Top Five Young Adult Novels
1. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
This novel tells the story of Hope, a teenage waitress who travels the country from one diner to the next with her aunt Addie. When Hope and Addie arrive in Wisconsin to work for G.T. Stoop, the owner of the Welcome Stairways Diner who is battling leukemia, they have no idea what they’re getting into. When G.T. takes on Elli Millstone, the town’s corrupt mayor, for office, these newcomers join his campaign and all the complications that ensue.
Joan Bauer’s books always come off feeling real. Teenagers can relate to Hope, and her strength is an inspiration to read about. If you want a shorter novel that has heart, check out Hope is Here and take the journey to a small Wisconsin town with big problems to be solved.
2. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Meet Macy Queen: she’s a beautiful, smart and put together teenager who is perfect. So she would like you to think. After the death of her father, Macy deals with her grief by putting on a strong front to distract herself and her mother from the pain. She parts her hair straight down the middle, works at the library, and never turns in assignment late. But when Macy starts working for Wish Catering and becomes part of their dysfunctional family, her perfect facade begins to crack as she develops new priorities.
This is an amazing book; the characters are dense and the details Sarah Dessen includes make the story jump off the page. For those who have ever been faced with the death of a family member or suffered grief, you will understand where Macy’s coming from and relish her passage into acceptance (and happiness?).
3. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
In the future, an alien race known as the Souls invade Earth. The Souls enter human bodies, erase the “host’s” mind, and then go about life in their new form. But when one soul named Wanderer enters her body, Melanie (the host) refuses to be erased. Wanderer cannot get rid of Melanie and is infected with her memories and desires. Wanderer goes off in search of Melanie’s younger brother Jamie and her lover Jared, both of whom are living in a hidden compound in the dessert and remain soul-infection free.
This novel is thought provoking and gripping. While you instinctively take Melanie’s side, you can’t help but sympathize with Wanderer and root for her too. While this novel is considered to be adult fiction, any adventure-loving teen won’t be able to put this down.
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Katniss Everdeen is a resident of Panem, a nation that spans over what is left of North America in the future. A true dystopian world, Panem is a country ruled by a strict government that holds “The Hunger Games” every year to scare citizens and force them to stay in line. In the “Games,” one female and one male teenager is chosen from each of the twelve districts of the country and sent to an arena to fight until one survivor stands. The massacre is broadcast around the country and it is mandatory to watch. When Katniss’ little sister is chosen for the “Games,” she volunteers to take her place and begins a journey to defy the government while attempting to stay alive.
I can’t even tell you how addicting this book is…it’s like a train wreck where you can’t look away. Reading about the horrors of this world is truly frightening, and the scenes of the actual “Games” are very intense and not for the lighthearted. If you can handle this story, you’ll walk away spooked but seriously intrigued and dying to read the sequel, “Catching Fire.”
5. Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Tally Youngblood is a teenage “Ugly” who cannot wait until she’s sixteen, made “pretty,” and can live in New Pretty Town with all the other glamorous pretties. But when Tally becomes friends with Shay, a rebel Ugly who helps her sneak out to the “Rusty” Ruins and explore a different road of life, Tally ponders her future. When Shay runs away to the “Smoke,” a community of rebels who live the “Rusty” (humans now) way, she leaves Tally instructions on how to follow her. Tally still wants to become Pretty, so she puts off the note for awhile. But the Specials, a defense/control committee of Pretties, has discovered Shay’s disappearance and refuse to turn Tally pretty until she finds Shay and the Smoke. When Tally finds the Smoke, she wonders if being Pretty is really what she wants…
This series (there are three others: Pretties, Specials, and Extras) is great entertainment. It’s not overly hardcore or scary, but the Pretty world Westerfield has created is utterly intriguing. Read this to find out the real price of beauty and why it might not be the best priority…
What books should I have included on my list? Have you read any of these novels? What did you think?
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