Looking for YA books to inspire you as we head into a brand-new year?
Each of these inspirational reads offers a thought-provoking look at some important, topical issues.
Are you hoping to welcome 2024 with an open mind and an open heart? The New Year can be a time to recharge and reflect, to refocus and re-inspire yourself. Here are some issue-driven YA books that can offer you new insight into something you’ve never faced, encourage you to reflect on a challenging aspect of your own life, or offer solidarity and hope.
A sixteen-year-old girl’s road trip across the country to get an abortion becomes a transformative journey of vulnerability, strength, and above all, choice. From the acclaimed author of A Heart in a Body in the World, this is both an achingly tender love story and a bold, badly needed battle cry about bodily autonomy and the experiences that connect us.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin delivers a gripping romance about two teens: a certified genius living with a diagnosed mental disorder and a politician’s son who is running from his own addiction and grief. Don’t miss this gut punch of a novel about mental health, loss, and discovering you are worthy of love.
A multicultural teen struggles to fit into her elite prep school, her diverse Queens neighborhood, and even her own home. A hilarious, poignant, and powerful YA novel from the award-winning author of Re Jane.
Exploring the harsh reality of OCD and violent intrusive thoughts in stunning, lyrical writing, this novel-in-verse conjures a haunting yet hopeful portrait of a girl on the edge. From the author of Dear Medusa, which New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed called “a fierce and brightly burning feminist roar.”
This searing and intimate novel in verse follows a sixteen-year-old girl coping with sexual abuse as she grapples with how to reclaim her story, her anger, and her body in a world that seems determined to punish her for the sin of surviving.
An empowering collection written by Jenna Ortega, the award-winning actress starring in the hit Netflix series Wednesday. These deeply personal stories and quotes are accompanied by beautiful illustrations that explore Jenna’s struggles with depression, experiences falling in—and out of—love, the loss of close family members, and growing up Latina in Hollywood.
