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Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire: YA Books With A Lot of Lying

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It’s been quite a year in lies for YA, and it appears as though it’s going to continue well into 2015. Betsy Bird talked about some of the trends that will continue through this year, and one that she hits on is the idea of truth-stretching and lying, with some focus on the growth of lying in YA fiction as a means of storytelling.

One of the biggest “meets”/”for fans of” pitches I’ve seen in catalog copy for YA this year follows this trend as well. If you’re looking for your next We Were Liars, then it seems like you’ll have plenty of titles to choose from. Whether or not they’re really going to be great read alikes is yet to be seen, but here are four titles off the top of my head with that pitch in their respective catalogs (links go to Goodreads, which may not reflect catalog copy):

What’s interesting is that none of those books feature “lies,” “liars,” or “lying” in the title, which is where I’ve noticed an emerging trend. How many books in the last year have featured some variation of that word in the title? And how fun would a book display be of books featuring those words in the title be?

Here’s a look at the last year or so in lying liars who lie in YA. Some of these titles aren’t out yet, so I’ve noted publication dates.

Lies I Told by Michelle Zink (April 7): Since Grace was adopted by the Fontaines, she has been carefully taught the art of the scam and has an uncanny ability to create a personality to help her “parents,” but their latest job has her questioning everything she has been taught and the family she has grown to love.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley: In 1959 Virginia, Sarah, a black student who is one of the first to attend a newly integrated school, forces Linda, a white integration opponent’s daughter, to confront harsh truths when they work together on a school project.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends — the Liars — whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. Spending the summers on her family’s private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged Cadence struggles to remember what happened during her fifteenth summer. 

Little Blue Lies by Chris Lynch: Oliver, known as “O”, and his suddenly ex-girlfriend Junie are are known for telling little lies, but one of Junie’s lies about not winning the lottery could get her into trouble with a local mob boss.

Little White Lies by Katie Dale: The first time Lou meets mysterious Christian, she knows he is The One. But when Christian’s secret is unveiled in front of the whole world, it seems everything he’s ever told Lou is a lie, and Lou finds herself ensnared in a web of deceit.

There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake: Shelby Cooper, nearly eighteen, has been overprotected by her single mother all her life but after a car accident, Shelby’s mother steals her away from the hospital, revealing that Shelby’s father is not dead, but rather a violent man who promised to hunt them down.

Even When You Lie To Me by Jessica Alcott (June 9): Because she sees herself as ugly and a misfit, tolerated only because of her friendship with pretty and popular Lila, Charlie dreads her senior year but a crush on the new charismatic English teacher, Mr. Drummond, makes school bearable until her eighteenth birthday, when boundaries are crossed.

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters: When her girlfriend dies suddenly at age seventeen, Colorado teenager Alix struggles with grief as painful secrets are revealed.

Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes (March 24): Seventeen-year-old Max, his girlfriend Parvati, and best friend Pres form Liars, Inc., expecting that forging notes and lying for their peers will lead to easy cash, but when Pres asks Max to cover for him, it may be a fatal mistake.

Trust Me, I’m Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer: Having learned to be a master con artist from her father, Julep Dupree pays expenses at her exclusive high school by fixing things for fellow students, but she will need their help when her father disappears.

Want more liars? Here’s a round-up of older titles where lying liars who lie have some space to themselves in their titles. I learned that lies come in so many different colors while putting this together.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier: Compulsive liar Micah promises to tell the truth after revealing that her boyfriend has been murdered.

Lies by Michael Grant (part of a series): As conditions worsen in the FAYZ, where supernatural forces have trapped children under the age of fifteen and resources are running out, it becomes tempting to heed the words of a prophet who says that only death will set them free.

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White (part of a series): Sisters Anie and Fia have had their abilites manipulated by the Keane Foundation for too long–and now they’re ready to fight back against the twisted organization that has been using them as pawns.

Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman: Eighteen-year-old identical twins Alice and Rachel have always shared a very special bond, so when one is abducted the other uses their connection to try to locate her.

Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson: Orphaned British teenager Scarlett Wakefield postpones her romance with the handsome son of the school groundskeeper in order to travel to Scotland with her American sidekick, Taylor, in search of clues to the murder of a boy who dropped dead after kissing Scarlett. 

Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad (part of a series): Now a reality show celebrity, nineteen-year-old Jane Roberts learns that not all of her new friends are trustworthy.

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz (part of a series): Camelia, who has recently discovered she shares her crush Ben’s power of psychometry, finds herself in a tortured love triangle when a figure from Ben’s past arrives and Camelia learns that both boys are hiding dangerous secrets.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch: Vowing to bring down the crime boss running the city, a group of Gentlemen Bastards, led by Locke Lamora, sets out to beat the Capa at his own game, taking on other thieves, murderers, beggars, prostitutes, and thugs in the process.

Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen: Starting her junior year at an ultra-elite Boston school, sixteen-year-old Sara, hoping to join the popular crowd, hides that her father not only is the school janitor, but also has obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Father of Lies by Ann Turner: In 1692 when a plague of accusations descends on Salem Village in Massachusetts and “witch fever” erupts, fourteen-year-old Lidda, who has begun to experience visions and hear voices, tries to expose the lies of the witch trials without being hanged as a witch herself. Includes author’s notes about the Salem Witch Trials and bipolar disease.

Little Red Lies by Julie Johnston: The war is over, but for thirteen-year-old Rachel, the battle has just begun. Putting childhood behind her, she knows what she wants – to prove she has acting talent worthy of the school drama club, and what she doesn’t want – to romantically fall for someone completely inappropriate. Worries about her veteran brother’s failing health and repugnance at her mother’s unexpected and unwanted pregnancy drive her to seek solace from a seemingly sympathetic, but self-serving teacher. The lies she tells herself hoping to reach solutions to the problems complicating her life merely function to make matters worse. Ultimately, she finds a way to come to terms with life as it reaches an end and life as it begins.

Love & Lies by Ellen Wittlinger: When Marisol, a self-confident eighteen-year-old lesbian, moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts to work and try to write a novel, she falls under the spell of her beautiful but deceitful writing teacher, while also befriending a shy, vulnerable girl from Indiana.

Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge: Free-verse reveals true stories behind well-known fairy tales, some reset in modern times, as a strung-out match girl sells CDs to drug users, Little Red Riding Hood admits that she wanted to know what it is like to be swallowed whole, and Cinderella’s stepsisters are duped.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (series): When one of their tightly-knit group mysteriously disappears, four high school girls find their friendship difficult to maintain when they begin receiving taunting messages from someone who seems to know everything about their past and present secrets.

The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker (series): When Kate receives a mysterious e-mail from her dead friend Grace, she must prove that Grace’s death was not an accident, but finds that her elite private school holds secrets so big people are willing to kill to protect them.

The Secret to Lying by Todd Mitchell: Fifteen-year-old James lies about himself to be considered “cool” when he gets into an exclusive boarding school, but soon unnaturally vivid dreams of being a demon-hunting warrior lead to self-destructive acts while he is awake.

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard (series): Seventeen-year-old Emma Paxton steps into the life of her long-lost twin Sutton to solve her murder, while Sutton looks on from her afterlife.

January Debut YA Novels

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Let’s kick off another year of debut YA novels with a nice-sized round-up. Like always, “debut” here is in its purest definition: these are first-time books by first-time authors. I’m not including books by authors who are using or have used a pseudonym in the past or those who have written in other categories (adult, middle grade, etc.) in the past. Where we’ve reviewed the books, we’ve included links to them. 

All descriptions are from WorldCat. If I’m missing any debuts out in January from traditional publishers, let me know in the comments. 

 

The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall: When sixteen-year-old Avery West learns her family is part of a powerful and dangerous secret society, and that her own life is in danger, she must follow a trail of clues across Europe.

Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian: When Jake Lukin, eighteen, reveals his psychic ability he is forced to become a government asset in order to keep his mother and sister safe, but Rachel, the girl he likes, tries to help him live his own life instead of tunneling through others.

The Law of Loving Others by Kate Axelrod: After Emma returns home from boarding school, she realizes her mother is suffering from a schizophrenic break, and suddenly, Emma’s entire childhood and identity is called into question, pushing her to turn to her boyfriend, Daniel, for answers, but perhaps it is the brooding Phil who Emma meets while visiting her mother at the hospital who really understands her.



