Working with high school English classes, I’ve become much more interested in young adult fiction, particularly books that will engage our students. We encourage students to pick their own books during silent reading time, and they have free access to a wide range of digital and paper books. Graphic novels are especially popular, but we’re studying poetry right now and I’m finding a lot of great books written in verse, like the work of Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, and Elizabeth Acevedo. I’m also revisiting classics like the work of S.E. Hinton and Judy Blume.
In my library’s used book sale, I picked up a stack of books to donate to our class reading library. Here’s what I’ve been reading, what I recommend, and what I plan to read. I’d love to hear if you have other suggestions!
What I’m Reading:
Last month I picked up two books by S.E. Hinton. I’d been hearing a lot about the musical for The Outsiders and was interested in re-reading it. It was just as good as I remembered it, and I was impressed by how closely the movie followed the book and reflected its characters. I was also impressed to learn that Hinton wrote this book as a teenager, about her own experiences. She began writing it at 15 and it was published when she was 18. The book is entirely from a male perspective, so it must have been surprising to people that Hinton is female. To me at least, Ponyboy’s point of view always feels authentic. I’m curious if male readers feel differently (I assume not, considering the popularity of her books). The book feels timeless, despite being written in the 1960s.
Then I re-read That Was Then, This is Now, her second book. While I didn’t like it as much, I can see the growth in Hinton’s maturity between the two books. This is a book about two best friends (brothers, essentially) who must make hard choices and whose friendship is threatened by changing morals and relationships with others. In contrast, The Outsiders is about tough kids who are close to each other and take care of each other, but their relationships aren’t tested as much. I don’t remember seeing the movie version of this one, but I’ll look it up. Or I’ll just watch The Outsiders again.
I recently re-read Are You There, God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. There were so many moments in this book that have lived in my memory since I was a teen, from Margaret getting her first bra and her period, to the bust development chant, to the girl accused of “making out behind the A&P” simply because she’s more developed than the other girls. What didn’t stick in my memory, interestingly, was Margaret’s exploration of religion and the tension within her family because her parents are of two different faiths. Of course, it’s right there in the title, but I was raised in a Jewish household so the idea of choosing a religion didn’t resonate with me, I guess. I just appreciated the Jewish aspects of the novel. Where Blume excels is in capturing those powerful (and awful) moments of being a teen or a pre-teen, which is why her books are so honest and relatable. I plan on going back and reading more of her work. I pored over Forever as a girl (of course) but I remember the book that really scared me was Blubber.
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin: I loved this book about Bletchley Park, the secret code-breaking operation during World War II. I’ve toured Bletchley and found it fascinating. I was already a fan of Sepetys, and this introduced me to Sheinkin, who writes nonfiction about history for young readers. I particularly enjoyed the audiobook, because the story is told from the alternating perspectives of a teenage girl and her older brother, and the two narrators really helped differentiate the two characters. This was a fantastic combination of history (I learned more about code-breaking and day to day life at Bletchley) and great story and characters. Teens interested in mathematics will particularly appreciate this book.
Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson: I don’t think this memoir-in-verse is YA, but Anderson is a prolific writer of YA fiction, and I thoroughly enjoyed (and was saddened by) her memoir. I read this to meet a reading challenge, but now I want to read much more by this author. Anderson describes her journey from rape victim to troubled teen to journalist and writer. When she writes her first novel about a teen who is raped, she cracks open the door for people all over the world to tell their own stories about sexual assault.
What I want to read:
Here are some of the books I picked up at the book sale:
- Jason Reynolds: Long Way Down and As Brave as You
- Kwame Alexander: The Crossover and Booked
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
- Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Authors I recommend:
Everything by these authors (that I’ve read at least) is fantastic and I recommend them for teens AND adults.
- Angeline Boulley: I just read Sisters in the Wind, another fantastic book by Boulley. Her books are great for teens who are pretty advanced readers, and also perfect for adults.
- Angie Thomas: I can’t recommend enough The Hate You Give, Concrete Rose, and On the Come Up. We’re studying the poem “The Rose That Grew From Concrete” in my 9th grade English class, which inspired Thomas’ book.
- Elizabeth Acevedo: The Poet X, Clap When You Land, and With the Fire on High are all wonderful. The only book by her I didn’t love was Family Lore, which was written for adults.
- Jacqueline Woodson: I’ve read Before the Ever After, Another Brooklyn, and Red at the Bone. I still need to read Brown Girl Dreaming and Feathers.
- Alice Oseman: The Heartstopper series is amazing. She’s got some other books that I haven’t read yet.
Concrete Rose Angie Thomas
https://app.asana.com/0/1135954362417873/1168658175790681/f
" srcset="https://thebookstop.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/concrete-rose.jpg?strip=info&w;=600 600w,https://thebookstop.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/concrete-rose.jpg?strip=info&w;=900 900w,https://thebookstop.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/concrete-rose.jpg?strip=info&w;=1000 1000w" tabindex="0" />I’m sure I missed some amazing YA books on this list! What do you recommend?
