Young Adult

On the Young Adult shelf you will find teenagers sorting out first love, friendship and the person they are becoming, as Jenny Han does in P.S. I Still Love You, where Lara Jean's old letters have already upended her life and she has to decide what she actually wants. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe takes that same age and moves it somewhere quieter and heavier, following two boys in El Paso who swim, read poetry and slowly admit what they mean to each other.

Start with the quiet, realistic ones

In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky writes a freshman's letters about parties, mix tapes and a first crush, and the book reads like a friend passing you folded notes in the hallway. Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow follows a teenage girl through self-harm and recovery, and it asks more of you than Chbosky does: the scenes are raw, the hope is earned slowly, and the book is for readers who want the hard parts kept in.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven pairs two students on a project about wandering, and the novel keeps Violet and Finch's voices distinct enough that you feel the distance between them even when they are standing together. We Were Liars by E.

When you want a series or a longer commitment

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han is the second book about Lara Jean and her fake-then-real relationship, so start with the first one or the emotional payoff will land without its setup. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman began as a webcomic and now runs across multiple volumes following Nick and Charlie, and the commitment is gentle: each installment is short, the art carries as much as the dialogue, and you can read one in an evening.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow follows a teenager who uses tech skills to push back against surveillance after a terrorist attack in San Francisco, and it is the one here that reads like a thriller with a manual tucked inside. Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson is a graphic novel about a girl who joins a roller derby camp while her best friend drifts toward ballet, and it is the shortest commitment here: one volume, one summer, one clear arc.

Where identity and first love take the lead

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz gives you two Mexican American boys in El Paso who become friends and then something more, and the sentences are short and spare in a way that lets the silences do the work. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green puts two teenagers with cancer in a relationship that is funny before it is sad, and it is the book to hand someone who thinks a sad premise means a heavy read.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel is the odd one out here: a boy shares a lifeboat with a tiger, and the novel asks you to decide which version of the story you believe. 中性 by Jeffrey Eugenides follows a Greek American teenager who grows up in Detroit and later lives as a man in Berlin, and it is the one on this shelf written for adults that older YA readers keep borrowing.

Where should I start with Young Adult if I have not read any since I was a teenager?

Start with The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, because it is short, epistolary and built around a voice rather than a plot you have to keep straight. If you want something more recent, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman is a quick graphic novel that shows you what the current wave of YA looks like.

What is the difference between realistic YA and the kind with a speculative twist?

Realistic YA like Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow stays inside ordinary life and asks you to sit with a character's pain and recovery. Speculative YA like Little Brother by Cory Doctorow takes a real fear (surveillance, authority) and pushes it into a near-future plot where the teenager has to outthink adults.

Which of these authors writes for younger teens rather than older ones?

Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl is drawn for middle grade and early high school readers, with a summer camp plot and a friendship falling apart. Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places is for older teens: it deals with mental illness and suicide, and it does not soften either.

How much of a commitment is the Heartstopper series?

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman is a multi-volume graphic novel series, but each volume is short and the art moves quickly, so you can read one in a sitting. The story follows Nick and Charlie from friendship into a relationship, and the later volumes deal with coming out and mental health.

What should I expect from a John Green novel if I have only seen the movie?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is funnier on the page than the film, because Hazel's narration carries jokes the camera cannot. The book also spends more time on her favorite novel and its author, which is the subplot the movie trims.