Favorite YA Novels
In studying the YA market, given my interest in strong female protagonists, enemies-to-friends arcs, and survival/adventure plots, I’ve come to admire the following authors and recent books for their quality of voice, character development, stakes, pacing, and story structure:
For Vibrancy, Nature, Strandedness, & Urgency
No Accident by Laura Bates – thriller: a group, plane crash, targeted by someone on it
Playing with Fire by April Henry – ticking bomb story: fire in the forest, group of strangers
Five Survive by Holly Jackson – group stranded in remote desert with someone hunting them
Trapped by Michael Northrop – teens stuck in a blizzard, must face a "devastating decision.”
for Forced Proximity (group)
Wilder Girls by Rory Power – a group of girls is quarantined in a girls’ school
People Like Us by Dana Mele – girls implicated in a murder, so must clear their names
The Agathas by Glasgow & Lawson – unlikely friends solve a mystery in this fast thriller
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus – 5 in a detention center; one comes out alive
Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett – 2 are left alone together after camping trip goes south
for Characters, Arcs, Themes, Self, Emotion
The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart – anxiety, depression, and the healing powers of art
Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso – Piper's fall: did someone want her dead?
Clique Bait by Ann Valett – Chloe has a plan . . . but there’s one thing she didn’t prepare for
For Enemies-to-Friends trope
You Have a Match by Emma Lord – a new love, a secret sister, and a time she'll never forget
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson – a high school senior investigates the murder
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo – a hard-working single mom finishes high school
Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson – multiple industries will turn a blind eye to abuse, pain, and crime
The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas – an eerie sequence events leaves five cheerleaders dead
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis – looks at rape culture from different perspectives
Wilder Girls by Rory Power – a strange disease affects an all-girls boarding school