"Why is straight the default?" - Becky Albertalli

Here is yet another queer book that I wish had been out (pun intended) when I was working through my identity in high school. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli, is a delightful novel that combines all of the heart-satisfying romance of a John Green novel with the delicious queerness of a David Levithan book. Simon, a junior at Shady Creek high school, has a secret email friendship and relationship with another boy at his high school. Both boys write under pen names because they are not ready for their identities or their sexualities to be revealed yet to the world. However, through a series of unfortunate circumstances (Simon is basically blackmailed by another student who threatens to reveal his sexual orientation if Simon does not help him get a girlfriend), Simon must deal with the reality of the world knowing he's gay before he's ready. There's so much great stuff in this book about the process of coming out. Yes, it's a delightful teen romance, but it's also got really deeper ideas about when and how to make the decision of coming out, what it means to belong in a community (not just in terms of sexual orientation, but also race and gender issues are addressed). This is a great read for any high school student or mature middle school who also enjoys reading John Green, David Levithan, Rainbow Rowell or the like. There's a bit of kissing and mentions of safe sex, but all in all it's quite tame. And, more than anything, it's quite delightful.

"Think of one sentence -- just one. It has to be the truth. It has to come from your heart." - David Levithan and Nina LaCour

Nina LaCour and David Levithan (admittedly, the latter is one of my favorite YA authors) have created a touching masterpiece with their new novel, You Know Me Well. Told from alternating perspectives, the novel centers around a gay teenager and a lesbian teenager whose lives become inexplicably linked over the course of San Francisco's Pride Week. Mark, whose love for his baseball teammate is not quite returned, seeks the help of Kate in coming clean with his feelings. Meanwhile, Kate is desperately in love with a girl named Violet, but Kate runs from her every time she gets near. Both Mark and Kate feel safe in their identities but not in how to build healthy, meaningful, deep relationships. Their inner feelings scare them and they learn to rely on each other to make the loving declarations they need. This book moved me in so many ways! Mark's story of being in love with his best friend felt so true to me; while his best friend, Ryan, is struggling to come out, he uses Mark as a sort of "experiment" in his sexuality but does not return the romantic feelings. This reality is brutal for Mark to take but ultimately helps him get to a better place where he knows he can love again.

I loved, loved, loved this book. There's a bit of kissing and definitely some references to sex, however there are not sex scenes depicted. I really wish this book had been written when I was a teen. It filled my heart today.

"It’s a common belief that losing your sight heightens your other senses, and it’s true, but not by magnifying them. It just gets rid of the overwhelming distraction of seeing everything all the time.” - Eric Lindstrom

Lindstrom's novel, Not If I See You First, stars prickly and biting Parker, a teenage girl who lost her vision in a terrible accident. Blind, but refusing to be treated differently because of it, and untrusting, but refusing to push everyone out because of it, Parker navigates high school, romance and friendships with sarcasm and wit. Parker has rules, most importantly. These rules are for how others should treat her if they want to stay in her good graces: mess with Parker's rules, and you're banished for life. Parker isn't playing around and for good reason: her life has been altered so completely by those that she loved and trusted, she has built a wall not meant for scaling to keep herself together. Parker was not my favorite protagonist and this was not my favorite book. However, I really liked the way that this book was narrated. Something about Parker's fierce independence and steadfast refusal to be different in the face of difference made her relatable even as she pushed the world away. This book has real heart, and kissing (so parents just know that ahead of time!), and is worth reading for the voice alone.

"Because racism was alive and real as shit. It was everywhere and all mixed up in everything, and the only people who said it wasn’t, and the only people who said, “Don’t talk about it” were white. Well, stop lying." By Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely should be required reading. It is exactly the kind of fiction that allows teenage readers to explore deeply personal, deeply present topics and build relationships with characters that feel meaningful and real. The story of two boys, Rashad and Quinn, who are unknowingly tied together when Rashad becomes the victim of a racist, false and all-too-real attack by a local police officer. The police officer, Paul, happens to be a family friend of Quinn's, but Quinn begins to doubt everything he knows about Paul when he realizes the violence that Paul has perpetuated upon innocent Rashad. Rashad, at the same time, becomes the symbol for the town's Black Lives Matter movement, as Rashad's face and a friend's tag (reading: RASHAD IS ABSENT AGAIN) become household conversation. Rashad isn't sure he wants to be a symbol. Quinn isn't sure he wants to betray his family. But both characters come together knowing that America's deeply rooted racism needs to change now.

This is an excellent book, particularly for any white parents or teachers who want to teach white young people about what it means to be an active ally, a comrade, and a friend. Doing what's right isn't always easy, but Reynolds and Kiely implore that it is necessary and do so with great impact.

