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 TEMPEST OF TEA BY HAFSAH FAIZAL

Arthie and Jin Casimir aren’t related by blood, but they are each others only remaining family. Brought together by tragedy and trauma, they run a teahouse that operates as an illegal vampire den after hours, providing thirsty vampires a way to secure the blood they need to survive without victims. With those in power threatened by their operation, they are at constant risk of raids, shutdown, and imprisonment.

When their situation gets increasingly more dicey, they are forced to team up with an eccentric vampire, a military guard with plans to take down his employers, and a sheltered young woman with a talent for forging. Together, they must infiltrate a notorious vampire society in order to gather incriminating evidence against those that threaten their very existence. But not everyone is as they seem, nor do they all have the best interests of the others in mind. Can they pull off the heist of a lifetime or will the bitter cost of betrayal bite them first? Is revenge worth it? Or will it only hurt the ones they care about most?

This book is filled with themes of the importance of being self-made vs. learning to trust and rely on the deeply supportive bonds of found family, the violence and aftermath of colonialism, the need for parental approval vs. personal autonomy, finding a place as an outcast outside of conventional societal norms, and learning to embrace authenticity. While primarily an action filled heist novel, there is slow-burn romance, a possible love triangle, betrayals, revenge, the criminal underworld, snark, vampires, British inspired fantasy vibes, and of course, tea.

NICOLE RECOMMENDS PROMISE BOYS BY NICK BROOKS

When the principle of the prestigious Urban Promise Prep School winds up murdered, three students (J.B., Ramón, & Trey) end up as the lead suspects in the case. The only problem is, all three students are innocent – or are they? With the clock (and sometimes even their fellow students) working against them, they must prove their innocence to the very authorities who have already decided that all three are guilty. Promise Boys is a book about what it means to be a boy of color in modern America. It also shines a light on how striving for perfection often leaves us stressed and hollow inside. Teen readers will find themselves sympathizing with J.B., Ramón, and Trey, especially with how most of the adults already treat them as guilty before the verdict is even called. Anyone who enjoys a good mystery will appreciate this story because it really does leave you guessing until the last few pages, with a satisfying ending you won’t see coming.

KAYLEIGH RECOMMENDS SAINTS AND MISFITS BY S.K. ALI

Everyone seems to have an idea of who Janna should be and what choices she should make in her life. All Janna wants to do is take pictures, reread the Flannery O’Connor short stories she loves, and maybe talk to Jeremey, the cute non-Muslim guy with the nice forehead she’s been crushing on for years. But the people in her life won’t give up the pressure: her father, who has remarried and disapproves of Janna’s choice to wear hijab, the classmates and teachers who talk about her hijab behind her back, her brother who’s just moved back into their tiny apartment, and her mother who is the only divorced person at their mosque. But even worse than these constant pressure looms another, larger thing she’s trying to run from: memories of that night in the basement where her friend’s cousin, the mosque’s “golden boy,” sexually assaulted her. Janna loves her religion and community, but how is she supposed to handle the praise everyone heaps on her assaulter for his skills in memorizing the Quran and supposed piousness when she’s the only one who knows the horrific and un-Muslim things he does in private?

Saints and Misfits explores the pressures of coming-of-age Muslim women in the US face, both from within their own communities and without. Janna is dealing with the burden of being the “perfect Muslim girl” alongside her desire to fit in at her high school and live a teenage life like her non-Muslim peers, all while the specter of her sexual assault looms over her every single day. As Janna navigates all these difficulties, she begins to see all the different ways it’s possible to be yourself as a Muslim woman in the US—not just as a saint or misfit, but as someone wholly and uniquely herself.

Content warnings: Islamophobia, sexual assault, misogyny, nonconsensual online sharing of a hijabi’s hair

KELLI RECOMMENDS ODIN BY GEORGE O’CONNOR

Odin is a graphic novel that tells the story of Odin. It is based off old poems and
sagas of his adventures. This was delightfully beautiful; the artwork was detailed, and the
stories were more accurate than I was expecting. I love the life and personalities George
O’Connor attaches to these characters as well.

BETH RECOMMENDS OXFORD BLOOD BY RACHAEL DAVIS-FEATHERSTONE

Have you ever had a dream so big you didn’t think it would ever come true? Meet Eva, a state school candidate, who is trying for a special spot to go to Beecham College as part of Oxford. All of her life Eva has been working hard, getting good grades, and anything she can do to get a chance to interview for Oxford. Finally the day has come and Eva and her best friend, George, are invited to interview week.

They are both so excited and then George is found dead. At first people think it was just an accident but Eva believes differently. She starts noticing things about the other interviewees that makes her think this wasn’t an accident. Eva starts to investigate, with the help of her detective dad, so she can figure out what really happened to George. Then the worst thing happens… Eva is accused of George’s death.

