Over my summer staycation I read a number of Young Adult (YA) books. About 15 of them! I remembered why I love this category; tight plotting and typically edgy stories. Here are some that I particularly loved and recommend.
First up, a few with topical themes: DREAM THINGS TRUE by Marie Marquardt (immigration), WHAT WE SAW by Aaron Hartzler (sexual assault) and HOW IT WENT DOWN by Kekla Magoon (racial shootings).
ONE by Sarah Crossan looks at the lives of two girls who are Siamese twins, DUMPLIN' by Julie Murphy explores a young woman who is overweight with a mom who runs an annual beauty pageant, and FUTURE PERFECT by Jen Larsen looks at an overweight girl whose grandmother, a doctor, sets weight loss goals with rewards, including a scholarship to Harvard.
IF YOU'RE LUCKY by Yvonne Prinz is the story of a young girl whose brother Lucky died surfing in Australia. Georgia thinks there is something hazy about this story, but she suffers from mental illness and people are not taking her seriously. A star middle-grade title is YARD WAR by Taylor Kitchings, which is set in Mississippi in 1964 and looks at civil rights.
Wonderful reading for you whether you are an adult or a twentysomething --- and recommend then to the teens in your life. I highly recommend them.
