Khristina Chess, YA Author, Blog
Khristina Chess is the author of books about teens tackling tough issues like anorexia, drinking, anxiety, and depression.
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As you can see from this list of posts, I read and review a ton of YA contemporary books about tough topics, and I’m always looking for new great reads!
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is an award-winning, suspenseful middle-grade novel about thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson who survives 51 days in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash leaves him stranded and alone. I enjoyed the plot twists and empathized for this young narrator.
If you also like Hatchet and want to know what to read next, you’ve come to the right place. The following list will satisfy your hunger for YA wilderness survival thrillers.
“And once you decided you were going in the wrong direction, how did you find your way back? What happened when you couldn’t go back?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Against the Pack
While walking on a rural road, 18-year-old Melender and her mom are attacked by a pack of dogs and fall down a near-vertical hillside into a ravine. Now they’re trapped on a narrow ledge and wounded. No one knows where they are. No one even knows they’re missing.
They have no food, water, shelter, or warm clothes. No phone to call for help. No medical supplies. Nothing.
OH MY GOSH!!! Incredible! What I love most about Against the Pack is the way this story hooks you from the beginning and doesn’t let go. It’s impossible to put this one down. Melender is a gritty character who fights to live, and I was breathless as she journeyed toward the novel’s thrilling ending. This is the kind of wilderness survival adventure that explores the core spirit of a person, and as the hours and days unfold, the complicated nature of the relationship between Melender and her mom becomes apparent.
You won’t want to miss this action-packed YA book about survival. Fans of Hatchet will love this one.
“To survive you need to learn to hold contradictory things in your head at the same time. I am going to die; I am going to live. There is nothing to fear; be wary of everything.” ― Kate Alice Marshall, quote from I Am Still Alive
What an amazing page-turner! From the beginning this book grabbed me and didn't let go. It's the kind of story that had me staying up late to read, sitting outside in the shade to read, read, read, reading to finish because I couldn't put this novel down. It starts with a BANG--literally, when strangers kill Jess's father, leaving her stranded in the wilderness of Canada with his dog, Bo. She's still recovering from a car accident that killed her mother, so she doesn't walk well, and she's a city girl so she's not great at hunting and fishing. How will she handle a Canadian winter alone without shelter or food?
She is alive. And she is tenacious.
I loved this girl's grit, and I wanted to see her survive. I wanted to know the answer to the mystery about who the men killed her father.
And after reading this one, I binged on everything that Kate Alice Marshall has written and added her to my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s amazing! She’s at the top of my list of the best YA book recommendations and authors of all time.
If you loved Hatchet and you’re looking for another gripping YA book about survival that you won’t be able to put down, check out I Am Still Alive.
“Living things will fight to stay that way.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from Be Not Far From Me
Be Not Far from Me is a fast and engaging read about a girl who is lost and wounded in the woods. There are some plot points that seem a bit problematic, but the story is so compelling that I couldn't put this book down. There was a moment near the end when I became as lost as Ashley and wasn't sure how things would end for her anymore.
I was impressed by a novel that progressed almost entirely with just one character. Ashley carried the weight of the narrative and the conflict on her shoulders by herself. Alone and barefoot.
If you enjoyed Hatchet, be sure to check out this YA book about survival that pits a lone quick-witted, tough-talking teen against nature’s elements.
In this absorbing novel, a broken mother-daughter relationship drives everything that’s happening, both in the present and in the past. The present is awful. Ingrid has been sent away to a 3-week wilderness program for at-risk teens, although she didn’t realize what she was signing up for at the time, and now she’s wet, miserable, mosquito-bitten, and trapped with a misfit group in the middle of nowhere. But she’s determined to see things through to prove something to her mother and earn the carrot, which is permission to attend a music school abroad.
The past is a complicated story about her mother’s beautiful opera voice and depression and its impact on Ingrid. There is a strong codependency relationship between the mother and daughter, since the mother is a depressed diva. From an early age, Ingrid took care of her mother since no father was in the picture.
I loved the mystery about how Ingrid ended up in the wilderness, and I was rooting for her to make it out.
Fans of Hatchet will enjoy this YA book about survival that offers real character depth and heartbreak.
I picked up this novel because it was the 2021 First Place winner for Middle-Grade/Young Adult Writers Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Wow! It hooked me immediately and didn’t let go.
Four middle-school boys find a backpack full of cash and pot left behind by their nemesis bullies, the Thousand Oaks Gang, and after evading them fails (they get beat up), they decide to retreat to an abandoned lake house for a few days. Being kids, they haven’t thought this through. The bullies find them. They end up stranded on an island with no food, water, or shelter and must survive until someone rescues them.
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this novel. I felt I was in great storytelling hands with Semegran. I don’t usually like Middle Grade novels; they usually are too young for me to really appreciate. But The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island has something special. As others have noted, it reminds me of The Body by Stephen King, which inspired Stand by Me (the movie). Perhaps it is the narrator’s voice, which seems older and wiser than his young years.
Treat yourself to this suspenseful YA book about survival with strong and diverse male characters in a wonderful time and place. If you enjoyed Hatchet, I know you’ll like this.
Three teenagers are separated from their church youth group and survive for 7 days in the wilderness. Along their journey, they find forgiveness with each other and also love. And faith. Although the story has a strong plot element of fighting nature to survive (storms, poison ivy, etc.), the real story is one of character transformation in the distance between lost and found.
I enjoyed the fast pacing of this YA survival story, and I was invested in seeing Vale and Ash get out alive. As with other books like Hatchet, many disasters and obstacles kept the tension taut through the length of the novel.
For a few other lists of great books for fans of Hatchet check out the Readers Who Enjoyed Hatchet list on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens, including my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited.
Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow is a YA story about substance abuse, siblings, unrequited love, bullying, finding one’s voice, friendship, hope, and so much more. I couldn’t put it down.
Emory’s older brother Joey is struggling to recover from opioid addiction. Her overbearing mother assigns her the task of monitoring his progress, and when he stumbles, Emory tries to cover for him. Meanwhile, Emory is hooking up with the baseball star next door, and things have gone too far. She finds herself in a storm where everything—everything—is wrong!
I loved this book. I love all Kathleen Glasgow’s book. If you’re looking for similar books like You’d Be Home By Now, you will find something on this list that catches your interest. Happy reading!
“I stare at my sister in this bed. She is mine. She is here, and I cannot imagine that she is not. That she will never be here again. How can it be true? I see her before me. Her chest is rising, falling, rising, falling. Her hand is warm in mine.“ ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero
Kat is dying.
The big question is: why?
Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator.
But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent.
Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister’s ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat’s cardiac monitor. It’s like, even though she’s supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house.
Like maybe someone tried to murder her.
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped! What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. Although pitched as an action-packed murder mystery, this YA is also a raw and unforgettable story about a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, addiction, and loss. It’s hard to put down. The present story line is an investigation of the odd circumstances and events that landed Kat in the hospital on a ventilator, but as the hours and days unfold, the close relationship between these sisters becomes apparent.
You won’t want to miss this heartbreaking YA novel. Fans of You’d Be Home Now will enjoy this one.
“You do realize that a car is a mobile make-out location, right?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Drive to June.
Eighteen-year-old Adriana refuses to text anymore.
She doesn’t drive.
And she’s secretly guzzling her dead mother’s wine collection.
With her father traveling so much and her older sister away in college, no one knows about Adriana’s drinking. She drinks to forget something awful that she did; she drinks to go numb. To avoid her grief. And now she can't seem to stop. Since moving to this new school, she doesn't have close friends or teachers, so there's nothing to stop her free-fall.
But then one night, Ian spots her on the roof and makes an offer she can’t refuse. He comes into her life, and everything begins to change.
Amazing, what a ride! Drive to June took off from the start and accelerated all the way to the finish. I had to find out Adriana’s secret. What makes this book so special is the sweet relationship that develops between Adriana and Ian as he teaches her how to drive and helps her get her driver’s license. Although it starts as a story about alcohol abuse, this is a dreamy and hopeful YA novel with heart.
If you liked You’d Be Home Now, you won’t want to miss this this surprisingly romantic YA book about sisterhood, addiction, grief and loss. In fact, Khristina Chess is also on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited, so be sure to check out her other books.
“When I wake up, all my friends are dead. I don’t know when they stopped breathing, or how long I slept while they dropped off one by one.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from Heroine
Those are the opening words of Heroine, the compelling novel about the slow slide of Mickey from Catalan from her position as a star student athlete to heroin addict. It begins with a terrible car accident and pain. Determine to make it back on the field, she uses the prescription painkillers to accelerate her recovery.
But then she’s out of pills and needs more.
What’s so compelling about Heroine is Mickey’s slow slide into addiction and her denial about her situation. She justifies every step of the way. The means justifies the ends, every time.
I did not watch my friends die.
I did not leave their bodies cooling in a basement.
I am not an addict.
Heroine is one of the best YA books featuring characters dealing with substance abuse that I’ve ever read. It’s real and raw, and I couldn’t look away. I really rooted for her to find a way to health. If you enjoyed You’d Be Home Now, you won’t want to miss this one!
“What kind of girl wants to kiss every boy at a funeral, wants to maul a guy in a tree after making out with her sister’s boyfriend the previous night? Speaking of which, what kind of girl makes out with her sister’s boyfriend, period?” ― Jandy Nelson, quote from The Sky Is Everywhere
I love, love, loved this book! The writing is so lyrical, and the story is incredibly sad. It begins with protagonist Lennie, who is grieving the sudden death of her sister. Although Bailey is dead, the relationship between these siblings is very much alive on the pages of this novel. Lennie writes beautiful poems, and she spends time in their room and shares so many memories that I feel I know Bailey.
A charismatic new boy shows up at school, and Lennie ends up entering into 2 romances at the same time. This is the love triangle. One romance is with the new boy at school, and the other is with her dead sister’s grieving boyfriend. Sooner or later, she has to decide which one of these guys is the one she’s going to stick with. Oh, boy.
All of the characters are vivid, and the story is captivating. The creative visual aspect of the novel is also a nice touch; Lennie writes her poems on scraps and scatters them everywhere, and these appear at the beginning of chapters.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking for books similar to Kathleen Glasgow’’s You’d Be Home Now.
“There comes a time when we realize that our parents cannot save themselves or save us, that everyone who wades through time eventually gets dragged out to sea by the undertow-that, in short, we are all going.” ― John Green, quote from Looking for Alaska
A quiet boy at boarding school meets a charismatic girl, then loses her.
Miles Halter goes away to boarding school, where he makes new friends, takes up drinking and smoking, breaks some rules, and meets a hot girl named Alaska Young. She’s the ringleader of the merry group’s adventures. She’s the one who can get alcohol and cigarettes.
She’s a bit wild.
Then one night while they’re all partying, she receives a phone call and takes off in her car. She never returns.
I don’t want to give too much away. For a cautionary tale about alcohol and drug abuse, this award-winning story is a must-read. If you liked You’d Be Home Now, read this one.
This slim novel is a fast and unexpected read. The main story is about Evan, who leaves graduation in Chicago and travels to Buffalo to find a girl who survived the car crash that killed his father. He's looking for some closure. Instead, he meets a beautiful young woman who is a heroine addict and also a child. The child is an unexpected subplot, equally important, and a bit odd.
Although the viewpoint character is a recent college graduate (and therefore technically knocks this one outside the YA genre), you should add this one to your list of books like You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow. It’s great.
“People sometimes go with their instincts. They have sympathy. They care about people. I think Martin learned something when he messed up. Like now he really knows he wants to be here. Like he actually knows why he’s here and what this Group is really for.” ― Claire Needell, quote from The First True Thing
The First True Thing is both a mystery and a book about a teen working through the hard parts of recovery.
The mystery is that Marcelle’s friend Hannah is missing, and Marcelle was the last person to hear from her. What happened? What should she do? And if she tells the truth, the whole truth, what does that mean for her friends?
Working through this dilemma is part of her recovery because lying, hiding, hanging out with people who aren't good for her are all behaviors associated with her drinking.
Books about people in recovery can be hard to read. Addiction and drug abuse makes people choose the wrong thing, and Marcelle does that before she chooses the right thing. Therapy and group can seem dull or even frustrating. However, the ending of her story was satisfying to me because she grew and made the positive steps she needed to make. I felt she was on a good track by the end.
If you’re looking for books about alcohol and drug abuse like You’d Be Home Now, The First True Thing is definitely worth a look.
If you are looking for other books like You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow, Goodreads offers a list of Similar Books for Readers Who Enjoyed You’d Be Home Now. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads.
Do you have any recommendations? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Bridge to Terabithia is one of those heartbreaking books that I’ve never forgotten. Reading it as a child and then again as an adult, the experience is still wonderful. There’s a reason this one is such an award-winning favorite.
If you loved Bridge to Terabithia as much as I did and are looking for more YA novels that will shred your heart, here are some reviews of a few other books that you’ll enjoy. Be sure to bring your tissues!
“I stare at my sister in this bed. She is mine. She is here, and I cannot imagine that she is not. That she will never be here again. How can it be true? I see her before me. Her chest is rising, falling, rising, falling. Her hand is warm in mine.“ ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero
Kat is dying.
The big question is: why?
Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator.
But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent.
Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister’s ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat’s cardiac monitor. It’s like, even though she’s supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house.
Like maybe someone tried to murder her.
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped! What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. Although pitched as an action-packed murder mystery, this YA is also a raw and unforgettable story about a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, and loss. It’s hard to put down. The present story line is an investigation of the odd circumstances and events that landed Kat in the hospital on a ventilator, but as the hours and days unfold, the close relationship between these sisters becomes apparent.
If you loved Bridge to Terabithia, don't miss this tragic YA novel.
“But it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he has Cassius note, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.” ― John Green, quote from The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars is the ultimate YA book about star-crossed lovers. Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace are two teens with cancer, and they fall in love during a sweet time of remission. They talk about literature and philosophy, and they go on a wonderful journey to meet the author of Hazel’s favorite novel. This person is not at all what she expected—a huge disappointment, as a matter of fact—but then, life happens that way.
When the inevitable plot turn comes and twists the knife in your heart, it doesn’t matter that you’re expecting it. Augustus and Hazel are supposed to be together, so every bittersweet moment of their parting is a gasp. Every breath counts. Every syllable.
If you’re looking for the sweetest and most heart-wrenching story and loved Bridge to Terabithia, pick up this classic. If you read it a long time ago, it’s just as good the second time around. Trust me.
“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.” ― Jennifer Niven, quote from All the Bright Places
Theodore Finch has more than a touch of the blues.
Violet Markey wants to escape the grief that lives in her hometown where her sister recently died.
Violet and Theodore are an unlikely couple, paired together on a school project to explore the natural wonders of their state. At first, Theodore seems to be the one helping Violet with her sadness, but Violet doesn’t have any understanding about the depth of Theodore’s despair. Along their journey, they make several unexpected discoveries about one another.
After re-reading this book a second time, I enjoyed it every bit as much as the the first. I liked the writing, the dual character viewpoints, the story, the language, and the symbolism.
Blue is a primary color.
This lovely YA book is about grief and loss, and Niven handles these difficult topics with honesty and resonance. All the Bright Places is one of my all-time favorites. Fans of Bridge to Terabithia will enjoy this one.
“You are carrying so many heavy feelings. There just isn’t enough room for them all.“ ― Kathleen Glasgow, quote from How to Make Friends with the Dark
After Tiger Tolliver's mom dies of a brain aneurysm, she becomes a ward of the state, an orphan, suddenly faced with an uncertain future. She doesn't have any living relatives. She doesn't know anything about her father. It's just her and her mom--and now just her. A minor.
What Tiger begins to learn is that her mom kept some important secrets from her. For example, she has a living dad. And a sister.
This YA novel about death and dying is a real tear jerker! Tiger strikes me a sheltered girl with little real life experience; on the day her mom died, she was kissing a boy for the first time. She wasn't prepared for the events that followed as she entered the system. Yet, despite her tragic circumstances, she makes a path for herself. She makes mistakes but doesn't fall off a cliff. She keeps people at a cautious distance, but she does make friends and finds a way to build a new family for herself.
If you loved Bridge to Terabithia as much as I did, be sure to check out this thought-provoking and heartbreaking YA book that wrestles with grief and loss.