The Prey by Tom Isbell: After the apocalyptic Omega, a group of orphaned teen boys learn of their dark fate and escape, joining forces with twin girls who have been imprisoned for the ‘good of the republic.’ In their plight for freedom, these young heroes must find the best in themselves to fight against the worst in their enemies.

Save Me by Jenny Elliott: Liberty, Oregon, high school senior Cara is more interested in whale watching than dating until she develops a strong bond with newcomer David who is hiding a devastating secret, and meanwhile her best friend, Rachel, has begun practicing witchcraft, and to top it off, she has a stalker.

Twisted Fate by Norah Olson: Told from separate viewpoints, unfolds how sisters Sydney and Ally Tate’s relationship changes as they get involved with their new neighbor, Graham, an artist with a videocamera who has a mysterious–and dangerous–past.

The Way We Bared Our Souls by Willa Strayhorn: Five teenagers sit around a bonfire in the middle of the New Mexico desert and when they participate in a ritual to trade totems as a symbol of shedding and adopting one another’s sorrows, they think it is only an exercise, but in the morning they wake to find their burdens gone and replaced with someone else’s.

Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff: After his best friend, Hayden, commits, suicide, fifteen-year-old Sam is determined to find out why–using the clues in the playlist Hayden left for him.

On Grief and Finding Love Unexpected: The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds and The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

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Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve read two books that traversed some really similar themes and rather than review them at length in separate posts, I thought it would make more sense to review them together. Both explore grief and loss with a hopeful edge that comes from also finding a sweet, satisfying — even if not necessarily easy — romance.

These are also both titles that do one of my favorite things in realistic fiction: they showcase how you can bloom where you’re planted when the choice of where you are is outside your control.

Jason Reynolds’s sophomore novel, The Boy in the Black Suit, takes what he did great in his first book and makes it sing even louder.

After Matt’s mother dies, he finds himself looking for a job or an internship. He’s going to school part-time in order to gain work experience in those afternoons. It’s a way for him to escape his father’s own spiraling grief and challenges.

When Matt arrives at the local greasy, fast food chicken joint, he’s prepared for the work, even if it’s not something that interests him in the least — and even if it means dealing with obnoxious, rude customers, as he witnesses when he’s there filling out the application.

But when an offer to work at a local funeral home comes his way, he can’t pass it up, even if he’s hesitant to be working in a world of grief close to his own. It’s through witnessing those funerals, though, and seeing how other people process their losses, that Matt is better able to process his own.

It’s at one of the funerals, though, where Matt stumbles across Lovey. She looks familiar, and he realizes that’s because she’s the girl who he saw at the fast food joint when he went to apply who had been dealing with rowdy customers. Soon, the two of them begin talking, then spending time together, then finding themselves falling for one another.

Reynolds’s story is a quieter one, featuring the kind of character we don’t see enough of in YA: a realistic black boy who — while living in a tough part of Brooklyn and dealing with family and friends who aren’t always making smart choices — is himself intelligent, hard-working, and builds solid relationships with his friends, with his boss at work, and ultimately, Lovey. He isn’t stereotyped in any way, and he’s also not rendered as a boy who is all feelings, even though he has plenty of them. Rather, he’s fully fleshed, dynamic, and his story has a fulfilling arc. It’s hopeful, but it’s also imperfect. There’s exceptional compassion extended to Matt, and there’s exceptional compassion extended from him, too.

What stood out to me in this story was the way the relationship between Matt and Lovey grew. This is a sweet and realistic romance, one that’s tentative at times, and it’s one that’s not immediately nor easily rewarded. Since both are working through personal grief and change, it’s hard for them to be emotionally available to one another, even when they want to be that way. This is a slow-build and satisfying storyline, which begs readers to root for both characters and their successes alone and together.

The funeral home job element made this story unique, as did its gritty, urban setting. The juxtaposition is, at times, uncomfortable. But that’s purposeful, and it makes Matt’s voice and perspective shine even stronger. This is a quick read, despite being a quieter one. Hand The Boy in the Black Suit to readers looking for urban-set fiction, for those seeking a nice male-led romance or male-led story about grief and loss, or those looking for something “different” in realistic YA fiction — this isn’t the go-to pick for those who love the best-selling titles. Readers interested in an intergenerational relationship will appreciate Matt and his boss’s connections, and those looking for a good male friendship story will appreciate Matt and Chris’s relationship, too.

