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Black Girls Matter: A YA Reading List

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I have thought a lot recently about black girls.

Earlier this year, a piece on NPR highlighted how black girls are pushed out of schools at higher rates than their white counterparts. Discipline toward black girls is harsher and handed out in ways that aren’t equitable to white girls. We have seen this front and center, too, thanks to the horrific and heart-shattering video of a school police officer assaulting a black girl in school. We saw it front and center this summer as a police officer in McKinney, Texas, manhandled a black teen girl.

There’s no excuse at all for any of these situations. Black lives matter, and that mattering extends to those teen black girls who deserve to be listened to, acknowledged, boosted, and treated as human beings with immense potential, perspective, and possibility ahead of them.

Because they absolutely, positively do.

I’m not sure I can say much more except that when I start feeling powerless, creating a resource list feels like a small step toward not only acknowledging the issue, but it feels like something that could, I hope, get a book into the hands of a person who desperately needs it. In this case, I hope a teacher or librarian or reader finds one of these books featuring great black female leads and understands that their story — their life — matters hugely.

All descriptions are from WorldCat, and I’m absolutely eager to hear more titles. All are YA books featuring black girls front and center and they include fiction and some non-fiction. A couple of these titles also fall into that crossover category, so while they may technically be “adult” reads, they have great appeal to teens. Several of these authors have written more than one title featuring a black girl at the center, so it’s worth checking their other titles, too. Many of these are also on-going series titles. I’ve limited to one per author.

 

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brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson: Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson: When their owner dies at the start of the Revolution, Isabel and her younger sister are sold to Loyalists in New York, where Isabel is offered the chance to spy for the Patriots.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose: Based on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history.

Disgruntled by Asali Solomon: Kenya Curtis is only eight years old, but she knows that she’s different, even if she can’t put her finger on how or why. It’s not because she’s Black–most of the other students in the fourth-grade class at her West Philadelphia elementary school are too. Maybe it’s because she celebrates Kwanzaa, or because she’s forbidden from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Maybe it’s because she calls her father–a housepainter-slash-philosopher–“Baba” instead of “Daddy,” or because her parents’ friends gather to pour out libations “from the Creator, for the Martyrs” and discuss “the community.” Kenya does know that it’s connected to what her Baba calls “the shame of being alive”–a shame that only grows deeper and more complex over the course of Asali Solomon’s long-awaited debut novel. Disgruntled, effortlessly funny and achingly poignant, follows Kenya from West Philadelphia to the suburbs, from public school to private, from childhood through adolescence, as she grows increasingly disgruntled by her inability to find any place or thing or person that feels like home. A coming-of-age tale, a portrait of Philadelphia in the late eighties and early nineties, an examination of the impossible double-binds of race, Disgruntled is a novel about the desire to rise above the limitations of the narratives we’re given and the painful struggle to craft fresh ones we can call our own

Don’t Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche: Interracial half-siblings come together for the first time and embark on a cross-country road trip to confront their absentee father before he dies.

Nothing But Drama by ReShonda Tate Billingsley: Four teenaged girls from different backgrounds find faith and friendship after joining Good Girlz, an afterschool church youth group.

 

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Endangered by Lamar Giles: When Lauren (Panda), a teen photoblogger, gets involved in a deadly game, she has to protect the classmates she despises.

Flygirl by Sherri L Smith: During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl “passes” for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough: Antony and Cleopatra. Helen of Troy and Paris. Romeo and Juliet. And now… Henry and Flora. For centuries Love and Death have chosen their players. They have set the rules, rolled the dice, and kept close, ready to influence, angling for supremacy. And Death has always won. Always. Could there ever be one time, one place, one pair whose love would truly tip the balance? Meet Flora Saudade, an African-American girlwho dreams of becoming the next Amelia Earhart by day and sings in the smoky jazz clubs of Seattle by night. Meet Henry Bishop, born a few blocks and a million worlds away, a white boy with his future assured — a wealthy adoptive family in the midst of the Great Depression, a college scholarship, and all the opportunities in the world seemingly available to him. The players have been chosen. The dice have been rolled. But when human beings make moves of their own, what happens next is anyone’s guess.

The Good Braider by Terry Farish: Told in spare free verse, the book follows Viola as she survives brutality in war-torn Sudan, makes a perilous journey, lives as a refugee in Egypt, and finally reaches Portland, Maine, where her quest for freedom and security is hampered by memories of past horrors and the traditions her mother and other Sudanese adults hold dear. With unforgettable images, the author’s voice sings out the story of her family’s journey, and tells the universal tale of a young immigrant’s struggle to build a life on the cusp of two cultures. Includes historical facts and a map of Sudan.

Heaven by Angela Johnson: At fourteen, Marley knows she has Momma’s hands and Pops’s love for ice cream, that her brother doesn’t get on her nerves too much, and that Uncle Jack is a big mystery. But Marley doesn’t know all she thinks she does, because she doesn’t know the truth. And when the truth comes down with the rain one stormy summer afternoon, it changes everything. It turns Momma and Pops into liars. It makes her brother a stranger and Uncle Jack an even bigger mystery. All of a sudden, Marley doesn’t know who she is anymore and can only turn to the family she no longer trusts to find out.

High School High by Shannon Freeman:  Brandi, Marissa, and Shane are excited to begin their freshman year at Port City High, but find their friendship tested by Shane’s drug addiction and Marissa’s relationship with Brandi’s ex.

 

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The Hot Girl by Dream Jordan: Kate, a fourteen-year-old Brooklyn girl and former gang member, risks losing her first good foster family when she adopts the risqué ways of her flirtatious new friend, Naleejah.

The Kayla Chronicles by Sherri Winston: At the urging of her pushy best friend, Kayla overcomes her reticence and tries out for the school dance team in order to expose their suspected discrimination, but when she unexpectedly makes the team–and even begins to enjoy performing–she finds her assumptions, and her sense of herself, challenged.

Kendra by Coe Booth: High schooler Kendra longs to live with her mother who, unprepared for motherhood at age fourteen, left Kendra in the care of her grandmother.

Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson: Emily Bird is an African American high school senior in Washington D.C., member of a privileged medical family, on the verge of college and the edge of the drug culture, and not really sure which way she will go–then one day she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of what happened.

Mare’s War by Tanita S Davis: Teens Octavia and Tali learn about strength, independence, and courage when they are forced to take a car trip with their grandmother, who tells about growing up Black in 1940s Alabama and serving in Europe during World War II as a member of the Women’s Army Corps.

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz: Auditioning for a New York City performing arts high school could help Etta escape from her Nebraska all-girl school, where she is not gay enough for her former friends, not sick enough for her eating disorders group, and not thin enough for ballet, but it may also mean real friendships.

 

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On The Come Up by Hannah Weyer: AnnMarie comes across a flyer advertising movie auditions in Manhattan. Four months before she’s due to give birth; she lands a lead role. For a time, AnnMarie soars, acting for the camera, flying to the Sundance Film Festival, seeing her face on-screen. But when the film fades from view and the realities of her life set in, AnnMarie’s grit and determination are the only tools left to keep her moving forward. Told with remarkable compassion and based on the real-life story of Anna Simpson.

Pinned by Sharon Flake: Adonis is smart, intellectually gifted and born without legs; Autumn is strong, a great wrestler, and barely able to read in ninth grade–but Autumn is attracted to Adonis and determined to make him a part of her life whatever he or her best friend thinks.

Pointe by Brandy Colbert: Four years after Theo’s best friend, Donovan, disappeared at age thirteen, he is found and brought home and Theo puts her health at risk as she decides whether to tell the truth about the abductor, knowing her revelation could end her life-long dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer.

Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon: Ella, a biracial girl with a patchy and uneven skin tone, and her friend Z, a boy who is very different, have been on the bottom of the social order at Caldera Junior High School in Las Vegas, but when the only other African-American student enters their sixth grade class, Ella longs to be friends with him and join the popular group, but does not want to leave Z all alone.

See No Color by Shannon Gibney: Alex has always identified herself as a baseball player, the daughter of a winning coach, but when she realizes that is not enough she begins to come to terms with her adoption and her race.

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper: Two fifteen-year-old girls–one a slave and the other an indentured servant–escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.

 

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So Not The Drama by Paula Chase: Mina’s plans to carry her middle school popularity over into high school do not work out just as she had imagined when her best friend Lizzie gets invited to a party with the social elite, and a class project on prejudice exposes the truth about school cliques.

Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodman: Shavonne, a fierce, desperate seventeen year-old in juvenile lockup, wants to turn her life around before her eighteenth birthday, but corrupt guards, out-of-control girls, and shadows from her past make her task seem impossible.

Sound by Alexandra Duncan: Ava’s adopted sister Miyole is finally living her dream as a research assistant on her very first space voyage. But when her ship saves a rover that has been viciously attacked by looters and kidnappers, Miyole–along with a rescued rover girl named Cassia–embarks on a mission to rescue Cassia’s abducted brother, and that changes the course of Miyole’s life forever

Step To This by Nikki Carter: Gia doesn’t have the hair or the clothes, but she’s got the moves and the attitude to make her sophomore year at Longfellow High unforgettable. But not everyone agrees, so Gia decides it’s time for a makeover. With her stylish new look, she scores a date with hottie football player, Romeo, snags a spot on the Hi-Steppers dance squad, and makes a ton of new friends.

Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince: The memoir of Michaela DePrince, who lived the first few years of her live in war-torn Sierra Leone until being adopted by an American family. Now seventeen, she is one of the premiere ballerinas in the United States.

Tankborn by Karen Sandler: Kayla and Mishalla, two genetically engineered non-human slaves (GENs), fall in love with higher-status boys, discover deep secrets about the creation of GENs, and find out what it means to be human.

 

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This Side of Home by Renée Watson: Twins Nikki and Maya Younger always agreed on most things, but as they head into their senior year they react differently to the gentrification of their Portland, Oregon, neighborhood and the new–white–family that moves in after their best friend and her mother are evicted.

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton: Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance — but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette’s desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever. When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

Maya’s Choice by Earl Sewell: Maya’s summer is shaping up to be unforgettable– in both good and bad ways. First she’s sent to stay with her grandmother for a month. Living in the city, Maya is too far from her friend Keysha and her boyfriend, Misalo– and too near her rebellious cousin Viviana. When Maya finally comes home, her parents drop a bombshell– Viviana is moving in with them. Her cousin has barely unpacked before she’s creating chaos. Truth is, Maya kind of likes the way life is a whole lot less predictable with Viviana around. But her motives are up for debate– especially when it comes to Misalo. And as Maya’s little sister, Anna, grows more fascinated with her cool older cousin, Maya begins to see that following where Viviana leads has its price. And it could cost Maya her reputation, her relationship– and maybe even her future. 

 

When The Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright: Adopted by white parents and sent to an exclusive Connecticut girls’ school where she is the only black student, fourteen-year-old Lahni Schuler feels like an outcast, particularly when her parents separate, but after attending a local church where she hears gospel music for the first time, she finds her voice.

What About YA Non-Fiction?: A Look at Recent and Upcoming Titles

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We’re skipping our monthly “Get Genrefied” series this month for a couple of reasons. The first is that we’re curious what genres we haven’t explored that are worth devoting an entire post to writing about — and that’s where we ask straight out if there’s a topic we should write about, we’d like to know about it in the comments. Should we look at some subgenres? Rework some of our previous posts with updated titles? Let us know.

The other reason is that we haven’t spent a lot of time talking about YA non-fiction. Part of it has to do with the fact that, like YA memoirs, there really isn’t a whole lot out there about it. There’s the Excellence in Non-Fiction Award, as administered by YALSA, and many of the writing awards for YA books do fold non-fiction into them (Morris and Printz, for example, as well as the National Book Award). There’s also a nice selection of teen adaptations of adult non-fiction titles, which is even larger than this list written last year suggests.

But it wasn’t until the last few years and the implementation of Common Core in education standards that YA non-fiction grew. It used to be tough to find, and now, it’s becoming more and more visible and not only is it becoming more visible, it’s approaching topics in new, interesting, inventive, and novel ways.

Though I’m a non-fiction reader, I don’t tend toward YA non-fiction as much as I do adult. As a teen, there wasn’t good non-fiction for a YA audience and I found what it was I wanted in the adult section. I never shook the habit, though the more I read about non-fiction for YA readers, the more I want to read it.

And as Malinda Lo pointed out:

The most diverse bookshelves in bookstores these days are in the non-fiction section. 

Here’s a round-up of recent YA non-fiction that’s hit shelves in the last few months, as well as a pile of forthcoming titles worth knowing about. I’m avoiding replicating titles you can find on the Excellence in Non-Fiction Award list. I’m also sticking to major publishers and titles that aren’t part of an educational series; in other words, these are the kinds of non-fiction titles you’d most likely find for sale in a retail bookstore. I’ve included memoirs and biographies that have not otherwise been mentioned here before. As has been talked about before, non-fiction can take on multiple formats, so some of these titles are graphically-driven or otherwise non-traditional narrative formats. I’ve included those titles reaching the 10-14 age group, as well as those targeting the 14 and older group, so there’s some stuff that will work better for the younger YA readers, as well as some better for the older YA readers. 

All descriptions come from Edelweiss, and I would love to hear about not only what we should be considering for future installments of “Get Genrefied,” but also, what YA non-fiction have you read recently that would be a great place to start reading? Is there something you’re looking forward to reading that should be on my radar? Let’s talk non-fiction.

The Bullies of Wall Street by Sheila Bair: Can knowing how a financial crisis happened keep it from happening again? Sheila Bair, the former chairman of the FDIC, explains how the Great Recession impacted families on a personal level using language that everyone can understand.

In 2008, America went through a terrible financial crisis, and we are still suffering the consequences. Families lost their homes, had to give up their pets, and struggled to pay for food and medicine. Businesses didn’t have money to buy equipment or hire and pay workers. Millions of people lost their jobs and their life savings. More than 100,000 businesses went bankrupt.

As the former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila Bair worked to protect families during the crisis and keep their bank deposits safe. In The Bullies of Wall Street, she describes the many ways in which a broken system led families into financial trouble, and also explains the decisions being made at the time by the most powerful people in the country—from CEOs of multinational banks, to heads of government regulatory committees—that led to the recession.

Please Excuse This Poem by Brett F Lauer, Lynn Melnick, and Carolyn Forche: 100 award-winning poets in their 20s and 30s. A diverse collection of voices, styles, and backgrounds. Please Excuse This Poem: 100 New Poets for the Next Generation is a groundbreaking, life-changing anthology that speaks directly to the heart of the teenage and New Adult experience, smashing through boundaries with every page. Anthologists Brett Fletcher Lauer and Lynn Melnick have their ears to the ground, and have crafted a book that is sure to be carried in backpacks, hip pockets, and into the classroom. With an introduction from award-winning poet, editor, and translator Carolyn Forché, this is a book that stands head and shoulder above other collections for teenagers today.
Unlikely Warrior by Georg Rauch: An astounding memoir about a Jewish teenager forced to become a German soldier.
As a young adult in wartime Vienna, Georg Rauch helped his mother hide dozens of Jews from the Gestapo behind false walls in their top-floor apartment and arrange for their safe transport out of the country. His family was among the few who worked underground to resist Nazi rule. Then came the day he was drafted into Hitler’s army and shipped out to fight on the Eastern front as part of the German infantry—in spite of his having confessed his own Jewish ancestry. Thus begins the incredible journey of a nineteen year old thrust unwillingly into an unjust war, who must use his smarts, skills, and bare-knuckled determination to stay alive in the trenches, avoid starvation and exposure during the brutal Russian winter, survive more than one Soviet labor camp, and somehow find his way back home.

Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci (November 17): Growing up on the Aegean Coast, Ozge loved the sea and imagined a life of adventure while her parents and society demanded predictability. Her dad expected Ozge, like her sister, to become an engineer. She tried to hear her own voice over his and the religious and militaristic tensions of Turkey and the conflicts between secularism and fundamentalism. Could she be a scuba diver like Jacques Cousteau? A stage actress? Would it be possible to please everyone including herself?
In her unpredictable and funny graphic memoir, Ozge recounts her story using inventive collages, weaving together images of the sea, politics, science, and friendship.

Invisible Girl by Mariel Hemingway and Ben Greenman: “I open my eyes. The room is dark. I hear yelling, smashed plates, and wish it was all a terrible dream.” Welcome to Mariel Hemingway’s intimate diary of her years as a girl and teen. In this deeply moving, searingly honest young adult memoir, actress and mental health icon Mariel Hemingway shares in candid detail the story of her troubled childhood in a famous family haunted by depression, alcoholism, mental illness, and suicide. Born just a few months after her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, shot himself, Mariel’s mission as a girl was to escape the desperate cycles of debilitating mental health that had plagued generations of her family. In a voice that speaks to young readers everywhere, she recounts her childhood growing up in a family tortured by alcoholism (both parents), depression (her sister Margaux), suicide (her grandfather and four other members of her family), schizophrenia (her sister Muffet), and cancer (mother). It was all the young Mariel could do to keep her head. She reveals her painful struggle to stay sane as the youngest child in her family, and how she coped with the chaos by becoming OCD and obsessive about her food. Young readers who are sharing a similar painful childhood will see their lives and questions reflected on the pages of her diary—and they may even be inspired to start their own diary to channel their pain. Her voice will speak directly to teens across the world and tell them there is light at the end of the tunnel. 
Sondheim by Susan Goldman Rubin (November 3): Talented lyricist and composer. Innovative collaborator. Musical visionary. Go behind the scenes of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated musicals in this in-depth look at his life and career.
In high school, Stephen Sondheim put a script in front of his friend and mentor Oscar Hammerstein. “I want you to treat this as if it were a script that just came across your desk,” Sondheim told the older man.

“In that case, it’s the worst thing I ever read.”

So Stephen Sondheim kept writing. He kept composing and in time he became the greatest composer Broadway had ever seen.

Beginning with the opening night of the classic musical West Side Story in 1957, and tracing Stephen’s life from boyhood to his struggles as an up and coming Broadway composer/lyricist to a musical theater legend, Susan Rubin’s Putting It Together draws readers into the passionate, tumultuous, and musical world of Stephen Sondheim. 

Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle (August 4): In this poetic memoir, Margarita Engle, the first Latina woman to receive a Newbery Honor, tells of growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War.

Margarita is a girl from two worlds. Her heart lies in Cuba, her mother’s tropical island country, a place so lush with vibrant life that it seems like a fairy tale kingdom. But most of the time she lives in Los Angeles, lonely in the noisy city and dreaming of the summers when she can take a plane through the enchanted air to her beloved island. Words and images are her constant companions, friendly and comforting when the children at school are not.

Then a revolution breaks out in Cuba. Margarita fears for her far-away family. When the hostility between Cuba and the United States erupts at the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Margarita’s worlds collide in the worst way possible. How can the two countries she loves hate each other so much? And will she ever get to visit her beautiful island again?

Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash (September 8): Maggie Thrash has spent basically every summer of her fifteen-year-old life at the one-hundred-year-old Camp Bellflower for Girls, set deep in the heart of Appalachia. She’s from Atlanta, she’s never kissed a guy, she’s into Backstreet Boys in a really deep way, and her long summer days are full of a pleasant, peaceful nothing…until one confounding moment. A split-second of innocent physical contact pulls Maggie into a gut-twisting love for an older, wiser, and most surprising of all (at least to Maggie), female counselor named Erin. But Camp Bellflower is an impossible place for a girl to fall in love with another girl, and Maggie’s savant-like proficiency at the camp’s rifle range is the only thing keeping her heart from exploding. When it seems as if Erin maybe feels the same way about Maggie, it’s too much for both Maggie and Camp Bellflower to handle, let alone to understand.
Symphony for the City of the Dead by M. T. Anderson (September 22): In September 1941, Adolf Hitler’s Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history—almost three years of bombardment and starvation that culminated in the harsh winter of 1943–1944. More than a million citizens perished. Survivors recall corpses littering the frozen streets, their relatives having neither the means nor the strength to bury them. Residents burned books, furniture, and floorboards to keep warm; they ate family pets and—eventually—one another to stay alive. Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized, and commemorated his fellow citizens—the Leningrad Symphony, which came to occupy a surprising place of prominence in the eventual Allied victory.


This is the true story of a city under siege: the triumph of bravery and defiance in the face of terrifying odds. It is also a look at the power—and layered meaning—of music in beleaguered lives. Symphony for the City of the Dead is a masterwork thrillingly told and impeccably researched by National Book Award–winning author M. T. Anderson.

 

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda: It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin’s class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place.

Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only ten letters, and forty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one.

That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.

In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends –and better people–through their long-distance exchange. Their story will inspire you to look beyond your own life and wonder about the world at large and your place in it.

We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist When I was twenty-five years old, it came to my attention that I had never had a girlfriend. At the time, I was actually under the impression that I was in a relationship, so this bit of news came as something of a shock.
Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down each of the girls he had tried to date since middle school and asked them straight up: What went wrong?
The results of Josh’s semi-scientific investigation are in your hands. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), and a misguided “grand gesture” at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love–or at least a girlfriend–in all the wrong places.
Poignant, relatable, and totally hilarious, this memoir is for anyone who has ever wondered, “Is there something wrong with me?”
(Spoiler Alert: the answer is no.)
Breakaway by Alex Morgan (June 2): Get inspired to be your best—in sports and in life—with this uplifting memoir from star soccer player and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan that includes eight pages of full-color photos as well as book jacket that doubles as a poster!
As a talented and successful female athlete, Alex Morgan is a role model to thousands of girls who want to be their best, not just in soccer, but in other sports and in life. The story of her path to success, from playing in the 2011 Women’s World Cup, to winning gold in the 2012 London Olympics, to ranking as one of the National Team’s top scorers, will inspire everyone who reads it.

From her beginnings with the American Youth Soccer Organization to her key role in the 2015 Women’s World Cup, Alex shares the details that made her who she is today: a fantastic role model and athlete who proudly rocks a pink headband.

Chocolate by Kay Frydenborg: A fascinating account for teen readers that captures the history, science, and economic and cultural implications of the harvesting of cacao and creation of chocolate. Readers of Chew On This and The Omnivore’s Dilemma will savor this rich exposé.

Chocolate hits all the right sweet–and bitter–notes: cutting-edge genetic science whisked in with a strong social conscience, history, and culture yield one thought-provoking look into one of the world’s most popular foods. Readers who savored Chew on This and Food, Inc. and lovers of chocolate will relish this fascinating read. 

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown (August 4): Marking the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, this companion to The Great American Dust Bowl combines lively drawings and authoritative memoir in graphic novel form to recount one of the most destructive and devastating natural disasters in our American history. 

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality.

Don Brown’s kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters in American history. A portion of the proceeds from this book has been donated to Habitat for Humanity New Orleans.

The Prisoners of Breendonk by James M. Deem (August 4): This absorbing and captivating nonfiction account (with never-before-published photographs) offers readers an in-depth anthropological and historical look into the lives of those who suffered and survived Breenkdonk concentration camp during the Holocaust of World War II.