“What kind of girl wants to kiss every boy at a funeral, wants to maul a guy in a tree after making out with her sister’s boyfriend the previous night? Speaking of which, what kind of girl makes out with her sister’s boyfriend, period?” ― Jandy Nelson, quote from The Sky Is Everywhere
I love, love, loved this book! The writing is so lyrical, and the story is incredibly sad. It begins with protagonist Lennie, who is grieving the sudden death of her sister. Although Bailey is dead, the relationship between these siblings is very much alive on the pages of this novel. Lennie writes beautiful poems, and she spends time in their room and shares so many memories that I feel I know Bailey.
A charismatic new boy shows up at school, and Lennie ends up entering into 2 romances at the same time. This is the love triangle. One romance is with the new boy at school, and the other is with her dead sister’s grieving boyfriend. Sooner or later, she has to decide which one of these guys is the one she’s going to stick with. Oh, boy.
All of the characters are vivid, and the story is captivating. The creative visual aspect of the novel is also a nice touch; Lennie writes her poems on scraps and scatters them everywhere, and these appear at the beginning of chapters.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking for books like Bridge to Terabithia. In fact, I highly recommend that you also read Nelson’s other novel, I’ll Give You the Sun.
“Life feels beautiful that day. The four of us Liars, we have always been. We always will be. No matter what happens as we go to college, grow old, build lives for ourselves; no matter if Gat and I are together or not. No matter where we go, we will always be able to line up on the roof of Cuddledown and gaze at the sea. This island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from We Were Liars
What an unexpected and beautiful story about friendship, coming of age, and sorrow!
I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but I fell in love with it. By the end it made me cry. This YA book about friendship is about a group of privileged young friends and their lies, family secrets, grief, and love. It’s a mystery. The beautiful and disorienting plot will leave you reader breathless until the very end.
If you’re looking for books like Bridge to Terabithia, pick this one up. It’s a whirlwind read.
If you are looking other books similar to Bridge to Terabithia check out the Readers Who Enjoyed Bridge to Terabithia lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topic.
What about you? Do you have any recommendations about grief and love to add to my list? If you enjoyed Bridge to Terabithia, are there other similar books you loved?
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow is one of those powerful novels that will stay with me for a long time. Glasgow is one of my favorite YA authors, and everything she writes is amazing. Her latest is equally wonderful!
If you also loved The Glass Girl and are looking for similar YA novels about teen drinking and alcoholism, here is a list of a few others that you’ll enjoy.
“You do realize that a car is a mobile make-out location, right?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Drive to June.
Eighteen-year-old Adrianna refuses to text anymore.
She doesn’t drive.
And she’s secretly guzzling her dead mother’s wine collection.
With her father traveling so much and her older sister away in college, no one knows about Adrianna’s drinking. She drinks to forget something awful that she did; she drinks to go numb. To avoid her grief. And now she can't seem to stop. Since moving to this new school, she doesn't have close friends or teachers, so there's nothing to stop her free-fall.
But then one night, Ian spots her on the roof and makes an offer she can’t refuse. He comes into her life, and everything begins to change.
Wow, what a ride! Drive to June took off from the start and accelerated all the way to the finish. I had to find out Adrianna’s secret. What makes this book so special is the sweet relationship that develops between Adriana and Ian as he teaches her how to drive and helps her get her driver’s license. Although it starts as a story about alcohol abuse, this is a dreamy and hopeful YA novel with heart.
You won’t want to miss this this surprisingly romantic YA book about teen alcohol abuse and grief. Fans of The Glass Girl will love this one. In fact, Khristina Chess is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!
“The last laugh, the last cup of coffee, the last sunset, the last time you jump through a sprinkler, or eat an ice-cream cone, or stick your tongue out to catch a snowflake. You just don’t know.” ― Lauren Oliver, quote from Before I Fall
Samantha Kingston is dead.
In this YA-version of Groundhog Day, a “mean girl” gets a chance to relive her last day and the party she attended with her friends before the fatal car crash. She has an opportunity to make the same choices over and over, until she makes different ones.
This beautiful novel is a mystery about redemption. Samantha’s character arc really blew me away, and although I disliked her in the beginning, I was cheering for her by the end, and I love the way Lauren Oliver wrote the ending.
If you loved The Glass Girl and are looking for an atypical book about the consequences of teen drinking, Before I Fall is worth a look.
“No, can’t cry. Because there’s nothing to cry about. Because it was just a dream. A bad dream. A nightmare. Not real. Not real. Not real. That’s what I keep thinking: NotRealNotRealNotReal. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Like a mantra. Like a prayer.” ― Amber Smith, quote from The Way I Used to Be
Fourteen-year-old Eden was raped by her brother’s best friend. In her own room. In her own bed.
Instead of telling anyone, she internalizes the trauma and begins a multi-year downward spiral of acting out, drinking, taking drugs, losing friends, and sleeping around. She’s no longer the “good girl” she used to be.
This book shows how a young girl can stay silent about rape for years, why it can be so hard to tell someone, and what it’s like to try to survive in silence.
The Way I Used to Be is a poignant YA book about alcohol abuse and sexual assault that can be hard to read because Eden’s pain makes her an unlikeable character at times, but this story is worthwhile. Fans of The Glass Girl are sure to enjoy this one.
“There comes a time when we realize that our parents cannot save themselves or save us, that everyone who wades through time eventually gets dragged out to sea by the undertow-that, in short, we are all going.” ― John Green, quote from Looking for Alaska
A quiet boy at boarding school meets a charismatic girl, then loses her.
Miles Halter goes away to boarding school, where he makes new friends, takes up drinking and smoking, breaks some rules, and meets a hot girl named Alaska Young. She’s the ringleader of the merry group’s adventures. She’s the one who can get alcohol and cigarettes.
She’s a bit wild.
Then one night while they’re all partying, she receives a phone call and takes off in her car. She never returns.
For a cautionary tale about alcohol and drug abuse, this award-winning story is a must-read.
“People sometimes go with their instincts. They have sympathy. They care about people. I think Martin learned something when he messed up. Like now he really knows he wants to be here. Like he actually knows why he’s here and what this Group is really for.” ― Claire Needell, quote from The First True Thing
The First True Thing is both a mystery and a book about a teen working through the hard parts of recovery.
The mystery is that Marcelle’s friend Hannah is missing, and Marcelle was the last person to hear from her. What happened? What should she do? And if she tells the truth, the whole truth, what does that mean for her friends?
Working through this dilemma is part of her recovery because lying, hiding, hanging out with people who aren't good for her are all behaviors associated with her drinking.
Books about people in recovery can be hard to read. Addiction and drug abuse makes people choose the wrong thing, and Marcelle does that before she chooses the right thing. Therapy and group can seem dull or even frustrating. However, the ending of her story was satisfying to me because she grew and made the positive steps she needed to make. I felt she was on a good track by the end.
If you loved The Glass Girl as much as I did, The First True Thing is definitely worth a look.
For more YA books similar to The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow, might be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Jakayla Toney
Find your next great read for National Human Trafficking Prevention Month by exploring my reviews of these great YA books about human trafficking.
Human trafficking happens all over the world, affects both men and women of broad age groups, and takes several forms: forced labor, sex, and organ removal. Victims of human trafficking may be sold and transported across country borders. Human trafficking is a form of global modern-day slavery.
Reading thrilling YA books about human trafficking can raise our awareness of this prevalent problem and help us be more alert for potential victims as we move through airports, stay in hotels, and shop in holiday crows. Seeing a young protagonist escape a terrible situation can even inspire us to activism and social justice.
Here is my list of amazing YA books about human trafficking. With a list about teens who’ve been deceived and trafficked, I can guarantee some disturbing content here, but you will also find great reads.
“No one is coming for you. No one is missing you. And no one will mourn you if you’re killed.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Property of Nobody
Freedom is not free.
Wow! Property of Nobody hooked me from the first page and never let me go!
Teódulo is a compelling and resonant male voice in a genre dominated by female characters. What makes Property of Nobody so special is the gripping, slow-boil depiction of how he falls into the trap of debt bondage and can’t escape. I worried about him. I loved seeing his journey and choices as he befriends various characters. This is the kind of thrilling, authentic novel that really shows the dark underbelly of immigration, human trafficking, organized crime, and the desperation of children caught in this web.
If you are looking for YA books about human trafficking, this one is definitely a page-turner! In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
"The only thing left alive was the shame." ― Sofi Oksanen, quote from Purge
I picked up Purge to add to my list of YA books about human trafficking, but this novel is pure literature, a stunning international masterpiece that spans decades of history, generations of pain, and dark twisted family secrets.
Set in Estonia and bouncing between 1941 and 1992, two protagonists tell their tales in a long and dizzying narrative that weaves between present terror and past horror. These women are bound to each other in multiple ways. Their mutual distrust them unreliable narrators, so that only the reader really only has the full picture, and sometimes even that picture is murky.
As I think back on each of these women's experiences, I see so many parallels in what happened to each, even though the details are very different on the surface. For example, both are raped. Both are silenced. Both are shamed. One is betrayed. One is a betrayer.
This is the kind of epic novel that I can think about for a long time and even read again. I missed things and know that I would see even more in a second reading because the book is so sweeping and full of such meaningful symbolism and detail.
A true masterpiece. I loved it!
Trafficked an absorbing YA novel about human trafficking that shows how an orphaned teenager easily becomes a victim of this terrible crime. Hannah was easily duped into leaving her home for the promise of a better life in the United States, a salary, and a chance to study English. Instead, she became a slave, forced into being an unpaid nanny and a maid, fighting off sexual advances of the husband of the house and his male associates, and being beaten and verbally abused by the wife. She is young, slow to realize her situation, and not great with English.
The plotting of Trafficked was thrilling. There were plenty of twists to keep me invested. For example, there is a backstory about how Hannah was "chosen" by this family that is revealed little by little.
I was rooting for Hannah to find a way out and take charge of her life. I worried about her because I knew the odds were not in her favor.
Human trafficking is a real, modern problem across the world, and you won’t want to miss Hannah’s heartbreaking and thought-provoking story. She begins the novel in a state of naïve innocence in her home country, and by the end, she has become mature and wise to the adult world. It’s a realistic and sad tragedy.
I wanted to like this book. Sold is a YA book about human trafficking where the parents sell one of their children to a wealthy relative in the UK. Roza is forced to clean and babysit for this abusive family. The plotting is very similar to Trafficked, but its execution doesn’t meet the mark.
There are a lot of unrealistic aspects of the story, like the way Roza goes to the library and gets a job that her “jailers” don’t know about. She has too much freedom to make her captivity seem realistic. Her character is shallow and not well developed.
If you’re looking for YA books about human trafficking, read Trafficked instead.
If you are looking other YA books about human trafficking, check out the Human Trafficking Books and Novels on Human Trafficking lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Duy Pham
Find your next great read for National Reading Month in these award-winning YA books about diversity and multiculturalism.
Books open us to other worlds. We see through the eyes and lives of other characters, and that experience builds empathy. Diverse and multicultural books are important because they hold up mirrors for young readers who might not often see themselves in books, as well as windows for young readers who don’t often encounter students different from themselves.
This list includes many award-winning YA books about diversity and multiculturalism, (as well as a few that haven’t won any awards but were awesome reads). I hope you find something you love here. I did!
“No one is coming for you. No one is missing you. And no one will mourn you if you’re killed.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Property of Nobody
Freedom is not free.
Wow! Property of Nobody hooked me from the first page and never let me go!
Teódulo is a compelling and resonant male voice in a genre where boys are underrepresented. What makes Property of Nobody so special is the gripping, slow-boil depiction of how he falls into the trap of debt bondage and can’t escape. I worried about him. I loved seeing his journey and choices as he befriends various characters. This is the kind of thrilling, authentic novel that really shows the dark underbelly of immigration, human trafficking, organized crime, and the desperation of children caught in this web.
If you are looking for YA books about diversity, this one is definitely a page-turner! In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?” ― Angie Thomas, quote from The Hate U Give
I saw this book everywhere and picked it up, wondering what all the fuss is about. Wow. I couldn't put it down. Starr is an amazing character in a perfectly-crafted situation that screams with tension, suspense, and emotion. Her emotions are raw and authentic. You can feel her little-girl timidity in the grand jury testimony and her grief and rage in the scene with Hailey. Her world is vivid and real. The pain of her dual life and the conflict it causes her is palatable. I loved this book. I love this girl. I want to see her again, doing more, making a difference. She's made me believe in her.
The Hate You Give should be at the top of your must-read list of award-winning YA books about diversity and multiculturalism. In fact, after reading this one, I wanted to read everything Angie Thomas has written and also added her to my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s so amazing! If you’re looking for thought-provoking, outstanding, award-winning YA books about diversity and multiculturalism, Angie Thomas writes some of the best.
“We are small people, with small names, meant to live small lives. That’s all we’re allowed to live.” ― Jenny Torres Sanchez, quote from We Are Not From Here
We Are Not From Here is a compelling book about a tough topic. Through the lens of fiction, we see a glimpse of some of the difficulties migrants from south America face on their journey to the U.S. Pulga, Pequena, and Chico are three teenagers fleeing violence in their home country. They believe they are prepared for what awaits them, but they are not.
The first third of the book has a slow pace. The author lingers on the character development and circumstances that forced the teenagers to leave home. Once they’re on the road, though, the narrative is gripping and realistic. I burned through the pages quickly, and several events generated emotional tears. These characters are kids. They are forced to grow up too soon. The violence in this novel didn’t surprise me, but the kindness did. Many people helped them along the way. Some turned their backs, but more offered food, shelter, and human decency. I felt like even in the middle of suffering, goodness is within reach.
If you’re looking for award-winning YA books about diversity and multiculturalism, add this one to your reading list.
“That’s when I learned that when people die, they sometimes take the living with them.” ― Angie Thomas, quote from On the Come Up
In On the Come Up, we meet Bri, a complex character facing multiple conflicts in her pursuit of her goal to become a hip-hop star. She wants to save her family, who's struggling for the basics like rent, food, and shoes that aren't falling apart. She wants to make a name for herself that isn't in the shadow of her late, great father. And she wants to do things her own way, with her own voice. She's talented, bold, ambitious, and still very innocent as the adults around her try to manipulate her for their own purposes. Even close friends try to use her experience to push forward their own agendas at school. Through all of this, Bri develops the heart and wisdom she needs to truly become a star.
I loved this book. While reading, I couldn't help comparing it with THUG, but they're completely different stories and characters. I love each novel for different reasons. Angie Thomas is a brilliant author who understands the craft of great storytelling. It's a joy to follow her characters on their journeys.
Check it out. On the Come Up also makes the list of YA books about diversity and multiculturalism that you must read.
“And isn't that what a poem is? A lantern glowing in the dark.” ― Elizabeth Acevedo, quote from The Poet X
What a surprising and lyrical story!
I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, which is told entirely in verse, but I couldn’t put it down. Xiaomara is a young girl whose traditional Catholic mother prohibits her from doing anything. Xiomara is a good and dutiful daughter. But she wants to participate in the poetry group.
The mother-daughter relationship was well-developed, and there was a powerful moment when the mother did something truly awful. Moments like those between mothers and daughters are the ones that can define the relationship forever. I liked the choices Xiaomara made in response to that. In fact, all of the primary and secondary characters played important roles in her journey. I loved her father, the teacher, the priest; it was refreshing to see so many supportive adults in a young person’s life in a YA novel.
This award-winning YA book about diversity and multiculturalism definitely deserves all the accolades, hype, and great reviews it has received. Check it out!
Maya lives with her mom in Guatemala and dreams of becoming a fashion designer. She has a real shot, too. Her creations are inventive, and she's going to be in this year's show. I liked the descriptions of her dresses and her approaches to solving design problems. These elements really made her character shine.
On the one hand, Maya seems like a well-grounded, mature teen with "a good head on her shoulders" about her future. On the other hand, she says and does the stupidest things. This makes here relatable as a teenager, but many of the cases felt forced and overblown. I also didn't like the tic where Every. Word. Is. A. Separate. Sentence. Gah! And the exclamation marks! Ugh! :-)
Most of the plot points are realistic and true, especially as events escalated. I won't give spoilers about the ending except to say that it was good.
If you are looking for award-winning YA books about diversity and multiculturalism and the impact of illegal immigration on young adults, this novel is worth picking up.