Jessie Ann Foley’s The Carnival at Bray had the set up of everything I dislike: a 90s setting that served the purpose of being so for the grunge music and to avoid the social media/mobile phone reality of today. 

But I loved it. 
When Maggie’s mother remarried Colm, they — along with her younger sister Ronnie — move to Bray, a small area on the Eastern shore or Ireland. It’s a lonely time in a new place for Maggie, but she’s buoyed by her uncle Kevin’s letters and packages, as well as by the boy she’s run into who she can’t keep her eyes off of, even if she has no idea who he is or what he’s about. For a short time, Maggie keeps herself occupied with her new friend Aine, but it’s not a great friendship. Aine has little interest in Maggie as a person, but in Maggie as a way to spend time with her boyfriend Paddy. 

But when Kevin dies unexpectedly, Maggie has to reassess her life as it is and figure out how to make a life in the place she’s been planted best she can. There is an adventure to be had, though, when Maggie discovers a letter her mom has hidden from her, where her uncle Kevin has left her a pair of tickets to see Nirvana in Italy, telling her to take the boy with her. Maggie hems and haws about it, being a good girl like she is, but then she and Eoin take the adventure. It costs them both deeply. 

What was great: this wasn’t about the music as portrayed in the book. It was about the power of music, period. It was about fulfilling that dream of seeing a band you love and being part of a crowd of other people who are sharing an experience with you, but not necessarily sharing the exact same experience you are. It’s about friendship and about the challenges of meeting new people and learning to trust their intentions. It’s about romance and finding someone who gets you, through thick and thin. It’s, even more, about family. The relationship between Maggie and her mother is rendered so well and so painfully, and the relationship between Maggie and her sister Ronnie is so a relationship between a 16-year-old girl and her 11-year-old sister. But more, it was the Kevin-Maggie relationship I loved most. 

Foley’s use of setting is really great, and the use of third person was surprising and perfect for this story. The writing itself was smooth, and in the first sex scene of the book — not one between Maggie and Eoin, but Maggie and another boy — it was awkward and written in an honest manner that handled it better than many first-person narratives do. But this isn’t a book where sex matters much. Rather, what makes it good is the longing we get from Maggie and how much she yearns and craves something physical from Eoin, and he doesn’t press her for it. Instead, we see intimacy — they shared a bed, fully clothed, and it’s that which Maggie lets linger and sustain her through the separation they have.

This isn’t a big story — Kevin’s death and subsequent understanding of why and how he died isn’t a huge part of the book — and it reads quickly, but there’s a lot of story packed in here. This is a story about love and loss, about learning how to make a life and a living when everything that had been a part of your life is torn away, by forces you can never understand. It’s about choices other people make and how deeply they impact you personally. 

I’d avoided picking this one up because of the time period setting, even after it was named a Morris finalist. The 90s setting is a convenience in the story; there’s no way that Maggie would have gotten away with a cross-continental trip in the same way with modern technology, and there’s no way the final moments of the story, which happen at a concert after Kurt Cobain’s death was announced, would have happened, either. Fortunately, these conveniences for the purpose of plot weren’t distracting and didn’t overshadow the strengths of the story or of the voice. I suspect most readers won’t be paying attention to those workarounds. 
Hand The Carnival at Bray to readers who love foreign settings, as well as those who like a story set in another era. This is the kind of book that fans of Melina Marchetta will dig, especially for how it portrays the complexities of family relationships. There’s an excellent intergenerational relationship between Maggie and an older man in Bray, and there’s an interesting — and surprisingly refreshing — religious school that plays a notable part in the story. 

On The Radar: 12 YA Books for January

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For the new year, I’m kicking off a new monthly feature at STACKED. One of the most popular posts I do over at Book Riot is the round-up of upcoming YA fiction titles, and one of the most popular questions I seem to get on Twitter and in my inboxes is “what should I be looking out for in YA?” For a lot of readers, especially those who work with teens either in classrooms or in libraries, knowing what’s coming out ahead of time is valuable to get those books into readers’ hands before they even ask.

