Hello YA Readers! Let’s talk about YOUR favorite books this year!
We’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year. Click here to enter, or just click the image below.
I’m excited to share what you, the readers of “What’s Up in YA?” have deemed your favorite reads of the year. I’ve combed through the responses and pulled together not a top ten, but instead, a top twelve. Why twelve? Because a number of titles had an equal number of votes, and I’d rather just include them all for the sake of a nice list than to sacrifice them for a shorter one.
Results are alphabetical, and I’ve elected not to include summaries for sake of space. You can click the links to find ‘em.
“What’s Up in YA?” Readers Best YA Books for 2017
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Far From The Tree by Robin Benway
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
The Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor
The Takedown by Corrie Wang
Turtles All The Way Down by John Green
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
The other survey question was about the titles you wish more people would read. Like last year, a number of the responses were repeat titles of your favorite titles — I’m going to rework that question next year since, obviously, we hope more people read our favorite books. I took the above titles out of the results for the next question and pulled together 10 of the titles which had more than a single vote (and none of these had more than four votes). Again, results are alphabetical and you can click through for descriptions.
“What’s up in YA?” Reader Shoutout Titles
Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by Yee Fung Cheng
In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert
Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
Thick As Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner (“and the whole series” says one reader)
if I may, a trio of more titles worth giving a boost to here as we round out the year in YA reading. At least one of these had been mentioned in the survey:
A Short History of The Girl Next Door by Jared Reck — this one made me cry some buckets of tears while also making me cheer. It’s about a boy who discovers how much he loves his neighbor, who he’s grown up with, when she begins dating someone who isn’t him. The story is about love and friendship, but it’s also about growing up and letting go of other people. There’s a nice look at toxic masculinity, and the book features younger teen characters, which is rarer and rarer. Bonus: a short read!
Calling My Name by Liara Tamani — if you’re looking for a story about a young black girl’s coming of age in Houston, Texas, and growing up in a religious family, this will be your winner. Lyrical writing and told through vignettes, this will likely resonate with a lot of readers. A quieter book, but not one to be overlooked.
Like Water by Rebecca Podos — What happens to the kids who don’t flee their small town once graduation happens? This is a book about Vanny, who stays behind in her small New Mexico town to help run her family’s restaurant and help her dad who struggles with a debilitating illness. This one digs into sexuality a lot and in fresh, exciting ways.
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Thanks for hanging out today and all year long, YA lovers. We’ll see you again in the new year.
–Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars