Every month there are more and more fantastic young adult books available. There also seem to be more book clubs starting every month. So, lets combine the two. Young adult book clubs can be made up of the supposed target for these books, adults that just love the books, or a combination of the two. A parent/child book club is a great way to start a valuable dialogue, and book clubs for just young adults can keep the love of reading going while adding a possibility of inciting friends of avid readers to join in. Any way you look at it, a book club can be a wonderful thing, as long as the group can decide on the books they want to read and discuss. No matter the demographic of a book club, this is often the hardest part.

So, if you are trying to start a young adult book club, or looking to add some books to your list of possible reads, I have some suggestions for you.

If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko
Kirsten and Walk, seventh-graders at an elite private school, alternate telling how race, wealth, weight, and other issues shape their relationships as they and other misfits stand up to a mean but influential classmate, even as they are uncovering a long-kept secret about themselves.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called “Out-With” in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.

I Am J by Cris Beam
J, who feels like a boy mistakenly born as a girl, runs away from his best friend who has rejected him and the parents he thinks do not understand him when he finally decides that it is time to be who he really is.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in fragile bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the thinnest. But then Cassie suffers the ultimate loss-her life-and Lia is left behind, haunted by her friend’s memory and racked with guilt for not being able to help save her. In her most powerfully moving novel sinceSpeak, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s struggle, her painful path to recovery, and her desperate attempts to hold on to the most important thing of all: hope.

A Monster Calls by Siobhan Dowd and Patrick Ness
Thirteen-year-old Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill, but an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.

Other highly recommend books for young adult book clubs, serious discussion, or simply enjoying include: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, Sold by Patricia McCormick, Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers, Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, London Calling by Edward Bloor, Out of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys, Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen, The Story of Owen by E.K. Johnston, Wolf Mark by Joseph Bruchac, Just In Case by Meg Rosoff, The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas,Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Raven Summer by David Almond, Before I Die by Jenny Downham, Once Was Lost  by Sara Zarr, The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan, The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray,or Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.