I've progressively read more and more Young Adult literature the past several years and I thought it was finally time for it to have its own post for my annual favorites list. 

After romance, YA is the genre I reach for the most. I haven't put much thought into why that is, other than I find such consistently wonderful stories. It's easy to get lost in those worlds and I find I learn so much from the characters. There's so much I love about the books listed here!

Disclosure: Affiliate links included in this post. 

Darius The Great Is Not Okay - Adib Khorram

Darius is a sweetly awkward 15 year old Iranian American who doesn’t feel like he fits in anywhere. He loves tea and Star Trek. He’s bullied at school and he’s on medication for depression. His relationship with his dad, who is white, is strained. I could not have rooted for him harder! I loved watching Darius figure out where he belonged and especially how the arcs with with his father and with his friend resolved. The #ownvoices depiction of depression as an every day part of life that’s being managed was refreshing—something I could have used when I was a teenager. I loved every part of this story and can’t wait to see what Khorram does next.

Read my full review.

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Love, Hate & Other Filters - Samira Ahmed

Samira Ahmed deftly explores identity, racism, Islamaphobia, and culture through the eyes of Maya, a 17 year old American Indian. The way Ahmed structured the novel was incredibly effective. While each chapter focuses on Maya, the chapters are separated by a page which centers on a crime, either still to come or the aftermath. The way she uses this to build up the tension is impeccable. Maya’s wry observations and snark often made me smile. She is most comfortable viewing the world by the lens of her video camera, a part of her surroundings, yet separate from them. Maya is caught between her parents' expectations for her and her own desires. She's also aware of how she's different from her mostly white classmates by virtue of being brown-skinned and Muslim. Maya really has to wrestle with whether to go along with her parents' dreams for her or forge her own path. My heart really went out to Maya as she was figuring out what she wanted and whether she had the courage to act on it.

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Strange Grace - Tessa Gratton

This was eerie and creepy and magical. It's about bargains and sacrifices, which has big implications for even us. In some ways, it reminded me of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery...but if it had witches and a Devil. Mairwen, Arthur, and Rhun are singularly memorable characters, so fully alive on the page, so unpredictable. They face such high stakes and I had no idea what they would choose to do or what was best for the community or whether Three Graces was even deserving of their care. They were so refreshing to read about, not only because of what the novel has to say about gender and sexuality, but because of what they mean to one another and the relationship they forge. This book took me on quite the journey and I'll be processing it for a while. Suffice it to say, I now need to read everything Tessa Gratton has written.

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The Beauty That Remains - Ashley Woodfolk

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Children Of Blood & Bone (Legacy of Orisha #1) - Tomi Adeyemi

I'm still marveling over the mastery of the storytelling. Hands down it’s one of the best YA Fantasy novels I’ve ever read. From page one, the world-building and character growth was unparalleled. It’s fast-paced but it never felt like too much. I needed to know where it was all headed and whether certain characters would be redeemed. There were so many passages and arcs that are relevant for us, that resonated and gave me hope. Zélie, Amari, Tzain, and Inan captivated all my waking thoughts until that heart-racing cliffhanger ending. I need March to be here so I can dive into book 2! I have no idea where Tomi Adeyemi will take this series but I’ll be there every step of the way. 

(And okay, I'm giving Adeyemi a certain amount of side eye after her scuffle with Nora Roberts but I'm hoping she's learned her lesson and I still highly recommend it.)

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When Dimple Met Rishi - Sandhya Menon

This was as wonderful as everyone said. Why didn’t I get to it sooner?! Dimple and Rishi captured my heart from the start and I could not get enough of the evolution of their relationship. This was a heart-warming, happy read...although it made me cry too because of how strongly I empathized with the characters. It was also refreshing to read a book that got the San Francisco setting right!

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Wild Beauty - Anna-Marie McLemore

Lush, evocative magical realism—I’m stunned by the beauty of this story, still turning its core messages about love, complicity, and restitution over in my mind. I adored the characters and, as a white cishet woman, really appreciated the ownvoices Latinx and queer representation. Anna-Marie McLemore wrote my favorite stories in two YA anthologies I read earlier this year and she’s even more amazing in long-form.

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Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) - S. Jae-Jones

Anyone else hold off on reading much-anticipated sequels because they don’t want the experience to be over? I adored Wintersong and could not wait to see what happened with Elisabeth and her Goblin King in the sequel but once I read it, I’d have no more Goblin King to look forward to so I held off. Luckily, it was as magical as I hoped it would be! Not only is it a rich retelling, it explored mental health in unexpected, nuanced ways, asking us what the gifts of “madness” might be. The world-building and character growth were top notch. I also really appreciated the emphasis on the entirety of the person and the way the story explored this. I was spellbound while reading and, yes, I was deeply sad it’s over. The Goblin King is one of those characters I’ll carry in my heart.

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Olivia Twist - Lorie Langdon 

Lorie Langdon’s inventive take on Oliver Twist completely stole my heart. It’s fresh and witty, one of those rare books where you feel like you are beholding something special. I adored Olivia as both the hard-scrabbling orphan posing as a boy and the lady trying to find where she belongs. There are no words for how I feel about Jack and his evolution as a character- it’s mostly heart eyes and flailing. Of course, there's danger and intrigue and I was crossing my fingers the whole way for a happy ending because I could not recall Oliver Twist having one. I flew through this story, needing to know what would happen. The writing was fresh and clever and I laughed out loud more than a few times. When I finished the last page, I was completely satisfied and immediately wanted to tell everyone to read it.

Read my full review.

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What If It's Us - Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

This was such a cute, funny read! It made me laugh out loud and it made me tear up. Arthur is convinced he met Ben because of fate and the universe but when he realizes he doesn't even know Ben's name, he's forced to help the universe bring their paths back together. This could not have been more of my catnip and I loved how Ben and Arthur finally found one another again and even more so how they still had to get to know each other and see if there was more to their relationship. They were such well-developed characters and I loved seeing how they grew across the story. The story explored class, religion, and race differences in some really nuanced, compassionate ways and this made Ben and Arthur's relationship even more believable for me. The ending left me filled with hope. Fingers crossed Albertalli and Silvera team up again!

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