Fort Breendonk was built in the early 1900s to protect Antwerp, Belgium, from possible German invasion. Damaged at the start of World War I, it fell into disrepair . . . until the Nazis took it over after their invasion of Belgium in 1940. Never designated an official concentration camp by the SS and instead labeled a “reception” camp where prisoners were held until they were either released or transported, Breendonk was no less brutal. About 3,600 prisoners were held there–just over half of them survived. As one prisoner put it, “I would prefer to spend nineteen months at Buchenwald than nineteen days at Breendonk.”

With access to the camp and its archives and with rare photos and artwork, James M. Deem pieces together the story of the camp by telling the stories of its victims–Jews, communists, resistance fighters, and common criminals–for the first time in an English-language publication. Leon Nolis’s haunting photography of the camp today accompanies the wide range of archival images.

The story of Breendonk is one you will never forget.

Just Add Water by Clay Marzo (July 14): Clay Marzo has an almost preternatural gift with a surfboard. From his first moments underwater (he learned to swim at two months old) to his first ventures atop his father’s surfboard as a toddler, it was obvious that Marzo’s single-minded focus on all things surfing was unique. But not until late in his teens, when this surfing phenom was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, did the deeper reasons for his obsession—and his astonishing gift for surfing—become clear.

Just Add Water is the remarkable story of Marzo’s rise to the top of the pro surfing world—and the personal trials he overcame in making it there. Marzo endured a difficult childhood. He was a colicky baby who his mother found could be soothed only with water. Later, as he entered school, his undiagnosed Asperger’s made it tough for him to relate to his peers and fit in, but his relationship with the wave was elemental. Marzo could always turn to surfing, the only place where he truly felt at peace.

Unflinching and inspiring, Just Add Water is a brave memoir from a one-of-a-kind surfing savant who has electrified fans around the world with his gift and whose story speaks boldly to the hope and ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

Taking Hold by Francisco Jimenez: Francisco Jimenez leaves everything behind in California-a loving family, a devoted girlfriend, and the culture that shaped him- to attend Columbia University in New York City.

With few true accounts of the Latino experience in America, Francisco Jimenez’s work comes alive with telling details about the warmth and resiliency of family and the quest for identity against seemingly impossible odds.
The Story of Seeds by Nancy Costaldo (February 23, 2016): Something as small as a seed can have a worldwide impact. Did you know there are top-secret seed vaults hidden throughout the world? And once a seed disappears, that’s it—it’s gone forever? With the growth of genetically modified foods, the use of many seeds is dwindling—of 80,000 edible plants, only about 150 are being cultivated. With a global cast of men and women, scientists and laypeople, and photographic documentation, Nancy Castaldo chronicles where our food comes from, and more importantly, where it is going as she digs deeper into the importance of seeds in our world. This empowering book also calls young adult readers to action with suggestions as to how they can preserve the variety of one of our most valuable food sources through simple everyday actions. Readers of Michael Pollen will enjoy the depth and fascinatingly intricate social economy of seeds.

Fight Like A Girl by Laura Barcella (January 5, 2016): Nearly every day there’s another news story, think piece, or pop culture anecdote related to feminism and women’s rights. And today’s teens are encountering these issues from their own unique perspective-but what’s often missing from this discussion is an understanding of how we’ve gotten to this place. Fight Like a Girlintroduces readers to the history of feminist activism in the U.S. through profiles of fifty incredible women, including Hillary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roxane Gay, and more.

It’s Getting Hot in Here by Bridget Heos (February 23, 2016): Tackling the issue of global warming head-on for a teen audience, Bridget Heos examines the science behind it, the history of climate change on our planet, and the ways in which humans have affected the current crisis we face. It’s Getting Hot in Here illustrates how interconnected we are not just with everyone else on the planet, but with the people who came before us and the ones who will inherit the planet after us. This eye-opening approach to one of today’s most pressing issues focuses on the past human influences, the current state of affairs, the grim picture for the future—and how young readers can help to make a positive change.

Last of the Giants by Jeff Campbell (December 1): More than 40,000 years ago, the earth was ruled by megafauna: mammoths and mastodons, saber-toothed tigers and giant sloths. But evolution and the arrival of the wildly adaptive human species have led to extinction for many of these giants. Globalization, beginning with Columbus, has already destroyed the black rhino, the giant tortoise, and the great auk; but for other species, there is still time. Last of the Giants chronicles these giant animals, and provides an astonishing portrait of an ancient world that is vanishing before our very eyes.

Prison Island by Colleen Franks (September 1): McNeil Island in Washington State was home to one of the last island prisons in the U.S.-and accessible only by air or sea. But for Colleen Frakes and her family, it was also just “home.” When the island was closed in 2011, the Frakes family returned for one last visit. Colleen’s memories still linger (the boat rides to school, a day-long hunt for pizza, and a birthday party ruined by an escape), but the island is rapidly changing. Luckily, this final tour offers Colleen a unique opportunity to catch hold of her past.
UnSlut by Emily Linder (December 29): When Emily Lindin was eleven years old, she was branded a “slut” by her classmates. For the next few years of her life, she was bullied at school, after school, and online. At the time, Emily didn’t feel comfortable confiding in anyone-but she did keep a diary. UnSlut presents this diary alongside comments from the adult Emily of today. Together, these two sets of reflections-one from the past, one from the present-shed light on the increasingly important issues of sexual bullying and slut shaming.
Whoppers by Christine Seifert (September 1): History is full of liars. Not just fibbers, or little-white-lie-telling liars, but big-honkin’-whopper-telling liars-people who have tried to convince us that even the most improbable, outrageous, nonsensical stories are true. And the worst part? We’ve believed them! From famous such as P. T. Barnum, who made a living off his deceptions, to more obscure figures such as Victor Lustig, who managed to “sell” the Eiffel Tower twice in the 1920s, Whopperstells the story of history’s greatest liars and the crazy, incredible, but often quite successful stories they told.

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose At the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nations leaders, fifteen-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and a handful of schoolmates to take action against the Nazis if the adults would not. Naming their secret club after the fiery British leader, the young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually had the boys tracked down and arrested. But their efforts were not in vain: the boys’ exploits and eventual imprisonment helped spark a full-blown Danish resistance. Interweaving his own narrative with the recollections of Knud himself, here is Phil Hoose’s inspiring story of these young war heroes.

The Making of a Navy SEAL by Brandon Webb (August 25): Members of the Navy SEAL elite sniper corps must complete some of the toughest and longest military training in the world. This is the dramatic tale of how Brandon Webb overcame a tough childhood to live his dream and enter the exciting and dangerous world of Navy SEALS and Special Forces snipers. From his grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, THE MAKING OF A NAVY SEAL is a rare look at the inner workings of the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist.

But it is Webb’s second career as a lead instructor for the shadowy “sniper cell” and Course Manager of the Navy SEAL Sniper Program that trained some of America’s finest warriors—including Marcus Luttrell (LONE SURVIVOR) and Chris Kyle (AMERICAN SNIPER)—that makes this story so special. THE MAKING OF A NAVY SEAL is Webb’s tale of overcoming the odds to be the best, and a secret look inside one of the finest and most difficult military training courses ever.

The Young Ben Franklin by Julian Hanshaw (August 2, 2016): This graphic novel tells the story of young Ben Franklin’s quest for moral perfection-and relies primarily on his own words to do so! Adapted from The Autobiography and using additional text from Poor Richard’s Almanac, readers are visually transported into Ben Franklin’s world of printing presses, quills, and beer steins. Franklin undertakes an experiment to try and live out thirteen ‘virtues’ and achieve moral perfection-with mixed results. Readers will relate to his disillusionment at and disgust with the way people around him give into their vices, and, along with Franklin, learn that achieving moral perfection may be harder than it seems.

