teen book list

Young Adult Road Trip Books

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

As we are all hiding indoors because of the cold weather it is a perfect time to read something different. In particular, I think it is a great time to read about road trips and grand adventures that we could only hope to take once the thaw comes. Here are some of the best young adult books about road trips that I have seen in the last year or so. Readers that just happen to be a decade (or more) past the ‘young adult’ years (like myself) should not be afraid to venture into the teen stacks to pick one of these up. You will thank us later.

Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez.
On a road trip across an enchanted America, Helen and Troy will discover all this and more. If the curse placed upon them by an ancient god doesn’t kill them or the pack of reluctant orc assassins don’t catch up to them, Helen and Troy might reach the end their journey in one piece, where they might just end up destroying the world. Or at least a state or two. A minotaur girl, an all-American boy, a three-legged dog, and a classic car are on the road to adventure, where every exit leads to adventure.

Finding Somewhere by Joseph Monninger
Sixteen-year-old Hattie and eighteen-year-old Delores set off on a road trip that takes unexpected turns as they discover the healing power of friendship and confront what each of them is fleeing from.

Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson.
When fifteen-year-old Rick’s mother finally leaves for good, Ricki’s absentee father steps in, taking Ricki with him as he chases bail “skips” across the country, but their fledgling relationship is tested as they pursue attractive, manipulative, seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham.

How my Summer Went up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski.
Placed under a temporary restraining order for torching her former boyfriend’s car, seventeen-year-old Rosie embarks on a cross-country car trip from New Jersey to Arizona while waiting for her court appearance.

Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham.
Alice, Summer, and Tiernan were best friends who broke up at the same time as their favorite band, but four years later, just before they are preparing to go off to college, the girls reluctantly come back together, each with her own motives, for a road trip from Massachusetts to Austin, Texas, for the band’s one-time-only reunion concert.

Of course I cannot end a list at just five, so here are some more great young adult books about amazing road trips.  Going Bovine by Libba Bray, In Honor by Jessi Kirby, Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown, Paper Towns by John Green, Catch and Release by Blythe Woolstone,
The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, Saving June by Hannah Harrington, Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard, and Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer.

Gentle Reads for Young Adults

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Young adult books seem to be getting closer and closer to that new adult genre. Some of the books marked to teens now have more sexual situations or violence than parents or teachers might be comfortable with. While our world is changing and our young adults are too, some authors are still handling tough topics, and universal conflicts, without crossing the lines that might make adults uncomfortable recommending a book for someone else’s teen or younger advanced reader. Here are some ‘gentle reads’ that you can recommend without blushing that are well written and far from dull reads.

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle’s dangerous work for Britain’s intelligence agency, MI6.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother’s route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left.

All these Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin
In a future where chocolate and caffeine are contraband, teenage cellphone use is illegal, and water and paper are carefully rationed, sixteen-year-old Anya Balanchine finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight as heir apparent to an important New York City crime family.

Ten Miles Past Normal by Francis O’Roark Dowell
Because living with “modern-hippy” parents on a goat farm means fourteen-year-old Janie Gorman cannot have a normal high school life, she tries joining Jam Band, making friends with Monster, and spending time with elderly former civil rights workers.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker’s classrooom, where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in

Have you read all of these or just want more suggestions? In that case, these books might be of interest as well; Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, Beauty by Robin McKinley, A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Maas, The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene, Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce, Airborn (Matt Cruse, #1) by Kenneth Oppel, or All-American Girl by Meg Cabot.

Young Adult Audio Books to Share

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Do you want to keep up with that your teens are reading but feel like you spend all your time in the car, or find that your teen says that they have no time to read? Well, thankfully there have been some fantastic teen reads made into audio books with wonderful narrators. With audiobooks, the narrator is just as important as the story itself, and the voice telling you the story can make or break any book. Here are some young adult books turned audio book that I would recommend for teens and adults alike. Perhaps all the car rides to sports practices, work, and school can be made better with the sharing of a great book. Maybe sharing a book can spark some discussion and bring everyone a little closer.

The Diviners by Libba Bray, read by January LaVoy
Seventeen-year-old Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries her uncle will discover her dark secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble. But when police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

Curveball: the Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick, read by Luke Daniels
After an injury ends former-star pitcher Peter Friedman’s athletic dreams, he concentrates on photography, which leads photographer, and a deeper relationship with the beloved grandfather who, when he realizes he is becoming senile, gives Pete all of his professional camera gear.

