Short, Quick YA Books To Round Out 2021 Reading Goals

Set in New York City in the 80s, this verse novel follows half-Chinese, half-Jewish Alma. Her parents are constantly fighting or engaging in silence with one another, but she turns to her Walkman and music to center herself and continue making it through each day. But when friends begin to move away, her parents divorce, and romances come and go, Alma realizes that her life is in a state of change and now, she has to reassess who she is and who it is she wants to be.

Adler’s queer romance clocks in at just a touch over 250 pages, but I’m including it because this one is fun. The story follows Lara, who believes she has everything she could want — friends, a fun job, and the cute boy — except now, she cannot stop thinking about the cute girl she spent time with during the summer, Jasmine, who just so happens to walk into Lara’s high school, creating a swell of confusing feelings.

And no, you’ll never get the song out of your head.

Inspired by true events, this book follows Ming, who survived the famine which killed his family during China’s “Great Leap Forward.” He lives a life that’s hard, but manageable. So when a group of boys from the city come to the village as part of the Communist Party’s re-education program, Ming watches as they struggle to acclimate to hard work and life in a more remote community. Soon, though, Ming develops a relationship with Li, and the boys bond during late night swims together.

Life under Communist regime isn’t easy, and both Ming and Li crave freedom.

If this one fascinates you, another book which offers a look at aspects of life under Communist life in China is A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts, a collection fo short horror stories all tied into Chinese history — there’s a story in there about these re-education programs. This backlist title just got picked up for potential adaptation, too.

This finalist for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature is a surreal story of mental illness, identity, and a road trip.

Moth lives with her aunt following an accident that killed her family. She’s lonely and feeling adrift until she meets Sani, a boy who is desperate to learn more about where he came from, thinking it might help ease his chronic depression.

This short verse novel follows as the two take a road trip together in the hopes of discovering their ancestry, the ghosts that haunt them, and who it is they are…and are meant to be.

This graphic memoir follows Sophia, who is growing up in Central America, following along as her parents’ jobs move her across the world. The thing is, she never gets a straight answer from them about what it is they do.

Sophia tests her limits as a teenager, sneaking out and visiting clubs and bars with her classmates, desperate to fit in. And then when she learns the truth of what her parents do, her who life is turned upside down.

Want a bloody thrill ride? Look no further. This fast-paced paperback original follows a group of teenagers staying at a luxury hotel to celebrate a birthday party. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Too bad the Thing That Happened Last Year that the teens are trying to pretend did not happen isn’t going to stay buried, as someone is leaving notes, reminding them what happened.

Reminding them that revenge is coming.

This one is on my TBR for the pitch alone: Pretty Little Liars meets Teen Wolf. It’s a graphic novel about a girl who transfers to a high school in a tony San Francisco suburb and is immediately taken in by one of the most popular cliques. But turns out the girls of that group have a secret: they’re werewolves who get their revenge on the slimy boys who don’t know how to treat people well.

Oh, and there’s a budding queer romance, too.

First off, the cover. It’s so fun, isn’t it?

Wilbur Nuñez-Knopf had one of his most embarrassing moments two years ago, and it’s followed him now into his freshman year of high school. While his best friend Alex has stuck close to him, Alex is dating Fabrizio and his time is more limited. He does find solace in his elderly neighbor Sal, though much as he loves spending time with her, Wil wants a friend closer in age.

Enter Charlie, an exchange student from Paris who Wil falls for fast. The feelings aren’t reciprocal, but Wil’s friends, including Sal, plan to help him build up some confidence in order to maybe win Charlie over.

Set in 1996, this verse novel follows 13-to-16-year-old Sarai over these hugely pivotal years coming-of-age in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She’s Puerto Rican and wants so badly to know about her heritage, as well as the story of how she, her mother, and her sister are to survive in a community that is among the most dangerous and challenging at the time.

Think The Poet X meets The Education of Margo Sanchez meets a touch of The House on Mango Street.