What We’re Reading (and Loving)

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 A SMILE LIKE YOURS BY EMILY THOMAS

A Smile Like Yours follows Rhys, a brand new college freshman, who is navigating a little more than the usual freshman jitters of having to make friends and transitioning to university life and tough classes far from home. Instead, Rhys has face blindness (aka prosopagnosia), which makes fitting in and making friends all the more overwhelming and leads to steadily increasing numbers of panic attacks. As Rhys tries to settle into his new life with his suite mates and class friends, he tries to carve out a place where he fits in and can be himself, while also figuring out crushing on a straight-presenting and taken close friend. Can Rhys master his first year at college? Will he find a way to not just get by but actually thrive? And what will become of his disastrous love life?

This book covers some challenging topics, including finding ways to recognize that while having an invisible disability can make life more challenging, it doesn’t mean life ceases to be rewarding. It also champions taking the time for self exploration, realizing that being different doesn’t mean you’re alone, and opening up and being vulnerable with those that you care about/that care about you doesn’t mean you’re weak and instead makes you and your meaningful relationships stronger. Overall, the tone of the book is positive and mostly cozy even when discussing life’s challenges. It also handles differing identities and abilities with care and affirmation.

One last thing of note is that if you’re a fan of Alice Oseman, the creator of Heartstopper, this book will appeal to you! Alice even recommended the book personally, describing it as having: “artwork that bursts with feeling and characters you want to wrap up in a warm blanket.” A Smile Like Yours is a great read for Pride Month in June, for Disability Pride Month in July, and any time you’re looking for a book that validates diverse lived experiences and identities, while also championing authenticity, belonging, and empowerment.

NICOLE RECOMMENDS WE ARE NOT FREE BY TRACI CHEE

This historical fiction book contains fourteen different perspectives from fourteen different teens, all with their own unique story from the World War II era. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the entire Japanese American community along the US west coast was uprooted from their homes and forced into detainment camps. Each story offers a different perspective on one of the nation’s most shameful offenses against its own citizens. Although this takes place decades in the past, readers will quickly notice its relevance to today’s political climate. Each narrator possesses a unique voice that teens will easily relate to, and each character’s story weaves together in a masterful overarching picture.

KELLI RECOMMENDS I THINK OUR SON IS GAY BY OKURA

This Manga is such a cute story. It’s refreshing to see a story about an LGBTQ+ character through the lens of a family member, especially a parent figure. The mom in this story is a little quirky and shows her support and love through her actions and is honestly a great example for parents who suspect their child is struggling with their identity. It’s soft hearted, and makes for a great read on a bad day to lighten up your mood.

KAYLEIGH RECOMMENDS THE STARS AND THE BLACKNESS BETWEEN THEM BY JUNAUDA PETRUS

When 16-year-old Adure’s mother catches her with her girlfriend, she sends Audre away from her home in Trinidad to live in Minneapolis with the father she barely knows. Displaced from almost everything familiar to her, she finds connection and companionship with Mabel, the daughter of her father’s friends. Between time spent together in Black Eden, Mabel’s father’s lovingly maintained garden, and navigating high school, the two girls’ relationship grows closer–and blooms into something romantic. But as the strange stomach pains Mabel experienced over the summer increase and Audre navigates the struggles of being so far from home, the two must figure out how to navigate the complexities of life together.

The story unfolds through seasons of the zodiac, each section beginning with a poem that sets the stage. Petrus explores Black queer identity and Trinidadian and Black American culture with sumptuous, lyrical language that makes each page a delight to read.

Content warnings: homophobia, racism, terminal illness, mild sexual content, incarceration, physical abuse.

BETH RECOMMENDS THE HEIRS BY FARIDAH ÀBÍKÉ-ÍYÍMÍDÉ

Fans of The Umbrella Academy and mystery lovers alike will really enjoy this twisted tale. Here’s the question: Are child geniuses born or created? Enter billionaire Mr. Button and his desire to test science Nurture vs Nature. Imagine 5 orphans being chosen to be Mr. Button’s heirs, his test subjects. He has the Button Method which he sells that create child prodigies. At first it works, 4 of the 5 children do become prodigies, but at what cost. None of them are happy, they are all stressed, and that leads to death.  Mr. Button is killed at the Prodigy Ball and all 5 Heirs are suspects. They all hold secrets. I don’t want to give too much away with this blog as this is just one of those books you just need to read. It is full of twists and turns, but most importantly it shows what can happen when pushed too far.

RACHEL RECOMMENDS OLD WOUNDS BY LOGAN-ASHLEY KISNER

Erin and Max are two transgender teens from small town Ohio on their way to California. It’s not really running away when they’re both eighteen; it’s just leaving without telling their parents and throwing their (very trackable) phones off a bridge before they go.

Max is off to California because he knows it will be the safest place for him to transition while anti-trans legislation is creeping across the country like rot. And it’s somewhere his parents will never find him. Erin is…not entirely sure why she’s going. She and Max once planned to leave Ohio behind them, but that was before they broke up two years ago and Max completely stopped talking to her. All she knows is that something happened, and she doesn’t know what (if anything) she did wrong.

They become stranded in a Kentucky town that was built where a town wasn’t meant to be. The price for that transgression is collected by the Bullitt Beast and the payment is a girl it can hunt, kill, and eat. The locals believe they’ve found their next sacrifice when Erin and Max pass through. Erin and Max have already had to fight all their lives just to live, and this town thinks its monster will be the one to kill them? The Bullitt Beast may have bitten off more than it can chew.

Old Wounds is a creature feature with literal and metaphorical monsters. It encourages readers to consider the cost of safety and who we expect to pay for it, and what it means if the “natural” way of things needs to be enforced with violence. Content warnings include: transphobia, sexism and misogyny, homophobia, assault, abuse, a past suicide attempt, threats of medical abuse and conversion therapy, violence (including murder, gun violence, and domestic violence), underage tobacco and alcohol use, abuse of power, discussion of real-world hate crimes against (including rape and murder) and suicide of trans people.

ADRIANE RECOMMENDS I DON’T WISH YOU WELL BY JUMATA EMILL

A college boy decides to investigate the serial murders that happened in his hometown based off a tip that the wrong person was blamed. The whole case has never sat right with Pryce Cummings, so he proposes to do a little digging and find out who actually is the famed Trojan killer. The more he digs, the more he uncovers, and the more it seems the Trojan killer wants to remain anonymous. This book gives major A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder vibes in the best way!

LAUREN RECOMMENDS THANKS FOR LISTENING BY MOLLY HORAN

What do you do when no one in your life listens to you? Well, you create an anonymous YouTube channel that gives advice to people who won’t listen to you as yourself but will listen to the void character you created. Mia even trains the algorithm to show up in her fellow drama club members’ “for you” page.  If she can’t get them to listen to her in rehearsal, she’ll make sure they still get the advice that she thinks they need. But when her friends use the app to ask for advice on problems Mia didn’t know about, she has to struggle to maintain her anonymity.  This book is full of drama and self-discovery. It teaches a great lesson that to give advice, you have to listen to other people’s advice. It also showcases toxic friendships and how hard they are to see when you are in one, but with work, they can get better. 

Want More?

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.