Most Dangerous by Steven Sheinkin (September 22): From Steve Sheinkin, the award-winning author of The Port Chicago 50 and Bomb, comes a tense, exciting exploration of what the New York Times deemed “the greatest story of the century”: how Daniel Ellsberg transformed from obscure government analyst into “the most dangerous man in America.” On June 13, 1971, the front page of the New York Times announced the existence of a 7,000-page collection of documents containing a secret history of the Vietnam War. Known as the Pentagon Papers, they revealed a decades-long pattern of deception that forever changed the relationship between American citizens and the politicans claiming to represent their interests. A provocative book that interrogates the meanings of patriotism, freedom, and integrity, Most Dangerous further establishes Steve Sheinkin as a leader in children’s nonfiction. 

Tommy: The Gun That Changed America by Karen Blumenthal (June 30): John Taliaferro Thompson had a mission: to develop a lightweight, fast-firing weapon that would help Americans win on the battlefield. His Thompson submachine gun could deliver a hundred bullets in a matter of seconds—but didn’t find a market in the U.S. military. Instead, the Tommy gun became the weapon of choice for a generation of bootleggers and bank-robbing outlaws, and became a deadly American icon. Following a bloody decade—and eighty years before the mass shootings of our own time—Congress moved to take this weapon off the streets, igniting a national debate about gun control. Critically-acclaimed author Karen Blumenthal tells the fascinating story of this famous and deadly weapon— of the lives it changed, the debate it sparked, and the unprecedented response it inspired. 

Turning 15 On The Road to Freedom by Lynda Blackmon Lowery: Jailed eleven times before her fifteenth birthday, Lynda Blackmon Lowery refused to give up the fight for equal rights. She was the youngest marcher on the historic 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Lynda vowed that she would make a difference—and she did. In her own words, she shows today’s young readers what it means to fight nonviolently (even when the police are using violence, as in the “Bloody Sunday” protest), and how it felt to overcome terror and win a battle that affected the entire country.

Straightforward and inspiring, this memoir brings us into the middle of the Civil Right Movement and offers compelling proof that young adults can be heroes.

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind by William Kamkwamba: When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba’s tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season’s crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. The family was starving, and they could hardly find money for food, let alone school fees. Forced to drop out, William began to explore the science books in his village library. There, he came up with an idea that would change his family’s life forever: He could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William’s windmill would bring electricity to his home and help his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.

FDR and the American Crisis by Albert Marrin: The definitive biography of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt for young adult readers, from National Book Award finalist Albert Marrin.

Brought up in a privileged family, Franklin Delano Roosevelt had every opportunity in front of him. As a young man, he found a path in politics and quickly began to move into the public eye. That ascent seemed impossible when he contracted polio and lost the use of his legs. But with a will of steel he fought the disease—and public perception of his disability—to become president of the United States of America.

FDR used that same will to guide his country through a crippling depression and a horrendous world war. He understood Adolf Hitler, and what it would take to stop him, before almost any other world leader did. But to accomplish his greater goals, he made difficult choices that sometimes compromised the ideals of fairness and justice.

FDR is one of America’s most intriguing presidents, lionized by some and villainized by others. National Book Award finalist Albert Marrin explores the life of a fascinating, complex man, who was ultimately one of the greatest leaders our country has known.

Stonewall by Ann Bausum: The first history of gay rights for teen readers, written by an award-winning nonfiction author

Not that long ago, laws throughout the country criminalized homosexual behavior, the medical community viewed being gay as a sign of mental illness, and coming out could lead to being fired, shunned, and disowned. Then came Stonewall. And things began to change.

In her dramatic retelling of the Stonewall riots of 1969, award-winner Ann Bausum introduces teen readers to the decades-long struggle for gay rights. Vividly narrated and illustrated with archival photographs, Stonewalldemonstrates how far the battle has come in the past four decades and yet how universal the struggles remain as young people of any era grow into their sexuality.

Make It Messy by Marcus Samuelsson (June 9): Marcus Samuelsson’s life and his journey to the top of the food world have been anything but typical. Orphaned in Ethiopia, he was adopted by a loving couple in Sweden, where his new grandmother taught him to cook and inspired in him a lifelong passion for food. In time, that passion would lead him to train and cook in some of the finest, most demanding kitchens in Europe.

Samuelsson’s talent and ambition eventually led him to fulfill his dream of opening his own restaurant in New York City: Red Rooster Harlem, a highly acclaimed, multicultural dining room, where presidents rub elbows with jazz musicians, aspiring artists, and bus drivers. A place where anyone can feel at home.

Steve Jobs: Insanely Great by Jessie Hartland (July 21): This fast-paced and entertaining biography in graphic format is a perfect complement to more text-heavy books on Steve Jobs like Walter Isaacson’s biography. Presenting the story of the ultimate American entrepreneur, who brought us Apple Computer, Pixar, Macs, iPods, iPhones and more, this unique and stylish book is sure to appeal to the legions of readers who live and breathe the techno-centric world Jobs created.

Jobs’s remarkable life reads like a history of the personal technology industry. He started Apple Computer in his parents’ garage and eventually became the tastemaker of a generation, creating products we can’t live without. Through it all, he was an overbearing and demanding perfectionist, both impossible and inspiring.

Capturing his unparalleled brilliance, as well as his many demons, Jessie Hartland’s engaging biography illuminates the meteoric successes, devastating setbacks, and myriad contradictions that make up the extraordinary life and legacy of the insanely great Steve Jobs.
The Amazing Book is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil by Dan Howell and Phil Lester (October 13): From YouTube sensations Dan Howell (danisnotonfire) and Phil Lester (AmazingPhil) comes a laugh-out-loud look into the world created by two awkward guys who share their lives on the Internet. More than 8 million YouTube subscribers can’t wait for this book!

Since uploading their first ever videos as teenagers, Dan and Phil have become two of the world’s biggest YouTube stars. Now they invite you on a behind-the-scenes journey, filled with absolutely essential advice, tons of humor, lots of awkwardness, and TMI honesty that they will probably regret. Here’s just a small sample of the fun surprises readers can look forward to:

• The inside story of that time they met One Direction.
• Excerpts from Phil’s teenage diary.
• Reasons why Dan’s a fail (so far).
• How to draw the perfect cat whiskers.
• Reasons why Phil was such a weird kid (back then).
• Quizzes! Which of their dining room chairs represents you emotionally?
• What really happened in Vegas….

In The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire, Dan and Phil are candid, heartfelt, and hilarious. Their struggles and success haven’t changed their strong friendship or their core belief that it’s okay to be weird. The cat whiskers come from within!

Becoming Maria by Sonia Manzano (August 25):  Set in the 1970s in the Bronx, this is the story of a girl with a dream. Emmy Award-winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano plunges us into the daily lives of a Latino family that is loving–and troubled. This is Sonia’s own story rendered with an unforgettable narrative power. When readers meet young Sonia, she is a child living amidst the squalor of a boisterous home that is filled with noisy relatives and nosy neighbors. Each day she is glued to the TV screen that blots out the painful realities of her existence and also illuminates the possibilities that lie ahead. But–click!–when the TV goes off, Sonia is taken back to real life–the cramped, colorful world of her neighborhood and an alcoholic father. But it is Sonia’s dream of becoming an actress that keeps her afloat among the turbulence of her life and times.

Spiced with culture, heartache, and humor, this memoir paints a lasting portrait of a girl’s resilience as she grows up to become an inspiration to millions.

The Inker’s Shadow by Allen Say (September 29): For Allen Say, life as a teen in Southern California was a cold existence. His father, one of the leading hamburger salesmen in Japan, ran a booming burger business, much like McDonald’s, and sent Allen to an American military academy, so that his son could learn English and “become a success in life.”

