Young Adult Book Holiday Gift Guide: 2017 Edition

As promised last week, here is the book buying guide for those who love to read Young Adult books. I hope this is useful to you as one more resource for finding the right book for a young adult in your life.

Note: YA tends to refer to ages 13 up, but there is a lot of range in how mature the books are and the issues and situations they deal with. If you have specific questions about content, feel free to ask me. If you don't want to ask in the comments, you can always email me. (See the contact information tab for my email address.)

I did a similar guide for the 9-12 crowd last week. You can find it here.

These are mostly books published in the past three years or so. I've put the genre and year published after each.

Links are to my reviews.

For Those Who Enjoy Epic Sweeping Tales of Magic, Myth, and Journeys

The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner (mythopoeic fantasy, 1996-ongoing)
*I don't write reviews of the books in this series because it's my all time favorite and I just can't. The most recent installment came out this year so it's a perfect time to buy a complete set of the series so some lucky someone can binge read them over their winter break.

The White Road of the Moon by Rachel Neumeier (fantasy, 2017)

An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet (fantasy, 2015)

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older (urban fantasy, 2016)
*This is also a perfect pick for the below category. I went back and forth on where to place it.

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby (mythopoeic fantasy, 2015)

The Story of Owen and Prairie Fire by E.K. Johnston (fantasy, 2014 & 2015)

*And theses are also a perfect fit for the following category.

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston (mythopoeic fantasy, 2015)

For Those Who Enjoy Art and the Way it Shapes Us and Our World

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson (contemporary realistic, 2017)
An Uninterrupted View of the Sky by Melanie Crowder (historical realistic, 2017)

You're Welcome Universe by Whitney Gardner (contemporary realistic, 2017)

*See above category where I've marked a couple of titles that are also a perfect fit for this category.

For Those Who Enjoy Books That Ask Hard Questions and Face Hard Truths

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (contemporary realistic, 2017)

A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (contemporary, 2017)
*My reviews of this book is coming soon, but I want to add that every single Jason Reynolds book ~~for YA~~ is phenomenal. Ever since When I Was the Greatest came out in 2014, he has put out amazing book after amazing book. You should check all of them out.

American Street by Ibi Zoboi (contemporary, 2017)

Things I Should Have Known by Claire LeZebnik

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston (contemporary realistic, 2016)

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina (historical realistic, 2016)

Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys (historical realistic, 2016)

This Side of Home by Renée Watson (contemporary realistic, 2015)

For Those Who Enjoy the Falling, the Banter, and the Happily Ever After (or Happily For Now)

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (contemporary realistic, 2017)

Lucky in Love by Kasie West (contemporary realistic, 2017)
*My review for this one is coming, but if you know a teen who loves romance but isn't interested in sexual content, Kasie West's books are my go to rec for that.

Geekerella by Ashley Boston (contemporary realistic, 2017)

Rose &Thorn by Sarah Prineas (fantasy, 2016)

The Season by Jonah Lisa Dyer and Stephen Dyer (contemporary realistic, 2016)

Love & Gelato y Jenna Evans Welsh (contemporary realistic, 2016)

Feel free to comment with additional choices or categories!

Comments

Lisa Roberts said…

I took your list to the library and either checked out or put on hold all but two of these titles for my 15 year old daughter. She'd had already read Salt to Sea and loved it and I have read The Hate U Give and while I gave it five stars, I know she would not like the cussing. She immediately started When Dimple Met Rishi. Thank you for this great list.

November 6, 2017 at 10:17 AM

Brandy said…

I hope she finds something that she loves!

November 7, 2017 at 6:03 PM

Kim Aippersbach said…

Sooooo many books I want to read ........

November 21, 2017 at 1:25 AM

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Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

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