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Young Adult Books You Want to Read

As you may or may not know, our company, The Book Report Network, has a number of websites about books and authors in addition to Bookreporter.com. Throughout the year, Bookreporter.com features adult books on Teenreads.com, our site for young adult readers, that we think will have definite appeal to a teen audience. In the spirit of sharing, we are now spotlighting a selection of titles each month from Teenreads.com that we believe are great reads that you might enjoy.

Hamilton and Peggy!: A Revolutionary Friendship by L. M. Elliott

March 2018

Peggy Schuyler has always felt like she’s existed in the shadows of her beloved sisters: the fiery, intelligent Angelica and beautiful, sweet Eliza. But it’s in the throes of a chaotic war that Peggy finds herself a central figure amid Loyalists and Patriots, spies and traitors, friends and family. When a flirtatious aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, writes to Peggy asking for her help in wooing the earnest Eliza, Peggy finds herself unable to deny such an impassioned plea. A fast friendship forms between the two, but Alexander is caught in the same war as her father, and the danger to all their lives is real. Everything is a battlefield --- from the frontlines to their carefully coded letters --- but will Peggy’s bravery and intelligence be enough to keep them all safe?

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American Heart by Laura Moriarty

February 2018

Imagine a United States in which registries and detainment camps for Muslim-Americans are a reality. Fifteen-year-old Sarah-Mary Williams lives in this world, and though she has strong opinions on almost everything, she isn’t concerned with the internments because she doesn’t know any Muslims. She assumes that everything she reads and sees in the news is true, and that these plans are better for everyone’s safety. So when she happens upon Sadaf, a Muslim fugitive determined to reach freedom in Canada, Sarah-Mary at first believes she must turn her in. But Sadaf challenges Sarah-Mary’s perceptions of right and wrong, and instead Sarah-Mary decides to do all she can to help Sadaf escape.

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Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot by Winifred Conkling

February 2018

On August 18, 1920, American women finally won the right to vote. Ratification of the 19th Amendment was the culmination of an almost 80-year fight in which some of the fiercest, most passionate women in history marched, protested and sometimes broke the law to achieve this huge leap toward equal rights. In this expansive yet personal volume, author Winifred Conkling covers not only the suffragists’ achievements and politics but also the private journeys that fueled their passion and led them to become women’s champions.

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A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield

February 2018

On a hot day in July 1919, five black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the "white" beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted into days of urban violence that shook the city of Chicago to its foundations. This mesmerizing narrative draws on contemporary accounts as it traces the roots of the explosion that had been building for decades in race relations, politics, business and clashes of culture.

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Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

January 2018

American-born 17-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to home and marrying a "suitable" Muslim boy. And then there is the world of her dreams: going to school in New York City --- and maybe pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school. There’s also the real world. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, the community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.

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A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

January 2018

In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family...until the bombs strike. His city is in ruins. His life is destroyed. And those who have survived are left to figure out their uncertain future. In the wake of destruction, he is threatened by Daesh fighters and witnesses a public beheading. Tareq's family knows that to continue to stay alive, they must leave. As they travel as refugees from Syria to Turkey to Greece, facing danger at every turn, Tareq must find the resilience and courage to complete his harrowing journey. Destiny narrates this heartbreaking story of the consequences of war, showing the Syrian conflict as part of a long chain of struggles spanning through time.

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Because I Was a Girl: True Stories for Girls of All Ages by Melissa de la Cruz

January 2018

BECAUSE I WAS A GIRL is an inspiring collection of true stories by women and girls about the obstacles, challenges and opportunities they've faced…because of their gender. Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz, the book includes writings from an impressive array of girls and women who are trailblazers in their fields, including bestselling authors Victoria Aveyard, Libba Bray and Margaret Stohl; industry pioneers like Dolores Huerta, Trish McEvoy and Holly Knight; renowned chef Katie Button; aerospace and mechanical engineer Emily Calandrelli; and many more.

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The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage (Book of Dust, Volume 1) by Philip Pullman

November 2017

Malcolm Polstead’s parents run an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. Malcolm and his daemon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue. He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust --- and the spy it was intended for finds him. When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, he sees suspicious characters everywhere, and all are asking about the same thing: a baby girl named Lyra. Malcolm will brave any danger, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through the storm.

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Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

November 2017

An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller Jason Reynolds’ fiercely stunning novel that takes place in 60 potent seconds --- the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother. Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, LONG WAY DOWN is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds.

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A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo

November 2017

Jess Wong is Angie Redmond’s best friend. And that’s the most important thing, even if Angie can’t see how Jess truly feels. Being the girl no one quite notices is fine with Jess anyway. If nobody notices her, she’s free to watch everyone else. But when Angie begins to fall for Margot Adams, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can see it coming a mile away. Suddenly her powers of observation are more a curse than a gift. As Angie drags Jess further into Margot’s circle, Jess discovers more than her friend’s growing crush. Secrets and cruelty lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world of wealth and privilege, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie won’t be able to handle the consequences.

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