Reverie

Written by: Ryan La Sala

First line: This is where it happened. 

Why you should read this book: I think, at its core, it's a metaphor about maladaptive daydreaming, the kind where it's so easy to escape into your dissociative fantasy world that your coping mechanism becomes more real to you than the real world, and begins to impact your real life and all your relationships, but it's also a YA queer fantasy, so the daydreams are very, very real and if the characters can't control them, it could be the end of life as we know it. Kane doesn't have any real memories of the night he supposedly crashed his car and burned down a local landmark, but, as he heals, he starts to realize that he's missing a lot of memories, mostly those pertaining to close friendships he doesn't remember having, but also that he was the leader of a group of teens with superpowers and that other worlds are creeping out of people's imaginations and taking over reality. Kane has to figure out who to trust and who to protect, and to defeat a magical drag queen who wants to use him to create another world in place of the one Kane calls home. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It took me a while to get into it.

Gay the Pray Away

Written by: Natalie Naudus

First line: I cannot be trusted.

Why you should read this book: This absolute gem of a YA-romance novel not only tells a heartwarming love story and an uplifting coming-out story, but also does its civic duty in warning the world what, exactly, is going on in the Christian Dominionist movement: how children are being abused spiritually and emotionally, intentionally kept ignorant, forced into obsolete gender roles and legalized servitude, and just generally harmed by fundamentalist religious beliefs. Valerie has been hiding her truth for so long, desperately trying to live up to her family's expectations, but when she meets the gorgeous, grapefruit-scented Riley, she realizes she can't keep pretending to be someone she's not. Valerie is bisexual, and absolutely in love with Riley, and definitely never going to follow the life plan her church claims is God's will for her, because that plan is horrible, and has nothing to do with who she is as a person and what she's going to do with her future. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't care what genders they have, you absolutely just despise seeing people happy. 

Turtles All the Way Down

Written by: John Green

First line: At the first time I realized I might be fictional, my weekdays were spent at a publicly funded institution on the north side of Indianapolis called White River High School, where I was required to eat lunch at a particular time--between 12:37 P.M. and 1:14 P.M.--by forces so much larger than myself that I couldn't even begin to identify them. 

Why you should read this book: Teenager Aza "Holmesy" Holmes has been living with anxiety and invasive thought for a while now, probably since her father died when she was a little kid, and although they control many aspects of her life, they don't control her best friend, Daisy. When Daisy learns that Aza used to be friends with the son of a missing billionaire (they met at "sad camp" for kids with dead parents), Daisy wants to exploit that connection in the hopes that she and Aza can collect the reward for finding the missing man. But Aza's reunion with her old friend only exacerbates her illness until her behavior threatens all her relationships and even her life. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: John Green is not exactly known for happy endings. 

The Wicked + The Divine: The Faust Act

Written by: Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

First line: And once again, we return to this.

Why you should read this book: Here's a world that almost exactly like ours, except that every ninety years, a pantheon of god come back, taking young people for their avatars, becoming music sensations who are both worshiped and despised, possessing the power to drive their audiences to ecstasy, and other powers as well, and then dying two years later. Above-average teen and superfan Laura has an interesting encounter with Lucifer ("You can call me Luci.") after an Amaterasu concert and finds herself immersed in the surprising and dangerous world of these powerful, short-lived gods. As Lucifer becomes reckless and erratic, Laura becomes desperate to save her from the world of men, but Lucifer may have different plans for herself...and her protégé. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You get the sense that the actual story doesn't really start until the next book.

Miss Quinces

Written by: Kat Fajardo

First line: "And they never saw him again."

Why you should read this book: Fifteen-year-old Suyapa wants to spend the summer drawing comics and camping with her friends, or at least, keeping up with them on WhatsApp, but unfortunately, she has to spend a month in Honduras with her mother's side of the family, far from civilization with no internet at all. And what's worse, her mother has decided that Suyapa is going to have a princess-pink quinceañera, even though Sue has indicated numerous times that she hates big poofy dresses, has zero interest in high heeled shoes, can't dance, and despises the color pink. But the ritual and celebration she's been refusing for so long turns out to have important cultural implications for her family, and as Suyapa comes to a better understanding of who she is in the context of the people who love her, the idea of a quinceañera takes on new meaning—especially if everyone can make a few little changes here and there in order to help her feel more comfortable with her big day. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're still traumatized by all the times they forced you into dress clothes that didn't suit you at all, and no one ever once appreciated your own personal style.