Each month, I’ll call out between 8 and 12 books coming out that should be on your radar. These include books by high-demand, well-known authors, as well as some up-and-coming and debut authors. They’ll be across a variety of genres, including diverse titles and writers. Not all of the books will be ones that Kimberly or I have read, nor will all of them be titles that we’re going to read and review. Rather, these are books that readers will be looking for and that have popped up regularly on social media, in advertising, in book mail, and so forth. It’s part science and part arbitrary and a way to keep the answer to “what should I know about for this month?” quick, easy, and under $300 (doable for smaller library budgets especially).

Here are 12 titles to have on your January 2015 radar. All descriptions are from WorldCat, and I’ve included short notes as to why the title was included.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black: In the town of Fairfold, where humans and fae exist side by side, a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives awakes after generations of sleep in a glass coffin in the woods, causing Hazel to be swept up in new love, shift her loyalties, feel the fresh sting of betrayal, and to make a secret sacrifice to the faerie king.

Why: A new Holly Black book is always going to end up on a radar list.

Ignite by Sara B. Larson: King Damian and his trusted guard, Alexa, focus on rebuilding Antion after years of war and strife, but the citizens are reluctant to trust their new king, and when a new threat arises, including an assassination attempt, Alexa must protect the king she loves and uncover the enemy before it is too late.

Why: This is the sequel to Larson’s debut Defy, which won over many readers. 

Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle: Sixteen-year-old Vivian Apple returns home after the alleged ‘Rapture’ to find her devout parents gone and two mysterious holes in the roof. Vivian never believed in the Rapture, or the uber powerful Church of America. Now that she has been left behind, Vivan’s quest for the truth begins.

Why: The first of many rapture/cult books in 2015 (more to come on this trend soon), Coyle’s debut was an award-winner in the UK, with a ton of buzz about it happening on Tumblr. 

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven: Told in alternating voices, when Theodore Finch and Violet Markey meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school–both teetering on the edge–it’s the beginning of an unlikely relationship, a journey to discover the “natural wonders” of the state of Indiana, and two teens’ desperate desire to heal and save one another

Why: One of the biggest buzz titles I’ve seen in a long time. It has been compared non-stop to The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor and Park. 

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds: Soon after his mother’s death, Matt takes a job at a funeral home in his tough Brooklyn neighborhood and, while attending and assisting with funerals, begins to accept her death and his responsibilities as a man.

Why: I’m going to review this one shortly, but it’s a realistic YA novel about a black boy dealing with grief, loss, and first love in Brooklyn. Reynolds’s debut, When I Was The Greatest, garnered a lot of well-earned praise last year, and his sophomore effort is even better.

X by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon: Co-written by Malcolm X’s daughter, this riveting and revealing novel follows the formative years of the man whose words and actions shook the world. Malcolm Little’s parents have always told him that he can achieve anything, but from what he can tell, that’s a pack of lies⁰́₄after all, his father’s been murdered, his mother’s been taken away, and his dreams of becoming a lawyer have gotten him laughed out of school. There’s no point in trying, he figures, and lured by the nightlife of Boston and New York, he escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer. But Malcolm’s efforts to leave the past behind lead him into increasingly dangerous territory. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he’s found is only an illusion⁰́₄and that he can’t run forever. X follows Malcolm from his childhood to his imprisonment for theft at age twenty, when he found the faith that would lead him to forge a new path and command a voice that still resonates today.

Why: It’s timely and timeless. What do we know about Malcolm X’s adolescence? And more, from his daughter? This has been getting some good buzz. 

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson: Convinced he should have died in the accident that killed his parents and sister, sixteen-year-old Drew lives in a hospital, hiding from employees and his past, until Rusty, set on fire for being gay, turns his life around. Includes excerpts from the superhero comic Drew creates.

Why: Aside from being a male-driven narration by Hutchinson — an up-and-coming author — it’s a graphic novel hybrid, which has loads of reader appeal. 

I Was Here by Gayle Forman: In an attempt to understand why her best friend committed suicide, eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds retraces her dead friend’s footsteps and makes some startling discoveries.

