Teen Readers Share the Last Book They Loved: Best Burgers, Raspberry-Sorbet Reads, and How to Be Down But Not Out

Thunderhead, by Neal Shusterman
Thunderhead is a book about humanity. It picks up Citra and Rowan’s story after Rowan runs away from his apprenticeship and Citra defies orders in saving his life by giving him a year’s immunity. The two are on separate paths as Citra becomes Scythe Anastasia, and Rowan becomes the infamous Scythe Lucifer, who kills undeserving Scythes. But someone terrible is coming back, as the Scythe world is torn apart by anger and politics.
I adore the characters. They’re witty and quick on their feet, both physically and mentally. I enjoy seeing Citra and Rowan butt heads but ultimately come together. While this book was more political than the last, it was still full of awesome action scenes. I’m further floored by Neal Shusterman’s talents as a writer. He created this unique world with its own rules and regulations. Furthermore, I got to experience another AI the Thunderhead, which is both a friend and a foe to the scythes.
–I’m Wren L., your friend who likes anime and books. I’m a word nerd, a language lover. I’m a huge fan of fantasy and science fiction. My favorite authors are V.E. Schwab, Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera, and Leigh Bardugo. I’m a graphic designer who is still learning about graphics. But my favorite color scheme consists of anything and everything pastel. It’s so soothing.

Tempests & Slaughter, by Tamora Pierce
Fluid and charming, Tempests and Slaughter gives a narrative account of Arram Draper’s adolescence. It’s a coming of age novel following Arram through a Hogwarts-esque school from the moment he first discovers his tremendous propensity for magic to his grisly introduction to the world of healing magic. Perhaps at the expense of action, this envelops us in back stories of the royal family and the gods, and paints a realistic and relatable picture of Arram’s development. I was impressed with the in-depth examination of the various kinds of magic Arram learned and the evolving relationship he had with his mage-masters and his friends. The book takes a palpable descent into darkness in the last third with topics like slavery and oppression bubbling up. We see Arram thrust into the reality of the world and watch him build ambitious plans to heal the world only to have them crumble in the face of inevitable cynicism. It’s not a particularly dynamic book, but Tempests and Slaughter does a wonderful job portraying the life of a teenaged boy and setting up more drama and heavy hitting events in later books.
–Kelvin L., 18, is a figure skater and audiobook lover and thinks teleportation is the most useful superpower. He is definitively a Ravenclaw, a water type Moroi (who secretly wants to be fire type), and an Erudite; he cannot see Hollowgasts and would 100% not survive the Hunger Games.

The Unexpected Everything, by Morgan Matson
Andie is a planner. From having every second of her life monitored, planned, and staged by her senator father’s campaign team to getting accepted into an important summer internship, Andie tends to know what her future will look like months in advance. But when her internship is pulled out from under her and her father’s campaign schedule suddenly becomes open due to a national scandal, Andie is lost and panicking, with no summer plans and no idea what her future will now look like. Forced to act quickly and spontaneously, Andie gets a job as a dog walker. Not exactly what she’d hoped for, but she soon learns it has its perk: namely, a cute guy and the chance to spend all summer with her friends. I loved that this book had so many components to it. Romance, friendships, relationships with parents, grief, resilience—Andie deals with it all. The relationship between Andie and Clark, the boy she meets dog walking, was downright swoony. Her friendships were honest and realistic. Matson didn’t sugarcoat the difficulties of being a teenager. Complete with love, the joy of summer freedom, the responsibilities of being a high schooler in the summer (aka, a job, ugh), and adorable dogs, The Unexpected Everything is the perfect book to read this summer!
–Ellie T. is a Ravenclaw, an avid reader, and an excessive listener of Broadway musical soundtracks. When she’s not reading or talking about books, you can find her binge-watching shows like Arrow, Gilmore Girls, and The Office.

Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now, by Dana L. Davis
This is a compelling story about a teenage girl thrown into a new life after her mother’s death. Living with her rich biological father whom she’s never met, she encounters a world of rules and an extremely white private school.
Meanwhile, a relatable stranger claims to be her real father, making Tiffany question the information she’s just begun to believe. The author’s progression of Tiffany’s family relationships and how she learns to exist in her new space is inspiring. I constantly found myself rooting for Tiffany, whether she was making a relatable choice or not. I never quite expect the importance that a black teen protagonist will have to me, and so Tiffany is a breath of fresh air in her inner dialogue as well as her actions. Tiffany withstands a lot from her new family, school, and town, all while recovering from the loss of her mother. I found her understandably flawed journey to acceptance to be just the sort of story that teaches others how to do the same.
–Naomi N. is a 17-year-old with a bookshelf that’s never quite large enough and a reading list that only ever seems to get longer. Apart from reading, she spends her free time writing, bullet journaling, listening to movie soundtracks, and trying to catch up on sleep.

