We don't need no stinkin' genres!
If the drama and conflict come from the everyday quirks and quandaries of work, politics, relationships or just modern life - or if you, the reader, can see your life reflected in the plot, it's real. Kind of.
For more great books see our Past Reading Recommendation
Art Club (a Graphic Novel) by
Inspired by the author's own childhood, this contemporary graphic novel paints a picture of an aspiring young artist on a mission to prove that the arts are worth fighting for.
Mixed Up by
Reef and Theo don't know what's happening to them. They'll be going about their days and then suddenly they'll have these strange flashes of memory -- but the memories don't belong to them. And at the same time, their own memories are starting to . . . vanish. For Reef, this is a big problem, because memories are all he has left of his mom. For Theo, it's strange because the new memories give him a freedom he doesn't have with his domineering dad.
Ruby Lost and Found by
Thanks to her Ye-Ye's epic scavenger hunts, thirteen-year-old Ruby Chu knows San Francisco like the back of her hand. But after his death, she feels lost, and it seems like everyone--from her best friends to her older sister--is abandoning her. After Ruby gets in major trouble at school, her parents decide she has to spend the summer at a local senior center with her grandmother, Nai-Nai, and Nai-Nai's friends for company.
The Firefly Summer by
For as long as Ryanna Stuart can remember, her summers have been spent with her father and his new wife. Just the three of them, structured, planned, and quiet. But this summer is different. This summer, she's received a letter from her grandparents--grandparents neither she nor her dad have spoken to since her mom's death--inviting her to stay with them at an old summer camp in the Poconos. Ryanna accepts. She wants to learn about her mom. She wants to uncover the mystery of why her father hasn't spoken to her grandparents all these years. She's even looking forward to a quiet summer by the lake. But what she finds are relatives...so many relatives!
No Place Like Home by
When home is a car, life is unpredictable. School, friends, and three meals a day aren't guaranteed. Not every town has a shelter where a family can sleep for a night or two, and places with parking lots don't welcome overnight stays. Opin, his brother Emjay, and their mother are trying to get to Los Angeles, where they hope an uncle and a new life are waiting. Emjay has taken to disappearing for days, slowing down the family's progress and adding to their worry. Then Opin finds a stray dog who needs him as much as he needs her, and his longing for a stable home intensifies, as his brother's reckless ways hit a new high. Opin makes a new friend in the shelter, but shelters don't allow dogs... Will anything other than a real home ever be enough?
Invisible Son by
Life can change in an instant. When you're wrongfully accused of a crime. When a virus shuts everything down. When the girl you love moves on. Andre Jackson is determined to reclaim his identity. But returning from juvie doesn't feel like coming home. His Portland, Oregon, neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying, and COVID-19 shuts down school before he can return. And Andre's suspicions about his arrest for a crime he didn't commit even taint his friendships. It's as if his whole life has been erased. The one thing Andre is counting on is his relationship with the Whitaker kids-especially his longtime crush, Sierra. But Sierra's brother Eric is missing, and the facts don't add up as their adoptive parents fight to keep up the act that their racially diverse family is picture-perfect. If Andre can find Eric, he just might uncover the truth about his own arrest. But in a world where power is held by a few and Andre is nearly invisible, searching for the truth is a dangerous game. Critically acclaimed author Kim Johnson delivers another social justice thriller that shines a light on being young and Black in America-perfect for fans of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Dear Justyce by Nic Stone.
Kween by
A searing, joyful YA debut about a queer Cambodian American teen's journey to find her voice and step into her legacy, perfect for fans of Ibi Zoboi and Elizabeth Acevedo. Soma Kear's verses have gone viral. Trouble is, she didn't exactly think her slam poetry video through. All she knew was that her rhymes were urgent. On fire. An expression of where she was, and that place...was a hot mess. Following her Ba's deportation back to Cambodia, everything's changed. Her Ma is away trying to help Ba adjust to his new life, and her older sister has taken charge with a new authoritarian tone. Meanwhile, Soma's trending video pushes her to ask if it's time to level up. With her school's spoken word contest looming, Soma must decide: Is she brave enough to put herself out there? To publicly reveal her fears of Ba not returning? To admit that things may never be the same? With every line she spits, Soma searches for a way to make sense of the world around her. The answers are at the mic. From debut author Vichet Chum comes a celebration of Khmer identity, queerness, and embracing the complicated histories that shape who we are and want to be.