As the school’s first and only Japanese student, he experienced immediate racism among his fellow cadets and his teachers. The other kids’ parents complained about Allen’s presence at the all-white school. As a result, he was relegated to a toolshed behind the mess hall. Determined to free himself from this oppression, Allen saved enough money to buy a 1946 Ford for $50–then escaped to find the America of his dreams!

In this follow-up to Drawing From Memory, Allen continues to reinvent himself as an author and illustrator. Melding his paintings with cartoon images and archival photos, Allen Say delivers an accessible book that will appeal to any reader in search of himself.
Really Professional Internet Person by Jenn McAllister (August 25): Through her pranks, sketches, and videos about everyday life, Jenn has become a mouthpiece for millennials and one of YouTube’s fastest rising stars! 

Jenn McAllister, better known as JennxPenn, has been obsessed with making videos since she found her parents video camera at the age of eight. A shy child, Jenn turned to film because, unlike with life, you can always have a do-over.

Really Professional Internet Person offers both an insider’s guide to building a successful YouTube channel and an intimate portrait of the surreality of insta-fame and the harsh reality of high school.

Brimming with honesty, heart and Jenn’s patented sense of humor, Really Professional Internet Person features top ten lists, photos, screenshots, social media posts and never-before-posted stories chronicling Jenn’s journey from an anxious middle-schooler just trying to fit in, to a YouTube sensation unafraid to stand out.

Get Genrefied: YA Urban Fantasy

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Introduction

Urban fantasy is one of the easiest (sub)genres to define: it’s fantasy in an urban setting. While it has other common features, the setting is what makes the genre what it is. Some might say that the urban setting must be one from our own world, thus distinguishing it from high fantasy, but I hesitate to even put that restriction on it. I think it’s entirely possible to write an urban fantasy novel set in a fictional city in a made-up world, and it would have a lot of the same appeal to readers as a book set in our own. That said, most urban fantasy is set in our own world in our own time in a recognizable city – just with the major addition of a little magic.

Urban fantasy has a lot of crossover with paranormal fantasy, since urban fantasy often involves magical creatures like werewolves, fairies, vampires, angels, and so on. Often, there is no distinction between urban fantasy and paranormal fantasy. Author Jeannie Holmes does make a distinction between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, however, which I think is interesting to consider. This is a bit of a hot topic among uberfans of both genres. Megan McArdle at Genrify has a fantastic chart that depicts 100 popular series (mostly adult) on a spectrum, showing the fluidity of the definitions. The two genres are not mutually exclusive, though it’s important to consider whether the reader you’re talking to will want a book heavy or light on romance (or if they don’t care!). Like many of the other genres we cover, a book can be urban fantasy and historical fiction and a mystery and a romance.

While not a requirement, urban fantasy is often grittier than other fantasy novels, much like what you’d find in general urban fiction. It features teens on their own a lot, navigating more adult situations than they would in non-urban fantasy. It can also be more accessible than other fantasy, since the setting is usually something most readers will already recognize; there won’t be a lot of world-building to absorb and get lost in.

Resources

On the Web:

Popular Authors:

  • Kelley Armstrong
  • Holly Black
  • Rachel Caine
  • Cassandra Clare
  • Michael Grant
  • Sherrilyn Kenyon
  • Melissa Marr
  • Richelle Mead
  • Cynthia Leitich Smith
  • LJ Smith

Books

Below are a few books published within the last five years, a few forthcoming titles, and a few that are a bit older but still circulate well among teens. Descriptions are from WorldCat and links lead to our reviews when applicable. Any we missed? Any diverse titles in particular to add to the list? Let us know in the comments.

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
After fifteen-year-old Chloe starts seeing ghosts and is sent to Lyle
House, a mysterious group home for mentally disturbed teenagers, she
soon discovers that neither Lyle House nor its inhabitants are exactly
what they seem, and that she and her new friends are in danger. | Sequels: The Awakening, The Reckoning

Manifest by Artist Arthur
Krystal Bentley is an outsider at her new high school in a small
Connecticut town since she hears the voice in her head of a dead teenage
boy who becomes her confidant, so she joins two other teens with
unusual powers to solve his killing. | Sequels: Mystify, Mutiny, Mayhem, Mesmerize

Tithe by Holly Black
After returning home from a tour with her mother’s rock band,
sixteen-year-old Kaye, who has been visited by faeries since childhood,
discovers that she herself is a magical faerie creature with a special
destiny. | Sequels: Valiant, Ironside

White Cat by Holly Black
When Cassel Sharpe discovers that his older brothers have used him to
carry out their criminal schemes and then stolen his memories, he
figures out a way to turn their evil machinations against them. | Sequels: Red Glove, Black Heart

The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Sixteen-year-old Nick and his family have battled magicians and demons
for most of his life, but when his brother, Alan, is marked for death
while helping new friends Jamie and Mae, Nick’s determination to save
Alan leads him to uncover a devastating secret. | Sequels: The Demon’s Covenant, The Demon’s Surrender

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
When 15-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New
York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder
committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and
brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air.
It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to
everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood —
to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? | Sequels: City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire

Angelfall by Susan Ee
It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish
the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition
rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little
girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her
back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. | Sequels: World After, End of Days (forthcoming)

Gone by Michael Grant
In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young.
There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are
no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to
figure out what’s happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister
creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are
changing, developing new talents — unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers — that grow stronger by the day. | Sequels: Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear, Light

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
Soon after the mysterious and alluring Finn arrives at her family’s
home, sixteen-year-old Teagan Wylltson and her disabled brother are
drawn into the battle Finn’s family has fought since the thirteenth
century, when Fionn MacCumhaill angered the goblin king. | Sequels: In the Forests of the Night, When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey
Eighteen-year-old New Zealand boarding school student Ellie Spencer must
use her rusty tae kwon do skills and new-found magic to try to stop a
fairy-like race of creatures from Maori myth and legend that is plotting
to kill millions of humans in order to regain their lost immortality.

The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson
Toronto sixteen-year-old Scotch may have to acknowledge her own
limitations and come to terms with her mixed Jamaican, white, and black
heritage if she is to stop the Chaos that has claimed her brother and
made much of the world crazy.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is
drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer
King and the Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and
summer all hang in the balance. | Sequels:

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older (June 30)
When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start
to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago realizes that
something strange is going on–then she discovers her Puerto Rican
family are shadowshapers and finds herself in a battle with an evil
anthropologist for the lives of her family and friends.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
After a Fenris, or werewolf, killed their grandmother and almost killed
them, sisters Scarlett and Rosie March devote themselves to hunting and
killing the beasts that prey on teenaged girls, learning how to lure
them with red cloaks and occasionally using the help of their old
friend, Silas, the woodsman’s son.

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves
Portero, Texas, teens Kit and Fancy Cordelle share their infamous
father’s fascination with killing, and despite their tendency to shun
others they bring two boys with similar tendencies to a world of endless
possibilities they have discovered behind a mysterious door.

Misfit by Jon Skovron
Seattle sixteen-year-old Jael must negotiate normal life in Catholic
school while learning to control the abilities she inherited from her
mother, a demon, and protect those she loves from Belial, the Duke of
Hell.

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
When multiple murders in Austin, Texas, threaten the grand re-opening of
her family’s vampire-themed restaurant, seventeen-year-old, orphaned
Quincie worries that her best friend-turned-love interest, Kieren, a
werewolf-in-training, may be the prime suspect. | Sequels: Eternal, Blessed, Diabolical

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague
boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening
monsters–the chimaerae who form the only family she has ever known. | Sequels: Days of Blood and Starlight, Dreams of Gods and Monsters

The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent (June 9)
In a world ruled by the brutally puritanical Church and its army of
black-robed exorcists, sixteen-year-old Nina tries to save her pregnant
younger sister from the Church’s wrath and discovers that not only is
the Church run by demons but that Nina herself is one of the very few
who can genuinely exorcise them.

