8 YA Books Worth the Read

I may be 21 years old, but I still love a good YA novel. They're so fun to read, and when they're well written, you feel transported and get to experience the story as if you're a part of it.

Ok, I lied about only having 8 books. I'm going to consider each series as one, otherwise Harry Potter might just take over 6 of the 8 places and also there are too many great YA books to choose from. Sorry not sorry.

1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

To be honest, I don't even really know what to say about this. I guess first of all, if you haven't read all of them, DO IT. You've waited long enough, just do it.

via GIPHY

This is a defining series for my generation, as well it should be. We grew up reading them and watching the movies and I feel like we got to grow up with the characters. We define ourselves by our Hogwarts House and were devastated when we didn't get our Hogwarts letters on our 11th birthdays (but don't worry, the muggle born registry got wiped out during our childhood because of the war, so it's very possible there's a good reason you never received it).

Guys, I literally cried when my high school choir director was telling me about how his daughter was reading the series for the first time. It was too magical. I couldn't handle it. It's something that will stick with us throughout our lives. This is a series I truly enjoy reading year after year, and I continue to get new things out of it each time. Honestly, it's worth the reread. J.K. Rowling had her stuff together, and knew exactly what she was doing throughout. It's amazing.

Here's my definitive ranking of all 7 books (I exclude Cursed Child, because, though I enjoyed it, it was meant to be experienced as a play and would have been much more effective as such. Plus, J.K. Rowling didn't write the whole thing herself.)

Remember, "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home"

2. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

You've certainly at least heard of these, but it was another defining series of my generation, I think. It was one of the first in the "renaissance" of dystopian YA novels, and I ate it up. Collins developed characters that were relatable even though they were living in a different world. She created an entirely new world that we felt a part of and felt we understood the trials that Katniss faced, though we've certainly never experienced them ourselves. Plus, I think they made arguably the best book to movie adaptations that I've ever seen.

My definitive ranking is as follows:

We all know the end of Mockingjay is devastating and I don't want to talk about it, but that definitely contributes to why it's my least favorite (even though I understand why it happened the way it did).

via GIPHY

3. The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

via GIPHY

A slightly lesser known but still wonderful YA series. This takes place in another dystopian world in which young people have to choose their fate at age 16 after taking an aptitude test. The story follows a girl named Beatrice (Tris) who has lived her life until this point in Abnegation, the faction that values selflessness, but has never felt like she's fit in. She gets to choosing day and has to decide where she will live from this point forward, remain with her family in Abnegation or transfer to a new faction. Dauntless values bravery, Erudite values knowledge and intellect, Amity values peace, and Candor values honesty. It follows her story from choosing day forward and the problems she faces in dealing with the government. It's a great, fun read that will draw you in. There have also been movie adaptations of this series, and while the first one I thought was really great, they have significantly decreased in quality in my opinion, and have significantly strayed from the story as told in the books.

My definitive ranking:

In case this isn't enough for you, there's also a companion book, Four, that retells some of the same stories from Four's perspective, as well as some new stories about his background.

4. The Lunar Chronicles Series by Marissa Meyer

Ok this series is admittedly a little out there, but I honestly loved it. The first novel, Cinder, is loosely based on the classic story of Cinderella, but there are definitely some changes. Cinder is a cyborg living in New Beijing sometime in our future. I understand that it sounds so weird, but you have to give it a chance!

As the series continues, Cinder's story intertwines with other characters who are roughly based on fairytales including Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood), Cress (Rapunzel?), and Winter (Snow White). It's a super enjoyable read I would definitely recommend it if you want something a little easier to read and quick to finish. I read some of them in a day or two. They're just super fun.

This series also started as a NaNoWriMo story, so that's pretty neat. If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, check it out here!

My definitive ranking:

There are also some companion books to this series. Fairest is a collection of stories from Levana's perspective, and Stars Above is a collection of stories that give some background for the main characters of the series.

5. Paper Towns by John Green

This is hands down my favorite John Green book. I find Quentin so relatable and I really appreciate Green's ability to write in a way that I think truly reflects the day to day life of young people while remaining thoughtful and

One of my favorite quotes from this book is, "What a treacherous thing it is to believe that a person is more than a person." Another great one is, “I wanted to tell her that the pleasure for me wasn’t planning or doing or leaving; the pleasure was in seeing our strings cross and separate and then come back together.”