Buy Miss Quinces Here!

Pumpkinheads

Written by: Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

First line: Happy Hallooweeeeen!

Why you should read this book: If you enjoy unlikely romantic comedies for young adult audiences, this is a stellar example of the genre. Deja and Josiah are high school seniors who have worked together at DeKnock's World Famous Pumpkin Patch and Autumn Jamboree for three seasons, but they're seniors now, and tonight is the last night of the last season they'll ever spend together before college tears them apart. Josiah has been pining for the girl at the fudge stand that entire time, and Deja's determined that he'll finally talk to that girl before the night is through, but when it comes down to the wire, Josiah learns the difference between love and infatuation, and has to decide which one offers the greatest reward. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you don't like romantic comedies...you don't like romantic comedies.

Buy Pumpkinheads here!

Nubia Real One

Written by: LL McKinney and Robyn Smith

First line: Nubia, you tellin' me you actually wanna work all summer?

Why you should read this book: Throughout her childhood, every time Nubia accidentally revealed her powers of super strength and super speed, her moms packed up house and moved her to another city to keep her safe, but now that she's in high school and has some real friends and a crush who could possibly like her back, she's not so sure why she has to hide her abilities. When she foils a convenience store robbery to protect her crush (by throwing an ATM at the thieves) she sets into motion a series of events that stir up all the unspoken racism, sexism, and classism of her community, and when she learns who she really is and where her power comes from, she has to decide for herself whether to remain hidden or to show the world what she's really capable of. A timely and relevant reimagining of an underdeveloped DC character (the original Nubia was the first Black female hero in the pantheon) with great potential for the genre. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some of the details (racial violence, sexual harassment, school shootings) may be triggering for sensitive readers.

Buy Nubia Real One here!

Nisrin's Hijab

Written by: Priya Huq

First line: Alright, big hand for Nicole!

Why you should read this book: Following a sudden, gruesome, and apparently racially motivated act of violence, Bangladeshi-American teen Nisrin chooses to wear a headscarf, although her family is secular and their reactions to her decision range from confusion to anger. In school, her hijab elicits aggression from teachers and students, made even more complicated by the fact that she knows very little about Islam (the narrative makes it seem like her choice is motivated by PTSD rather than religious sentiment, which is then further complicated by her family's experience of violence prior to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971). By holding firm to ideas that she always feels but can't always express, Nisrim is able to find a new path forward while also repairing the relationships that suffered after her original ordeal. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I wonder how a reader who wore a hijab for religious reasons would feel about this story, in which the hijab symbolizes many things, but not a submission to God.

Buy Piece by Piece the Story of Nisrin's Hijab here

Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman

Written by: Kristen R. Lee

First line: The pizza drivers don't deliver here after seven.

Why you should read this book: Savannah Howard just wanted to attend the historically Black university ten miles away from the Memphis housing project where she grew up, but after years of sacrificing her social life for grades she finds herself the recipient of a full scholarship at an ivy league school, and her mother won't hear of her going anywhere else. From the moment she sets foot on the Wooddale campus, Savannah finds herself the target of multiple microaggressions, followed almost immediately by multiple incidents of overt racism, all of which is swept under the rug by an administration intent on protecting a white legacy student with his name on a brand new building. How much is Savannah willing to rock the boat in the pursuit of justice, what metric can she use to discern friend from foe, and will she ever feel comfortable on a campus where her voice and her truth seem so unwanted?

Why you shouldn't read this book: The racism starts out unpleasantly and escalates in alarming and increasingly terrifying ways.

Buy Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman here

Beneath a Meth Moon: An Elegy

Written by: Jacqueline Woodson

First line: It's almost winter again and the cold moves through this town like water washing over us.