Get Genrefied: YA Memoirs

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While we’ve been putting together our monthly “get genrefied” guides over the last two years, it’s been neat to see what trends in publishing have emerged and which have subsided a bit. Without doubt, one of the biggest trends in the last two years is one which we aren’t as familiar with and one we don’t talk much about: young adult non-fiction. The growth in YA non-fiction can, of course, be partially attributed to the implementation of Common Core. But it’s also worth noting that because YA non-fiction has gotten so great in the last few years that more and more of it has been published.

One subsection within YA non-fiction that has seen tremendous growth in the last few years is the YA memoir. These are written for teens, about an experience by the author in their teens, regardless of whether or not they’re in their teens as they’re writing or it they’re adults reflecting upon a teen experience. Though it’s arguable whether or not memoirs are a genre per se, let’s dig into this category of YA.

Definition and History

What’s a “memoir” and how does it differ from “autobiography?”

This isn’t a dumb question at all, and it’s one that people are often confused about because the terms are often used interchangeably. Even major retailers lump the two together, even though they’re not the same thing.

Memoir, by definition, covers a specific period of time or experience within a person’s life. An autobiography, on the other hand, covers an entire lifespan. Wikipedia actually puts it most succinctly, noting that autobiographies are of a life while memoirs are from a life. Both of these differ from biography, which is a story of someone’s life as told by a third party.

Memoirs have huge appeal for teen readers and they always have. Anyone who has worked in a library knows that books like Dave Pelzer’s A Child Called It is perennially popular with teen readers, especially among younger teens. Other memoirs, like Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone and Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle, are popular among teen readers and are frequently on reading lists in classrooms or for enrichment. There is something appealing about reading someone’s true story, and while these three books, along with many other sought-after memoirs, are published as adult non-fiction, they have tremendous crossover appeal. But with the explosion of memoirs geared directly toward teen readers in the last few years, the options for what teens can pick up and relate to continue to get better and better.

Very little has been written about YA memoirs specifically, likely because it’s become an emerging category of YA non-fiction, rather than something that’s always been specifically geared toward those readers. It’s not just adult books that are being rewritten and adapted for a teen audience (which we’ve written about before), but it’s a category all its own.

Taking a look back at the memoirs written for teens in the early 2000s, it’s interesting to see that the bulk — and those which have remained around — were written by well-known and popular young adult authors. Walter Dean Myers, Ned Vizzini, Jack Gantos, and Chris Crutcher all wrote YA memoirs: Bad Boy, Teen Angst? Naaah…, Hole in My Life, and King of the Mild Frontier respectively. More recently, though, it’s new voices that are lending their stories to YA audiences. These are authors who don’t already have a foot in the category or who may otherwise not be known to teen readers at all.

Resources


Since YA memoirs are an emerging category within YA non-fiction, there aren’t many resources available. Seeking these books out isn’t the easiest, as YA non-fiction has itself been difficult to seek out more broadly. As always, Edelweiss proves to be one of the best resources, though it’s also one of the most time-consuming: even with good searching, finding the non-fiction for teens can be challenging. 

With the change in YALSA’s awards and selection list honors a few years ago, non-fiction become deemphasized. The “Best Fiction for Young Adults” list used to be the “Best Books for Young Adults” list, and it included both fiction and non-fiction; now it’s fiction only. Part of the change, of course, was to help guide people toward one of the best resources for finding YA non-fiction: the Excellence in Non-Fiction Award (ENYA). Though it covers the broad range of non-fiction titles published for YA readers, it does and has included memoirs on its lists. 

The ENYA isn’t the only YALSA resource featuring non-fiction, though. The Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list also includes non-fiction titles, some of which may include memoirs. Likewise, the Great Graphic Novels list includes non-fiction, too. Since memoirs can be rendered in comic form, this is a really valuable resource for finding those titles. Of course, non-fiction of any flavor is as eligible for the Printz award and the Morris award as fiction. 

Beyond those lists and the use of Edelweiss, there aren’t many resources available for finding YA non-fiction and even fewer for YA memoirs. Perusing the awards of other organizations, it’s interesting to see that YA non-fiction isn’t even a category in some cases. For example, the International Reading Association designates awards for primary non-fiction and intermediate non-fiction, but they limit their YA honors to fiction only. Perhaps as non-fiction becomes more pervasive in YA — and again, its growth has been remarkable in the last two to three years alone — more acknowledgement and more tools will become available for finding high quality stories and matching them with teen readers. 

Books


Because trying to include crossover titles in this list would make it really long, I’m sticking (mostly) to memoirs that were published for a YA readership. I’ve limited the list further to those titles out in the last 5-7 years, as well as forthcoming titles worth having on your radar now. As always, descriptions come from WorldCat, and any other additions are welcome in the comments. These are all memoirs, as opposed to autobiographies. In some cases, there’s not an easy distinction or it becomes blurred and fuzzy (as in the Earl title), but I’ve included it here anyway. 

Model by Cheryl Diamond: Presents the true story of one teen’s attempt to break into New York’s modeling industry at the age of fourteen, where a career-altering event changed her life and nearly ruined her shot at her dream.

Positive by Paige Rawl A teenager’s memoir of the experinces of bullying, being HIV positive and surviving the experiences to become a force for positive change in this world.

Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartzler: Aaron Hartzler grew up in a home where he was taught that at any moment the Rapture could happen — that Jesus might come down in the twinkling of an eye and scoop Aaron and his whole family up to Heaven. As a kid, he was thrilled by the idea that every moment of every day might be his last one on Earth. But as Aaron turns sixteen, he finds himself more attached to his earthly life and curious about all the things his family forsakes for the Lord. He begins to realize he doesn’t want the Rapture to happen just yet — not before he sees his first movie, stars in the school play, or has his first kiss. Eventually Aaron makes the plunge from conflicted do-gooder to full-fledged teen rebel. Whether he’s sneaking out, making out, or playing hymns with a hangover, Aaron learns a few lessons that can’t be found in the Bible. He discovers that the best friends aren’t always the ones your mom and dad approve of, the girl of your dreams can just as easily be the boy of your dreams, and the tricky part about believing is that no one can do it for you. In this coming-of-age memoir, Hartzler recalls his teenage journey to become the person he wanted to be, without hurting the family that loved him.

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter: Ashley spent nine years in foster care after being taken away from her mother. She endured many caseworkers, moving from school to school and manipulative, humiliating and abusive treatment from one foster family. See how she survives and eventually thrives against the odds.

Three More Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter (May 5): In the sequel to the New York Times bestselling memoir Three Little Words, Ashley Rhodes-Courter expands on life beyond the foster care system, the joys and heartbreak with a family she’s created, and her efforts to make peace with her past. (Description via Goodreads)

Smile for the Camera by Kelle James: The author relates her experiences after she left an abusive home at sixteen and traveled to New York City to pursue a career as a model.

Rock ‘N Roll Soldier by Dean Ellis Kohler: Dean Ellis Kohler, aspiring rock star, is drafted and sent to Vietnam, where he forms a rock ‘n’ roll band at the behest of his Captain.

The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez: In this book, Rodriguez shares her experience growing up in the shadow of low expectations, reveals how she was able to fake her own pregnancy, and reveals all that she learned from the experience. But more than that, Gaby’s story is about fighting stereotypes, and how one girl found the strength to come out from the shadow of low expectations to forge a bright future for herself.

The Year We Disappeared by Cylin Busby and John Busby: Cylin and John Busby share the challenges they faced after their family was forced into hiding to protect themselves from a killer who had already shot John, a police officer, and was determined to finish the job.