Running With Lions, by Julian Winters
Running With Lions is the inclusive, soft, cute, and heartwarming sports YA the world needs. Julian Winters creates a cast of such endearing and flawed characters who are impossible not to love, and a beautiful story of friendship, love, soccer, family, and identity. I am not the greatest fan of sports books, but the utter lack of toxic masculinity in these athletes and the bond between the team members will make you fall in love and cheer for the team even when you don’t know A–Z about soccer. (Also, I am not American, saying soccer sounds so weird. It’s FOOTBALL! )
I would describe the whole book as Hufflepuff, cover and all. Sebastian, our narrator, is such a huge cinnamon roll, and it was wonderful to read the narrative of such a soft goalie. The romance is hate to love done right, and Emir was adorable. My favourite has to be Grey, though, the girl who does everything on her terms, with Willie coming in a close second. The book is a beautiful representation of what it’s like to be a minority in sports, and just how much difference a good coach and an accepting team would make.
–Mishma N., die-hard fan of Victoria Schwab, lover of villains and antiheroes, old movies and a capella covers, dreams of working in publishing and opening a bookstore in the future.

All of This is True, by Lygia Day Peñaflor
Four YA-Obsessed Teens Befriend Their Favorite Author. What Happens Next Will Shock You.
Is probably the greatest tag line ever written and perfectly sums up this page-turning mystery from start to finish. One of my favorite releases in 2018 hands down, I was enraptured from start to finish. From the characters Miri, Jonah, Soleil, and Penny to the story being told through interviews and journal entries, everything kept me on the edge of my seat.
I devoured this within hours, determined to figure out how everything went terribly wrong for these teens and an author so mysterious and cunning nobody figured it out until it was too late. I love books with flawed characters, and each one is as flawed as you and me. Unfortunately the in-book author, Fatima Ro, exploits that and a lot of people end up hurt in a story that takes the nation by storm.
If you can only buy one book this month, I highly recommend this one, especially if you love mysteries and thrillers. This book will stay with you all year long.
–Tatiana J. is a teenaged reader who always carries a book around and constantly has her headphones in. She is also an intersectional feminist who spends her time uplifting black and brown women. She also spends way too much time listening to KPop and playing video games.

I Have Lost My Way, by Gayle Forman
Welcome to New York City, the setting for Gayle Forman’s captivating novel about family, sacrifice, and identity. I
Have Lost My Way details the lives of three young adults: Freya, a rising artist who recently lost her voice; Harun, a closeted Pakistani American struggling to reconcile his sexuality with his family’s expectations; and Nathaniel, a former athlete with a backstory he carefully hides from others. Each wanders into Central Park with a different objective, but all leave knowing they won’t be navigating their hardships alone. Forman’s thoughtfulness in narrating each distinct perspective made me fully invested in every chapter of the novel. Through these narratives, I Have Lost My Way captures the human experience and the shared emotions that connect people in our world today. By the end, Forman’s novel serves as a reminder that vulnerability is not a weakness. Needless to say, if you find yourself on a beach, inside on a rainy day, or on a busy subway this summer, this book would make the perfect companion.
–Nicole S., 17, is currently navigating the world of standardized testing, but she’s excited to embark on a new journey with great books, soulful music, and a pen in her hand. When she’s not hitting the books, you may find her cooking, reading (for fun!), or playing the ukulele.

Weave a Circle Round, by Kari Maaren
Freddy’s life is not perfect. Her stepbrother hates her (and she him), her friends at school are leaving her behind, and life feels like a constant aching dullness. But if she were given the chance to choose between dullness and her new neighbors, who seem to take the laws of physics as more suggestion than rule? Dullness wins, no contest. From the moment Josiah and Cuerva Lachance crash at the house next door, something is off about them, but Freddy never could’ve guessed what until she gets in too deep. Then it becomes a battle for her life, a mystery to unravel, and a choice that might not be hers to make. Weave a Circle Round takes a familiar concept, but approaches it from such an angle you can’t possibly see what’s coming until the epic climax. All of it is amplified by Freddy’s evolving relationships at school and within her own family. I cannot wait to see what Maaren does next.
–Assaf T., 17, likes his books very interesting and very heavy, because exercise isn’t as fun but is still important.