The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf, read by Michael Page, Phil Gigante, Christopher Lane, Laurel Merlington, and Angela Dawe
Recreates the 1912 sinking of the Titanic as observed by millionaire John Jacob Astor, a beautiful young Lebanese refugee finding first love, “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, Captain Smith, and others including the iceberg itself.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, read by Ben MacLaine, Hamish R. Johnson, and Chelsea Bruland
Told in alternating voices, an all-night adventure featuring Lucy, who is determined to find an elusive graffiti artist named Shadow, and Ed, the last person Lucy wants to spend time with, except for the fact that he may know how to find Shadow.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, read by Jason Isaacs
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–an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.

Looking for even more great listening? Well then,  check out some more young adult books that have been recorded for your listening pleasure: Son by Lois Lowry and read by Bernadette Dunne; Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals and read by Lisa Renee Pitts; The Fire Chronicle by John Stephens and read by Jim Dale; Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz and read by Lin-Manuel Miranda;  Scarlet by Marissa Meyer and read by Rebecca Soler;  Kings of Colorado by David E. Hilton and read by Phil Gigante; Wonder by R.J. Palacio and read by Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, and Kate Rudd; The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and read by Kate Rudd ; or Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and read by Rebecca Lowman and Maxwell Caulfield.

Female Role Models in Young Adult Fiction

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Raising a teenager is hard, but if you think back to actually being a teenager, it was even harder. There are so many influences in your life it can be hard to know who to trust, what to do, and how you are supposed to be feeling. As you might have guessed, I spent many of those years reading books about other teenagers and adults in order to discover if I was ‘normal’ and if the feelings and doubts I had made me weird. Finding books that can reassure girls and young women that they are powerful, they can be strong, and that there is nothing wrong with diverging from what society expects can be hard. Convincing those same girls that it is better than just alright to follow their hearts and trust in themselves is terribly difficult, but sometimes a book with a heroine that does just that can be a good start. Here are some books for the thirteen and older crowd that feature strong, positive, female role models.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
On her way to marry a prince she’s never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers. The Books of Bayern series continues with the sequel, Enna Burning and Hale’s Princess Academy series is also worth a read.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
A young witch-to-be named Tiffany teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland. The Tiffany Aching series continues with A Hat Full of Sky,  Wintersmith and I Shall Wear Midnight.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg’s father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.
Meg’s adventures continue in the sequel, A Wind in the Door  and for a graphic novel version of this classic novel, check out A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel.

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl “passes” for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Living with a foster family in Germany during World War II, a young girl struggles to survive her day-to-day trials through stealing anything she can get her hands on, but when she discovers the beauty of literature, she realizes that she has been blessed with a gift that must be shared with others, including the Jewish man hiding in the basement.

Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s.

If you have a tween that is not quite ready to hit the young adult section or a teen willing to cross over into the juvenile fiction area, then some of these books might hit the spot; Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata, One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, The Game of Silence by  Louise Erdrich, The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente ; with illustrations by Ana Juan, Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, or The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages.

And as always, I am sure to have missed some fabulous books that offer female role models for teens and tweens. I know I let a few of my favorite authors out in the interest of space and a varied list.  If I missed your favorite, or one you would like to recommend to others, please let us know in the comments so fellow readers can add it to their lists.

On Our Shelves: New Young Adult Fiction

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Looking for something new to read? Well, here is a sampling of the latest additions to our Young Adult collection:

Allegiant by Veronica Roth. (Divergent #3)
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered–fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. But will she be prepared to face impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice and love?

More Than This by Patrick Ness.
A boy named Seth drowns, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying. So how is he here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighborhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust, and completely abandoned. What’s going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, trapped in a crumbling, abandoned world.

Dear Life, You Suck by Scott Blagden.
Irreverent, foul-mouthed, seventeen-year-old Cricket Cherpin, living under the watchful eye of Mother Mary at a Catholic boys’ home in Maine, has such bleak prospects he is considering suicide when Wynona Bidaban steps into his world.

If You Could be Mine by Sara Farizan.
In Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death, seventeen-year-olds Sahar and Nasrin love each other in secret until Nasrin’s parents announce their daughter’s arranged marriage and Sahar proposes a drastic solution.

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang.
In 1898 China, Little Bao has had enough of foreign missionaries and soldiers robbing peasants, and he recruits an army of Boxers to fight to free China from its oppressors.
Do not forget it’s companion book Saints.

Still reading? You might also want to check out; A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin, Ghost Time by Courtney Eldridge, Revealed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. (A House of Night novel), Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy by Elizabeth Kiem, Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike, Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston, Paradox by A.J. Paquette, Raven Flight (the second Shadowfell novel) by Juliet Marillier, Unthinkable by Nancy Werlin (sequel to Impossible) , Compliance by Maureen McGowan. (A Dust Chronicles novel), The House of Hades by Rick Riordan (A Heroes of Olympus novel), The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White, Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub, Now I’ll Tell You Everything by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, or Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (A Throne of Glass novel).