Why you should read this book: Poetic and haunting, this is the brutal story of a high school girl's descent into and ascent out of meth addiction. After losing her mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina, Laurel tries to create a new life for herself in a new town, but from the first hit of "moon," her hold on life begins to slip away until her demise seems inevitable. Shines a light on the stark reality of loss, addiction, and the meth epidemic in small town America.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Content warning for meth. Lots and lots of meth.

Time You Let Me in: 25 Poets under 25

Edited by: Naomi Shihab Nye

 First line: If you drive old farm road 43 from Corpus Christi, Texas, up to Driscoll right at dawn and for the thirty or so minutes afterward, through the tiny towns of London and Petronila, past the cotton gins and weather-beaten farmhouses and few stop signs and blinking red lights, past the mysterious old tractors, some shrouded under tarps, some parked right where they stopped working, you'll sometimes see a soft haze or mist. 

Why you should read this book: This curated collection of young poets features a refreshing selection of short pieces, four per author. While the subject matter ranges far and wide, one thread that seems to connect them is a groundedness in sense of place; whether the poet is discussing their childhood home, their ancestors' struggles, or observations from travel, the reader feels transported to very specific worlds through each. These are rich, beautiful, mostly hopeful poems, appropriate for children, but often covering important topics such as race and class. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Well, it lies; there are 26 poets jammed in there.

Ciel

Written by: Sophie Labelle 

First line: You might not believe me if I tell you, but I have a special power. 

Why you should read this book: Ciel, a non-binary trans teen, is comfortable with who they are, but starting high school is stressful enough for gender conforming kids, and now that Ciel's boyfriend, Eiríkur has moved to Iceland, and their best friend, Stephie, decides that she doesn't want to be out as a trans kid in high school, Ciel isn't always sure where to turn. Stephie has an entirely new set of fun, cis friends, Ciel has a new crush that develops in Eiríkur's absence (it doesn't help that Eiríkur is a terrible penpal), and when they accidentally make a viral video about the difficulties of being non-binary, they find themselves targeted by bigots and online bullying. Ciel has to decide how to ask for the treatment they want, and how to present themselves to a world that isn't always careful with a young teen's delicate sense of self. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: While the story it tells is a good and important one, the voice (or possible the translation—I think this book was originally written in French?) feels amateur and the writing is overloaded with unnecessary and distracting exposition that doesn't advance the story or the characterization.

The Altered History of Willow Sparks

Written by: Tara O'Connor 

First line: Samuel? What are you...? 

Why you should read this book: When Willow Sparks stumbles upon a secret library housed within the public library, she is astonished to learn that everyone in town has a novel of their life shelved in alphabetical order, and that she can change the particulars of her life by writing revisions into the book. Suddenly, her skin is clear, her wardrobe is cool, she doesn't suck at dodgeball, the hot guy wants to walk her home, and the mean girls aren't quite so mean. But, of course, there are side effects to such potent magic, including the fact that Willow's best friend Georgia can't follow where Willow's headed, and in pursuing popularity, she could lose Georgia for Good. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: There's not a ton at stake and it's not exactly a brand new conceit for a fantasy story.

What If It's Us

Written by: Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera 

First line: I am not a New Yorker, and I want to go home. 

Why you should read this book: Arthur, who's never been kissed, is in town for a summer internship to beef up his college applications the summer before his senior year; Ben, who's mourning the loss of his first serious relationship, is in summer school so he'll be allowed to start his senior year. Following a chance encounter outside the post office, the two teens activate their in person and digital networks, and defying all odds, managed to find one another in the big city and intitiate a relationship, but Arthur's lack of experience and Ben's issues with his ex complicate the romance between two guys who don't have a whole lot in common aside from being awkward, self-conscious, and out. Will this summer romance blossom or whither on the vine? 

Why you shouldn't read this book: So one convention of romantic comedies is that there must always be some force keeping the potential lovers apart, and in this case, the "force" is the fact that they are teenagers who don't know anything about relationships; I think I was just too old for this one.

I'm Not Dying with You Tonight

Written by: Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal 

First line: "Waiting for Black in on your agenda, not mine," LaShunda barks as we leave the building. 