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles), by Amy Spalding
Abby Ives is seventeen years old, and gearing up for the best summer of her life. Her blog about plus size fashion, +style, has landed her an internship at her favorite clothing store, Lemonberry. Her best friends are planning pool parties, her mother’s business is taking off, and a mutual friend has recruited her for help with a food researching app—and the research involves eating burgers from all over LA. However, it suddenly becomes a little less great: Her best friend in the world has no time for her now that she’s taken up with her new boyfriend, her mother’s business involves trying to force Abby to lose weight, and the internship is shared. There’s only one job available at the end of the summer, but now two people are competing for it. There’s Abby, and there’s Jordi Perez, a gorgeous photographer with a bevy of rumors about her.
Now everything has been turned upside down, and Abby doesn’t quite know what to do. How is she supposed to love her body when the people around her are trying to make her lose weight, and how is she supposed to fight for the job at the end of the summer when the person she’s fighting against is now the girl she’s kissing?
This book was absolutely what I needed. It’s like raspberry sorbet on a hot summer day—sweet, refreshing, and hot pink. It’s the queer girl, fat girl, fashionable rom-com I didn’t know I’d been craving until I got it. The story is classically sweet, with meet-cutes, delightfully stumbling first dates, and, of course, outfits to die for. I would definitely recommend this as a beach read, or a road trip read, or a bus read…or anywhere you take an adorable read that will warm your heart.
–Jamie R., 14, is an avid reader, writer, and Broadway fan. She can often be found reading, singing, or memorizing lines, though usually the first two are done when she should be doing the third.

The Speaker, by Traci Chee
This past month I finally got my hands on The Speaker, the second book in Traci Chee’s Sea of Ink and gold series, and it exceeded every expectation I had. It has become one of my favorite sequels of all time. After escaping the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer find themselves on the run once again, struggling to come to terms with their pasts. Following a chance encounter with a group of impressers, Archer finds himself the leader of a band of boys set on revenge. Together they travel across Kelenna, hunting down impressors and freeing the boys they hold captive. But with every boy they set free they find themselves inching closer to fulfilling the prophecy that threatens to tear them apart.
I literally cannot get over how beautiful this story is. Chee writes so masterfully you’re totally transported into the world of Kelenna. The plot is so intricate and unique you could probably read the series a thousand times and still pick up on new details each time. It’s pretty much every fantasy lover’s dream.
–Evalyn H., 16, loves scented candles, Broadway musicals, and strong female characters. She can usually be found hoarding books, struggling with character development, or daydreaming about having a pet dragon.

Leah on the Offbeat, by Becky Albertalli
Like so many people, I loved Becky Albertalli’s first book, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I was so excited to read Leah on the Offbeat, which is about the same characters as Simon, but this time, is from the perspective of Simon’s best friend, Leah, who is bisexual. In this book, Leah is struggling with the fact that she has kept her sexuality a secret from everyone except her mother. The book explores Leah’s journey as she prepares to go to college and tries to find a way to come out, all while dealing with feelings she does not want to have. Leah on the Offbeat gives excellent bisexual representation that is so often lacking in popular culture. In addition, Albertalli encapsulates so well the confusing feelings that being a senior in high school can bring: both excitement and fear, optimism and sadness. I saw so many parallels between how I felt when I was approaching my high school graduation and how these characters felt as they approached theirs, and I think anyone who has gone through that process will find it very relatable. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether or not they have read Simon. It’s a fun, empowering read any YA enthusiast will love.
–Eileen M., 18, is a lover of books, coffee, and Notre Dame football. In her spare time, she can be found playing clarinet or obsessing over her latest read.