“The trouble with getting your hopes too far up is: it's a long way down.” ― Nicola Yoon, quote from The Sun Is Also a Star
I loved Nicola Yoon’s Everything Everything, so when The Sun Is Also A Star released, I couldn’t wait to read it. This novel is a star-crossed love story between two teens of different backgrounds: Daniel Jae Ho Bae (a middle-class US citizen of South Korean descent) and Natasha Kingsley (a Jamaican girl who is being deported at the end of the day).
The timeline of the novel is 12 hours, and in that time, the characters fall in love. With every page, I kept hoping that something would change and something would stop the inevitable from happening. Because it wasn’t fair. Daniel and Natasha just found each other.
You won’t want to miss this heartbreaking, bestselling, and award-winning YA book about diversity and multiculturalism.
“We all have to find our own ways to say good-bye.” ― Sherman Alexie, quote from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Junior Spirit is a courageous boy who dares to leave the reservation, his school, and his best friend to seek a different life. His story is funny, heartbreaking, inspiring, and brave. I loved his quirky voice, his cartoons, and I cheered so hard for him in his basketball game.
This novel highlights the contrast between extreme poverty and wealth, as well as racial differences. These themes are handled with humor and sensitivity.
In a list of award-winning YA books about diversity and multiculturalism, this novel shines.
Although Trafficked did not win any big awards, it is a little-known but powerful YA book about diversity and multiculturalism about characters not often seen in fiction.
Trafficked an absorbing YA novel that shows how an orphaned teenager from Moldova easily becomes a victim in human trafficking. Hannah was easily duped into leaving her home for the promise of a better life in the United States, a salary, and a chance to study English. Instead, she became a slave, forced into being an unpaid nanny and a maid, fighting off sexual advances of the husband of the house and his male associates, and being beaten and verbally abused by the wife. She is young, slow to realize her situation, and not great with English.
The plotting of Trafficked was thrilling. There were plenty of twists to keep me invested. For example, there is a backstory about how Hannah was "chosen" by this family that is revealed little by little.
I was rooting for Hannah to find a way out and take charge of her life. I worried about her because I knew the odds were not in her favor.
I’ve included Hannah’s heartbreaking and thought-provoking story in this YA books about diversity and multiculturalism list because human trafficking is a real, modern problem across the world. You won’t want to miss Hannah’s story. She begins the novel in a state of naïve innocence in her home country, and by the end, she has become mature and wise to the adult world. It’s a realistic and sad tragedy.
In this multicultural and multi-generational YA book about a Mexican American family of “saints,” pilgrims from everywhere arrive at thier ranch in search of miracles.
I almost abandoned this book. It has a really long, slow, meandering warm up that seems to be going nowhere, and then around page 170, I was suddenly delighted me with this passage:
"It may seem like madness for a young woman to chase a runaway horse, as a galloping horse travels at twenty-five miles an hour and a galloping woman only travels at fifteen. But runaway horses rarely have a purpose, and young women chasing them often do." ― Maggie Stiefvater, quote from All the Crooked Saints
The scene that followed was full of language that made me smile and action that finally drew me into the story. More lovely moments followed. The remainder of the book was magical, mysterious, and ultimately transformative for the characters. I wish the pacing for the first half had been different.
This book has a great premise: what if you had a second chance at saying goodbye?
However for a lot of reasons, the main character didn't seem all that likeable to me, so I wasn't able to connect with her grief at a gut level. The flashbacks to the romance between Julie and Sam didn't help me to fall in love with this couple and their relationship, and instead, I found myself skimming over passages to finish. There were some engaging plot points to drive the narrative forward, but they often lost momentum. I'm glad I pushed to the ending because it was a good resolution.
The cover on this novel is fabulous, though, isn't it? It's the reason I picked up the book.
“She has compared me to my sister every single day of my life, so why should I expect that to change now that she’s dead?” ― Erika L. Sanchez, quote from I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
I loved the cover on this novel, and with so many stars and enthusiastic reviews, I figured I would love this story. There is an interesting mystery about what happened to Julia’s older sister Olga, who died in front of a truck. There is an interesting view into Mexican culture.
But.
The mother-daughter relationship (which is the title of the book) is not the real focus of the story. The mother is portrayed as traditional and strict, but she’s also mostly a shadow and underdeveloped character. Julia, the daughter, is a hard character to like because she has so many hard edges, and I never reached a point of real empathy or connection with her—even though she is a grieving person. Instead, I felt like the book was a checklist of YA book “issues” without any depth or focus on any of them: immigration, depression, first-time sex, death of a sibling, food, Mexican culture, drug usage, attempted suicide, rape… The list could continue.
You will probably feel differently. Literally thousands of readers on Goodreads loved this book.
Still, this YA book about diversity and multiculturalism definitely belongs on the must-read list for books in this category. It was a finalist for the National Book Award, after all.
If you are looking for other YA books about diversity and multiculturalism (best-selling, award-winning, or otherwise), check out the YA Multicultural Books and YA Diversity Books lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books.
Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
The Fault in Our Stars is the ultimate YA heart-wrenching star-crossed love story. Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace are two teens with cancer, and they fall in love during a sweet time of remission. They talk about literature and philosophy, and they go on a wonderful journey to meet the author of Hazel’s favorite novel. This person is not at all what she expected—a huge disappointment, as a matter of fact—but then, life happens that way.
This book will stay with me for a long while. In fact, John Green is such a great author that he’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because he’s all-around amazing!
If you loved The Fault in Our Stars as much as I did, here are some reviews of a few other books you’ll enjoy.
“I stare at my sister in this bed. She is mine. She is here, and I cannot imagine that she is not. That she will never be here again. How can it be true? I see her before me. Her chest is rising, falling, rising, falling. Her hand is warm in mine.“ ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero
Kat is dying.
The big question is: why?
Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator.
But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent.
Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister’s ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat’s cardiac monitor. It’s like, even though she’s supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house.
Like maybe someone tried to murder her.
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped! What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. Although pitched as an action-packed murder mystery, this YA is also a raw and unforgettable story about a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, and loss. It’s hard to put down. The present story line is an investigation of the odd circumstances and events that landed Kat in the hospital on a ventilator, but as the hours and days unfold, the close relationship between these sisters becomes apparent.
If you loved The Fault in Our Stars, don't miss this tragic YA novel.
“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.” ― Jennifer Niven, quote from All the Bright Places
Theodore Finch has more than a touch of the blues.
Violet Markey wants to escape the grief that lives in her hometown where her sister recently died.
Violet and Theodore are an unlikely couple, paired together on a school project to explore the natural wonders of their state. At first, Theodore seems to be the one helping Violet with her sadness, but Violet doesn’t have any understanding about the depth of Theodore’s despair. Along their journey, they make several unexpected discoveries about one another.
After re-reading this book a second time, I enjoyed it every bit as much as the the first. I liked the writing, the dual character viewpoints, the story, the language, and the symbolism.
Blue is a primary color.
This lovely YA book is about grief and loss, and Niven handles these difficult topics with honesty and resonance. All the Bright Places is one of my all-time favorites. Fans of The Fault in Our Stars will enjoy this one.
“You are carrying so many heavy feelings. There just isn’t enough room for them all.“ ― Kathleen Glasgow, quote from How to Make Friends with the Dark
After Tiger Tolliver's mom dies of a brain aneurysm, she becomes a ward of the state, an orphan, suddenly faced with an uncertain future. She doesn't have any living relatives. She doesn't know anything about her father. It's just her and her mom--and now just her. A minor.
What Tiger begins to learn is that her mom kept some important secrets from her. For example, she has a living dad. And a sister.
This YA novel about death and dying is a real tear jerker! Tiger strikes me a sheltered girl with little real life experience; on the day her mom died, she was kissing a boy for the first time. She wasn't prepared for the events that followed as she entered the system. Yet, despite her tragic circumstances, she makes a path for herself. She makes mistakes but doesn't fall off a cliff. She keeps people at a cautious distance, but she does make friends and finds a way to build a new family for herself.
If you loved The Fault in Our Stars as much as I did, be sure to check out this thought-provoking and heartbreaking YA book that wrestles with grief and loss.
“What kind of girl wants to kiss every boy at a funeral, wants to maul a guy in a tree after making out with her sister’s boyfriend the previous night? Speaking of which, what kind of girl makes out with her sister’s boyfriend, period?” ― Jandy Nelson, quote from The Sky Is Everywhere
I love, love, loved this book! The writing is so lyrical, and the story is incredibly sad. It begins with protagonist Lennie, who is grieving the sudden death of her sister. Although Bailey is dead, the relationship between these siblings is very much alive on the pages of this novel. Lennie writes beautiful poems, and she spends time in their room and shares so many memories that I feel I know Bailey.
A charismatic new boy shows up at school, and Lennie ends up entering into 2 romances at the same time. This is the love triangle. One romance is with the new boy at school, and the other is with her dead sister’s grieving boyfriend. Sooner or later, she has to decide which one of these guys is the one she’s going to stick with. Oh, boy.
All of the characters are vivid, and the story is captivating. The creative visual aspect of the novel is also a nice touch; Lennie writes her poems on scraps and scatters them everywhere, and these appear at the beginning of chapters.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking for books like The Fault in Our Stars. In fact, I highly recommend that you also read Nelson’s other novel, I’ll Give You the Sun.
“Life feels beautiful that day. The four of us Liars, we have always been. We always will be. No matter what happens as we go to college, grow old, build lives for ourselves; no matter if Gat and I are together or not. No matter where we go, we will always be able to line up on the roof of Cuddledown and gaze at the sea. This island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from We Were Liars
What an unexpected and beautiful story about friendship, coming of age, and sorrow!
I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but I fell in love with it. By the end it made me cry. This YA book about friendship is about a group of privileged young friends and their lies, family secrets, grief, and love. It’s a mystery. The beautiful and disorienting plot will leave you reader breathless until the very end.
If you’re looking for books like The Fault in Our Stars, pick this one up. It’s a whirlwind read.
If you are looking other books similar to The Fault in Our Stars, check out the Readers who enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars and Books Like The Fault in Our Stars lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topic.
What about you? Do you have any recommendations about grief and love to add to my list? If you enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars, are there other similar books you loved?
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez is one of those books that grabs you and doesn’t let go. The themes of immigration and diversity are definitely a big part of the appeal, but it’s not the only part. This is an action-packed novel with a compelling plot and characters that kept the pages turning until the very end. We Are Not From Here is an emotional and thought-provoking novel.
Find your next great read for National Reading Month by exploring my reviews of these books you’ll devour if you liked We Are Not From Hereby Jenny Torres Sanchez. I hope you find something that catches your interest.
“No one is coming for you. No one is missing you. And no one will mourn you if you’re killed.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Property of Nobody
Freedom is not free.
Wow! Property of Nobody hooked me from the first page and never let me go!
Teódulo is a compelling and resonant male voice in a genre dominated by female characters. What makes Property of Nobody so special is the gripping, slow-boil depiction of how he falls into the trap of debt bondage and can’t escape. I worried about him. I loved seeing his journey and choices as he befriends various characters. This is the kind of thrilling, authentic novel that really shows the dark underbelly of immigration, human trafficking, organized crime, and the desperation of children caught in this web.
If you are looking for YA books like We Are Not From Here, this one is definitely a page-turner! In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
“The trouble with getting your hopes too far up is: it's a long way down.” ― Nicola Yoon, quote from The Sun Is Also a Star
I loved Nicola Yoon’s Everything Everything, so when The Sun Is Also A Star released, I couldn’t wait to read it. This novel is a star-crossed love story between two teens of different backgrounds: Daniel Jae Ho Bae (a middle-class US citizen of South Korean descent) and Natasha Kingsley (a Jamaican girl who is being deported at the end of the day).
The timeline of the novel is 12 hours, and in that time, the characters fall in love. With every page, I kept hoping that something would change and something would stop the inevitable from happening. Because it wasn’t fair. Daniel and Natasha just found each other.
Fans of We Are Not From Hereby Jenny Torres Sanchez will love this page-turning YA novel about immigration and doomed love.
“And isn't that what a poem is? A lantern glowing in the dark.” ― Elizabeth Acevedo, quote from The Poet X
What a surprising and lyrical story!
I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, which is told entirely in verse, but I couldn’t put it down. Xiaomara is a young girl whose traditional Catholic mother prohibits her from doing anything. Xiomara is a good and dutiful daughter. But she wants to participate in the poetry group.
The mother-daughter relationship was well-developed, and there was a powerful moment when the mother did something truly awful. Moments like those between mothers and daughters are the ones that can define the relationship forever. I liked the choices Xiaomara made in response to that. In fact, all of the primary and secondary characters played important roles in her journey. I loved her father, the teacher, the priest; it was refreshing to see so many supportive adults in a young person’s life in a YA novel.
In a list of YA novels you’ll devour if you liked We Are Not From Hereby Jenny Torres Sanchez, this one might seem like an odd choice. However, this award-winning YA book about immigration definitely deserves all the accolades, hype, and great reviews it has received. Check it out!
Maya lives with her mom in Guatemala and dreams of becoming a fashion designer. She has a real shot, too. Her creations are inventive, and she's going to be in this year's show. I liked the descriptions of her dresses and her approaches to solving design problems. These elements really made her character shine.
On the one hand, Maya seems like a well-grounded, mature teen with "a good head on her shoulders" about her future. On the other hand, she says and does the stupidest things. This makes here relatable as a teenager, but many of the cases felt forced and overblown. I also didn't like the tic where Every. Word. Is. A. Separate. Sentence. Gah! And the exclamation marks! Ugh! :-)
Most of the plot points are realistic and true, especially as events escalated. I won't give spoilers about the ending except to say that it was good.
If you liked We Are Not From Here and you're looking for another emotional story about illegal immigration and the impact on young adults, this novel is worth picking up.
“She has compared me to my sister every single day of my life, so why should I expect that to change now that she’s dead?” ― Erika L. Sanchez, quote from I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
I loved the cover on this novel, and with so many stars and enthusiastic reviews, I figured I would love this story. There is an interesting mystery about what happened to Julia’s older sister Olga, who died in front of a truck. There is an interesting view into Mexican culture.
But.
The mother-daughter relationship (which is the title of the book) is not the real focus of the story. The mother is portrayed as traditional and strict, but she’s also mostly a shadow and underdeveloped character. Julia, the daughter, is a hard character to like because she has so many hard edges, and I never reached a point of real empathy or connection with her—even though she is a grieving person. Instead, I felt like the book was a checklist of YA book “issues” without any depth or focus on any of them: immigration, depression, first-time sex, death of a sibling, food, Mexican culture, drug usage, attempted suicide, rape… The list could continue.
You will probably feel differently. Literally thousands of readers on Goodreads loved this book.
Still, this YA book about immigration definitely belongs on the must-read list for books in this category. It was a finalist for the National Book Award, after all. If you liked We Are Not From Hereby Jenny Torres Sanchez, check it out.
Four teenagers in Mexico escape a birthday party massacre with their lives and nothing else. Their families are dead. They are wanted as fugitives by drug cartels. They have nothing. With little resources, they head on a journey into the desert to seek asylum in the United States.
This is the premise of Steve Schafer's novel, The Border.
Despite the terrible things that had happened and were happening, I had a hard time connecting with the characters on a deep level. Too much time was spent in superficial dialog. Still, the plot and pacing made the pages turn. I wanted to know whether or not they would make it (or who might not make it), and what they planned to do once they crossed. The constant threat from the gangs who were chasing them was real. Death from thirst, heat, and exhaustion was real.
There were some truly horrific moments in the book that the author could have handled more deftly, such as the young man's body that the group encounters. There are several such scenes.
Still, if you liked We Are Not From Here, you’ll find that The Border delivers a similar wild ride.
If you are looking other YA books like We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torrez Sanches, check out the Readers Who Enjoyed We Are Not From Here list on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topic.
Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
The Stand by Stephen King is my all-time most favorite book. I’ve read it at least 7 times. In this sweeping apocalyptic novel, a man-made virus named Captain Tripps kills almost everyone on earth. There are a handful of remaining viewpoint characters who become the focal point for this epic story. Their storylines run concurrently. At first they seem disconnect, but slowly they begin moving and coming together. There are some truly terrifying scenes, and a supernatural element pops up because—remember—it’s Stephen King. At the end of the world, the heroes must make a final stand against evil.