"I dropped like a rock onto the second porch step, a little ways away from my parents, and tried to remember why I had wanted to come here." - Jacqueline Davies

Jacqueline Davies may have convinced me to enjoy historical fiction. Typically, I can't get on board with reading fictionalized accounts of historical times, especially when they're written for YA. I generally find that these stories oversimplify complicated history for the sake of a more comforting story.  However, this novel, Where the Ground Meets the Sky is beautiful, engrossing and full of suspense. The novel follows the story of Hazel, a twelve year old girl whose family uproots from NJ to the middle of the desert in New Mexico for some reason unbeknownst to Hazel. What Hazel does know is that her father is a scientist, her mother is wary of his latest project, and nothing else of his work may be spoke in or outside the home. Hazel suddenly finds herself living on a military base and can't help but wonder what it is that her father is up to that seems so important. Set against the background (foreground? it's clearly relevant!) of WWII, Hazel attempts to uncover what her father's work is and why it seems to be making her mother so anxious. Ultimately, although I think that the mother's mental health issues resulting from the stress of the situation seem a bit too easily wrapped up, this is a great middle grade book for students with an interest in the past and a brave, go get 'em female protagonist. 

"Tell those who are cruel to you that in their cruelty, they are the terror. Then inform them that they are forgiven, for such forgiveness may shame some toward kindness." - E.R.Frank

E.R. Frank's debut novel, Life is Funny, was one of my favorite books when I was in middle school. Interweaving the stories of eleven teenagers growing up in New York City, Life is Funny was the first book that I remember independently reading which encompassed many voices all sharing the same struggles to belong at school, in families and at home. The teenagers' stories, all fiction, range in their struggles and scope; serious issues, from sex to race to alcoholism to family violence, are played out as the teenagers attempt to figure out how to grow up. Although some of the wording may now be dated, this book can serve as a good introduction to interweaving narratives, perspective and voice. It definitely is a late middle/early high school read, with clear depictions of sex and violence. Still, it's completely engrossing and will leave a lasting impression on the mature teen reader.

“You know how teachers are. If they get you to take out a book they love too, they're yours for life.” - Gary D. Schmidt

Orbiting Jupiter took our middle school by storm this year, as a recommendation to the ESL teacher meant that all students in ESL were suddenly reading it. Rightfully so, the students and teacher cried and mourned together as they read the book in its entirety. Gary Schmidt's novel is moving right from the start. The novel centers around the story of Joseph, a thirteen year old boy who is placed in foster care with a family in rural Maine after finishing serving his time in a juvenile detention center. Determined to meet his daughter (yes, Joseph is also a father), Joseph has the daunting tasks of navigating a new school, overcoming the trauma of the time he has served (for reasons I'll let the book tell you) and working to find a way to meet his daughter. All of this is told through the eyes of his foster brother, Jack, who isn't sure what to make of the short-on-words, Joseph. This book is sad. It's terribly, terribly sad. But it must be read because what it does, it does so well. Schmidt has written a heartbreaking masterpiece.

With violent moments, references to sex (there's a baby so...obviously), and heartbreaking sadness, this novel isn't for the faint of heart. Still, I'd recommend it for students above the 6th grade. If you're a teacher, this is probably the kind of book that you want to let families know in advance you're reading together. But read it, please, because it leaves a lasting impression well beyond the novel's pages.

“She’s always going on about how we’re not supposed to let people’s expectations limit our choices.” - Alex Gino

Alex Gino's lovely novel, George, tells the story of a 4th grader struggling to come out to her family and classmates as transgender. George, as she begins to understand her identity, longs for nothing more than to show the world how great she can be by performing as Charlotte in the class's play of Charlotte's Web. Of course, denied by her teacher and by her family, George must figure out a way to make herself shine on stage nonetheless. With the help of a supportive friend, George is able to find her way and find herself.

This is a delightful novel. Perhaps most stunning and worthwhile as a teaching point is the narration of the novel; never faltering, the narrator gracefully uses the pronoun "she" throughout the entirety of the novel, giving George the space to be who she is even when those around her won't. If you're working with students around identity and writing, this is an excellent teachable moment for the power of narration and the importance of language.

Given that the book takes place during George's 4th grade year, this is a must-read for late elementary and early middle school readers. It reads fast and lovely the whole way through.

“It's one thing to fall in love. It's another to feel someone else fall in love with you, and to feel a responsibility toward that love.” - David Levithan

Every Day by David Levithan is a book that must be put into the hands of any teenager open to it. It's a stunning novel that dances back and forth across the lines between fantasy and realistic fiction, opening the reader up to the idea that even though the premise is so fantastical, maybe it could be possible. A, the protagonist, has grown up without a body. Every day, A lives the life of another person but only for a single day. One day, A wakes up as a boy and must live his life. The next day, A wakes up as that boy's female classmate, and has to live her life instead. But this isn't some cheesy, "you can always reinvent yourself" tale. Rather, this book is about the responsibility of taking on someone else's life and someone else's heart. Of course, this is David Levithan so there is a delightful, heart-wrenching romance and plenty of obstacles for A to maneuver. But the lessons learned around identity, the fragility of the heart, and the ways in which all of us build our identities every single day last well beyond the last page.

