My Love for the YA Genre!

As you can probably tell from some of my recent reviews I have been loving the Young Adult genre. So I’d thought that today I would share my love for the YA genre and my favorite books so far. I used to think that YA was too “childish” for me but boy was I wrong! Some of these books deal with issues that are more important than some of the Adult books I read.

What I like the most about the genre is the writing, the strong characters and a lot of them have short chapters and chapter titles which I love. If you haven’t read any young adult books because you think you are not the target audience I think you should give it a try.

My Favorite YA Books

These are some of the YA books I’ve read and loved. I’m linking to my review on the blog if I’ve already reviewed it here or my review on Goodreads if I read it before I started the blog.

Running by Natalia Sylvester

This was one of my favorite books I read in July and the book that started my passion for the YA genre. This is a coming of age story centered around having an opinion and politics. It is a very timely depiction of our current political climate in America and the role social media and journalism play in elections. It is an empowering and powerful story about having a voice and realizing that not having a vote is not equivalent to being helpless. Check out my review here.

Clap when you land by Elizabeth Acevedo

I kept seeing Elizabeth Acevedo’s books all over Instagram and I had to see what the hype was about. I’m so glad I picked up this book because I found a new favorite author! This is the first book written in verse that I read and I loved it! I don’t think this style is for everyone but I personally really enjoyed it and found that I read the book really fast because of the format. The story is breathtakingly beautiful. The topics addressed include love, loss and family. Check out my review here.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

While reading Clap when you land I fell in love with Elizabeth Acevedo and I immediately ordered her previous book With the Fire on High. I loved this book so much too! It is about a Puerto Rican girl and there is lots of food talk. This one is not written in verse and the audio book is narrated by the author. My review is coming soon!

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

I read this book last year and I really liked it. I’ve seen this book described as a mix of Hunger Games and The Handmaids tale. I haven’t read The Handmaids tale yet but it definitely gave me Hunger Games vibes. This book is dark and twisted at times but it covers some amazing themes within its darkness. I loved the main character, Tierney, and all she represents. I was captivated by the world the author created. One of the topics covered in this book is the importance of community and female solidarity. That we should show more empathy and compassion towards one another. I loved how this was incorporated in the book. I listened to this one in audio and I recommend that format. Check out my review here.

American Royals by Katharine McGee

You’ve heard me talk about this book before because it was on my Summer Reading Guide. Delightful is how I’d describe this book. It’s a quick read and you get invested in the various story lines right away. I’ve mentioned this before but it gave me gossip girl vibes and I LOVED it! I’m super excited for the sequel which comes out next month. Check out my review here.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

This book has a unique narrative. Its told in a dual narrative, one is a true crime podcast (Serial like) trying to uncover what happened to Sadie and the other one is Sadie’s real time story. I listened to the audio book version of the book and all I can say is that its probably the best production of a book I’ve listened. I highly recommend listening to this one in audio rather than reading it. If you are into true crime podcasts this is a book for you. Check out my review here.

YA Books on my TBR

These are some of the books I’m looking forward to reading over the next few months. You can expect to see a lot more YA on the blog going forward because I can’t get enough of this genre. Also, Reese Witherspoon just announced that she is starting a YA book club and I’m super excited to follow her recommendations.

• Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
• You should see me in a crown by Leah Johnson

I am looking for more YA recommendations so let me know if you have any in the comments!