If you liked The Stand by Stephen King, here are some reviews of other apocalyptic and dystopian books you don’t want to miss. Some are classics. Some are young adult novels you may have never seen. All of them have page-turning plots, compelling characters, and thought-provoking themes about humanity at the end of the world.
“I am afraid. Someone is coming.” ― Robert C O’Brien, quote from Z for Zachariah
I remember reading this book in our school library in high school, and it was chilling. Now an adult, decades later, I bought a copy of it to see if it was really as good as I remembered.
Yes, yes it is!
Young adult fiction wasn't even "a thing" when this book was written, and yet, it's a thrilling, roller-coaster true YA novel about a 15-year-old girl (who turns 16 during the events) who believes she's the last person alive after a nuclear war. She's resilient, resourceful, wary, hopeful, and that mix of both childlike and wise that you would expect from a teen in this situation.
When a stranger arrives in the valley, a man, she is cautious, but as events unfold and he becomes sick, she lets her guard down to help him. This turns out to be a mistake.
The Hollywood movie version gets this book wrong: the female is older, and there are two men. If you love dystopian YA novels and haven't picked this one up, I highly recommend it!
“…we’ve learned that all we can do is look after our own. Reese and Byatt, they’re mine and I’m theirs.” ― Rory Power, quote from Wilder Girls
I wanted to read Wilder Girls for many years on the basis of its cover alone. It’s one of my top-10 YA favorite covers of all time. It’s so beautiful and intriguing, without even knowing what the story is about.
An all-girls school on an island is quarantined because of a mysterious plague that has killed a significant portion of both the student and faculty population, as well as animals, and the remaining people are infected. This disease does terrible things to them. Now, they’re waiting for a cure. It’s been promised. They just have to stay alive until it comes.
The pacing is fast, and I was drawn into the relationships between the girls. They are gritty heroines. I couldn’t wait to discover what was truly going on and how this situation would ultimately be resolved.
If you liked The Stand by Stephen King and are looking for an unusual YA dystopian novel, you won’t be able to put this one down.
“You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.” ― Cormac McCarthy, quote from The Road
Maybe you’re looking for something similar to King’s The Stand. If so, pick up The Road. This dystopian, post-apocalyptic book is gripping from the very first page. A man and his son are on the road, and something truly awful has happened. What?
The story unfolds at a delicious crawl. You can feel the agony and terror of their situation. There are a couple of scenes that are truly chilling. The horror of them has remained with me forever.
There’s a reason this novel won a Pulitzer Prize. Read it. You won’t regret it.
The Razorland Trilogy were the first apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books that I read, and from the very first pages, I was hooked! The novels are set in a dark future where the cities are ruined by plague, war, “tunnel monsters,” and ongoing skirmishes between the surviving gangs that roam in this world. In the first book, Enclave, we meet the heroine, a fifteen-year-old girl named Deuce who lives in the New York subway in a community called an enclave. Life is hard. It becomes even harder when she and another teenage Hunter are exiled from their enclave and must go to the surface to live.
The next two books, Outpost and Horde, follow Deuce in her new life above ground, and all three novels are fast-paced, engrossing reads that I couldn’t put down. Each book was as good as the last, very immersive, and Deuce is a well-drawn, fighting heroine that I rooted for every step of the way.
Fans of Stephen King’s classic novel The Stand will love this series. Check it out.
“There's different ways of doing things wrong, Lynn, and not all of it is choosing to hurt others. Sometimes it's the things you don't do that make you feel the worst.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from Not a Drop to Drink
Set in an apocalyptic future where drinking water is scarce and people fight for survival in a wild frontier, Lynn is a young woman in rural Ohio defending a pond and her homestead. Her mother raised her to distrust, to fight, and to live, and that's what she intends to do.
I enjoyed watching Lynn's fierce character evolve into a person who was willing to allow others into her life, to trust and even love. Despite her hardness, she had a kind heart. There were some interesting scenes in interactions with other people, like the stranger on the road, that tested her humanity.
Not a Drop to Drink was also a fast, thrilling YA book about dystopian survival, and its sequel, In a Handful of Dust, follows Lynn and her adopted daughter Lucy into the unknown after a mysterious plague drives them away from their home and community and into the wilderness.
If you’re looking for compelling and apocalyptic and dystopian YA books like The Stand, give these two a try. In fact, Mindy McGinnis is so awesome she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited.
My edition actually had the first 3 books together, but I didn't realize this until the transition to the second book.
Harley Tate gives an excellent story about a woman, daughter, and husband who are separated when the power goes out around the world. The daughter has 3 college friends with her. The viewpoint alternates between the mother, daughter, and father as they attempt to find one another in the immediate chaos.
The narrative is fast-paced, and the characters face many serious challenges in their journey. I became invested in the characters and their efforts to reunite, and then, I wanted them to achieve their goal of finding safety at the college roommate's parents' house in the mountains.
If you like The Stand, this is good book and new author to check out. She has a lot of others in her backlist too.
This one is another dystopian classic. In modern times, it is eerily disturbing and relevant. Sometimes the story is dense and difficult to read, but it’s worth the time if you liked The Stand. The rat scene is particularly disturbing. It’s not an easy read, but it’s a very good one overall. I definitely recommend reading it.
As a young person, I read Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, and We the Living and was so enamored with Ayn Rand’s work, philosophy, and political ideas.
As an adult, when I reread Atlas Shrugged, I found the story to be must slower and more dense to go through, but I’m still including it as an important, classic book that explores good and evil during a dystopian future. The plot is that the world is falling apart, and in rejection of the social and governmental causes of this, people begin disappearing. I don’t want to give too much away. If you loved the deeper questions in The Stand, then you want to read Atlas Shrugged.
In fact, if you are interested in the political tensions between collectivism/socialism versus individualism, read Stephen King’s own Cell. These themes are painted with subtle and beautiful strokes.
I recently read it a second time because I remembered two things: it was a great, fast read and I didn't like the ending (but didn't remember what it was). Now, some 15 years later, I can honestly say that the book remains a fabulous, fast-paced and engrossing read, and I appreciated the ending much better.
The novel is a zombie pandemic of sorts, set off with cell phones, and I read it during quarantine of the cornavirus pandemic of 2020. In Cell, the end of the world came with a single, abrupt pulse that changes everything, and it sends a group of survivors on a journey to find one man's son. Along the way, we learn what happened and is still evolving as a result of the pulse.
If you’re looking for compelling apocalyptic and dystopian books like The Stand, you will love this one.
There’s a reason that The Hunger Games always appears at the top of lists for apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books. This series has everything: a relatable and flawed heroine in Katniss, a love triangle, life-and-death adventure, good and evil, a stark world of intense poverty contrasted against ridiculous gluttony, and deeper themes about society at large.
This series is amazing. I could read it multiple times and still find new things to love. I have seen the movies multiple times, but there are things in the books that are just wonderful.
Don’t miss these lovely books.
“You see, a conflict always begins with an issue - a difference of opinion, an argument. But by the time it turns into a war, the issue doesn't matter anymore, because now it's about one thing and one thing only: how much each side hates the other.” ― Neal Shusterman, quote from Unwind
Unwind is Book #1 in a 5-part dystopian YA series in which teens may be sent to "Harvest Camps" to be chopped up for parts if their parents sign the papers. No part is wasted.
Some, like Connor, are signed over because of behavior problems. Others, like Risa, are wards of the state who simply don't make the cut in terms of protegee status. Lev begins as a religious tithe, a willing victim, but after being kidnapped and freed by Connor, he also changes.
The concept of this series and the plotting are great, and I'm interested to see where the rest of the books go. There were moments, though, where I thought the book fell short of greatness. For example:
If a parent is able to bring all the parts of their child back together again, can they recover their child?
Where do the souls of these children go?
There are some attempts at these questions, but I wanted the book to go deeper. The fact that I keep thinking about the unwinding process means that something important is being covered here.
You definitely want to add Unwind to your TBR pile of apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian books like The Stand.
Like The Hunger Games, there’s a reason that Veronica Roth’s Divergent series has become a classic series in the category of apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books.
For me, I loved the heroine, Tris, who finds herself thrust into this whole new environment that tests her core character and everything she knew about herself. The book grabs you and takes off running! There’s adventure, moral ambiguity, love, and tons of conflict. What more do you need? It’s very well written and engrossing.
This is another classic in the list of compelling apocalyptic books similar to The Stand by Stephen King. It as assigned reading in college, and I found it so compelling! It’s a fast read and much shorter than some of the other lengthy offerings in this list. The ideas about genetic engineering and humanity are important. When considering some of the technology advances in our current times, the dystopian future of this novel don’t seem so farfetched. Scary, huh?
If you are looking for other books like The Stand by Stephen King, Goodreads also offers a list of Readers Who Enjoyed The Stand. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of binge-worthy book reviews.
Do you have any recommendations? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is a twisty psychological thriller that grabs you from the very first sentence and doesn’t stop. There’s a hot gardener. And the husband of the boss is even hotter. I loved how this delicious and disorienting story kept me on the edge of the seat until the very end.
Find your next great read for National Reading Month by exploring my reviews of these books you’ll devour if you liked The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. What all of the books in this list share is mystery. One or more characters has a secret or is an outright liar. Love has gone astray, or maybe, it has been discovered—but at a cost.
I hope you find something that catches your interest. Happy reading!
“He kissed me again and again, and I began bargaining once more with the wind. I vowed to do better and try harder to keep this Quentin who loved me and kept me safe. The Quentin who I loved. Who loved me. Who didn’t treat me badly. Sex was the one place where he was always himself. His very best self. “― Khristina Chess, quote from Junior Missing
Love shouldn’t take prisoners.
Sixteen-year-old Grace Keegan, darling of the child pageant world, is missing. Police initially believe she ran away—until they locate her abandoned cell phone along the highway. No one knows she met someone online, someone older, a musician named Quentin Brock who has a cool band named Acid Mozart. He seems to be romantic, cute, and funny. He seems to be the perfect guy.
By the time he reveals his true colors, Grace is trapped in another state with no way out.
She doesn’t even have shoes.
Wow! Junior Missing hooked me from the first page and never let me go!
What makes Junior Missing so special is the gripping, slow-boil depiction of how Grace falls into the trap of an abusive relationship with an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go. I worried about her. I loved seeing her journey and choices as she befriends the neighbor girl. This is the kind of thrilling, authentic novel that really shows how someone can so easily be manipulated and hurt in this kind of situation.
If you liked The Housemaid by Freida McFadden and you’re looking for a steamy thriller that you won’t be able to put down, this one is definitely a page-turner! In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
"Some families are lucky enough to never experience a single tragedy. But then there are those families that see to have tragedies waiting on the back burner. What can go wrong, goes wrong. And then gets worse."—Colleen Hoover, quote from Verity
Colleen Hoover is a mega bestselling author of both adult and young adult fiction. Verity is my personal favorite. The hot (hot, hot) romance was definitely a big part of the appeal, but the spicy sex wasn’t the only part. This is more than a romance novel. I loved the twisty, dark, and disorienting plot that kept me guessing until the very end. In this novel, the characters aren’t who they seem to be, and that multi-dimensional layer was the aspect that made Verity so wonderful for me.
If you’re looking for authors like Freida McFadden that you’ll want to binge, pick this one up.
"If she could rewind the timeline, untwist it and roll it back the other way like a ball of wool, she'd see the knots in the yarn, the warning signs. Looking at it backward it was obvious all along. But back then, when she knew nothing about anything, she had not seen it coming. She had walked straight into it with her eyes open." ― Lisa Jewell, quote from Then She Was Gone
This is an unputdownable novel. In fact, I was about 20 pages in when I realized I was going too fast and maybe, like the missing girl Ellie, I was overlooking important clues, so I went back and read from the beginning again.
I had to know what happened to Ellie, and then, bit by bit, new mysteries began to emerge. New horrors. The more I learned about Ellie and Noelle, the worse things became. The whole story became very... weird. Scary.
The relationship between Ellie’s mom and the American writer, Floyd, is where things take a turn. Floyd has a daughter who looks just like Ellie. I mean, how weird is that?
The ending was not predictable to me, and the path to reach the conclusion was not straight. I definitely loved this novel and want to read more of Lisa Jewell. Fans of The Housemaid will agree that this is a thrilling, twisty read.
The Girl on the Train is definitely one of the books you’ll devour if you liked The Housemaid. It has unreliable narrators, as well as a twisty and confusing plot that will keep you guessing. Things definitely aren’t what they seem to be. The mystery keeps the pages turning. What, exactly, did Rachel see that day?
This book was a total roller coaster. I was all over the place with my feelings about it, and that was a good thing.
Pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.
It’s hard to say much about this one without revealing spoilers. A man’s wife disappears, and he’s the main suspect—perhaps with good reason. But is he really the killer?
Fans of The Housemaid will love the page-turning plot with shocking revelations and love that turned sour. Characters aren’t who they seem to be in this one, either. Everyone poses and lies.
But do they kill?
I loved this book!
I picked it up randomly on vacation because I was out of reading material, and the cover caught my eye. I started reading, and BAM! I was hooked. Really, really hooked. Like, I could not stop reading this book. This is the kind of novel that makes me want to ignore my friends and stay up all night until it's done.
The Girl He Used to Know is a love story about two people who fell in love in college, but a tragedy caused them to separate. Ten years later, they reconnect, and they discover that the love is still there. The timeline alternates between past and present, and the point of view alternates between Annika Rose and Jonathan Hoffman as they tell the story of their romance.
And what a story they have to tell!
This is a sweet, sweet book. After finishing it, I bought everything by Tracey Garvis Graves to see what other delights she has to offer, and although I also loved On the Island, I say that The Girl He Used to Know is my favorite. If you enjoyed the romance in The Housemaid, you will devour this one.
In this list of books you’ll devour if you liked The Housemaid, The Pilot’s Wife might seem to be an unusual choice. It’s a quieter mystery. Older. A slow burn. A woman learns that her husband, a pilot, has died. Then, she realizes that he was living a secret life. She pulls on that thread.
What I love about this novel—and other books by Anita Shreve—is the writing. The characters are beautiful. The story unfolds at its own pace, not at breakneck speed, but gripping nonetheless.
“This is a fairy tale with teeth and claws.” ― Ilsa Bick, quote from Drowning Instinct
And speaking of twisty thrillers with inappropriate relationships, how about Drowning Instinct, with a teen girl and her teacher?
I didn't know what to expect when a friend loaned this book to me, but wow! This book has layers. The way the author wove the "drowning instinct" theme throughout the story was really well done, and I loved the complexity of the characters and the plot twists. The pacing kept getting more intense and compelling as I read further. Addictive.
I don’t want to give too much away. If you liked The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, just read it.
This novel is beautiful, thrilling, sad, surprising, and engrossing. Kya Clark is a resilient child who is abandoned by her mother at six. Her alcoholic father is barely a parent, and he soon leaves her as well. Somehow, she finds a way to survive on her own, even thrive, despite an aching loneliness.
But a beautiful young girl who lives in solitude in the woods is destined for danger. And heartbreak.
The mystery surrounding the death of Chase Andrews is the inciting incident of the novel, and it's soon clear that he was not such a swell guy. Foul play is suspected. Is Kya a murder? Or someone else?
There's plenty to love here, and the pages definitely turned quickly for me. Kya’s character and voice is compelling. If you enjoyed The Housemaid, you won’t want to miss this coming-of-age mystery about love, nature, and the secrets people keep.
I couldn't put this twisty, psychological thriller down. I wanted to know what happened to Sarah. This question relentlessly drove the narrative as her younger sister chased one lead after another. To make matters worse, more girls who look like Sarah are ending up dead in Golden Gate Park, and the younger sister looks just like Sarah. Would she be next?
If you liked The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, you’ll find that A Sorrow Called Sarah delivers a similar wild ride and a totally unexpected ending. I was guessing until the final pages. I have mixed feelings about whether or not actually liked that ending, but I was definitely surprised.
Okay, I would be remiss if I didn’t include some other Colleen Hoover books in this list because (let’s face it), she’s prolific and wonderful. Every one of them has been totally unique, and Layla is no exception. If you loved The Housemaid, you must read it immediately.
How do I categorize it? A ghost story? A love story? A psychological thriller? It's hard to put a label on it. What I know for sure is that I sat around all day and turned the pages until the end. I had to know. The twist was not as much of a surprise; I had an inkling about what was happening in the middle of the book. That didn't matter. How? Now what? There were so many pressing questions. Half the time, I wasn't sure I really trusted Leeds to be a reliable narrator.