Why: It’s a new Gayle Forman book, and it’s her first standalone title. 

A Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall: When sixteen-year-old Avery West learns her family is part of a powerful and dangerous secret society, and that her own life is in danger, she must follow a trail of clues across Europe.

Why: This is a debut thriller, and it’s one I have received numerous review (and finished!) copies of recently. It looks like it has a real Ally Carter feel to it. 

All Fall Down by Ally Carter: There are many powerful people along Embassy Row who want Grace to block out all her unpretty thoughts. But Grace will not stop until she finds out who killed her mother and make the killer pay.

Why: Speaking of Ally Carter, this is the start of a brand new series from her. 

Audacity by Melanie Crowder: A historical fiction novel in verse detailing the life of Clara Lemlich and her struggle for women’s labor rights in the early 20th century in New York.

Why: This is another that I’ll be reviewing soon, but it’s included here because it’s a historical verse novel about women and the labor rights movements of the early 20th century. Though fictional, the story is based on a real Russian Jewish woman whose family was forced to immigrate to the US. 

Fairest by Marissa Meyer: Queen Levana is a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now

Why: It’s another addition to Meyer’s best-selling Lunar Chronicles series.

Get Genrefied: Christian Fiction

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This month, we’re tackling Christian fiction. For most of the genre guides, I’ve stuck to stuff I know really well, but I don’t read much Christian fiction myself, so I’m branching out a bit for this one. It’s an important genre to know about and helps fill a niche for many teen readers.

Introduction

In general, Christian fiction encompasses those stories that present a Christian worldview. This definition is really broad, but deliberately so. Often there will be explicit mention of God, Jesus, the Bible, sin and redemption, and so on, and the protagonist’s journey will be overtly spiritual. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes the focus is more allegorical (think Narnia) or the Christian ideology is subtler and conveyed more through character actions rather than deliberate mention of religious tenets. It can also be any genre under the sun: realistic, contemporary, historical, fantasy, science fiction, and so on. Because Christian fiction can be done with such a light touch, sometimes it’s unclear whether a certain book should truly be called “Christian fiction.” For example, there’s a lot of debate over whether Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is Christian fiction. This also makes it really important to be able to recognize Christian fiction by its publishing house or author, since it’s not always apparent from the book blurb.

Christian fiction is huge in the adult market. If you work in a public library, you’ve no doubt seen the hordes of Amish fiction that readers can’t seem to get enough of (referred to as the “bonnet brigade” by one of my co-workers). It’s not just Amish fiction though; it’s also books like Left Behind or Karen Kingsbury’s hugely popular novels. Christian fiction also encompasses some specific subgenres such as
Catholic or Mormon fiction, which can be hugely popular among their
intended audience. Christian adult fiction is sometimes referred to as “inspirational fiction,” but I haven’t seen that term used as much for teen novels. It does give a good idea of some of the appeal behind these books though: they’re meant to uplift and inspire. Christian fiction in general also doesn’t seem to be as widespread in the teen realm, but there’s a definite readership for it. 

In my experience, the teens who seek out Christian fiction are those who want to see their Christian values reflected in the books they read. Often, these values are quite conservative – socially, politically, and religiously – but not always. Christian fiction reads tend to be gentler reads, with less violence, sex, and foul language – but again, not always. Often the assumption is that the parents foist these books on their kids, but I find that teens also want them without any prompting from their parents. Christian teens whose religion is a big part of their lives are drawn to stories featuring protagonists whose religious beliefs mirror their own. I’m reminded of this piece written a few years ago about the seeming lack of religion or religious protagonists in YA. Christian fiction helps fill this gap.

Because Christian fiction ranges from very message-heavy to very subtly religious, it has the ability to attract a wide range of readers, and publishers are trying to capitalize on that. Blink, a new imprint of Zondervan launched in 2013, aims to publish YA Christian fiction “for anyone, regardless of faith.” Their About page on their website doesn’t even mention the word Christian anywhere. The YA bloggers at Redeemed Reader discussed a few of Blink’s first titles (part one, part two), giving their opinions on the stories as Christian fiction and whether they thought the books would appeal to non-Christians. Those two posts are also a great way to get an idea of what Christian fiction means to teens who read it regularly.

