You know how sometimes when you finish a book, you feel kind of numb in an ecstatic, wow, that was good way? You close the cover, and for a delicious few minutes you’re still in the story. You don’t want to cook dinner, you don’t want to start another book, you don’t want to do anything but stay in that world for just a little while longer. At odd times over the next days, weeks, months you find yourself thinking about the characters, the story, that great line that was so beautifully worded, and oh, so meaningful. If you’re lucky there will be a sequel, but oh my God, why do we have to wait so long? If you’re like me, you read a TON of books, and after a while most of them fade into a blur of colorful covers and vague pleasant memories. But then there are those books that stand out, bright and shining in your mind.
These young adult books (in no particular order) are the ones that have stuck with me long after I finished them.
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. Artistically gifted twins, Jude and Noah, tell their compelling family story in rich alternating voices.
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. Haley’s former soldier father, who self-medicates with drugs and alcohol, suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. How can she possibly help him?
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. Lucky faces a bully, meets a girl, and tries to bring his POW/MIA grandfather home from meetings that take place in his dreams as he struggles to find himself
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . .
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Karu questions how she came to be raised by the chimaera Brimstone. When she meets the seraph Akiva, events unfold that could answer her questions—but at great cost.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Hannah Baker recorded audiotapes before committing suicide, reveals an anecdote about another classmate whose actions the girl blames for her death.
We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach. Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel
Code Name Verity By Elizabeth Wein. Set in the landscape of World War II Britain and featuring women pilots and spies, the intricate plot involves espionage, Nazis, the Resistance, and occupied France
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Left for dead in a notorious prison work camp, Celaena is given a second chance at freedom by the Crown Prince himself. However, this freedom must be won in a cut-throat tournament of assassins, and some of her competitors are not playing by the rules.
Looking for Alaska by John Green. Tired of his boring existence, 16-year-old Miles “Pudge” Halter heads off to seek his Great Perhaps at an Alabama boarding school, where new-found freedom, guilty pleasures and an enigmatic girl named Alaska hurl him into life.
What are some of the young adult books that have “stuck" with you?
These young adult books (in no particular order) are the ones that have stuck with me long after I finished them.
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. Artistically gifted twins, Jude and Noah, tell their compelling family story in rich alternating voices.
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. Haley’s former soldier father, who self-medicates with drugs and alcohol, suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. How can she possibly help him?
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. Lucky faces a bully, meets a girl, and tries to bring his POW/MIA grandfather home from meetings that take place in his dreams as he struggles to find himself
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . .
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Karu questions how she came to be raised by the chimaera Brimstone. When she meets the seraph Akiva, events unfold that could answer her questions—but at great cost.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Hannah Baker recorded audiotapes before committing suicide, reveals an anecdote about another classmate whose actions the girl blames for her death.
We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach. Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel
Code Name Verity By Elizabeth Wein. Set in the landscape of World War II Britain and featuring women pilots and spies, the intricate plot involves espionage, Nazis, the Resistance, and occupied France
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Left for dead in a notorious prison work camp, Celaena is given a second chance at freedom by the Crown Prince himself. However, this freedom must be won in a cut-throat tournament of assassins, and some of her competitors are not playing by the rules.
Looking for Alaska by John Green. Tired of his boring existence, 16-year-old Miles “Pudge” Halter heads off to seek his Great Perhaps at an Alabama boarding school, where new-found freedom, guilty pleasures and an enigmatic girl named Alaska hurl him into life.
What are some of the young adult books that have “stuck" with you?
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