Buy it. Read it. You won’t be sorry.
If you are looking for other books like The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, Goodreads also offers a great book list: Readers who enjoyed The Housemaid. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads.
Do you have any recommendations? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Perfecto Capucine
I binge-read a new favorite author the same way I consume a great new series on Netflix: in multiples. Why have just one title when there are three by the same author? Or six? Or ten!
And with Kindle Unlimited, you have subscription access to the world’s library of books, audiobooks, and anything you want on any device you want to read it on, not just a Kindle but also your tablet or phone. You can walk and read with an audio book. Or drive and listen to one. You can binge your favorite authors all the time.
So what are the all-time best YA authors to binge on Kindle Unlimited? I have a list for you, and I promise that these binges are not series, although series are worthy binges in their own right. If you want to read The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, or Twilight, those classics are great binge-worthy collections, but the list below list focuses on those YA authors with standalone books that you can find on Kindle Unlimited.
Wow! Khristina Chess writes action-packed books that I usually binge in a single sitting.
All eleven of her books deal with some kind of tough topic, such as anorexia, self-harming, or mental illness. What I love most about them is the way she balances these issues with hope, wit, and often a bit of romance. Others are pure high-octane thrillers. For example, Junior Missing is a steamy thriller about a runaway teenager who falls into the trap of an abusive relationship with an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go. The Delinquent Hero is raw and unforgettable mystery involving a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, and loss.
It’s hard to pick a favorite because the characters and story lines are so unique. Unquiet Riot is about school violence, bullying, and mental illness—told from the darkly humorous viewpoint of an unreliable narrator who claims he’s not a psychopath.
Khristina Chess is awesome and definitely someone to add to your list of best YA authors to binge on Kindle Unlimited. But don’t just take my word for it. Hundreds of Goodreads and Amazon reviewers also say that she rates as a binge-worthy Kindle Unlimited author. Check her out for yourself!
If you’re looking for dark and creepy YA novels, read Kate Alice Marshall. I loved, loved, loved Rules for Vanishing and Our Last Echoes, which are deliciously eerie. After reading these two novels, I immediately put this author on my Amazon Follow list. Her wilderness survival novel, I Am Still Alive, is one of my personal favorites. From the beginning, this book grabbed me and didn’t let go!
Although I prefer her earlier books more than her more recent ones, all of her books are pretty amazing. I have binged all of them on Kindle Unlimited in the past, although if you only find some titles in Kindle or other formats, you might read more about why so many of your favorite authors are leaving Kindle Unlimited.
Mindy McGinnis writes tough topics with a twist. The Female of the Species, for example, is about rape but also a traumatized teen girl who turned into a killer because of what happened. Her novel Heroine is a deeply compelling look at opioid addiction. What drew me into Heroine was the main character’s slow-motion slide into addiction and her denial about her situation. She justified every step of the way.
If you pick up The Female of the Species, be sure to check out Be Not Far From Me while you’re at it. There’s a reason they’re frequently bought together.
Honestly, I have loved every one of her books. She has a rich and diverse library of YA novels to choose from (too many to show on this page). They’re unique and thrilling! They’re binge-worthy books for your Kindle.
Kathleen Glasgow writes heart and soul like nobody I know. She makes me cry every time! Her characters really dig deep. In How to Make Friends with the Dark, I felt Tiger’s grief over her mom’s death in a way I never have in a novel before. It was real and honest. And so, so sad. You can see my full review in Which YA Books about Mother-Daughter Relationships Depict This Loving But Painful Dynamic.
In her highly popular novel, Girl in Pieces, which you can see my review in Which YA Books about Self-Harm and Cutting Should You Read Next, she introduces a character named Charlie that I genuinely worried about.
Kathleen Glasgow is one of the best YA authors to binge! Buy all of her books.
Another fantastic and classic author of issue-driven fiction is Laurie Halse Anderson. Her critically-acclaimed novel, Speak, about rape was my introduction to her work, and I worked my way through her titles about anorexia (Wintergirls), boys and masculinity (Twisted), and over-performance (Catalyst).
Although I said this list wasn’t about series, Anderson does have one; the first book is Chains, which addresses the issues of slavery and race in colonial America during the start of the Revolutionary War. Check these books out too!
Amazon reviewers also rate this author as one of the best YA authors to binge on Kindle Unlimited, and I agree! You can see my review of one of her most popular novels, Wintergirls, in my blog, Which YA Books about Eating Disorders Should You Read. Her critically-acclaimed novel, Speak, was also one of my favorites, and you can find my thoughts about it on Which Poignant YA Books about Rape and Sexual Assault Should You Read Next.
You definitely want to add Laurie Halse Anderson to your list of best YA authors to binge on Kindle Unlimited.
I wish Jandy Nelson would write another book. Truly. I love, love, loved The Sky Is Everywhere and I’ll Give You the Sun. These wonderful YA novels about siblings, love, loss, and life are lyrical. Beautiful! The language is breathtaking. If you haven’t read them yet, do yourself a favor.
You can read my full review of The Sky Is Everywhere in Which YA Books Have Love Triangles in Unexpected Places.
If you like twisty, thrilling novels with secrets and unreliable narrators, E. Lockhart’s books might be for you. I discovered her first with We Were Liars, which was completely unexpected and surprising, and its prequel, Family of Liars, is just as amazing. You won’t be able to put either of them down! Genuine Fraud is a modern-day take on The Talented Mr. Ripley. E. Lockart is a must-have author to add to your list of best YA authors to binge on Kindle Unlimited.
Just in case you have somehow missed this author, let me introduce you to John Green. A co-worker told me about him at lunch one day; she was reading The Fault in Our Stars, a YA book and told me how wonderful it was. I picked it up. After reading that one, I read everything he’d ever written. Immediately. And I pre-ordered Turtles All the Way Down. John Green’s books are that good.
But don’t take my word for it. Check them out for yourself. I think you’ll agree he’s one of the all-time best YA authors to binge on Kindle Unlimited.
You can find my review of The Fault in Our Stars in my blog Which Heartbreaking YA Books about Star-Crossed Lovers Should You Read Next? In fact, another great author is in that list, Jennifer Niven.
Okay, here are some more binge-worthy Kindle Unlimited YA authors. These are authors I pre-order every time they publish something new (and authors, some of you are due for a new book…):
1. Angie Thomas – The Hate U Give and On the Come Up
2. Nicola Yoon – Everything Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star
3. Jennifer Niven - All the Bright Places, Breathless, and Holding Up the Universe.
If one of these authors doesn’t appeal, there are several lists about great Kindle Unlimited book reads, like Best Romantic YA Kindle Unlimited eBooks on Goodreads and Kindle Unlimited Fantasy and SciFi Favorites on Goodreads. You may also want to browse through Other Good Reads.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Do you have a favorite author to binge? Or a list worth sharing?
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Anthony Tran
Find your next great read for Self Injury Awareness Day by exploring my reviews of these YA books about self-harm and cutting.
Nonsuicidal self-harming is often misunderstood by family members and friends, which can only add to the sense of isolation, shame, and pain for the person who harms. Reading YA books about self-harm and cutting can be helpful for a person struggling to find a way to cope with pain, as well as someone who loves someone who self-harms. Storytelling can be the bridge that leads to trust and understanding.
Here are my personal recommendations for a few amazing YA books about self-harm and cutting that have changed my heart forever. These characters, their stories, their strength, and their scars are beautiful and inspiring. A couple of the books include eating disorders as well, which is more of an inadvertent method of self-harm.
“Sometimes my inside hurts so bad that I need to make the outside hurt worse so the inside will stop.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Cutting Edge of Friendship
Sadie and Elana are keeping dangerous secrets.
Best friends since elementary school, they know everything about each other, but on the night of the fireworks, something terrible happened to Sadie that she hasn’t told anyone. She can’t even say the word to herself. Instead, she’s started cutting to deal with the pain.
Elana has a secret of her own; she’s texting Hunter and making plans for a clandestine meeting with him. She doesn’t know what he did or why he really wants to keep their relationship secret.
To end this dangerous cat-and-mouse game, Sadie must reclaim her courage and rescue Elana before a rapist can attack again.
So powerful! The Cutting Edge of Friendship instantly drew me into the tangled conflict, and I couldn’t look away until the girls were safe.
What I love most about The Cutting Edge of Friendship is Sadie’s fierce and resilient character and the raw and authentic emotion as this painful story escalates toward its thrilling climax. This is the kind of novel that really shows how someone self harms to cope with pain in the aftermath of sexual assault. You won’t want to miss this powerful YA book about cutting that explores the complicated nature of friendship. Fans of Girl in Pieces will enjoy this one.
“People should know about us. Girls who write their pain on their bodies.” ― Kathleen Glasgow, quote from Girl in Pieces
This wonderful novel about self-harm was the kind of story that kept pulling me away to a quiet room to curl up with a cup of tea and a lamp until I finished. I had to know what was going to happen to Charlie. I had to know whether or not she was going to be okay in the end. Because although she seemed to be making progress, this guy in her life wasn't a good choice for her. And then her friend from the hospital shows up, and she doesn't seem to be a good direction either. And if you've ever known addiction or seen someone struggling with recovery from anything, you know that the line is so easy to cross.
For Charlie, crossing the line might have devastating consequences because she has her tender kit, and it's full of glass. It's not tender but slashes and cuts.
So I read and worried and loved this young girl, who was so alone and hungry and living on the edge. I wanted someone to help her. Someone good.
This YA book about self-harming and cutting―and this girl―will stay with me for a long while. In fact, Kathleen Glasgow is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!
“They tied me back together, but they didn't use double knots. My insides are draining out of the fault lines in my skin, I can feel it, but every time I check the bandages, they're dry.” ― Laurie Halse Anderson, quote from Wintergirls
Readers consistently mention Wintergirls as a favorite in YA lists about self-harming—and for good reason! In addition to her severe eating disorder, Lia cuts herself.
This book is stark, beautiful, and also painful. Laurie Halse Anderson writes about many different tough topics, and Wintergirls addresses eating disorders, self-harming, friendship, grief, loss, and recovery. One girl is dead. The other one suffers from guilt, self-harming, and anorexia.
At times the book is disorienting and confusing, but this seemed to align with Lia’s state of mind. I was often uncomfortable while reading this story—which was the point, I think.
If you are looking for an intense YA book about self-harm and eating disorders, you won’t want to miss this one.
“It’s easier to think about food and the physical pain inside my body from not eating than the other pain of not having Kat. My sister would totally understand this. She would. As long as I’m connecting to her this way—our familiar, hungry old way—she’s with me.”― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped!
This YA is a raw and unforgettable story about a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, and loss. The present story line is an investigation of the odd circumstances and events that landed Kat in the hospital on a ventilator, but as the hours and days unfold, the close relationship between these sisters becomes more and more apparent, and Molly finds herself connecting with her older sister in their same old way:
"I'm not very hungry. I am, and I'm not. I am hollow, but this feeling seems less about food and more about Kat. At any rate, I do not want to eat."
Physical cutting is not present in this novel, but in her attempt to deal with grief and what’s happening with her sister, Molly stops eating. Through this behavior, she tries to reconnect physically with her sister, who is slipping away, and for this reason, I’ve included The Delinquent Hero in this list of YA books about self-harm. Sorrow becomes physical pain in this book.
In fact, Delinquent Hero is one of three novels by Khristina Chess in the top 100 Best Sellers in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Self-Harm and eating disorders.
“It's hard to keep a secret when it's written all over your body.” ― Julia Hoban, quote from Willow
In this complex novel about self-harming and grief, I met the wonderful character of Willow. She is an orphan with terrible secrets. Guilt. Pain. Numbness. And love.
I can’t speak about whether or not Willow suffers from a deep self-harming mental illness, or if she’s simply a teenager who doesn’t know how to deal with the terrible things that happened in her life. Cutting seems like an answer. She feels alone and sad. At any rate, the book felt emotional and honest to me. I loved reading her story and connecting with her pain as she journeyed to wholeness.
Be sure to check out this thought-provoking and heartbreaking YA book that wrestles with cutting, grief, and the healing power of love.
“Other times, I look at my scars and see something else: a girl who was trying to cope with something horrible that she should never have had to live through at all. My scars show pain and suffering, but they also show my will to survive. They're part of my history that'll always be there.” ― Cheryl Rainfield, quote from Scars
Wow! What a powerful, thrilling, emotional, heartbreaking book. Scars packs a real punch, touching on multiple tough topics, including cutting, sexual abuse, and relationships. Kendra was raped at a very young age by a man whose face she cannot remember. The story opens with her in therapy with a counselor who is helping her to cope with the painful memories that have started to surface, but the plot accelerates quickly as Kendra feels her abuser is stalking her. She copes with her pain through self-harming and also in her art, which is both beautiful and darkly disturbing. Descriptions of her art in this book are very vivid.
The revelation of her abuser is both a shock and a non-shock, and I was rooting for her to confront him and find a path to justice and healing. Scars is a great read if you’re looking for a YA book about self-harm and cutting.
If you are looking other books about self-harm and cutting, check out the YA Self-Harm and Cutting Fiction (25 books) and Books about Cutting Yourself (78 Books) on Goodreads. For other books on mental health issues, including suicide or depression, you might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens.
Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Sadie by Courtney Summers is a one of those YA mysteries about teen runaways that will stay with you long after the last page. I felt instantly drawn into her story and liked the format of alternating podcast interviews and young Sadie’s viewpoint as she sought justice against her sister’s killer.
Find your next great read for National Reading Month by exploring my reviews of these YA books if you enjoyed reading Sadie as much as I did.
“How exactly did Noel discover her? When? Why was he at her house in the first place? … Is it possible that instead of finding her, he’s the person who hurt her?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped!
Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator.
But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent.
Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister’s ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat’s cardiac monitor. It’s like, even though she’s supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house.
Like maybe someone tried to murder her.
What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. It’s a great novel that shows the way eating disorders can impact the people who love them the most. There is so much pain in trying to answer why?
If you enjoyed reading Sadie, don’t miss this raw and unforgettable new YA mystery about a complicated sisterhood and grief. It’s hard to put down!
“He called me the most willing kidnapping victim in history. I’d invited him to my house, he’d said. I’d climbed into the car. I’d packed a bag. And a parakeet.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Junior Missing
Love shouldn’t take prisoners.
Sixteen-year-old Grace Keegan, darling of the child pageant world, is missing. Police initially believe she ran away—until they locate her abandoned cell phone along the highway. No one knows she met someone online, someone older, a musician named Quentin Brock who has a cool band named Acid Mozart. He seems to be romantic, cute, and funny. He seems to be the perfect guy.
By the time he reveals his true colors, Grace is trapped in another state with no way out.
She doesn’t even have shoes.
Junior Missing hooked me from the first page and never let me go!
What makes Junior Missing so special is the gripping, slow-boil depiction of how Grace falls into the trap of an abusive relationship with an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go. I worried about her. I loved seeing her journey and choices as she befriends the neighbor girl. This is the kind of thrilling, authentic novel that really shows how someone can so easily be manipulated and hurt in this kind of situation.
In fact, if you liked Sadie by Courtney Summers, check out some of the other books by Khristina Chess, too. She’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
“Reeve’s End is the kind of town every kid can’t wait to escape. Each summer, a dozen kids leave and at least a quarter never come back. I don’t blame them—I’ll do the same in another year. We thought it was just something that happened in towns like ours. We were wrong.”― Kelley Armstrong, quote from Missing
Winter Crane’s sister is missing.
In missing-person cases, police only have so much time to find victims before their chance of returning home safe diminishes, and in this instance, the timeline for how long Winter’s sister has been missing happened to her—and other missing kids—is tied to an invisible clock like a heartbeat. It creates suspense is already unclear. As the mystery quickly unfolds, the urgency to find out what might have and raises the stakes. The tension increases with each turn of the page because we believe the situation is life-or-death. The hero spends a lot of time literally running from one place to another, trying to beat the clock.
I thoroughly enjoyed the plucky heroine and her determination to get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing teens, even at increasingly dangerous personal cost to herself. The West Virginia setting seemed vibrant and real without being cliched or overdone. The killer was gruesome, creepy, and sinister.
If you enjoyed Sadie, you won’t want to miss this thrilling story about missing teens and the search for what has happened to them.
