YA Gift Guide: 2019 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 in 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.)

Links are to my reviews.

For Those Looking for Fun and Romantic (with excellent banter):

From Twinkle, with Love and There's Something about Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

Speak Easy Speak Love by McKelle George
Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nna Moreno
Things I Should Have Known by Claire LaZebnik

For Those Who Enjoy Realistic Tales of Family and Friendship (both easy and hard)

On the Come Up and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
American Street by Ibi Zoboi

American Panda by Gloria Chao
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Phllippe

An Uninterrupted View of the Sky by Melanie Crowder

For Those Who Enjoy Fantasy with a Touch of Political Intrigue and Banter Between Complete Opposite Protagonists:
(This is a niche interest but highly undervalued.)

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

For Those Who Enjoy Mythology, Historical Fiction, and Realistic Depictions of War and Love:
(This kind of defies categorization. It is just GOOD.)

Lovely War by Julie Berry

Comments

TTT: Characters I'd Follow On Social Media

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Characters I'd Follow On Social Media I love this topic. I actually have my students create social media pages for characters for extra credit assignments, so I've always thought this was fun to think about. It actually really requires some character analysis to do well. Which social media fits this character's personality? What would they post about? How much of their inner lives would they share? Here are the characters I would follow, where I would follow them, and why: Lizzie Bennet on Tumblr because you know her blog would be a beautiful mix of nerdy fangirl thoughtfulness and feminist manifestos. I love following people like that. Darcy on Twitter: He would use it rarely, but when he did, it would be to the point and oh so entertaining. Amy March on Instagram because it would be beautifully aesthetic, and...

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein...

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the...

The Penderwicks in Spring

The Penderwicks is not just one of my favorite ongoing series; it is one of my favorite series of all time. I'm always astounded by the depth of emotion and diverse, realistic relationship dynamics Birdsall is able to capture with these characters. The Penderwicks in Spring surpassed my expectations even though they were astronomically high already. It is now my favorite, having edged out The Penderwicks on Gardam Street . Minor spoilers for first three book are in this review. If you haven't read this series, get started: The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy The Penderwicks on Gardam Street The Penderwicks at Point Mouette Spring is coming to Gardam Street and Batty and Ben Penderwick couldn't be more excited. The season is bringing with it anticipation and new opportunities. Nick Geiger, the Penderwicks' neighbor, is returning home on leave from the Army after being at war. Both Skye and Ba...

Shadowshaper

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older is everywhere. Best of lists. Award buzz. Blogs everywhere. It's one of those books everyone is reading and talking about. I had it on my TBR but decided I definitely needed to read it before the year was out just so I could weigh in on one of the most talked about books of 2015 if asked. It is deserving of every good thing said about it. Every. One. Sierra was looking forward to a relaxing summer break. Her plans involved hanging out with her friends and painting. They did not involve being chased by zombie like creatures and threatened by a magical power connected to her family's heritage she has never heard of. When murals begin fading all over her Brooklyn neighborhood, Sierra is perplexed. When her grandfather, who had a stroke, begins to apologize and starts repeating strange phases and insisting Sierra get the help of a boy she barely knows to help her finish her mural, Sierra is concerned but mostly about her grandfather. Then at a...

Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Search This Blog