Of course, if you simply cannot bear to leave the world David Levithan's created, he's thankfully left us with a pairing (not quite a sequel, more a re-telling from the perspective of love-interest, Rhiannon). Another Day by David Levithan is an excellent follow up to the original. With romance, a rich vocabulary, and carefully constructed prose, Every Day is best for students with strong reading skills and (of course) open hearts.

“I’m not brave,” I said, smiling despite myself. “Bravery implies I had a choice. I’m just me, you know?” - Meredith Russo

I read If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo in a single day. I would not, nay could not, put it down. This novel focuses on the life of Amanda Hardy, a transgender teenager who moves to Tennessee to live with her father after multiple violent encounters in her mother's town outside of Atlanta. Amanda, who lived through transition supported by her mother, has barely spoken to her father but is assured that she'll have a safe home when she moves. So, like many teenagers, she anxiously begins her senior year of high school and sets out on her mission to "pass." Like so many high school students, she seeks belonging, safety and maybe a little romance (!), but hopes to do so without having to reveal her past. Amanda deals with a lot in this book: issues of identity, family, belonging, safety, sexuality, friendship and love all collide. But what Russo has done so masterfully is created a novel that centers around a trans-teenager without it feeling like a voyeuristic spectacle or a "all you ever needed to know about being trans" book. Rather, Amanda is a girl who wonders the same things that every teenager wonders: Am I normal? Where do I belong? Will anyone love me? Can I fit in?

What stuck with me longer after was Amanda's realization that, despite the fact that she lived in a small town, there were undoubtedly other people in her town and in her world who had the same questions and struggles she did. This was a book as much a teen romance as a thematic exploration of belonging in love, friendship, family, community and the bigger world. Read it. Read it. Read it.

“Maybe growing up means disappointing the people we love.” - Nicola Yoon

Here is a book that I've thought about long after I finished reading; Nicola Yoon's masterful novel, Everything, Everything weaves a stunning story of a teenager girl who refuses to be defined by her debilitating illness. This story, clearly written for anyone who enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars or Eleanor and Park, centers around the life and love of Madeline, a teenager who can never leave her house. Diagnosed with a severely compromised immune system from a very young age, Madeline is more or less sentenced to spend her life with her house, her mother, and her nurse. That is, until a cute boy (of course) moves in next door (of course) and suddenly Madeline's allergies to the world seem much less important than her blossoming heart.

This book could have been cheesy in a million ways, but it isn't. Beautifully written and heartbreaking in the best possible ways, Everything, Everything is as much about living with illness as it is about living with heart. Madeline's risks, which made me cringe with worry for her, somehow managed to make me fear for her and cheer her on at the same time. Although her mother does everything that she can to make living a confined life comfortable, Madeline's challenges to comfort and desperate desire to really live are felt on every page. Read it and weep (if you so choose).

Great for readers of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell, this book has some challenging vocabulary, rich sentence structures and one (mild, tastefully done but definitely present) sex scene that make it perfect for advanced readers.

"Be a little kinder than you have to." - E. Lockhart

E. Lockhart's We Were Liars is a suspenseful, gripping novel about a wealthy teenage girl who spends her summers on a small private island off of Martha's Vineyard. The Liars, as they are called, is a group of three cousins (main character, Cadence, among them) and a family friend who summer on the island owned by the three cousins' grandfather. In some ways, this novel has the typical tropes of YA literature: angsty teenagers, anger towards parents, and general distaste for the way the world works. But this novel, which centers mostly around Cadence's lost memory after a terrible accident in her sixteenth summer, differs in one central way: Cadence and the Liars are not angered but what their family doesn't have, but are disgusted with what they do. A life of privilege, money, secrecy and alcoholism disturb the teenagers and make them feel stuck on the island in more ways than one. A gut-wrenching twist at the end makes the novel worth reading.

As a teacher of reading and writing, I noted that the writing was also worth paying attention to. The pairing of lengthy sentences with stilted ones, the occasional moments in which the prose slips into poetry, and the development of secondary characters are all great points to teach into.

While it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, We Were Liars does a great job of warning the reader along the way that all is not right in the protagonist's world. Suspense well done.

Welcome!

Welcome to my library! This site serves as a space for me to review and recommend YA literature, with a focus primarily on fiction but also poetry, plays and non-fiction when possible. I'll do my best not to spoil any twists or turns along the way, but can't make any promises. If you enjoy reading this site, please feel free to follow me. I plan to update it with each new book finished!

As for me, I'm a writer and teacher in the Boston Public Schools. As a lifelong reader, I thought it would be easy and joyful to teach reading to others. While it has been extremely rewarding and joyful, it hasn't been easy. Young and adult readers alike have such varied interests, reading levels and stamina. This blog will serve as a log of my own reading adventures, a resource for those who teach reading, and hopefully an answer to the ever-present question: What do I read next?

- K.