“Good people can do terrible things, Lydia. The longer you live, the more you see it.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from A Long Stretch of Bad Days
Mindy McGinnis is one of my favorite YA authors, so I couldn’t wait to dive into this new book. The setup and beginning starts off slow, but once Lydia and Bristal begin chasing a murder mystery in their small town, the plotting was great. The ending was a surprise to me, but I’m an easily fooled reader.
I especially enjoyed the friendship that developed between the girls, despite the fact that they come from very different socioeconomic backgrounds. Lydia is right. Bristal comes from the poor part of town and has a family reputation. People think of her as disposable. She’s not. She sharp-witted and funny, and she helps Lydia to see things very differently.
If you’re looking for an offbeat mystery with interesting characters, be sure to check out A Long Stretch of Days! In fact, Mindy Micginnis is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!
“I know Becca didn’t run away. That leaves one possibility and one impossibility, and I long for the impossible. Because if she isn’t dead, if she’s only been taken, she can be brought back.”― Kate Alice Marshall, quote from Rules for Vanishing
Sara’s adopted sister Becca vanished a year ago.
Although everyone has given up the search, Sara is determined to find her because she believes Becca has gone into the woods and is lost on The Road. Sara convinces (tricks) a group of her friends to join her on this terrifying journey.
Not everyone comes home. Because at some point they break the rules:
Don’t leave the road.
Don’t let go.
Don’t follow other roads.
Rules for Vanishing is not a typical YA novel about teen runaways. It is dark, mysterious, creepy, and full of scary and supernatural stuff. I loved it and devoured it in a few days. The ending was an unexpected twist, especially because of the connection to Kate Alice Marshall’s other novel, Our Last Echoes, which I’d read first.
This is another recommendation I think fans of Sadie will really enjoy.
Chris is missing.
While he’s gone, his girlfriend Jessie decides to write letters to him, so the entire book is a series of scenes narrated to Chris. The mystery of his disappearance deepens as more of the bullying that Chris had endured unfolds.
Heartbreaking, beautiful, and powerful, Jessie’s letters are her way of coming to terms with the fact that the boy she loved went running one night but never came home again.
Check out this hard-hitting YA book about depression and racism. It’s a great third-person look at the impact of depression on those who love the person and feel helpless to ease their suffering. Fans of Sadie will also enjoy this one.
If you are looking other books similar to Sadie, check out the Books Similar to Sadie, Runaway Books, and Runaways in YA and Middle Grade Fiction lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topic.
What about you? Do you have any recommendations to add to my list? If you enjoyed Sadie, are there other similar books you loved?
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Dan Dumitriu
Find your next great read to celebrate the Summer Solstice by exploring my reviews of the best YA books that belong on your summer reading list this year.
For teens, summer is an unscheduled time. Free time. There’s no school, less supervision, more sleeping in, fewer restrictions, more opportunity to be with friends, more lying around and decompressing, even adventure. Reading a few great novels is a great way to spend some non-screen time. Summer-themed YA books may include stories where characters are traveling for summer vacation, preparing for college, having a summer romance, saying goodbye to a high school boyfriend, or working a summer job.
Here are my personal recommendations for which YA books belong on your summer reading list this year. It’s an eclectic list. Some of them are classics, and some are titles you may have never heard of before. With such an array of choices, you’ll be sure to find something that piques your interest.
Maybe this is the summer to try something new!
“This is supposed to be our best friend summer. You promised. No fickle-boyfriend distractions, just us one more time before senior year.“ ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Cutting Edge of Friendship
Sadie and Elana are supposed to be having one last, ultimate best friend summer before going their separate ways after high school. This is it. Their swan song. They’re going to have epic adventures, just the two of them.
But Sadie and Elana are keeping dangerous secrets from each other.
Best friends since elementary school, they know everything about each other, but on the night of the fireworks, something terrible happened to Sadie that she hasn’t told anyone. She can’t even say the word to herself. Instead, she’s started cutting to deal with the pain.
Elana has a secret of her own; she’s texting Hunter and making plans for a clandestine meeting with him. She doesn’t know what he did or why he really wants to keep their relationship secret.
To end this dangerous cat-and-mouse game, Sadie must reclaim her courage and rescue Elana before a rapist can attack again.
So powerful! The Cutting Edge of Friendship instantly drew me into the tangled conflict, and I couldn’t look away until the girls were safe.
What I love most about The Cutting Edge of Friendship is Sadie’s fierce and resilient character and the raw and authentic emotion as this painful story escalates toward its thrilling climax. This is the kind of novel that really shows how someone self harms to cope with pain in the aftermath of sexual assault. You won’t want to miss this thrilling summer-themed YA story about the complicated nature of friendship. It’s definitely one of the YA books that belongs on your summer reading list.
In fact, if you like to binge-read a new favorite author, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited, so if The Cutting Edge of Friendship sounds intriguing, you might also want to check out some of her other titles too, like The Delinquent Hero and Junior Missing. For paperback fans, you could fill your whole beach bag.
“All these words and stories. My mom calls them the color of a human life: those little moments that are so uniquely ours.” ― Jennifer Niven, quote from Breathless
I might love this book even more than Niven’s All the Bright Places—and that's saying a lot!
Breathless is the story of Claude's trip to a remote island off the coast of Georgia after graduation with her mom following the sudden separation of her parents. She meets a boy and falls in love. So simple. Yet Jennifer Niven beautifully captures that lovely, breathless feeling of first love. Passionate kisses. Romantic trysts. Mosquito bites on sunburned skin.
There is so much growing up packed into this brief summer for Claude. She learns that parents have secrets and tell lies. She and her lifelong best friend grow apart even as they prepare to truly separate for fall college classes. And she has this deep relationship with Miah on the island that changes her in fundamental ways.
Breathless is the perfect beach read for your summer reading list. In fact, Jennifer Niven is also on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited, so you might want to check out some of these others, too.
“Life feels beautiful that day. The four of us Liars, we have always been. We always will be. No matter what happens as we go to college, grow old, build lives for ourselves; no matter if Gat and I are together or not. No matter where we go, we will always be able to line up on the roof of Cuddledown and gaze at the sea. This island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from We Were Liars
What an unexpected and beautiful story about summertime, friendship, coming of age, and sorrow!
I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but I fell in love with this unexpected story. By the end it made me cry. We Were Liars is about a group of privileged young friends and their lies, family secrets, grief, and love. It’s a mystery. Its private island setting evokes all kinds of summer images: the beach, the heat, the sun. The beautiful and disorienting plot will leave you reader breathless until the very end.
If you haven’t picked this one up yet, do yourself a favor and add it to the top of your summer reading list this year. It’s a whirlwind read.
Lockhart's prequel to this one, Family of Liars, does not disappoint either! In Family of Liars, the narrator, Carrie, tells the story of the summer of the boys' visit to the island, but long before those events, there are ominous hints of what is to come. In her early teen years, for example, Carrie's father insists on a surgery to break her jaw, and an infection sets in. The pages are full of great details about summertime on the island. The lemon hunt was very vivid, as well as the details about clothing, food, and the picnic table. Lockhart painted a vivid sense of place, siblings, and privilege.
I recommend reading both of them while you’re at the beach!
“His bed’s really comfortable. And he never pees in it.” ― Huntley Fitzpatrick, quote from My Life Next Door
This adorable YA love story is compelling and has an unexpected ending. Everything about the messy Garrett house draws Samantha into it, but especially the good-looking son, Jase. He’s one of several children in the house. His little brother, George, has some of the best lines. I laughed out loud. The sneaking around teen love stuff was pretty wonderful. Samantha’s best friend is a jerk, and her sister is too. No wonder she’s so drawn to the loving family next door.
Samantha is keeping this relationship with Jase a secret from her mom and everyone else in her life, but eventually that blows up in her face. In the process, she learns some lessons about who she is and who she wants to be.
This dreamy YA book will leave you smiling for days and definitely belongs on your summer reading list this year. It evokes all those light feelings of happiness, joy, and romantic love. You just can’t help sighing about that first kiss. You can’t wait for Samantha and Jase to take their relationship to the next level, and your heart breaks when things get rocky. This is such a sweet story. So cute!
In fact, if I’m going to include My Life Next Door to the roundup of best YA books on your summer reading list this year, I also have to include The Unexpected Everything. This was another light, sweet, happy, and satisfying vacation read. The characters and story were perfect for each other. At first I didn't like them, but they totally won me over. They fit their world, and they grew as a result of the summer events. I will definitely read more of this author.
"We keep thinking there are only these two choices: We either grow apart or grow together. But maybe we can just kind of each grow on our own, and see how it goes. And then later, if it's right, we'll come back to each other and start again." ― Jennifer E. Smith, quote from Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
In another “novel in one night” book, Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between explores the relationship of Clare and Aiden as they prepare to separate before heading off to college at the end of summer break. Along the way, they spend time with a cast of friends and visit places where they enjoyed some of their most memorable moments. I didn’t love-love the story and characters the same way that I did some of the other novels here, but there were sweet and romantic moments that kept me invested.
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between definitely belong in this list of summer-themed YA books. If you’re looking for YA books that belong on your summer reading list this year, check out Jennifer Smith’s book.
If you are looking for some other great suggestions for which YA books belong on your summer reading list, check out the Summer-Themed YA and YA Summer Reads Books lists on Goodreads. If you haven’t found what you’re looking for yet, you might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type.
Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Ryan Parker
Find your next great read for National Reading Month by exploring my reviews of these evocative YA books about grief and loss.
Reading stories and knowing that you—or someone you love—is not alone with this sorrow can be a powerful way to cope. Grief can be profoundly lonely, so there is something powerful about connecting inside the head of a protagonist who shares your deepest thoughts and feelings or who is experiencing your grief at a gut level. Someone who really knows.
A book about death or dying won’t offer a hollow platitude or pretend that everything is fine when it’s not. Sometimes you just want to escape into another world—maybe a happy world—or maybe one where a fictional character is also struggling with confusion, mourning, and grief about a death that should not have happened.
Here is a list of YA books about grief and loss that I think are amazing. Be sure to have a box of tissues. Some of these stories about death and dying will wring your heart out. Sometimes, you’ll laugh while you’re crying, but that’s okay.
“I stare at my sister in this bed. She is mine. She is here, and I cannot imagine that she is not. That she will never be here again. How can it be true? I see her before me. Her chest is rising, falling, rising, falling. Her hand is warm in mine.“ ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero
Kat is dying.
The big question is: why?
Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator.
But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent.
Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister’s ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat’s cardiac monitor. It’s like, even though she’s supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house.
Like maybe someone tried to murder her.
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped! What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. Although pitched as an action-packed murder mystery, this YA is also a raw and unforgettable story about a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, and loss. It’s hard to put down. The present story line is an investigation of the odd circumstances and events that landed Kat in the hospital on a ventilator, but as the hours and days unfold, the close relationship between these sisters becomes apparent.
You won’t want to miss this evocative YA book about grief and loss. Fans of If I Stay will enjoy this one.
“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.” ― Jennifer Niven, quote from All the Bright Places
Theodore Finch has more than a touch of the blues.
Violet Markey wants to escape the grief that lives in her hometown where her sister recently died.
Violet and Theodore are an unlikely couple, paired together on a school project to explore the natural wonders of their state. At first, Theodore seems to be the one helping Violet with her sadness, but Violet doesn’t have any understanding about the depth of Theodore’s despair. Along their journey, they make several unexpected discoveries about one another.
After re-reading this book a second time, I enjoyed it every bit as much as the the first. I liked the writing, the dual character viewpoints, the story, the language, and the symbolism.
Blue is a primary color.
This lovely YA book is about grief and loss, and Niven handles these difficult topics with honesty and resonance. All the Bright Places is one of my all-time favorites. In fact, Jennifer Niven is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!
“You do realize that a car is a mobile make-out location, right?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Drive to June.
Eighteen-year-old Adriana refuses to text anymore.
She doesn’t drive.
And she’s secretly guzzling her dead mother’s wine collection.
With her father traveling so much and her older sister away in college, no one knows about Adriana’s drinking. She drinks to forget something awful that she did; she drinks to go numb. To avoid her grief. And now she can't seem to stop. Since moving to this new school, she doesn't have close friends or teachers, so there's nothing to stop her free-fall.
But then one night, Ian spots her on the roof and makes an offer she can’t refuse. He comes into her life, and everything begins to change.
Wow, what a ride! Drive to June took off from the start and accelerated all the way to the finish. I had to find out Adriana’s secret. What makes this book so special is the sweet relationship that develops between Adriana and Ian as he teaches her how to drive and helps her get her driver’s license. Although it starts as a story about alcohol abuse, this is a dreamy and hopeful YA novel with heart.
You won’t want to miss this this surprisingly romantic YA book about grief and loss. Fans of The Astonishing Color of After will love this one. In fact, Khristina Chess is also on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited, so be sure to check out her other books.
“You are carrying so many heavy feelings. There just isn’t enough room for them all.“ ― Kathleen Glasgow, quote from How to Make Friends with the Dark
After Tiger Tolliver's mom dies of a brain aneurysm, she becomes a ward of the state, an orphan, suddenly faced with an uncertain future. She doesn't have any living relatives. She doesn't know anything about her father. It's just her and her mom--and now just her. A minor.
What Tiger begins to learn is that her mom kept some important secrets from her. For example, she has a living dad. And a sister.
This YA novel about death and dying is a real tear jerker! Tiger strikes me a sheltered girl with little real life experience; on the day her mom died, she was kissing a boy for the first time. She wasn't prepared for the events that followed as she entered the system. Yet, despite her tragic circumstances, she makes a path for herself. She makes mistakes but doesn't fall off a cliff. She keeps people at a cautious distance, but she does make friends and finds a way to build a new family for herself.
How to Make Friends with the Dark is an evocative YA book about grief and loss that will tug at your heartstrings. Bring extra tissues for this one! And if you like it, be sure to check out my post on Which YA Books about Mother-Daughter Relationships Best Depict This Loving But Painful Dynamic for similar books.
“What kind of girl wants to kiss every boy at a funeral, wants to maul a guy in a tree after making out with her sister’s boyfriend the previous night? Speaking of which, what kind of girl makes out with her sister’s boyfriend, period?” ― Jandy Nelson, quote from The Sky Is Everywhere
I love, love, loved this book! The writing is so lyrical, and the story is incredibly sad. It begins with protagonist Lennie, who is grieving the sudden death of her sister. Although Bailey is dead, the relationship between these siblings is very much alive on the pages of this novel. Lennie writes beautiful poems, and she spends time in their room and shares so many memories that I feel I know Bailey.
A charismatic new boy shows up at school, and Lennie ends up entering into 2 romances at the same time. This is the love triangle. One romance is with the new boy at school, and the other is with her dead sister’s grieving boyfriend. Sooner or later, she has to decide which one of these guys is the one she’s going to stick with. Oh, boy.
All of the characters are vivid, and the story is captivating. The creative visual aspect of the novel is also a nice touch; Lennie writes her poems on scraps and scatters them everywhere, and these appear at the beginning of chapters.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking for evocative YA books about grief and loss. In fact, I highly recommend that you also read Nelson’s other novel, I’ll Give You the Sun.
“Life feels beautiful that day. The four of us Liars, we have always been. We always will be. No matter what happens as we go to college, grow old, build lives for ourselves; no matter if Gat and I are together or not. No matter where we go, we will always be able to line up on the roof of Cuddledown and gaze at the sea. This island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from We Were Liars
What an unexpected and beautiful story about friendship, coming of age, and sorrow!
I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but I fell in love with it. By the end it made me cry. This YA book about friendship is about a group of privileged young friends and their lies, family secrets, grief, and love. It’s a mystery. The beautiful and disorienting plot will leave you reader breathless until the very end.
If you haven’t picked this one up yet and are looking for a great YA book about grief and loss, do yourself a favor. It’s a whirlwind read.
“She peels an orange, separates it in perfect halves, and gives one of them to me. If I could wear it like a friendship bracelet, I would. Instead I swallow it section by section and tell myself it means even more this way. To chew and to swallow in silence here with her.” ― Nina LaCour, quote from We Are Okay
I wanted to read this book for many years on the basis of its cover alone. Look at it! I didn’t even know what the story was about, but it must be beautiful with artwork like that, right?
