Just because a book is deemed "Young Adult" doesn't mean the genre shouldn't be enjoyed by adults decidedly older than the "typical" YA audience of 12 - 18 years-olds. Besides, anyone over 25 has a good sense of nostalgia and a lot of the recurrent themes in YA will take you right back to high school, sans zits and exam cramming.
Let yourself think outside your demographic (who are you to be pigeonholed, anyway?) and enjoy one - or more, or all - of these incredible young adult fiction books. Because you're an adult, and no one is going to tell you what to do.
David Levithan
Relationships are hard. Harder still in high school before the nuances of romantic love and lust are practiced and known - and I'm decades past high school and I still haven't figured it out. So now try being gay in the early 2000's in a school and community that are less than... well, the setting isn't the Gay Pride capital of America, let's say that. This book spins the typical boy-meets-girl story and presents something powerful and smart. Buy two copies - share with your teen.
Jacqueline Woodson
Jackie is a black girl living in the early 60s, who, after her parent's divorce, moves from the Terribly Racist North to the Completely & Inexcusably Racist South. She loves her family and spirit of her community there, and despite the south being a cesspool of ignorant white attitudes, Jackie wants to stay. Why? Because she is awesome. When her mother makes a big decision and Jackie's world is about to get uprooted, well, then you're going to cry, so don't say I didn't warn you.
Naoki Urasawa
This Manga novel isn't technically YA, because they don't really classify Manga that way, but it appeals to a lot of younger readers because of its (literal and literal) graphic nature. This book is borderline terrifying, so if you like your murder illustrated and your teens are into the scare factor, read on. Still, it's been given accolades and Goodreads consistently rates it with 5-stars.
Courtney Summers
In this town, the Sheriff's son ....yeah, I can stop right there, can't I? I've been able to read for 40 years and I can say I've never read a story about a Sheriff's son who wasn't a bit of an asshole. This book covers a lot of heavy shit: sexual assault, community exile, being denied to the right to tell your story, and general small-town shenanigans the likes of which would cause anyone rational to pretty much lose their minds.
Jay Asher
After she commits suicide, Hannah leaves a classmate a mysterious box filled with 13 cassette tapes. You're smart - you can figure out why. What you won't see coming is how taken individually, the 13 events may be manageable events perhaps, but the cumulative effect of the 13 events in the last year of her life was just too much. A great book to remind you of the ripple effect of your actions - good, bad, or otherwise.
Nicola Yoon
Allergies suck, but for the overwhelming majority of people they are manageable. In Everything, Everything Madeline Whittier faces a harsher reality, because she is allergic to literally everything, everything. She has never been to school or outside her safety zone at home and she is 17 years-old. Even those of us with the strictest parents and no allergies to speak of had been at least three or four places by then. When Madeline gets a new beautiful boy neighbour, she falls in love and yep, this is going to get complicated, complicated.
John Green
Florida! Subdivisions! Teenager love!
It's all here, and with John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) behind the story, you can bet it'll be a movie soo...oh wait; it is already. This one is like a literary version of a really good mixtape with the perfect rock ballad and pop song ratio.
Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor and Park are misfits at their high school, and besides, they don't even like each other anyway. But one day, when Eleanor is treated terribly by a school bus full of high school jerk-faces, Park can't stand it, and opens the door to a friendship - but just a crack. You will fall in love with both these characters because they are flawed and broken and they need you to love them without being needy. The book isn't exactly a "happy" read, but show me a 16 year-old who had a 100% amazing grade ten experience and I will show you a liar.
Also, "Richie" needs a throat punch and a ball jab.
Sherman Alexie
"Junior" is a 14-year-old cartoonist, who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation. When Junior decides to attend an off-reservation, all-white high school, it's not easy to say the least. (Like you didn't see that coming.) This book is so well-written and it's punctuated with illustrations and cartoons which serve to underscore some of the things Junior can't talk about as easily as he can portray them visually. This one's rough - the subject matter and language are decidedly older teen/veering into adult territory and it has been banned by several high school which means I want my teenager to read it even more now (and then give it to me).
Daniel Handler
If you've ever had a break-up (which you have) and/or were a teenager (again, yes, you were) then this sweet book is going to be your next binge read. There's always the risk of a break-up novel with teenage protagonists veering into schmaltz territory, but Handler crafts his prose with a sharp definitive edge that while still allowing us to feel the weight of the breakup, never allows itself to become self-indulgent. Unlike other teenagers I know who moan and mope their way through a break-up, Why We Broke Up's Min and Ed remain loveable, even when they no longer love each other.
Crescent Dragonwagon
This 1985 novel is a poignant and powerful today as it was three decades ago. Attempting to navigate some sort of normalcy as a teenager in a world dominated by depressed but over;y-loving parents, Elizabeth (who's already attempted suicide three times herself) is having a hard time, but she won;t give up. She's tenacious but realistic and watching her look for a way out of the fog is haunting and beautiful.
Frankly, I think this book is brilliant. Read it.
Jennifer Niven
Finch and Violet are both grieving, but for different reasons. Violet has lost a sister, and Finch has lost his way. Can the two teens help one another, even when they are both near rock-bottom? Anytime Finch - who's fascinated by death - contemplate just ending it all, something happens to change his mind. Will meeting Violet be the final "good thing" to help him make the decision to finally start living?
Look for this one on the big screen in 2016.
Becky Albertalli
From Goodreads: " Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised."
Oh, Simon. I just want to hug him and make him a sandwich and then glue his enemies fingers together.
Julie Murphy
Willowdean says she is "fat," but she is totally cool with that. She accepts - and loves - her body and the girl is not in want of confidence, at least not until she meets a popular boy who seems to accept her - and likes what he sees. This is a great look at how self-confidence can be shattered in an instant under different circumstances. When Willowdean is single, she's happy with herself, but enter a possible pairing and everything changes. Why is that?
I don't know, but let's maybe see if Willowdean Dickson can help us figure it out.
Jeni Marinucci is YMC's Creative Director. She has a guilty conscience, a love for humour, and a questionable home-haircut. After her children were old enough to make their own sandwiches, she returned to University to complete her B.A. in English Literature—a designation which has provided her with an extensive library and crushing student loans. When no teaching college wanted her, she had to choose between taking orders through a drive-thru window or from an editor. She chose the latter.
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