Explore our curated collection of young adult book reviews and recommendations.
Three Sticks is a self-published coming-of-age fantasy novel — the first in a planned three-book series — written by David R Anderson, illustrated by Tim Cleary, and edited by Steve Anderson. Told through the eyes of Sten, a self-conscious seventeen-year-old half-elf navigating a childhood injury, village life, and an unexpected journey into the Wild, the book draws on Anderson's decades of love for the genre, rooted in his Dungeons & Dragons-playing teenage years in small-town Minnesota. Reader reactions on Amazon point to an entertaining cast, a well-paced plot, and a tone that balances heroic adventure with humor and heart.
Jul 15, 2026
Suzanne Collins's four-novel Hunger Games universe — The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes — is collected in a single paperback box set published by Scholastic Inc. In October 2023, giving readers the full arc of Panem from its dystopian origins to its electrifying conclusion. This review is based on the content of the novels and published reception from named sources; it does not assess the physical box set first-hand.
Jul 7, 2026
The Faraway Inn is a young adult fantasy novel by Sarah Beth Durst, published by Delacorte Press on March 31, 2026, that blends supernatural mystery, sweet romance, and cozy inn-keeping into a coming-of-age summer story — and has debuted as a #1 New York Times bestseller and #1 national bestseller.
Jul 17, 2026
D. A. Mucci's debut novel, Ignatius and the Swords of Nostaw, is the opening chapter of a five-book epic fantasy series following Ignatius — "Iggy" — a young protagonist stripped of his special abilities and thrust into the enigmatic land of Cambria, where he must master spellcasting, rune-craft, and dual-blade combat as a Nostaw warrior to survive forces bent on destroying him. Born out of pandemic isolation, the novel builds a richly layered world of sword and sorcery designed to appeal to fantasy readers of all ages.
Jul 15, 2026
Salt to the Sea is a #1 New York Times bestselling young adult historical fiction novel by Ruta Sepetys, built around the sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff — the deadliest maritime disaster in history — told through four intertwining fictional voices against rigorously researched, real events. Winner of the Carnegie Medal and honored by the Bank Street College of Education, it has drawn praise from major outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, and The Washington Post for its spare, powerful prose and its rare act of literary witness to one of World War II's most overlooked tragedies.
Jul 16, 2026
Deeplight is Frances Hardinge's ninth novel — a young adult fantasy set in the island chain of the Myriad, where enormous sea creatures once worshipped as gods have died, leaving behind dangerous relics and fractured belief. When a street-smart orphan named Hark discovers a mysterious pulsing relic and uses it to save his reckless best friend Jelt, the consequences spiral into something catastrophic. First published in 2019 by Macmillan Children's Books and later reissued by Harry N. Abrams in 2022, the novel earned starred reviews from both Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, along with praise from The Guardian and Booklist — recognition that reflects the intricate, atmospheric world-building and morally complex characters that have become hallmarks of Hardinge's fiction.
Jul 7, 2026
Toffee is a young adult verse novel by Sarah Crossan, Irish children's laureate and Carnegie Medal-winning author, in which a teenager fleeing domestic abuse forges an unexpected bond with an elderly woman living with dementia — a story built on borrowed identities, grief, and the slow, painful discovery of self.
Jul 7, 2026
Am I Normal Yet? Is a contemporary young adult novel by Holly Bourne and the first book in the Spinster Club series, published by Usborne Publishing Ltd in 2015. It follows Evie, a teenager managing OCD who is tapering off her medication and navigating a new college, new friendships, and the relentless pressure to appear "normal." Alongside new friends Amber and Lottie, Evie forms the Spinster Club — a space where friendship, feminism, and frank conversation take centre stage. Selected as a World Book Night book for 2016 and shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, the novel has earned praise from The Bookseller and Red magazine, and stands as one of the defining YA titles of its era for its honest portrayal of mental illness and its accessible feminist lens.
Jul 7, 2026
Noah Can't Even is Simon James Green's award-winning YA debut following the spectacularly unlucky Noah Grimes, whose already chaotic life — absent father, Beyoncé-tribute-act mother, ailing gran, and a single friend — tips into full-blown pandemonium when that one friend, Harry, kisses him at a party. Critics called it "side-splitting comedy... A riotous, real-feeling YA debut," and the novel has earned a devoted following for its relentless comedic momentum and its surprisingly sincere treatment of identity, friendship, and self-discovery.
Jul 7, 2026
The Escape Game is a YA murder mystery set aboard a reality TV escape-room competition, co-written by Marissa Meyer (New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles) and Tamara Moss (author of the Lintang series), published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on April 7, 2026. When a murder strikes the popular game show The Escape Game, a new cohort of teen contestants must solve deadly puzzles while racing to uncover who killed Alicia Angelos — before one of them becomes the next victim. Critics called it "exhilarating, nonstop fun," praising both its page-turning pace and its rotating cast narration, while blurb authors Karen M. McManus and Lish McBride highlighted its sharp suspense and intricate puzzle construction. The novel is a strong fit for readers aged 14 and up who enjoy whodunits, escape-room fiction, and soapy reality-TV drama laced with genuine stakes.
Jul 6, 2026
A #1 New York Times bestseller and debut novel from queer Vietnamese-American author and YouTuber Cindy Pham, The Secret World of Briar Rose is a Sapphic retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" published by Kokila that weaves together mental health, grief, identity, and the seductive danger of escapism through a layered dreamworld narrative aimed at readers aged 14 and up.
Jul 15, 2026
The Deathless Girls is Kiran Millwood Hargrave's YA debut — a gothic feminist retelling of the origin of Dracula's brides, following twin sisters Lil and Kizzy, captured from their Traveller community on the eve of Lil's divining and enslaved by a cruel Boyar. Published by Orion Children's Books in 2019, it reimagines figures long reduced to the margins of Bram Stoker's Dracula as full, complex subjects of their own story of survival, love, and sisterhood.
Jul 7, 2026Search
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