Looking for a good summer read? Here are some of this year’s most popular and critically acclaimed YA books and sequels, which are sure to be spotted in readers’ hands on porch decks and hammocks nationwide. If you’re looking for a copy, most of these books are already available in print through curbside pickup at Patten, and many of them are also accessible in digital form through our Cloud Library.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (print, ebook, e-audio)
Realistic Fiction in verse. Two sisters mourn their father’s death after his plane crashes on a flight to the Dominican Republic.
Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed (print, ebook, e-audio)
Realistic Fiction. Jamie Goldberg, who chokes when speaking to strangers, and Maya Rehrman, who is having the worst Ramadan ever, are paired to knock on doors and ask for votes for the local state senate candidate.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (print–coming to PFL soon, ebook)
Realistic Fiction. Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend.
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare (print, ebook, e-audio)
Historical Fantasy. Cordelia Carstairs, a Shadowhunter trained to battle demons, travels with her brother to London where they reconnect with childhood friends but soon must face devastating demon attacks in the quarantined city.
The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert (out July 7th)
Romance. The first year they are eligible to vote, Marva and Duke meet at their polling place and, over the course of one crazy day, fall in love.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (print, ebook, e-audio)
Dystopian Fiction. In a prequel to “The Hunger Games,” eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow prepares to mentor the female tribute from District 12 in the tenth Hunger Games, with the fate of his family hanging on the slim chance that he can help her win the Games.
They Went Left by Monica Hesse (print, e-audio)
Historical Fiction. Zofia, a teenage Holocaust survivor, travels across post-war Europe as she searches for her younger brother and seeks to rebuild her shattered life.
This Is My America by Kim Johnson (out July 28th)
Mystery/Realistic Fiction. Sending weekly letters to an organization she hopes will save her innocent father from death row, 17-year-old Tracy uncovers racist community secrets when her track star brother is wrongly accused of murder.
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord (print, ebook, e-audio)
Romance. A reimagining of You’ve Got Mail follows the unlikely romance between an overachiever from a successful family and the class clown, who exchange snarky tweets that escalate into a viral Twitter war.
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu (print, ebook, e-audio)
Historical Fantasy. Desperate to be forever remembered for her music, Nannerl Mozart makes a dangerous pact with a mysterious stranger from a magical land, which may cost her everything
One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus (print, ebook, e-audio)
Mystery. In this sequel to One of Us Is Lying, the Bayview friends are targeted by an anonymous adversary who uses an increasingly dangerous truth-or-dare app to keep the late Simon’s gossip legacy alive.
Burn by Patrick Ness (print–coming soon to PFL)
Fantasy/Suspense. Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort to.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, adapted from the work of Ibram X. Kendi (print, e-audio)
Nonfiction. A history of racist and antiracist ideas in America, from their roots in Europe until today, adapted from the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning.
The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs (print, ebook, e-audio)
Fantasy. The latest entry in the best-selling series continues the story of Jacob Portman, who takes a brave leap into The Conference of the Birds while pursued by dangerous enemies.
We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez (print)
Magical Realism. A poignant novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border, inspired by current events.
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang (print, ebook)
Graphic Novel. Author Gene Luen Yang turns the spotlight on his life, his family, and the high school where he teaches.
Parachutes by Kelly Yang (print, ebook, e-audio)
Realistic Fiction. Claire is a rich 11th grader in Shanghai; Dani is a scholarship student at a private school in Southern California who helps her mother clean houses. When Claire is parachuted into America to finish high school and Dani’s mother needs the income from a boarder, they become unlikely housemates.