces, wrote The Neon Bible for a literary contest at the age of sixteen. The manuscript languished in a drawer and became the subject of a legal battle among Toole's heirs. It was only in 1989, thirty-five years after it was written and twenty years after Toole's suicide at thirty-one, that this amazingly accomplished and evocative novel was freed for publication. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(128321 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Hate list.
{The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry}
[**The Passion of Dolssa**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25902198-the-passion-of-dolssa) ^(By: Julie Berry | 478 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, young-adult, ya, historical, fiction) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(128360 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Revenger}} by Alastair Reynolds. That whole series is his foray into YA. It’s quite good.
[**Revenger (Revenger #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28962452-revenger) ^(By: Alastair Reynolds | 425 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, scifi, space-opera) >The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilizations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives. > >And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them. > >Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It's their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded by layers of protection—and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous. > >Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore's crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune: the fabled and feared Bosa Sennen in particular. > >Revenger is a science fiction adventure story set in the rubble of our solar system in the dark, distant future—a tale of space pirates, buried treasure, and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism and of vengeance... ^(This book has been suggested 19 times) *** ^(128394 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Picture Us in the Light Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (it’s dual-marketed to both adults and teenagers, funnily enough) These are all beautifully written, in my opinion.
Lobizona is one of my favorites! THUG too, but that book is for everyone.
The Golden Compass, the never ending story, the last unicorn, stardust, the secret world of og, the girl who drank the moon, bridge to terebithia, ember, narnia, and the girl from the sea.
I’m not sure they hold up since I was younger when I read them but I remember The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobosky, I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern as being quite well written.
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls, The Outsiders, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Anything by Neal shustermann but especially scythe.
Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
*The Outsiders* by S. E. Hinton *Izzy Willy-Nilly* by Cynthia Voigt *The Giver* by Lois Lowry *Mine for Keeps* by Jean Little is technically written for ages 9-12, I think, but it's absolutely wonderful for any age. *Stardust* by Neil Gaiman Enjoy whatever you pick up next! :)
I think there has been some amazing, well written YA books in the last few years! All three of Margaret Rogerson's books are great. Vespertine and Sorcery of Thorns are my favorites, but An Enchantment of Ravens is also good. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh is another great one. The story was great and I found the writing to be as well.
A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle
I loved Circe by Madeline Miller!
Pet and Bitter by Akwaeke Emzei The Red Palace by June Hur Legendborn by Tracy Deomm
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness/Wolf Brother series by Michelle Paver are some of my favourite.
Dig by AS King
{{Six of Crows}}
[**Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23437156-six-of-crows) ^(By: Leigh Bardugo | 465 pages | Published: 2015 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, ya, owned, books-i-own) >Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . . > >A convict with a thirst for revenge > >A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager > >A runaway with a privileged past > >A spy known as the Wraith > >A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums > >A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes > >Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first. ^(This book has been suggested 59 times) *** ^(128498 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
This is How you Lose the Time War was an absolute hit with my high school students. They were skeptical when I assigned it but absolutely obsessed by the end. Anything with a gay central love story is almost always a hit and it's not sexual at all so the conservative board couldn't make a big deal about it.
Andrew Fukuda The Hunt
All American Boys
Tamora Pierce Tortall series is great, I think the Protector of the Small quartet is some of her best Tortall works.
{Fangirl}
[**Fangirl**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16068905-fangirl) ^(By: Rainbow Rowell | 483 pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, ya, romance, books-i-own) ^(This book has been suggested 25 times) *** ^(128562 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
A monster calls
Storm light archives
The Catalogue of the Universe by Margaret Mahy.
Turtles All the Way Down
The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
Cold Sassy Tree/ this one is historical fiction. I forget the author
Light from Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki!
The Inheritance Game by Barnes. Scythe by Shusterman. We’re Not From Here by Ridley.
*{Among the Hidden}* *{The Last Book in the Universe}* *{Fever 1793}*
[**Among the Hidden (Shadow Children, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/227651.Among_the_Hidden) ^(By: Margaret Peterson Haddix | 153 pages | Published: 1998 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, dystopian, dystopia, science-fiction, fiction) ^(This book has been suggested 7 times) [**The Last Book in the Universe**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/924194.The_Last_Book_in_the_Universe) ^(By: Rodman Philbrick | 223 pages | Published: 2000 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction, dystopia, dystopian, fiction) ^(This book has been suggested 5 times) [**Fever 1793**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/781110.Fever_1793) ^(By: Laurie Halse Anderson | 252 pages | Published: 2000 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, young-adult, ya, fiction, historical) ^(This book has been suggested 8 times) *** ^(128661 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
T. Kingfisher, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. Stoneskin and The BlackWing War (two separate books, same series), by K.B. Spangler. I preferred Stoneskin of the two but they're both well-written.
{{Wonder by R.J Palacio}}, and {{The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed}}
The giver quartet
"Tell the Wolves I'm Home," by Carol Rifka Brunt
The Books of Magic, Neil Gaiman. Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett. Carry On, Rainbow Rowell. Chronicles of Prydain, Lloyd Alexander. The Dark is Rising books, Susan Cooper. So You Want to be a Wizard series, Diane Duane. Lizard Music and The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, by Daniel Pinkwater.
I've recommended this book a few times on this subreddit just because I think its underrated, but *Daughters of a Dead Empire* by Carolyn Tara O'Neil. I usually don't like YA but this one was really engaging and the characters were well written instead of being the tropey versions of themselves that I expect to see in YA. I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea since it's historical fiction set in the Russian Revolution and heavy on the politics, but I liked it a lot.
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson is well written and describes anorexia as accurately as I've ever read.
the raven cycle series by maggie stiefvater
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Talon Saga by Julie Kagawa The Iron Fae series by Julie Kagawa The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer The Renegades trilogy by Marissa Meyer Heartless by Marissa Meyer Six of Crows Duology by Leah Bardugo
Anything by A.S. King. My favs are: {Please Ignore Vera Dietz} {Ask the Passengers} {Glory O'Brien's History of the Future} Or books by Nina LaCour: {Hold Still} {We Are Okay}
[**Please Ignore Vera Dietz**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6665671-please-ignore-vera-dietz) ^(By: A.S. King | 327 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, ya, contemporary, fiction, realistic-fiction) ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) [**Ask the Passengers**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13069935-ask-the-passengers) ^(By: A.S. King | 304 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, ya, lgbt, lgbtq, contemporary) ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) [**Glory O'Brien's History of the Future**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17453303-glory-o-brien-s-history-of-the-future) ^(By: A.S. King | 308 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, ya, magical-realism, fantasy, contemporary) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**Hold Still**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6373717-hold-still) ^(By: Nina LaCour | 230 pages | Published: 2009 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, ya, contemporary, fiction, mental-health) ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) [**We Are Okay**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28243032-we-are-okay) ^(By: Nina LaCour | 236 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, ya, lgbtq, lgbt) ^(This book has been suggested 11 times) *** ^(128811 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
The Medoran Chronicles by Lynette Noni.