Resources

As I mentioned above, recognizing Christian fiction from a book blurb isn’t always easy. Look for specific publishers/imprints and authors to clue you in.

Publishers/Imprints:

Popular YA Christian Fiction Authors:

  • Ted Dekker
  • Melody Carlson
  • Donita K. Paul
  • Melanie Dickerson
  • G. P. Taylor
  • Andrew Klavan
  • Jenny B. Jones
  • Robin Jones Gunn
  • Stephanie Perry Moore
  • Adult author Beverly Lewis has also written some YA Christian fiction.

Of course, the above list is only a few of the authors writing YA Christian fiction today. Many of these authors have compiled much larger, more exhaustive lists, some of which I’ve linked to below.

On the Web:

  • Author Jill Williamson maintains a website called Novel Teen that aims to help YA readers find great Christian fiction books. She also has a huge list of recommended authors.
  • Similarly, popular adult author Karen Kingsbury has a great list of YA Christian fiction authors at a website she runs called Family Fiction.
  • On the blog front, Redeemed Reader is a great resource, as is Sherry Early’s blog, Semicolon. (Sherry is a Cybils panelist this year in the Elementary/Middle Grade speculative fiction category.)
  • The Christy Awards give annual awards to Christian books in a variety of categories. They do have a YA category, though it’s not always awarded (presumably because it doesn’t get the required ten entries).

Books

The books on the list below have all been published within the last five years or so and are generally regarded as Christian fiction. Descriptions are from WorldCat. A lot of YA publishing is very white and straight, but Christian fiction seems to be even more so. See this blog post on the topic. LGBT Christian fiction, in particular, is tough to find, and that is no doubt due – at least in part – to the more conservative type of Christian fiction that dominates the market. LGBT-friendly Christian fiction may be best found outside the genre – in books that may not explicitly state they’re Christian, but still have a Christian feel. If you know of some titles that would help diversify this list, please let us know in the comments.

Remants: Season of Wonder by Lisa T. Bergren
The year is 2095. Gifted teens known as Remnants have been chosen and
trained to act as humanity’s last hope to rectify the horrors that are
now part of everyday life. But the Sons of Sheol are determined to stop
them. | Sequel: Season of Fire

Halflings by Heather Burch
When Nikki is targeted by an evil intent on harming her, she finds
herself under the guardianship of three young men who call themselves
Halflings. | Sequels: Guardian, Avenger

Premiere by Melody Carlson (On the Runway series)
When two sisters get their own fashion-focused reality television show,
vivacious Paige is excited, but Erin, a Christian who is more interested
in being behind the camera than in front of it, has problems with some
of the things they are asked to do. | Sequels: Catwalk, Rendezvous, Spotlight, Glamour, Ciao

Trading Secrets by Melody Carlson

Back in fifth grade, Micah Knight got an Amish pen pal, and over the
years, they’ve exchanged many letters–and many secrets. At age
seventeen, Micah finally has the chance to meet her pen pal
face-to-face. The only problem is that because of confusion about her
name when the pen pals were assigned, her pen pal was a boy, Zach
Miller. And all this time, Micah’s never told Zach that she’s actually a
girl. While she
wants nothing more than to experience life on Zach’s Amish farm, she’s
afraid he’ll hate her for deceiving him all these years. But she makes
up her mind to face the music–and that’s where the fun really begins.

So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones
Forced to move from Manhattan to an Oklahoma farm when her mother
remarries, sixteen-year-old Bella relies on her faith while
investigating a deadly, secret organization for the school newspaper, as
she slowly realizes how shallow and spoiled she has been. | Sequels: I’m So Sure, So Over My Head

Nightmare City by Andrew Klavan
Tom Harding only wants the truth. But the truth is becoming more
dangerous with every passing minute. As a reporter for his high school
newspaper, Tom Harding was tracking the best story of his life when,
suddenly, his life turned very, very weird. He woke up one morning to
find his house empty, his street empty, his whole town empty. Empty
except for an eerie, creeping fog; and whatever creatures were slowly moving toward him through the fog. Now Tom’s once-ordinary world has become something out of a horror movie.