The Minus-One Club by
Fifteen-year-old Kermit Sanders knows grief and its all-encompassing shadows. After losing his beloved older sister in a tragic car accident, nothing quite punctures through the feelings of loss. Everywhere Kermit goes, he is reminded of her. But then Kermit finds a mysterious invitation in his locker, signed anonymously with "-1." He has no idea what he's in for, but he shows up to find out. Dubbed the "Minus-One Club," a group of his schoolmates has banded together as a form of moral support. The members have just one thing in common--they have all suffered the tragic loss of someone they loved. The usual dividing lines between high school classes and cliques don't apply inside the Minus-One Club, and Kermit's secret crush, the handsome and happy-go-lucky Matt (and only out gay student at school), is also a part of the group. Slowly, Matt's positive headstrong approach to life helps relieve Kermit of his constant despair. But as Kermit grows closer to Matt, the light of his new life begins to show the cracks beneath the surface. When Matt puts himself in danger by avoiding his feelings, Kermit must find the strength to not only lift himself back up but to help the rest of the group from falling apart. Praise for The Minus-One Club ★ "Magoon thoughtfully includes themes relating to depression, suicide, identity and religious expression as she compassionately builds Kermit's complicated, sensitive inner life and depicts the various ways people might respond to the loss of a loved one." -Shelf Awareness, starred review "This evocative exploration of grief, sexual identity, and personal spirituality will be a boon to any teen grappling with these issues." -Horn Book
The Queens of New York by
Best friends Jia Lee, Ariel Kim, and Everett Hoang are inseparable. But this summer, they won't be together. Everett, aspiring Broadway star, hopes to nab the lead role in an Ohio theater production, but soon realizes that talent and drive can only get her so far. Brainy Ariel is flying to San Francisco for a prestigious STEM scholarship, even though her heart is in South Korea, where her sister died last year. And stable, solid Jia will be home in Flushing, juggling her parents' Chinatown restaurant, a cute new neighbor, and dreams for an uncertain future. As the girls navigate heartbreaking surprises and shocking self-discoveries, they find that even though they're physically apart, they are still mighty together
What's Eating Jackie Oh? by
Jackie Oh is done being your model minority. She's tired of perfect GPAs, PSATs, SATs, all of it. Jackie longs to become a professional chef. But her Korean American parents are Ivy League corporate workaholics who would never understand her dream. Just ask her brother, Justin, who hasn't heard from them since he was sent to Rikers Island. Jackie works at her grandparents' Midtown Manhattan deli after school and practices French cooking techniques at night--when she should be studying. But the kitchen's the only place Jackie is free from all the stresses eating at her--school, family, and the increasing violence targeting the Asian community. Then the most unexpected thing happens: Jackie becomes a teen contestant on her favorite cooking show, Burn Off! Soon Jackie is thrown headfirst into a cutthroat TV world filled with showboating child actors, snarky judges, and gimmicky "gotcha!" challenges. All Jackie wants to do is cook her way. But what is her way? In a novel that will make you laugh and cry, Jackie proves who she is both on and off the plate. Patricia Park's hilarious and stunning What's Eating Jackie Oh? explores the delicate balance of identity, ambition, and the cultural expectations to perform.
Always the Almost by
A trans pianist makes a New Year's resolution on a frozen Wisconsin night to win regionals and win back his ex, but a new boy complicates things in Edward Underhill's heartfelt debut YA rom-dram, Always the Almost. Sixteen-year-old trans boy Miles Jacobson has two New Year's resolutions: 1) win back his ex-boyfriend (and star of the football team) Shane McIntyre, and 2) finally beat his slimy arch-nemesis at the Midwest's biggest classical piano competition. But that's not going to be so easy. For one thing, Shane broke up with Miles two weeks after Miles came out as trans, and now Shane's stubbornly ignoring him, even when they literally bump into each other. Plus, Miles' new, slightly terrifying piano teacher keeps telling him that he's playing like he "doesn't know who he is"--whatever that means. Then Miles meets the new boy in town, Eric Mendez, a proudly queer cartoonist from Seattle who asks his pronouns, cares about art as much as he does--and makes his stomach flutter. Not what he needs to be focusing on right now. But after Eric and Miles pretend to date so they can score an invite to a couples-only Valentine's party, the ruse turns real with a kiss, which is also definitely not in the plan. If only Miles could figure out why Eric likes him so much. After all, it's not like he's cool or confident or comfortable in his own skin. He's not even good enough at piano to get his fellow competitors to respect him, especially now, as Miles. Nothing's ever been as easy for him as for other people--other boys. He's only ever been almost enough. So why, when he's with Eric, does it feel like the only person he's ever really not been enough for...is himself?
