Don’t know what to read next? Looking for YA book recommendations? Welcome to the Book Chat with the Young Adult Team. Every month, the YA Team each recommends a favorite book from our YA collection. We cover fiction, non-fiction, manga, comics, and graphic novels, so there is something for everyone! There is also a mixture of new releases and old favorites, so keep an eye on our posts for books to add to your TBR.

GENEVIEVRE RECOMMENDS CLOCK STRIKER BY ISSAKA GALADIMA WITH FREDERICK L. JONES

Are you a fan of comics and manga? Interested in reading the first Shonen featuring a Black female lead hero? Clock Striker follows Cast, an inventive girl living in a disadvantaged district once known for its high tech weapons advancement that has been left behind by the rest of the world. The world was once protected by warrior engineers known as The Smiths, but after a mysterious battle, The Smiths are all but wiped out. Cast dreams of becoming a Smith, but can a girl from her background, who is also dismissed due to her disability, prove what it takes to join them? And if she does achieve her dream, can she survive the dangerous missions that await? If you’re a fan of adventure/combat-heavy stories like One Piece, dystopian origin stories like The Hunger Games, and sci-fi cyberpunk/steampunk inspired worlds like Trigun and Fullmetal Alchemist, check this series out.

NICOLE RECOMMENDS CEMETERY BOYS BY AIDEN THOMAS

Delivering a fun and interesting take on Latin American culture, as well as delving into deep themes of family, self-identity, and life & death, Cemetery Boys is far from your typical paranormal romance. Yadriel is a trans boy and a member of a covert society of people who can see and interact with ghosts. To prove he’s just as tough as the other men in his extended family, he undergoes a secret coming-of-age ritual – and accidentally summons Julian’s ghost. As the two teens use their time together to sort out a murder mystery, Yadriel quickly realizes that he doesn’t want to say goodbye to Julian just yet. Cemetery Boys is perfect for any reader who enjoys learning about other cultures, appreciates LGBTQ+ representation, or anyone looking for a unique and touching romance. As a character driven reader, I immediately enjoyed the chemistry between Yadriel and Julian, but the mystery plot is also well developed and will satisfy any teens looking for a good “whodunit.”

KAYLEIGH RECOMMENDS FIREKEEPER’S DAUGHTER BY ANGELINE BOULLEY

Daunis Fontaine is standing on the cusp. She’s starting her first year of college, but it’s at the local university after she deferred her admission from a more prestigious, farther away school so she could help care for her declining grandmother after her uncle’s sudden death. She’s just months away from the birthday that marks the cutoff to apply to be an enrolled member of the indigenous Ojibwe tribe her father is from, but he’s been dead for years now and in the scandalous events surrounding her birth, he never legally claimed her as his daughter. Her half-brother is a hockey star and one of his new teammates has caught her eye, but since she was forced to give up her own hockey career a year ago, she swore to herself to never involve herself in the misogyny and drama of dating a popular hockey boy.

She’s trying to, and most succeeding at, keeping her head down until she is suddenly the witness to the horrific and violent murder of a beloved friend. Daunis is suddenly swept up in an investigation with the FBI involving the production and distribution of meth on the Sugar Island Ojibwe reservation and surrounding town, and as more information comes to light, she begins to realize that the meth ring in her hometown stretches much wider than she knew—and maybe even involves people she loves.

Firekeeper’s Daughter is a tense and evocative thriller that explores power and tradition, the ties between people in a small community, and what it means to really belong to a place or a people. The experiences of Daunis and other Indigenous characters are distinctly Ojibwe, specifically from Sugar Island, and Boulley takes care to not generalize to all North American Indigenous groups. Daunis is deeply involved in her tribal community and traditions despite not being an enrolled member, and the story explores the complexity of Indigenous identity, particularly as a political position that many different groups and have stakes in and reasons to want to control. Firekeeper’s Daughter balances a dramatic and gripping plot while also telling a story that is rooted in the history and culture of a people and place, leading to a thoroughly compelling and thoughtful read.

This book explores many dark themes and is best suited for more mature readers. Content warnings include on-page murder-suicide by an intimate partner, on-page rape, drug usage and trafficking,  death of close family and friend, grief, anti-Indigenous racism, consensual sexual content, and sexual harassment and misogyny.

KELLI RECOMMENDS DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON BY RYOKO KUI

This manga follows Laios on the adventure to rescue his sister by having the adventure party cook and eat the monsters on the way. There was a lot of creativity on how to prepare and cook fictional creatures that made me laugh throughout the story. This was a cute fun filled story that any Dungeons and Dragons lover would enjoy!

BETH RECOMMENDS A GOOD GIRLS GUIDE TO MURDER/GOOD GIRL, BAD BLOOD/AS GOOD AS DEAD BY HOLLY JACKSON

This trilogy starts with main character Pip trying to find out what happened to Andie Bell , a girl who was murdered in her town. Pip thinks she was one of the last people to see Andie alive, and it haunts her. The town gets turned upside down when Pip starts investigating. She is joined by Ravi, the brother of the accused who later committed suicide.. or did he? Read book 1 to see what really happened!