The book blurb doesn’t prepare you for what this story is about. The plot meanders between present and past. In the present, Marin is staying in her freshman dorm room alone over Christmas break because tragedy has occurred. What tragedy? Well, that’s the big mystery. Her best friend Mabel from California shows up to try to talk her into coming home, and oh by the way, the two of them were romantically involved in the past.
But not anymore.
Mabel doesn’t understand why Marin left without speaking, what happened in the interim, and why she is refusing to come home. Finding out these answers is the main story, but what this book is really about is grief, loneliness, betrayal, longing, being orphaned, and growing up.
I liked We Are Okay. It’s quiet. It’s understated and lovely. I really felt Marin’s sorrow.
If you are looking for an evocative YA books about grief and loss, you definitely want to add this one to your TBR pile!
“It's hard to keep a secret when it's written all over your body.” ― Julia Hoban, quote from Willow
In this complex novel about self-harming and grief, I met the wonderful character of Willow. She is an orphan with terrible secrets. Guilt. Pain. Numbness. And love.
I can’t speak about whether or not Willow suffers from a deep self-harming mental illness, or if she’s simply a teenager who doesn’t know how to deal with the terrible things that happened in her life. Cutting seems like an answer. She feels alone and sad. At any rate, the book felt emotional and honest to me. I loved reading her story and connecting with her pain as she journeyed to wholeness.
Be sure to check out this thought-provoking and heartbreaking YA book about grief and loss.
“Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.” ― John Green, quote from The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars is the ultimate YA book about grief and loss. Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace are two teens with cancer, and they fall in love during a sweet time of remission. They talk about literature and philosophy, and they go on a wonderful journey to meet the author of Hazel’s favorite novel. This person is not at all what she expected—a huge disappointment, as a matter of fact—but then, life happens that way.
When the inevitable plot turn comes and twists the knife in your heart, it doesn’t matter that you’re expecting it. Augustus and Hazel are supposed to be together, so every bittersweet moment of their parting is a gasp. Every breath counts. Every syllable.
If you’re looking for the sweetest and most heart-wrenching star-crossed love story, pick up this classic. If you read it a long time ago, it’s just as good the second time around. Trust me.
“Whose fault was it? That’s the question on everyone’s mind, isn’t it? Nobody will ever say it out loud. It’s a question people would call inappropriate. The kind of thing where everyone tells you, “It’s nobody’s fault.” But is that even true? It’s only human nature to look for a place to lay the blame. Our fingers are more than ready to do the pointing, but it’s like we’re all blindfolded and spinning. What makes a person want to die?” ― Emily X.R. Pan, quote from The Astonishing Color of After
A young girl, Leigh Chen Sanders, is grieving the death of her mother, who committed suicide. Leigh believes that she turned into a bird, and she goes on a journey to visit her grandparents in Taiwan in search of her mother, the bird, and other family secrets.
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan is one of my top favorite YA reads. I discovered the novel after reading a Goodreads review so intriguing that I went hunting for the title during my next Barnes & Noble trip. The Astonishing Color of After was shelved under Teen Fantasy, a category where I never shop, so without seeing the great reviewer comments I might never have discovered this touching book about grief, culture, and family secrets.
This book wrecked me. The writing is so beautiful. Whether it’s the love story, the voice, the mystery, or the family culture aspect, there’s plenty of reasons why fans connect with this YA classic. I truly can’t say enough wonderful things about this amazing novel.
If you haven’t discovered it yet, you definitely want to make it one of the YA books on your list of evocative YA books about grief and loss you should read next. And if you have already read it, here’s my list of other great books for fans of The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan.
“We used to be pretty good friends, but fourteen-year-old girls are psychotic.” ― Jesse Andrews, quote from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
How can a book about a teenage girl dying from leukemia be so funny?
Greg and Earl are weird, unlikely friends and amateur filmmakers who manage to fly below the radar at school and enjoy their private world. Then Greg’s mom makes him reach out to Rachel, a childhood friend who has been diagnosed with leukemia and needs a friend.
Earl turns out to be the more compassionate of the pair, and the two of them set out to make a movie about Rachel. Their brilliant idea fails in execution and is the Worst Film Ever Made.
This fun, funny, and all-around wonderful YA book about grief, loss, and friendship is full of crude humor, heart, honesty, and surprises as Greg learns things about his long-time friend Earl, as well as himself, through this journey with the dying girl, Rachel. I can’t say enough good about it. Buy it. Read it. Laugh.
“She has compared me to my sister every single day of my life, so why should I expect that to change now that she’s dead?” ― Erika L. Sanchez, quote from I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
I loved the cover on this novel, and with so many stars and enthusiastic reviews, I figured I would love this story. There is an interesting mystery about what happened to Julia’s older sister Olga, who died in front of a truck. There is an interesting view into Mexican culture.
But.
The mother-daughter relationship (which is the title of the book) is not the real focus of the story. The mother is portrayed as traditional and strict, but she’s also mostly a shadow and underdeveloped character. Julia, the daughter, is a hard character to like because she has so many hard edges, and I never reached a point of real empathy or connection with her—even though she is a grieving person. Instead, I felt like the book was a checklist of YA book “issues” without any depth or focus on any of them: immigration, depression, first-time sex, death of a sibling, food, Mexican culture, drug usage, attempted suicide, rape… The list could continue.
You will probably feel differently. Literally thousands of readers on Goodreads loved this book.
“Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.” ― Alice Sebold, quote from The Lovely Bones
Susie Salmon is dead.
She was raped and murdered in a most gruesome fashion by a most gruesome man, and now she exists in an afterlife, observing her family and her killer.
The story is a bit disorienting, but I think that’s kind of the point. Most of the novel is about Susie’s struggle to come to terms with the fact that she’s dead and move on. The “why?” questions haunt her. Her family and former life haunts her. The desire for justice and vengeance haunts her.
It’s the disquiet that comes when a young person dies tragically, suddenly, whether or not by foul means. There is a profound unfairness. The soul cries out.
Although the scene where Susie is killed is horrific, this one also fits the list of YA books about grief and loss. Everyone in this book is grieving, including Susie herself.
“Motherhood is not for the weak. In my opinion, it should have a warning label attached to it—only dedicated individuals with boundless energy, unconditional love, and a high tolerance for pain need apply.” ― Kristin Kisska, quote from The Hint of Light
This debut novel is about many things: mystery, redemption, secrets, resentments, innocence, and love. I wanted a faster pace. I wanted a thriller. Kristen Kisska didn't give me that. Instead, The Hint of Light reveals its story slowly, shifting back and forth in time and between multiple character viewpoints:
Kyle, the son who is dead, slowly gives us the backstory of his recovery and new relationship with his recently-discovered daughter.
Ally, the 18-year-old daughter, who tells both before and after versions. She is grieving a father so recently found... and then lost.
Margaret, the mother, who also reveals a then and now story.
There is the story question of how Kyle really died, as well as the secret that slowly becomes clearer as the past and present layers are pulled away.
The Hint of Light is a lovely, quiet, and yet sometimes shocking novel about family and the power of a mother's love. If you’re looking for books about grief and loss, check it out. Even though it’s not “YA",” it’s worth the read.
If you are looking other YA books about grief and loss, check out the YA Grief Fiction, YA Death & Dying Books, YA Books Dealing with Grief, and Losing Someone - Grief-themed Books in Young Adult Fiction the lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics such as depression and anxiety.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Alice Alinari
Find your next great read for National Reading Month with these irresistible YA mystery and thriller books.
The mystery and thriller genre is so popular that you probably know most of the bestselling YA authors already: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson and everything by Karen McManus, author of One of Us Is Lying.
But, here are my personal recommendations for some irresistible YA mystery and thriller books that you might not have discovered yet. They’re full of bombshells and unforeseen curves. I hope you find a few new authors or titles to add to your reading list.
“Is it possible that instead of finding her, he’s the person who hurt her?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped!
Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator.
But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent.
Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister’s ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat’s cardiac monitor. It’s like, even though she’s supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house.
Like maybe someone tried to murder her.
What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. It’s a great novel that shows the way eating disorders can impact the people who love them the most. There is so much pain in trying to answer why?
If you’re looking for an irresistible YA mystery, you won’t want to miss The Delinquent Hero.
“We might as well make some trouble together.” ― Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson, quote from The Agathas
I absolutely love Kathleen Glasgow and all her books. The Agathas is a good read, and I could not guess who the killer was until the very end. I enjoyed the growing friendship between Alice and Iris, as well as the secondary cast of sidekick characters they brought onto the case. “Fun” is the adjective other reviewers have frequently used for The Agathas, and I can agree with that. Plucky Alice and sensitive Iris make a fun pair of sleuths.
I felt the book fulfilled its mission in its mystery genre, and if the characters and writing weren’t as lovely as Glasgow’s other books, that’s more of a byproduct of the category. Also, it’s a collaboration and my first glimpse into anything by Liz Lawson.
If you’re looking for one of the best YA mystery books that will keep you guessing, you should definitely add The Agathas to your TBR pile. In fact, Kathleen Glasgow is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!
"I think we're all quite mad. Some of us are just more discreet about it." ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from A Madness So Discreet
Imagine that you could be imprisoned in an insane asylum just because you're a woman and a male in your life wants to get rid of you. This sort of thing happened to women in the last century. For real. This is what happened to Grace, the protagonist in A Madness So Discreet. The man who sent her to the facility was her own father, and the inconvenient truth was that she was pregnant with his child.
This is the beginning of A Madness So Discreet. But the novel does not linger in the horrors of lobotomies and torture of mental patients. Instead, Grace escapes into the hands of a doctor who uses her talents to help solve murders.
As a serial killer mystery unfolds, though, you know that a showdown between Grace and her father, a powerful senator, is coming. He thinks she is dead. He is about to move on to her younger sister. She is motivated to stop him, even at risk to herself.
What happens in the end of this dark novel is astonishing. No spoilers here. Just treat yourself and read this unusual and twisty YA mystery. Mindy McGinnis is near the top of my favorite YA authors. A Madness So Discreet is one of her early works, so I didn't think it was as fabulous as Female of the Species or Heroine. Still, it was classic McGinnis and worth every single page.
“Good people can do terrible things, Lydia. The longer you live, the more you see it.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from A Long Stretch of Bad Days
Mindy McGinnis is one of my favorite YA authors, so I couldn’t wait to dive into this new book. The setup and beginning starts off slow, but once Lydia and Bristal begin chasing a murder mystery in their small town, the plotting was great. The ending was a surprise to me, but I’m an easily fooled reader.
I especially enjoyed the friendship that developed between the girls, despite the fact that they come from very different socioeconomic backgrounds. Lydia is right. Bristal comes from the poor part of town and has a family reputation. People think of her as disposable. She’s not. She sharp-witted and funny, and she helps Lydia to see things very differently.
If you’re looking for an offbeat mystery with interesting characters, be sure to check out A Long Stretch of Days!
“Fashion gets a reputation for being frivolous, but it's the one form of art I understand It has the ability to transform bodies and environments, to conceal or seduce, to break hearts or make them sing." ― Dana Mele, quote from People Like Us
This chilling YA mystery has the right ingredients for a great read. A young girl is found dead, and the main character is the primary suspect. Along the way, other bodies drop, and other suspects surface. Friends become enemies, and enemies become friends.
The main character, Kay, isn't especially sympathetic, and neither are her friends. Kay's flatness makes it hard to connect with her, even with the backstory about her brother or her romantic entanglements with the other girls. I just didn't like her very much; I wouldn't care if she went to jail.
Still, this book has the pacing, plotting, and setting just right, and the author kept me guessing until the end. For readers who like mean girls and the YA mystery and thriller genre, it's a quick read and offers several surprises. Don’t miss this irresistible YA mystery.
“The last laugh, the last cup of coffee, the last sunset, the last time you jump through a sprinkler, or eat an ice-cream cone, or stick your tongue out to catch a snowflake. You just don’t know.” ― Lauren Oliver, quote from Before I Fall
Samantha Kingston is dead.
In this YA-version of Groundhog Day, a “mean girl” gets a chance to relive her last day and the party she attended with her friends before the fatal car crash. She has an opportunity to make the same choices over and over, until she makes different ones.
This beautiful novel is an atypical mystery about redemption as the reader follows Samantha’s journey to figure out how she died. Her character arc really blew me away, and although I disliked her in the beginning, I was cheering for her by the end, and I love the way Lauren Oliver wrote the ending. Fans of irresistible YA mystery and thriller books won’t want to miss this one.
“Before we were the Monsters of Brickhouse Lane—before everyone from Connecticut to California knew us by that tagline, and blogs ran pictures of our faces, and searching our names led to sites that crashed from all the traffic—we were just girls, and there were only two of us.” ― Lauren Oliver, quote from Broken Things
Once there were three friends who were writers and obsessed with a fantasy novel about a magical world. But one of the girls was murdered, and everyone thought the other two killed her. They didn’t.
Five years after Summer’s death, the friends are reunited and put on a path to find out the identity of the real killer.
This YA book about friendship is a mystery told in alternating viewpoints. I wanted to know what happened to Summer. Who murdered her and why? What happened that day in the woods? The dark plot twisted and kept me guessing until the end.
Both of Lauren Oliver’s novels, Before I Fall and Broken Things, are irresistible YA mystery and thriller books that you should add to your TBR pile. (Plus, isn’t the cover of Broken Things gorgeous?)
“You get away with a lot, even after you're caught.” ― Courtney Summers, quote from Cracked Up to Be
Parker Fadley has a secret.
She used to be the captain of the cheerleading team, top student, queen B, perfect at everything, but something happened. Something she never told.
By the time we meet Parker, we’re in the middle of her “after,” when she’s busy wrecking her perfect life and torturing herself, so it takes a while to understand how deep this secret really goes.
It’s not what you think.
It’s worse.
If you’re looking for an irresistible YA mystery and a protagonist who is mean, unsympathetic, and yet strangely someone you want to hug, this is the book for you. You won’t be able to stop until the final page.
“How do you forgive the people who are supposed to protect you? Sometimes, I don't know what I miss more; everything I've lost or everything I never had.” ― Courtney Summers, quote from Sadie
Sadie is another irresistible YA mystery book by Courtney Summers that’s so thrilling you won’t be able to put it down. I felt instantly drawn into her story and liked the format of alternating podcast interviews and young Sadie’s viewpoint as she sought justice against her sister’s killer. She has plenty of personal reasons to hate him, and he deserves to die for his crimes.
This novel alternates between young Sadie, who is a missing teen, and a podcast show, where details of her disappearance are told through a series of interviews. I think I would have loved this book even more in audio format than paperback
Still, Sadie is a great read. The pacing increases as the story unfolds and Sadie gets closer and closer to her target. The conclusion to her quest for justice is a surprise. This compelling YA book about teen runaways that will stay with you long after the last page. If Sadie sounds interesting, check out my list of Books You’ll Enjoy If You Liked Sadie.
“Life feels beautiful that day. The four of us Liars, we have always been. We always will be. No matter what happens as we go to college, grow old, build lives for ourselves; no matter if Gat and I are together or not. No matter where we go, we will always be able to line up on the roof of Cuddledown and gaze at the sea. This island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from We Were Liars
What an unexpected and beautiful story about summertime, friendship, coming of age, and sorrow!
I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but I fell in love with this unexpected story. By the end it made me cry. We Were Liars is about a group of privileged young friends and their lies, family secrets, grief, and love. It’s a mystery. Its private island setting evokes all kinds of summer images: the beach, the heat, the sun. The beautiful and disorienting plot will leave you reader breathless until the very end.
It’s a classic, but if you haven’t picked this one up yet, do yourself a favor and add it to your list of irresistible YA mystery and thriller books. It’s a whirlwind.
"They're doing just as I asked them to. As we Sinclairs always do. Pretending. Lying. Trying to have a good time.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from Family of Liars
Lockhart's prequel to We Were Liars does not disappoint! The narrator, Carrie, tells the story of the summer of the boys' visit to the island, but long before those events, there are ominous hints of what is to come. In her early teen years, for example, Carrie's father insists on a surgery to break her jaw, and an infection sets in.
But Carrie bends to his will. She is a "credit to the family."
This novel has some brilliant symbolism, a few great twists, some predictable story-lines, and other unexpected turns. I finished in 4 days because the pages turned fast and furious. I had to know the secrets these liars were keeping.