John Green just has a beautiful way with words and I think his writing is incredibly realistic. I think people sometimes discount YA authors because of the content of their work, but I don't think John Green should be discounted. He has a way with words that I find absolutely enthralling, but I know it can be difficult for him to write, which he recently discussed in one of his vlogbrothers videos.

In any case, I sincerely hope that he completes another novel, because while he has written some incredible books for young people, it would truly be a shame for his work to end now.

6. The Giver by Lois Lowry

To me, this is the OG dystopian YA novel. I remember reading it in 5th grade and arguing with my brother about what happened in the last scene. Where did the sled take him? Was it even real?

It's an incredible novel in which Jonas at age 12 is given the job of "Receiver of Memory" by the town elders. He lives in a world of sameness. There is no color or exaggeration or emotional depth in this world. They have eradicated differences and take pills that eliminate their desires.

Jonas's journey is incredibly interesting as he learns what's really going on in his town and as he receives memories from the Giver. It's a short read, but thought provoking. They also made a movie of it, but I thought it was subpar even if Jeff Bridges is literally my brain's spitting image of the Giver.

Photo from EW

7. We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

I just read this book this summer and I quite literally couldn't put it down. It was in the suggested section of my local library, so I just randomly picked it because I wanted something to read that I could get immediately. I finished it in one day. It was that interesting. It's the story of a kid named Henry who gets abducted by aliens and they tell him the world is going to end unless he pushes a button to stop it. The story then goes through his life in the 144 days after he's given the choice as he tries to decide what to do.

This book is super interesting to me for many reasons. First and foremost, it's one of few books I've gotten to read in which the protagonist is gay. I don't know if I'm just oblivious, but books with gay protagonists seem few and far between and it's really a shame. It was so nice to have this slightly different point of view that was so normal. The alien thing also obviously made this interesting. It raises some questions for the reader as to whether they think he's really being abducted or if it's perhaps a mental health issue. It also addresses the reality of suicide and depression. Henry is dealing with the loss of his boyfriend from suicide and his depression is very real. I also enjoyed that every chapter or two there's just a chapter devoted to a way the world could end, which was just really interesting to me. It's just such a great book. It's so honest and enthralling. It makes you want to keep reading.

The writing is so thoughtful and thought provoking. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"We may not get to choose how we die, but we can chose how we live. The universe may forget us, but it doesn't matter. Because we are the ants, and we'll keep marching on."

"Depression isn't a war you win. It's a battle you fight every day. You never stop, never get to rest."

"Dreams are hopeful because they exist as pure possibility. Unlike memories, which are fossils, long dead and buried deep."

Photo from Amazon

8. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

This series so mostly fascinating because of the way in which it was written and presented. The characters and stories were developed from antique photos. I've never seen anything like it. Jacob hears all of these stories from his grandfather about kids who could float or were invisible or had bees living inside of them and shows him these pictures when he's young. Jacob of course believes it as a child and as he gets older assumes that they're staged photos and his grandpa just made the stories up to entertain him when he was little. After his grandfather's mysterious death, he comes to find out that maybe there's more truth to these photos than he thought. What's so great about the book is that it includes real photos that Riggs found at antique stores and the like, which he then turned into these incredible characters. It's just really artistic and neat.

There are also two sequels, Hollow City and Library of Souls. All are incredibly interesting in their own way, but Miss Peregrine was my favorite. This was also recently turned into a movie, which was directed by Tim Burton. It's not exactly like the book, adaptations never are, but it's a really great movie. Tim Burton has such an interesting point of view, and I think he captured the artistry of the book.

What are some of your favorite YA books?

To be honest, this list was pretty difficult for me to make. I started out with at least 12 books but thought that was maybe a bit much, so you'll have to check in later to hear about those other great reads!

I'm sure you can buy all of these books on Amazon, but I linked them to my local bookstore, Plot Twist Bookstore, which I LOVE. We just finally got our first bookstore this year, and I could not be more thrilled because I really believe in shopping and supporting local. So, if it's not in your cards to buy from a bookstore in Ankeny, Iowa, see if you can find these at your local store!

Book 'em

Sunday, October 9, 2016