Why you should read this book: Lena, a stylish, popular Black girl with a best friend and an older boyfriend and big plans for her evening, and Campbell, the new kid in school, a white girl who's given up hope after being abandoned by her family and cut from the track team, find themselves unlikely allies when a high school football game erupts into violence. Running from the police at the football field, they head downtown, right into a bigger and much more violent riot, knowing they better stick together if they're going to survive the night. Told from two points of view, written by two different authors, this sadly realistic live-through-the-night narrative highlights issues of racial and socioeconomic inequality, family ties, young love, and the understanding that we each have to work at understanding other people's perspectives. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: A lot of violence, possibly senseless, but not gratuitous.

We Are Totally Normal

Written by: Rahul Kankia

First line: The music in the car was so loud that my teeth vibrated.

Why you should read this book: Nandan hangs out with the popular kids, even though he doesn't really like any of them except Avani, who he used to hook up with but doesn't anymore because sex is weird; right now, while his bro-friends are trying to get Nandan laid, Nandan is really focused on helping out his weird buddy Dave, who is totally adorable and knows less about girls than Nandan does. But Nandan's efforts to help Dave get a girlfriend lead to Nandan having drunken sex with Dave, and now he has to figure out whether he's actually gay or what, because he loves Dave, but he doesn't really love having sex with him, and he doesn't want people to think he's just being queer to get attention, or to get closer to Avani. This is a very inwardly-focused story, rife with Nandan's dissection of high school social dynamics, relationships, and, of course, sex, which covers honest ground about sex and queerness that doesn't often hit the page in YA novels.

Go with the Flow

Written by: Lily Williams and Karen Schneeman

First line: Wakey wakey eggs...and bakey!

Why you should read this book: On her first day at a new school, late-blooming sophomore Sasha gets her first period and everyone notices before she does, but, fortunately, she is swept up by a powerful friend squad who do their best to alleviate the stigma of menstruation for the new girl. But Sasha's dilemma reminds the girls of other time-of-the-month issues: Brit's undiagnosed condition (probably endometriosis) means that she's missing way too much school due to way too much pain, and Abby is incensed that the school sanitary pad dispensers are always empty, while Christine is just trying to navigate her own feelings and everyone else's. When Abby can't get satisfaction from the faculty, she takes her outrage to the internet, and she's about to find out what everybody else thinks about menstrual inequality.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're not ready for a frank discussion of menstruation.

Sunny Rolls the Dice

Written by: Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

First line: Are you a groovy teen?

Why you should read this book: It's the 1970s and young adolescent Sunny is constantly preoccupied with the question of how groovy she, her clothes, her hair, and her life choices might be. While she wants to look good and have the right clothes, she finds that what she's enjoying most are the weekly sessions of this weird new game called Dungeons and Dragons, where she can pretend to be a powerful fighter. But when she realizes that playing RPGs with boys isn't considered as groovy as expensive designer jeans, she has to decide what her own priorities are, and whether it's OK for her to make choices that don't align with her friends'.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think D&D is a directly transit to hell, or that girls and boys shouldn't be allowed to play together, or that your value as a friend and a human is somehow connected to how much your pants cost.

Smile

Written by: Raina Telgemeier

First line: Smile!!

Why you should read this book: Raina isn't looking forward to getting braces in the first place, but when a silly accident knocks one of her front teeth out and drives another up into her skull, the year of pain and oral surgeries that follow make braces look like a pleasant daydream. In the midst of her medical turmoil, she still has to deal with the boys who like her, the boys she likes, and her group of mean-girl friends. As she moves through her adolescence, Raina discovers her true passions and learns that focusing on her strengths boosts her self-esteem and helps the world see her the way she wants to be seen, regardless of what her teeth look like.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Medical/dental trauma/phobia.

The Porcupine of Truth

Written by: Bill Konigsberg

First line: The Billings Zoo has no animals.

Why you should read this book: Carson doesn't completely appreciate why his mother has dragged him across the country to watch his estranged alcoholic father die in the backwaters of Montana, but once he meets Aisha he's a little more open to the summer's possibilities. Queer, black, and homeless, Aisha feels even more displaced than Carson, and together they fall into an accidental quest to discover what exactly happened to Carson's grandfather thirty years ago. Quietly meaningful, this satisfying adventure weaves all its threads together into a complete tapestry about love, family, and more love.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Love is not your highest ideal.