If you are still wanting more of Pip’s investigative skills read book 2 – Good Girl, Bad Blood.  In this book Pip and Ravi have taken to doing a podcast of strange things happening in their town. This book focuses on Pip and Ravi trying to find a friend’s missing brother. What happened to Jamie? Where is he now? Pip and Ravi will uncover deep secrets within the town. Things start getting very dangerous for the 2 before they finally solve what happened to Jamie. 

Now, if you are hooked.. read book 3 – As Good As Dead. Pip has a stalker who is reminiscent of a serial killer. Of course the police doesn’t believe Pip as they have had to deal with her in the past. Pip discovers that the serial killer is free and after her now. What will happen to Pip now? Well, you will just have to read and find out for yourself. I will say this last book gets a little darker and more intense than the first two in the series. It also ends with a moral dilemma… and honestly- can you blame Pip? What would you do if it were you?

You can also follow along on Netflix as they now have the series… Good Girl’s Guide To Murder available now. Season 2 is coming soon and will follow the storyline of Good Girl, Bad Blood. Enjoy!

RACHEL RECOMMENDS THE CORRUPTION OF HOLLIS BROWN BY K. ANCRUM

   “We’re not special. Just because Rose Town is full of angry spirits doesn’t make this more or less of a haunting than any other town with a shut-down factory and a bunch of poor people.”

           Hollis is finishing out his senior year in the kind of town where the American Dream goes to die. He has no plans for college, no job, and exactly two (2) friends. He likes baking bread, getting into fights he can’t win, and standing entirely too close to trains. Hollis is mean in the way someone can cut you to the core with words, and kind in the way someone can give their good jacket to a drifter wearing short sleeves in the snow. When that drifter offers to turn Hollis’s life around in exchange for six months of food and shelter, Hollis thinks nothing of shaking on it. He probably should’ve because it turns out that drifter is dead and Hollis’s body is food and shelter for the next six months.

           Walt keeps his word and upgrades just about everything in Hollis’s life. As the two of them slowly learn to share a body, Hollis learns that Walt is as haunted as Hollis is. Walt—like every ghost—has unfinished business. That business is in Rose Town: a failed factory town just a few miles away that is deeply, violently haunted. But an even bigger problem is how Walt and Hollis are falling for each other.

           The Corruption of Hollis Brown is a fable of American resilience. It’s a love story first and a ghost story second. Content warnings include: graphic violence (including murder and references to torture), suicidal ideation, self-harm, loss of autonomy, possessive behavior (not a pun), substance abuse, and brief and mild (closed door) sexual content.

LISA RECOMMENDS BETH IS DEAD BY KATIE BERNET

I feel guilty in saying that this was a fun read considering it involves a murder! Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women characters have been modernized and now are attending high school and college. First time novelist Katie Bernet has kept the spirit of the original characters while creating a page turning mystery that even those who are not familiar with Little Women will enjoy.

ADRIANE RECOMMENDS FINDING HER EDGE BY JENNIFER IACOPELLI

Adriana is part of figure skating royalty. Her parents are gold medalists, her older sister is getting ready to compete in the Olympics, and her younger sister is sure to follow as part of a pairs team. Adriana is headed to the Junior World Championships with her partner Brayden, who thanks to a documentary, everyone thinks she is involved with, including her former partner Freddie. The truth is that Adriana thinks Freddie might be the one she has feelings for.

I love a good sports romance, and this one had all the elements, romance drama, family drama, and fake dating drama! I wanted to read this before I watched the new Netflix series based on the novel, and the book didn’t disappoint! Adriana has a lot on her shoulders and is trying to balance it all.

LAUREN RECOMMENDS FAKE SKATING BY LYNN PAINTER

This book had all the tropes! Second chance romance? Check! Fake dating, but they really have feelings for each other? Check! Evil villain who wants to break them up? Check! Dani is a military kid who had to spend most of her life moving from place to place, which is something I personally connected with. Her only constant is her summers with Alec in her mom’s hometown in Minnesota. When her parents divorced, she moves with her mom to her grandfather’s house in Minnesota. She hopes her strained relationship with Alec will blossom again. Alec, though, has a different perspective. He thinks she ghosted him in his time of need years before, so he spends all his energy avoiding her, until he can’t. Told through dual perspectives, this delightful hockey-based romance hit all the feels. It is perfect for anyone who loves love and wants to celebrate it this February. 

Want more book suggestions? Stay tuned for future recommendations from our team! 

If you’re a young adult who likes to read, you can also submit book recommendations from our collection. Email genevievre.wood@rva.gov with a one paragraph review, explaining why you liked the book and why others should read it.