All the Fighting Parts by
YALSA William C.Morris Award Finalist Walter Award Honor Book Rise List Top Ten Kirkus Books Best of the Year In the vein of Grown and The Poet X, Hannah V. Sawyerr's All the Fighting Parts is a searing and defiant young adult novel in verse about reclaiming agency after a sexual assault within the church community. Sixteen-year-old Amina Conteh has always believed in using her voice as her weapon--even when it gets her into trouble. After cursing at a classmate, her father forces her to volunteer at their church with Pastor Johnson. But Pastor Johnson isn't the holy man everyone thinks he is. The same voice Amina uses to fight falls quiet the night she is sexually assaulted by Pastor Johnson. After that, her life starts to unravel: her father is frustrated that her grades are slipping, and her best friend and boyfriend don't understand why the once loud and proud girl is now quiet and distant. In a world that claims to support survivors, Amina wonders who will support her when her attacker is everyone's favorite community leader. When Pastor Johnson is arrested for a different crime, the community is shaken and divided; some call him a monster and others defend him. But Amina is secretly relieved. She no longer has to speak because Pastor Johnson can't hurt her anymore--or so she believes. To regain her voice and sense of self, Amina must find the power to confront her abuser--in the courtroom and her heart--and learn to use all the fighting parts within her.
Tilly in Technicolor by
Tilly Twomley is desperate for change. White-knuckling her way through high school with flawed executive functioning has left her burnt out and ready to start fresh. Working as an intern for her perfect older sister's start up isn't exactly how Tilly wants to spend her summer, but the required travel around Europe promises a much-needed change of scenery as she plans for her future. The problem is, Tilly has no idea what she wants. Oliver Clark knows exactly what he wants. His autism has often made it hard for him to form relationships with others, but his love of color theory and design allows him to feel deeply connected to the world around him. Plus, he has everything he needs: a best friend that gets him, placement into a prestigious design program, and a summer internship to build his resume. Everything is going as planned. That is, of course, until he suffers through the most disastrous international flight of his life, all turmoil stemming from lively and exasperating Tilly. Oliver is forced to spend the summer with a girl that couldn't be more his opposite--feeling things for her he can't quite name--and starts to wonder if maybe he doesn't have everything figured out after all. As the duo's neurodiverse connection grows, they learn that some of the best parts of life can't be planned, and are forced to figure out what that means as their disastrously wonderful summer comes to an end.
If You Can't Take the Heat by
When high school football star Theo Claverback breaks his leg just weeks after a devastating break-up, he's forced to call an audible on his summer plans and put his college ones on hold. He soon finds himself in the most unlikely of places for a jock on crutches: the kitchen of an upscale French restaurant, where he'll work as a prep cook while his heart and leg heal. But it's in the kitchen where Theo finds new purpose and a new romance. As he becomes a trusted employee to Chef and is welcomed into his inner circle, Theo begins to discover the true costs of running a restaurant--and what happens when you get into hot water with the wrong people. Set in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980, If You Can't Take the Heat is a gritty look inside the belly of an upscale kitchen where love and danger boil behind closed doors.
Gather by
A resourceful teenager in rural Vermont struggles to hold on to the family home while his mom recovers from addiction in this striking debut novel. Ian Gray isn't supposed to have a dog, but a lot of things that shouldn't happen end up happening anyway. And Gather, Ian's adopted pup, is good company now that Ian has to quit the basketball team, find a job, and take care of his mom as she tries to overcome her opioid addiction. Despite the obstacles thrown their way, Ian is determined to keep his family afloat no matter what it takes