 

Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon
Embarking on a summer adventure in Scotland, best friends Veronica and
Mackenna find romance and danger when they are transported to the
kingdom of Doon, a hidden village that appears once every 100 years.
Inspired by the musical Brigadoon. | Sequel: Destined for Doon

The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

In this story loosely based on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale,
seventeen-year-old Rose, a healer’s apprentice, falls in love with the
betrothed Lord Hamlin, who is seeking the sorcerer who cursed his future
bride. | Sequels: The Fairest Beauty, The Merchant’s Daughter, The Captive Maiden, The Princess Spy

Aquifer by Jonathan Friesen

In 2250, water is scarce and controlled by tyrants, but when
sixteen-year-old Luca descends to the domain of the Water Rats, he meets
one who captures his heart and leads him to secrets about a vast
conspiracy, and about himself.

A Girl Named Mister by Nikki Grimes
A pregnant teenager finds support and forgiveness from God through a
book of poetry presented from the Virgin Mary’s perspective.

Hit by Lorie Ann Grover
High school senior Sarah takes a poetry class led by Mr. Haddings, a
student teacher from the nearby University of Washington, and finds
herself using her poetry journal to subtly declare her feelings for him,
but everything changes when she is hit by a car.

Black, White, Other by Joan Steinau Lester
Twenty miles from Oakland, California, where fires have led to racial
tension, multi-racial fifteen-year-old Nina faces the bigotry of
long-time friends, her parents’ divorce, and her brother’s misbehavior,
while learning of her great-great grandmother Sarah’s escape from
slavery.

Finding Your Faith by Stephanie Perry Moore
Thirteen-year-old triplet Yasmin tries to find solace in prayer while
helping her family recover from her older brother’s suicide, as well as
dealing with all of the drama of middle school and life in the projects. | Sequels: Believing in Hope, Experiencing the Joy, Learning to Love, Enjoying True Peace

Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill
An incident at a summer party and major family crises have high school
senior Skylar Hoyt rethinking her way of life, and with the help of a
new boy at school and a youth coach at church, she begins to find her
true self.

Like Moonlight at Low Tide by Nicole Quigley
When high school junior Melissa Keiser returns to her hometown of Anna
Maria Island, Florida, she has one goal, to hide from the bullies who
had convinced her she was the ugliest girl in school. But when she is
caught sneaking into a neighbor’s pool at night, everything changes.

Running Lean by Diana Sharples
Told from their separate viewpoints, Calvin Greenlee copes with grief
over his brother’s recent death by racing his vintage Yamaha on rural
North Carolina streets while his girlfriend, Stacey Youngblood, battles
anexoria, and their relationship may not survive the strain.

Simply Divine by Jacquelin Thomas
After a family catastrophe, glamorous Hollywood teenager Divine goes to
live with devout relatives in Georgia, where she learns the importance
of family and finds strength by turning to God. | Sequels: Divine Confidential, Divine Secrets, Divine Match-Up

Merlin’s Blade by Robert Treskillard
When a meteorite crashes near a small village in fifth-century Britain,
it brings with it a mysterious black stone that bewitches anyone who
comes in contact with its glow—a power the druids hope to use to
destroy King Uthur’s kingdom, as well as the new Christian faith. The
only person who seems immune is a young, shy, half-blind swordsmith’s
son named Merlin. As his family, village, and even the young Arthur,
are placed in danger, Merlin must face his fears and his blindness to
take hold of the role God ordained for him. | Sequels: Merlin’s Shadow,
Merlin’s Nightmare

The Summer of Cotton Candy by Debbie Viguie
Forced by her father to get a summer job, seventeen-year-old Candace
makes the most of selling cotton candy in an amusement park, despite a
botched nametag, vindictive co-workers, lewd patrons, and growing
distant from her best friend. | Sequels: The Fall of Candy Corn, The Winter of Candy Canes, The Spring of Candy Apples

Captives by Jill Williamson
In a dystopian future, most of the population is infected with a plague.
The exceptions are those who live outside the Safe Land’s city walls.
When a mutation in the plague sends city enforcers looking for the
uninfected, Levi’s village is raided. While the attack leaves many dead,
Levi’s fiancee is being held captive. Levi launches a war against the
city in an attempt to free her before it’s too late. | Sequels: Outcasts, Rebels