The pages are full of great details about summertime on the island. The lemon hunt was very vivid, as well as the details about clothing, food, and the picnic table. Lockhart painted a vivid sense of place, siblings, and privilege.
Family of Liars definitely one of my new favorite YA mystery and thriller books!
“She believed that the way you speak is often more important than anything you have to say.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from Genuine Fraud
I picked up Genuine Fraud because I loved Lockhart’s other books so much, and the premise sounded intriguing.
Genuine Fraud is a close re-imagining of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley (another binge-worthy series of books), but with female protagonists and a plot that has been lightly shuffled, so events are in different sequence but still end up being very, very familiar when you encounter them.
Because the book opens with a bang and gives a great big story question, I definitely wanted to find out what happened and how things in the mystery were going to pan out. However, the ending felt a little anti-climactic to me. Still, Lockhart is one of those authors whose writing is worth following, wherever it goes, and I'll be back for more.
“If there's one thing I've learned, it's that people are bad at keeping secrets, and eventually everything shows.” ― Cristin Terrill, quote from Here Lies Daniel Tate
This YA mystery thriller is about a stolen identity, secrets, and scams. The story has a great premise, and the protagonist, Daniel Tate, is an interesting and unreliable narrator to the very end. The pacing of the story is excellent. I liked the way the author pulled everything together. I won’t give away the mystery except to say that it seemed both fitting and sad.
“I know Becca didn’t run away. That leaves one possibility and one impossibility, and I long for the impossible. Because if she isn’t dead, if she’s only been taken, she can be brought back.” ― Kate Alice Marshall, quote from Rules for Vanishing
Sara’s adopted sister Becca vanished a year ago.
Although everyone has given up the search, Sara is determined to find her because she believes Becca has gone into the woods and is lost on The Road. Sara convinces (tricks) a group of her friends to join her on this terrifying journey.
Not everyone comes home. Because at some point they break the rules:
Don’t leave the road.
Don’t let go.
Don’t follow other roads.
Rules for Vanishing is dark, mysterious, creepy, and full of scary and supernatural stuff. I loved it and devoured it in a few days. The ending was an unexpected twist, especially because of the connection to Kate Alice Marshall’s other novel, Our Last Echoes, which I’d read first. In fact, Kate Alice Marshall is also on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited. All of her books are awesome.
If you’re looking for an atypical and irresistible YA mystery, be sure to add this one to your list.
“That's the kind of person you can get away with killing: someone everybody else wants dead.” ― Karen McManus, quote from One of Us Is Lying
This list of irresistible YA mysteries and thrillers would be incomplete without Karen McManus’ book, One of Us Is Lying. What a fantastic novel! I spent all afternoon reading because I had to know who did it. The story is engrossing; the characters are unique and interesting; and I was surprised by the ending. There’s a reason it’s a top-selling book in the YA mysteries and detective, thriller, and suspense categories. Check it out!
If you are looking other irresistible YA mystery and thriller books, check out the YA Mystery Books and YA Thriller Books lists on Goodreads. Also, check out my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topic. There’s something for everyone here.
Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Ignat Kushanrev
Find your next great read for National Sisters Day by exploring my reviews of these heartbreaking YA books about sisters.
If you’re fortunate enough to have one or more sisters, you understand the joys, griefs, and complexities of this relationship. Good memories share space with bitter fights, envy, and shared experiences of coming-of-age together. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott may be one of the most beloved and classic novels about sisters.
Here is a list of heartbreaking YA books about sisters. What do all of the books in this roundup have in common? Tragedy, I’m afraid. One of the sisters is dead, dying, or dies. So, be sure to bring some tissues.
“It’s easier to think about food and the physical pain inside my body from not eating than the other pain of not having Kat. My sister would totally understand this. She would. As long as I’m connecting to her this way—our familiar, hungry old way—she’s with me.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped!
Although pitched as an action-packed murder mystery, this YA is also a raw and unforgettable story about a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, and loss. It’s hard to put down. The present story line is an investigation of the odd circumstances and events that landed Kat in the hospital on a ventilator, but as the hours and days unfold, the close relationship between these sisters becomes apparent, and Molly finds herself connecting with her older sister in their same old way:
"I'm not very hungry. I am, and I'm not. I am hollow, but this feeling seems less about food and more about Kat. At any rate, I do not want to eat."
Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the machines.
But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Rather than face her grief about what's happening, she becomes a detective and asks hard questions about the inconsistencies in stories, the crime scene at the house, and the knife beside her sister's bed. Kat was afraid of something. What?
What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. It’s a great novel that shows the way eating disorders can impact the people who love them the most. There is so much pain in trying to answer why?
You won’t want to miss this great new YA book about sisters and dying. Fans of Wintergirls will enjoy this one.
“What kind of girl wants to kiss every boy at a funeral, wants to maul a guy in a tree after making out with her sister’s boyfriend the previous night? Speaking of which, what kind of girl makes out with her sister’s boyfriend, period?” ― Jandy Nelson, quote from The Sky Is Everywhere
I love, love, loved this book! The writing is so lyrical, and the story is incredibly sad. It begins with protagonist Lennie, who is grieving the sudden death of her sister. Although Bailey is dead, the relationship between these siblings is very much alive on the pages of this novel. Lennie writes beautiful poems, and she spends time in their room and shares so many memories that I feel I know Bailey.
A charismatic new boy shows up at school, and Lennie ends up entering into 2 romances at the same time. This is the love triangle. One romance is with the new boy at school, and the other is with her dead sister’s grieving boyfriend. Sooner or later, she has to decide which one of these guys is the one she’s going to stick with. Oh, boy.
All of the characters are vivid, and the story is captivating. The creative visual aspect of the novel is also a nice touch; Lennie writes her poems on scraps and scatters them everywhere, and these appear at the beginning of chapters.
This book is another must-read for anyone looking for YA novels about sisters.
“All the stupid people I know are happy.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from This Darkness Mine
What a disorienting and strange book!
Sasha Stone, high-achieving teen with a promising future in music, begins believing that she's sharing her body with a twin that she absorbed in her mother's womb. And, this twin sometimes takes over and does things. Things that Sasha herself would never do.
Well. Buckle up because this is a strange journey.
I began to believe that Sasha suffered from one type of mental illness, and that would explain this behavior and delusion. Then the plot took a hard left turn. And another. And in the end, I don't know WHAT happened. :-)
I love Mindy McGinnis books because she writes characters and stories that are unique. Nothing is cookie-cutter with her. In fact, Mindy MicGinnis is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing! You won’t want to miss this unusual and also heartbreaking YA book about sisters.
“I live in a place that's only good for leaving.” ― Courtney Summers, quote from Sadie
Sadie knows who killed her younger sister.
She leaves home and goes on a journey to seek justice against her sister’s killer. She has plenty of personal reasons to hate him, and he deserves to die for his crimes.
This novel alternates between young Sadie, who is a missing teen, and a podcast show, where details of her disappearance are told through a series of interviews. I think I would have loved this book even more in audio format than paperback
Still, Sadie is a great read. The pacing increases as the story unfolds and Sadie gets closer and closer to her target. The conclusion to her quest for justice is a surprise. This heartbreaking YA book about sisters will stay with you long after the last page.
And if you’ve already read Sadie, be sure to check out my blog about Books You’ll Enjoy If You Liked Sadie.
“I know Becca didn’t run away. That leaves one possibility and one impossibility, and I long for the impossible. Because if she isn’t dead, if she’s only been taken, she can be brought back.”― Kate Alice Marshall, quote from Rules for Vanishing
Sara’s adopted sister Becca vanished a year ago.
Although everyone has given up the search, Sara is determined to find her because she believes Becca has gone into the woods and is lost on The Road. Sara convinces (tricks) a group of her friends to join her on this terrifying journey.
Not everyone comes home. Because at some point they break the rules:
Don’t leave the road.
Don’t let go.
Don’t follow other roads.
Rules for Vanishing is not a typical YA novel about sisters. It is dark, mysterious, creepy, and full of scary and supernatural stuff. I loved it and devoured it in a few days. The ending was an unexpected twist, especially because of the connection to Kate Alice Marshall’s other novel, Our Last Echoes, which I’d read first.
Fans of Sadie will really enjoy this one.
“It's funny how someone's perception of you can be formed without you even knowing it.” ― Sarah Dessen, quote from Dreamland
I've read a couple Sarah Dessen books that were "okay," but wow, this one really, really grabbed me!
It starts when Caitlin's sister, Cass, runs away. I knew the story was about relationship abuse, and I was expecting the runaway sibling, Cass, to be with a bad guy, but no. After she disappears, Caitlin falls for a guy named Rogerson who ends up being the abusive one. Caitlin's downward spiral is emotional, realistic, and heartbreaking. From the first time Rogerson hits her, I kept waiting for someone to intervene or for her to wake up, but it went on and on until the climactic moment when something had to shatter.
I felt really bad for Caitlin. She seemed invisible to everyone who supposedly loved her. She was hiding her pain in front of everyone. And people she loved kept leaving her: first her sister Cass and then her new friend Corinna.
The sibling relationship in this book is that Caitlin lives in the shadow of a “perfect” older sister, and the parents remain focused on Cass, so no one notices that Caitlin is in trouble. If you’re looking for a YA book about sisters with an unexpected plot, check this one out. I couldn’t put it down.
"They're doing just as I asked them to. As we Sinclairs always do. Pretending. Lying. Trying to have a good time.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from Family of Liars
Lockhart's prequel to We Were Liars does not disappoint! The narrator, Carrie, tells the story of the summer of the boys' visit to the island, but long before those events, there are ominous hints of what is to come. In her early teen years, for example, Carrie's father insists on a surgery to break her jaw, and an infection sets in.
But Carrie bends to his will. She is a "credit to the family."
This novel has some brilliant symbolism, a few great twists, some predictable story-lines, and other unexpected turns. I finished in 4 days because the pages turned fast and furious. I had to know the secrets these liars were keeping.
The pages are full of great details about summertime on the island. The lemon hunt was very vivid, as well as the details about clothing, food, and the picnic table. Lockhart painted a vivid sense of place, siblings, and privilege.
Family of Liars definitely one of my new favorite YA books about sisters!
“It took us fifteen years to find each other, but we still did! And sometimes, family hurts each other. But after that's done you bandage each other up, and you move on. Together. You've got us now, like it or not, and we've got you.” ― Robin Benway, quote from Far from the Tree
Okay, I know this list is for heartbreaking YA books about sisters, but this book was so good it made me cry. As in, I had to leave the couch for tissues. Prepare yourself.
Grace, Maya, and Joaquin are siblings that were adopted to different parents as infants—except Joaquin wasn’t adopted. He went into foster care and had a harder time of things.
At 16, Grace finds herself pregnant and giving her baby up for adoption, which is the triggering event for reuniting these siblings and sending them on a search for their biological mom. In the process, they learn what it’s like to be family with one another as well.
This book won the National Book Award, and there’s a reason. If you haven’t read this one yet and you’re looking for great YA books about sisters, give it a look. You will not regret it!
If you are looking other heartbreaking YA books about sisters, check out the Sisters Fiction Books and Sisters Book Lists on Goodreads. You can also check out my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books.
Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
Photo by Юлія Дубина
Find your next great read for National Adoption Month by exploring my reviews of these heartwarming YA books about adoption.
These contemporary YA books are focused on the teen experience of adoption—either as the adopted child who is seeking a biological parent or as a teen mother giving up a child for adoption (or even both).
Here is my list of heartwarming YA books about adoption that will give you all the feels.
“It took us fifteen years to find each other, but we still did! And sometimes, family hurts each other. But after that's done you bandage each other up, and you move on. Together. You've got us now, like it or not, and we've got you.” ― Robin Benway, quote from Far from the Tree
This book was so good it made me cry. As in, I had to leave the couch for tissues. Prepare yourself.
Grace, Maya, and Joaquin are siblings that were adopted to different parents as infants—except Joaquin wasn’t adopted. He went into foster care and had a harder time of things.
At 16, Grace finds herself pregnant and giving her baby up for adoption, which is the triggering event for reuniting these siblings and sending them on a search for their biological mom. In the process, they learn what it’s like to be family with one another as well.
This book won the National Book Award, and there’s a reason. If you haven’t read this one yet and you’re looking for heartwarming YA books about adoption, give it a look. You will not regret it!
“Goodness, I was already a dork most of the times. I didn’t need to be a drunk or high dork.” ― Jennifer L. Armentrout, quote from The Problem with Forever
After four years of home schooling and therapy, Mallory Dodge takes the gigantic step of going to a public high school for her senior year. She’s ready. She’s pretty sure. But on the first day, she collides with her past as she comes face-to-face with the person who meant everything to her: Rider Stark.
The boy who saved her.
Everything about this book is wonderful. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters, and I loved the strong relationship between Mallory “Mouse” and Rider. I loved the way their characters grew and changed as the story unfolded. They were so encouraging with each other, and Mallory’s best friend Ainsley is such a great friend.
The themes in the novel are well developed: childhood trauma, class difference, foster care, adoption, the impact of good teachers (Mr. Santos, the speech teacher), good parenting.
This is simply an amazing book!
If you’re looking for romantic and heartwarming YA books about adoption, check out The Problem with Forever. You won’t regret it.
“But what I'm thinking in this moment is: none of us really get to have our own, separate lives. Our lives are always all horribly tangled up with the people around us. The people we love.” ― Cynthia Hand, quote from The How and the Why
There were not a lot of surprises in The How & the Why for me. I did not find any earth-shattering revelations or stunning plot twists.
And yet, Cassandra’s story is utterly compelling.
In many ways, she’s a typical teenager with a lot of ordinary conflicts: where to go to college, how to handle the boyfriend crush, and how to resolve a major fight with her best friend. She also has major non-normal conflicts like a mother who is dying because she needs a heart transplant and she’s contemplating a search for her biological mother.
As the reader, we meet Cassandra’s biological mother much earlier in the story because we read her letters, and so we understand the how and why of the pregnancy and adoption. We see this unfold while Cassandra is dealing with all that other teenager mess.
If you’re looking for heartwarming YA books about adoption, this is a good book and a worthwhile read. I was sad to see it end and wanted more.
What a weird and utterly hypnotic novel!
Frances Robinson is adopted. She has two loving, if overprotective, parents. When she was seven, her biological mother murdered her three younger sisters and almost succeeded in killing Frances too.
The premise of this book is so fascinating. What happened? Gosh! The pages turn at breakneck speed with this novel. And right from the beginning, there is a new boy at school, and Frances goes on a road trip with him to see her biological mother. This seems so random and out of character for Frances. But is it?
So many things about what happened seemed really over-the-top, especially in the second half of the book, but I could not put this book down. From the first chapter, I was all in. I had to meet this woman who could murder her own children and see how this situation would be resolved.
This isn’t a “heartwarming” YA book about adoption, but it’s definitely worth reading.
I really wanted to like this book. All the potential is there: heartwarming story, humor, romance, and the tough topic of a teen aging out of foster care. Muir’s character arc is well-developed, and some of the dialog is laugh-out-loud funny.
Unfortunately, the author kept blurting these heavy-handed and out-of-character statements about race into the protagonist’s viewpoint. These were incredibly jarring and kept pulling me out of narrative. It seemed that the author wanted this book to be about race, but rather than craft the novel in such a way to show this in a natural and authentic way, it failed. In fact, as a reader I was genuinely confused. At one point, I thought maybe the author herself had forgotten who her character really was—like maybe she changed her mind mid-novel about Muir’s identity and got lazy in the editing.
(p.11) I am white, and I know that buys me a definite amount of privileged safety…
Yet at the thought of being adopted by a white foster mother, she goes on this rant:
…this country was built on stealing babies from their mothers. White people did it to indigenous people, and they still try it; slave owners sure as fuck did it; white people still adopt kids from other cultures, name them Tiffany…
But… Muir is white. No one is stealing her. Where did this fake rage come from? It does not belong to Muir, and this speech breaks the flow of the rest of the story. It’s tacked in there. It falls flat.
I did like objects that Muir kept from all the foster families and the stories of how those objects came into her possession. I liked her resiliency in a life that was hard, and I liked her advocate, Joelle, who was the one constant in her life. The secondary characters were interesting. I liked the dog.
If you’re looking for YA books about adoption, What I Carry has good moments.
If you are looking for some other YA books about adoption, check out the YA Adoption Fiction and Adoption YA Books lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books.
Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.