Save the Date, by Morgan Matson
Charlie Grant has the picture-perfect family. Literally. Ever since before she was born her mother has been pasting the lives of the Grants into her bestselling comic strip, drawing out their existences into a sunny cartoon read by millions of people over cereal every morning. And Charlie just can’t wait to reunite the entirety of her picture-perfect household for her sister’s picture-perfect wedding and engage in picture-perfect sibling antics. But suddenly there are wedding disasters, drama, and dogs (oh, my!), and Charlie’s pure painting of her family begins to smear. Save The Date was such a whirlwind of adorable farce! Ever since reading Since You’ve Been Gone, Matson has been one of my auto-buy authors when it comes to heartfelt contemporaries. She is so brilliant at crafting an even blend of rom-com level cuteness with honesty and truth in her characters and story, resulting in a masterpiece best served by the pool and with Starbucks. I loved watching Charlie grow along with her perceptions of her family, and how Matson explored dealing with change and transition. Overall, with lovable characters, swoon-worthy boys, and a dog named Waffles, Save the Date is the perfect summer treat. So mark your calendars, folks! Because this is a date you won’t want to miss.
–Maddie, 19, loves dogs and waffles. Her personal favorite rom coms include Thirteen Going on Thirty and Clueless, her current Starbucks order is the strawberry acai lemonade refresher.

Piecing Me Together, by Renée Watson
Does art imitate life? Or does life imitate art?
I certainly don’t know. However, I do know that Piecing Me Together, by Renée Watson, doesn’t imitate either life or art. It is both. When I say this book is art, I mean it in the sense that it is a masterpiece, but also in the sense that it expresses exactly what art means to me. When I say this book is life, I mean that it conveys all the joy and pain and things-in-between of reality.
[Maybe that’s just a fancy way to say this book is contemporary fiction. Maybe it’s a different way to say this book is art.]
Piecing Me Together chronicles the life of Jade, a teenage girl who lives in a poor, predominantly black neighborhood and attends a wealthy, predominantly white private high school. She wants to succeed, and she thinks that success means getting out. She takes every opportunity given to her, whether that be a full ride to her school or a mentorship program for “at-risk” teen girls. She is grateful for the opportunities, but she is tired of being singled out as someone who needs help—as someone who won’t be able to succeed without it. She doesn’t think being black makes her broken. She doesn’t think being poor makes her damaged. She wants to be recognized for her gifts and her voice. She wants to be valued for what she can give to others. As the book progresses, Jade explores her identity and gains the courage to use her art to make a difference.
[Maybe art and life aren’t so different after all.]
–Ian L. is a transgender 18-year-old who is terrified of growing up but is, unfortunately, doing so anyway.

Anger Is a Gift, by Mark Oshiro
Anger Is a Gift is one of the best books I have ever read. Though it’s incredible for so many reasons, its biggest strength is that it has something in it for every reader to enjoy. Oshiro crafts sentences and paragraphs and chapters that hook the reader absolutely, making the story impossible to put down. When main character Moss Jefferies’ high school begins to feel more like a prison than a place for learning, with inhumane new rules and regulations, Moss and his friends organize a group to stand up for themselves and their rights. They want to fight back against the uncaring administration and the police forces that now patrol their halls. As events unfold and tension rises, Moss finds himself becoming central to the movement, and must make difficult choices to continue on this path. Moss himself is real, flawed, and relatable, and each side character Oshiro creates is also carefully developed until you love every single one of them. Anger is a Gift includes intersectional diversity that’s casual and reflects the incredibly diverse world we live in. it’s a story about romance, about family, about heartbreak, about friendship, about mental illness, about bravery and anger, about police brutality…
Just read it.
–Ava M. is a teenage blogger, reader, and writer who drinks too much tea and eats too much chocolate.

Sam and Ilsa’s Last Hurrah, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
On a scale of sock puppets to the Humdrum this book is the good silver.
This was my most anticipated book of 2018 and my favorite duo sure did not disappoint. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan always manage to write amazing books together, and this one is no different. Not only is the plot, about a New York dinner party with surprise guests, compelling, but the writing itself is vivid and easy to follow. While I didn’t understand Sam and Ilsa’s dynamics at first, I ended up really enjoying their sibling relationship. I would totally love a cool twin to throw posh dinner parties with. Both Sam and Ilsa are quirky, fun, and easy to identify with. While at times the dialogue was a little bizarre, so is real life, and I think this book captures the woes of leaving high school and looking toward higher education and the future perfectly. I would recommend this book to readers with siblings, high school seniors heading off to college, and people who know how to throw fantastic parties.
–Kaitlin D., 16, self-proclaimed bibliophile, hardcore selfie taker, and lover of the oxford comma. Secretly a superhero. May have taken a bite out of the moon. Current status: Trapped in a romance novel.