Rethinking Normal by Katie Rain Hill: In her unique, generous, and affecting voice, nineteen-year-old Katie Hill shares her personal journey of undergoing gender reassignment. Have you ever worried that you’d never be able to live up to your parents’ expectations? Have you ever imagined that life would be better if you were just invisible? Have you ever thought you would do anything–anything–to make the teasing stop? Katie Hill had and it nearly tore her apart. Katie never felt comfortable in her own skin. She realized very young that a serious mistake had been made; she was a girl who had been born in the body of a boy. Suffocating under her peers’ bullying and the mounting pressure to be “normal,” Katie tried to take her life at the age of eight years old. After several other failed attempts, she finally understood that “Katie”–the girl trapped within her–was determined to live. In this first-person account, Katie reflects on her pain-filled childhood and the events leading up to the life-changing decision to undergo gender reassignment as a teenager. She reveals the unique challenges she faced while unlearning how to be a boy and shares what it was like to navigate the dating world and experience heartbreak for the first time in a body that matched her gender identity. Told in an unwaveringly honest voice, Rethinking Normal is a coming-of-age story about transcending physical appearances and redefining the parameters of “normalcy” to embody one’s true self. 

Some Assembly Required by Arin Andrews: Seventeen-year-old Arin Andrews shares all the hilarious, painful, and poignant details of undergoing gender reassignment as a high school student in this winning teen memoir

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson: The biography of Leon Leyson, the only memoir published by a former Schindler’s List child.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai: I Am Malala. This is my story. Malala Yousafzai was only ten years old when the Taliban took control of her region. They said music was a crime. They said women weren’t allowed to go to the market. They said girls couldn’t go to school. Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan transformed by terrorism, Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. So she fought for her right to be educated. And on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause: She was shot point-blank while riding the bus on her way home from school. No one expected her to survive. Now Malala is an international symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee. In this Young Readers Edition of her bestselling memoir, which includes exclusive photos and material, we hear firsthand the remarkable story of a girl who knew from a young age that she wanted to change the world — and did. Malala’s powerful story will open your eyes to another world and will make you believe in hope, truth, miracles and the possibility that one person — one young person — can inspire change in her community and beyond.

Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw: With acerbic wit … Shane Burcaw describes the challenges he faces as a twenty-one-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy. From awkward handshakes to having a girlfriend and everything in between, Shane handles his situation with humor and a ‘you-only-live-once’ perspective on life. While he does talk about everyday issues that are relatable to teens, he also offers an eye-opening perspective on what it is like to have a life-threatening disease. 

This Star Won’t Go Out by Esther Earl: A memoir told through the journals, letters, and stories of young cancer patient Esther Earl.

Little Fish by Ramsey Beyer: Written in an autobiographical style with artwork, this book shows the challenges of being a young person facing the world on your own for the very first time and the unease – as well as excitement – that comes along with that challenge. (This WorldCat description is not good — this is a memoir that mixes narrative with lists, ephemera, and art). 

Tomboy by Liz Prince: Eschewing female stereotypes throughout her early years and failing to gain acceptance on the boys’ baseball team, Liz learns to embrace her own views on gender as she comes of age, in an anecdotal graphic novel memoir.


How I Made it to Eighteen (A Mostly True Story) by Tracey White: How do you know if you’re on the verge of a nervous breakdown? For seventeen-year-old Stacy Black, it all begins with the smashing of a window. After putting her fist through the glass, she checks into a mental hospital. Stacy hates it there but despite herself slowly realizes she has to face the reasons for her depression to stop from self-destructing. Based on the author’s experiences, How I Made it to Eighteen is a frank portrait of what it’s like to struggle with self-esteem, body image issues, drug addiction, and anxiety. 

Tweak by Nic Sheff: The author details his immersion in a world of hardcore drugs, revealing the mental and physical depths of addiction, and the violent relapse one summer in California that forever changed his life, leading him down the road to recovery.

We All Fall Down by Nic Sheff: Sheff writes candidly about stints at in-patient rehab facilities, devastating relapses, and hard-won realizations about what it means to be a young person living with addiction.

We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist: Why was [Paralympic ski racer and cancer survivor] Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down the girls he had tried to date and asked them straight up: what went wrong? The results of Josh’s semiscientific, wholly hilarious investigation are captured here: disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), to a misguided ‘grand gesture’ at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love–or at least a girlfriend–in all the wrong places. 

The Bite of Mango by Mariatu Kamara: When Mariatu set out for a neighborhood village in Sierra Leone, she was kidnapped and tortured, and both of her hands cut off. She turned to begging to survive. This heart-rending memoir is a testament to her courage and resilience. Today she is a UNICEF Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon: Brent Runyon was fourteen years old when he set himself on fire. In this book he describes that suicide attempt and his recovery over the following year. He takes us into the Burn Unit in a children₂s hospital and through painful burn care and skin-grafting procedures. Then to a rehabilitation hospital, for intensive physical, occupational, and psychological therapy. And then finally back home, to the frightening prospect of entering high school. But more importantly, Runyon takes us into his own mind. He shares his thoughts and hopes and fears with such unflinching honesty that we understand₇with a terrible clarity₇what it means to want to kill yourself and how it feels to struggle back toward normality. Intense, exposed, insightful, The Burn Journals is a deeply personal story with universal reach. It is impossible to look away. Impossible to remain unmoved. 

Ghosts of War by Ryan Smithson: Ryan Smithson joined the Army Reserve when he was seventeen. Two years later, he was deployed to Iraq as an Army engineer. In this extraordinary and harrowing memoir, readers march along one GI’s tour of duty. Smithson avoids writing either prowar propaganda or an antimilitary polemic, providing instead a fascinating, often humorous-and occasionally devastating-account of the motivations and life of a contemporary soldier.

Popular by Maya Van Wagenen: A touchingly honest, candidly hysterical memoir from breakout teen author Maya Van Wagenen. Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at “pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular? The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise-meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence.

Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton: Bethany Hamilton, a teenage surfer lost her arm in a shark attack off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. Not even the loss of her arm keeps her from returning to surfing, the sport she loves.

To Timbuktu by Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg: Casey and Steven met in Morocco, moved to China then went all the way to Timbuktu. This illustrated travel memoir tells the story of their first two years out of college spent teaching English, making friends across language barriers, researching, painting, and learning to be themselves wherever they are.

A List of Things That Didn’t Kill Me by Jason Schmidt: In his memoir, Jason Kovacs tells the story of growing up with an abusive father, who contracted HIV and ultimately died of AIDS when Jason was a teenager

Elena Vanishing by Elena and Clare B. Dunkle (May 19): Seventeen-year-old Elena is vanishing. Every day means renewed determination, so every day means fewer calories. This is the story of a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia. Told entirely from Elena’s perspective over a five-year period and co-written with her mother, award-winning author Clare B. Dunkle, Elena’s memoir is a fascinating and intimate look at a deadly disease, and a must read for anyone who knows someone suffering from an eating disorder. (Description via Goodreads).

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda (April 14): It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin’s class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but when Caitlin saw Zimbabwe written on the board, it sounded like the most exotic place she had ever heard of–so she chose it. 
Martin was lucky to even receive a pen pal letter. There were only ten letters, and forty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one.

That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.

In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends –and better people–through letters. Their story will inspire readers to look beyond their own lives and wonder about the world at large and their place in it. (Description via Goodreads). 

No Summit Out of Sight by Jordan Romero: The story of Jordan Romero, who at the age of 13 became the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest. At age 15, he reached the summits of the world’s 7 highest mountains.

Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall The author, Shyima Hall, was eight when her parents sold her into slavery. In Egypt’s capitol city of Cairo, she lived with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima’s servitude– but her journey to true freedom was far from over. Now a US citizen, she regularly speaks out about human trafficking and candidly reveals how she overcame her harrowing circumstances.