Can Eva find the real killer before they get her?  Will she be able to fix her reputation or will the killer end her chances of ever going to Oxford?  Oxford Blood covers themes of social class privilege, race, social justice, and equity in the midst of a well written murder mystery full of plot twists.

RACHEL RECOMMENDS THE GHOSTS OF ROSE HILL BY R.M. ROMERO

When her sixteenth summer begins, Ilana Lopez is banished to Prague. Her refugee parents are unimpressed by her PSAT scores and final grades and hope that separating Ilana from her friends, the Miami night life, and—most importantly—her violin will teach her to make more responsible choices. They hope spending three months with her father’s odd artist sister will hopefully scare Ilana straight. Straight away from a career in the arts.

Aunt Žofie may live a humble life as a painter, but she is happy to welcome her niece. When Ilana finds an abandoned Jewish cemetery behind Žofie’s house, Žofie grants Ilana permission to work at restoring it: “I’m not Jewish—you are. That gives you a connection to the cemetery that I’ll never have. You should do whatever you think is right.”

That cemetery houses the grave of a boy named Benjamin who is only too happy to show Ilana the magical side of Prague. But Benjamin isn’t the only stranger who takes an interest in Ilana. Ilana’s musical talent catches the eye of Rudolph Wassermann: a man with a black violin and no shadow.

The Ghosts of Rose Hill is a novel in verse and a fairytale for modern times. Ilana’s story is that of a Jewish Latina coming home to a city her ancestors fled. Content warnings include: references to war and oppression, murder and death (including child death), grave desecration, and manipulative and predatory behavior.

RICHARD RECOMMENDS THIS IS NOT A TEST BY COURTNEY SUMMERS

If you like horror and zombies that can run relentlessly after the living, you’ll love this YA novel.  In Summers’ book we meet Sloan Price, a high schooler with a terrible home life, which gets worse or better depending on your perspective when the dead return to life and start attacking the living.  Fast forward several days and Sloan and a few of her friends are barricaded up inside their school as hordes of the undead outside try to smash their way in.  Sloan and her friends are in a fight for their lives, and along the way, learn about themselves and each other.  If you like a fast-paced page-turner, this novel is for you.  I will add that there are scenes and flashbacks of domestic violence and child abuse, so this may trigger some readers.  As always, happy reading.

ADRIANE RECOMMENDS CHECK & MATE BY ALI HAZELWOOD

Mallory walked away from the world of competitive chess at the age of 14. At 18 she is returning after winning a surprise game against the number one player in the world, Nolan Sawyer. Mallory isn’t sure if she wants to immerse herself in the world again, but she is willing to try for her family. This is a great romance and there is a little bit of role reversal built into the main characters. A fun and quick read but definitely recommended for mature readers.

LAUREN RECOMMENDS IF WE NEVER END BY LAURA TAYLOR NAMEY

If you liked the book If I Stay by Gayle Forman, you will love this book! This book follows Sylvie, an 18-year-old who has been living a half-life by not expressing herself to her friends or family about the disappointment she feels when they leave for their summers away. Luckily, she has always had her Aunt Vivian there for her and to make sure she is well cared for during the summer. When Sylvie stumbles upon a magical watch that summons a ghost boy named Penn, she must unravel the mystery of what happened to him and how to fix it. As they get closer to solving the mystery, they also get closer to one another, but can they make their relationship work when one of them isn’t on Earth? Full of self-reflection, falling in love, and learning how to handle the impossible, this book gave so many feels. 

Spoiler alert! It does have a happy ending! 

LILA RECOMMENDS DEATHLY FATES BY TESIA TSAI

Kang Siying is a priestess of death. Her duty, passed on to her by her father, is to guide the souls of the deceased home. However, when her father begins to succumb to the fainting illness, Siying is faced head-on with the concept of mortality. To get her father the medical help he so desperately needs, she accepts a dangerous and mysterious job that pays much better than most of her corpse-driving tasks: Retrieving the body of the second prince, who had fallen in battle. Only, when Siying performs the reanimation spell that will allow her to transport his body home, she finds that Prince Renshu is not as dead as she thought.

With the prince newly alive but dangerously low on qi, Siying accepts a new job: Helping Ren refill his qi by transferring the qi of restless spirits to him and getting the young prince home safely. However, the two soon find that aspects of Ren’s death are not quite adding up, and Siying finds herself having agreed to much more than she anticipated.

I really love that even though Siying is accustomed to the dead and the needs of their grieving families, she struggles to work through grief herself. Her realization that “death was inevitable, but so was life” is beautiful and hopeful. I deeply enjoyed her growth and the imperfection of Ren’s character as well. I found myself rooting for Ren’s coming of age as he found strength in his “softness” and the courage to step up and do what is right for his country. Siying and Ren bring out the best in one another and develop a genuine and sweet romance as they are forced to spend time together and solve their problems.

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.