If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I’m a sucker for a good story! I have always loved reading because it gives you a sort of escape from reality where you’re living these characters’ lives and have a little break from your own. Reading has always been very relaxing for me. I think one thing that really started my love for reading was my Pa-paw. He always read to me when I was little and even until I was more than able to read books myself. I was always checking out books from the school library or telling Pa-paw about books that I wanted so he could order them. I never had a shortage of reading material growing up, and I’m very thankful for that. I don’t know what I would do without books! These are a few of my favorite young adult novels that I’ve read, and definitely recommend them to anyone who is a fan of the YA genre.

1. THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER, BY: SARAH DESSEN

Three different covers, but the same amazing book! I personally have three copies, a paperback and hardback with the first cover and a paperback with the third. I have it in an audiobook as well. This book is a beautiful story of a girl who feels like she has to have it all put together and be the perfect daughter for her mother since her dad’s death, but she meets a boy she really likes and a group of friends when she gets a summer job that makes her realize that a little chaos is okay and it makes things interesting. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ve always loved this story. I would have to say it’s probably my favorite book of them all. I first read this book when I was in ninth grade when I found it in my high school library, and have read it countless times since. I believe it’s very nostalgic for me because I read it when I was so young, and the story is so familiar to me now, and I honestly never get tired of rereading or listening to the audiobook. Sarah Dessen is just an amazing YA author, and there are actually a few of her books on this list. The only reason all of them aren’t is because I wanted to have a little variation in authors on the list, but honestly, every single one of her books is in the list of top YA books I’ve read, so definitely check out anything written by her!

2.THE REST OF THE STORY, BY: SARAH DESSEN

I downloaded the audiobook the day it came out and was super excited about it because I knew I always love anything Sarah Dessen writes, and it absolutely did not disappoint! I feel like this book is a great read for the summertime because it’s set in a lake community during Emma’s summer break. Emma stays a few weeks with her mother’s family, whom she hadn’t spent much time with since she was young before her mother passed away. I personally think it’s a sweet story because Emma has the chance to reconnect with people she knew as a child and discover new things about her mother while also meeting a cute boy, of course.

3.LOCK AND KEY, BY: SARAH DESSEN

I loved this story because you see the main character, Ruby, have so much character growth from the beginning to the end of the book. She didn’t have the best upbringing and found it hard to trust people. Her sister tries to help her and give her a better life, but she’s so resistant to it at first. She’s also resistant to Nate, her neighbor and a boy that tries to be her friend. Ruby changes and grows so much throughout the book, and I think that makes it such a great story to see what she came from to who she’s working on herself to be. It’s an all-around good read, and I definitely recommend you check it out!

4.TELL ME THREE THINGS, BY: JULIE BUXBAUM

This story is so cute, and the anticipation of waiting for the main character, Jessie, to figure out who Somebody Nobody is kept me interested! Jessie’s dad eloped, marrying a lady from California two years after her mom died, making them have to move from their home in Chicago to LA. She feels super out of place at her new prep school and is having a hard time making friends at first. She gets an email from a random person that goes to her school and they call themselves Somebody Nobody, or SN for short. They help her navigate the school and suggest people that she may get along with well to help her make friends. While emailing, they always say, “tell me three things I don’t know about you,” to help them get to know each other better. Jessie starts to develop feelings for SN even though she has no idea who it could be. It was just an all-around sweet story of how SN is always there for Jessie and how she tries to piece everything together to figure out who SN is. I won’t spoil it, but I loved the scene where they finally meet. It just warms your heart. If you’re a fan of an adorable romance, definitely check this one out!

5.THE HUSH, HUSH SAGA, BY: BECCA FITZPATRICK

If you love fantasy young adult novels, then you will love this! There are four books in the series: Hush Hush, Crescendo, Silence, and Finale. If you can’t tell from the book covers, the book is about fallen angels. I think I would probably describe it as a darker romance, not in the same sense as adult dark romance, but that it’s not just fluffy and cute. This series is so good, and it is impossible to put the books down! It didn’t take me very long to get through all four books. In the first book, Nora meets a mysterious boy in her biology class named Patch and becomes very interested in him. Strange things start happening to her and her friend. She is stalked and attacked, then her best friend ends up being attacked as well. She suspects that Patch has something to do with it, but there is so much more going on that she doesn’t understand yet. This series is just honestly amazing in my opinion, and has so many twists and turns that I did not expect! If you don’t read anything else on this list, read this one!

6.BREATHING UNDERWATER, BY: ALEX FLINN

Now this book is a little heavy to read. I had to read it for my ninth-grade English class, and it really caught my attention. I read ahead and finished the book well before we had to because it really sucked me in. What makes it heavy is that it is a book about an abusive relationship. The interesting part about the book is that it’s told from the abuser’s perspective, which at the time I thought was an odd point of view for it to be told from. However, after reading it, I understand why it was told from his perspective. The abuser is the male in the relationship, but the author of the book is female, so it makes it interesting that she wrote from the point of view of a sixteen-year-old boy. The book starts with Nick having to go to court for his charges from abusing his girlfriend, Caitlin. The book is almost telling two stories at once because it starts after the abuse, but he is ordered by the court to go to family violence classes and also to write in a journal starting from the day he met her and go through all the events of the relationship, including when he abused her. So you see Nick going about his life, going to family violence classes, then it has moments of him writing about their relationship, so you’re also seeing how it progressed at the same time. You see when he’s made to sit back and recount the events in the journal, how he can see how wrong it was and how seeing things happen with other members in his anger management classes and how they’ve treated their significant others really affects him and makes him truly understand how awful it is. It’s a really good book, but it can be a little difficult mentally to handle and could be triggering. I would recommend this book, especially to younger people, because although it can be hard to read, it shows how terrible things can end up and how bad relationships could potentially escalate if you ignore the red flags. (*TRIGGER WARNING*: DETAILS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE)

These are just a few of the young adult novels that I highly recommend you check out if you’re needing some ideas on what to read next. You will not be disappointed! All of these books really captured my attention and made me not want to put them down, so hopefully, you will enjoy them as much as I did. Leave a reply below if you’ve read any of these and what you thought about them. Also, leave me some book recommendations if you’ve read something really awesome lately that you think I should check out! I’m open to any genre, not just YA! I love discovering new things to read (or listen to).

Don’t forget to take time for yourself, tell people no, and put your pop-tarts in the toaster vertically! Love you guys! ~SUMMER