Ask a librarian for a YA recommendation

[Juanita]

Here's the thread where you can post a request for a librarian's recommendation if you enjoy YA.

[Georgiana]

Hi, my name is Georgiana, I'm 20 and I live in Romania. For the librarians that so kindly help us with this thread, I like mostly all of the books that are included in this genre, so I eagerly wait for your suggestions.

[Susie]

I would also love a recommendation ! I love sci-fi/fantasy the most, but I read almost everything.

[Amanda]

I highly recommend Every Heart a Doorway. I'm not normally a YA or fantasy reader, but I loved this. If you've ever wondered what happened when Alice came back from Wonderland, this is your book. It's also the first in a series, if you need that prompt :-)

Amanda, Adult Services Librarian outside Syracuse, NY

[Sierra]

I just went on a reading binge with Miranda Kenneally and Kasie West really fun light teen romance reads.

Also (although I haven't read it yet, it is high on my TBR) the recently released Heartless if you enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles (which I did immensely)

Sierra, Service Delivery Manager, Public Library, outside Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

[Jessica]

I second Every Heart A Doorway, it's beautifully written. Bonus: the main character is asexual and it's not treated as an oddity. There's a sequel coming in 2017.

Jessica, Children's Librarian with Seattle Public Library

[Jessica]

My go-to YA recs are always always always Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein and Hold Me Closer Necromancer by Lish McBride. (I'm also on my phone so I can't be as wordy as I'd like)

[LynnDee (LynnDee's Library)]

For contemporary YA, I would recommend "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell. It's set in the 80s and is about a boy & girl who share a seat on the bus ride to school and eventually fall in love. Rainbow Rowell is very good at writing convincing dialogue and is just a great writer in general.

I would also suggest looking at the titles that are featured as part of the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Hub Challenge. These are titles that are award winners & honorees for various ALA (American Library Association) literary awards.The link to this year's (2016) challenge is here: http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2016/...

EpicReads is another great place to get YA recommendations, and they are doing their "Book Shimmy Awards" voting right now. Here are last year's winners: http://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-201...

Hope this helps!

LynnDee, Assistant Branch Manager, Public Library, MO

[Angela]

For adventure with a dash of romance and some fantasy, try The Ranger's Apprentice Series by John Flanagan The original series is 12 books and starts with The Ruins of Gorlan. I recommend reading that series before The Ranger's Apprentice: The Early Years series (book 2 in that series just came out at the end of November).

The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen is also an enjoyable read with a few surprises. The first book is The False Prince

Angela, Branch Supervisor, Public Library, NC

[Susie]

You guys are awesome :) a couple of these I've heard of, most I haven't, so regardless of what I choose for the challenge, I have several added to my To-read list. Thanks !!

[Maryalice]

Susie wrote: "I would also love a recommendation ! I love sci-fi/fantasy the most, but I read almost everything."

If you love sci-fi/fantasy, I highly recommend the Cinder series by Marissa Meyer! I am currently reading Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake which fits fantasy, but not sci-fi, and I recently read Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza which fits sci-fi but not fantasy.

Maryalice, High School Librarian, PA

[Judi]

Working with teens in a high school library, these are the most popular with my students now:
The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
Replica by Lauren Oliver; this one is great in that it can be read 3 different ways!
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy; I read this one and loved it. Talks about body image and what it means to be yourself. :-)
The Pregnancy Project by Gabi Rodriguez; a lot of teens picked this for their required reading project, but many said they liked it because it talked directly about stereotypes.
Glass Sword; it's the 2nd in the Red Queen series. This one is hardly ever on the shelf.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Female of the Species; just one word- amazing!
I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak - our book club is reading this one now and they can't stop talking about it.

[Nina]

As a recently retired high school librarian, some of my all time favorites for scifi/fantasy include:

Graceling and its sequels by Kristin Cashore

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher along with its sequel Sapphique. Catherine Fisher also has many other great titles, many inspired by mythology.

East by Edith Pattou is marvelous.

Sabriel by Garth Nix along with its sequels

Virtually any of the quartets by Tamora Pierce (Author)

The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint

The Woman Who Loved Reindeer by Meredith Ann Pierce

Anything set on the planet Pern by Anne McCaffrey The 3 titles that are explicitly YA are Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums.

The Naming is the first in a series by Allison Croggon.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld along with its sequels

Robin Wasserman Her series that begins with Skinned is quick and popular.

The Diviners by Libba Bray with its sequel, Lair of Dreams

Unwind is the 1st in the provocative series by Neal Shusterman.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X is a quick, humorous romp with alien hunting by James Patterson.

And of course there are others...

[Rebecca]

I highly recommend Red Queen as it is a nice twist to the whole "girl saves the dystopian world" trope. My favorite YA series of all time is The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Start with Cinder. Her newest, Heartless is a stand-alone but it is even better than I expected it to be and it has me on a total Alice in Wonderland kick now. If you don't mind a lot of bloody violence in your books, I'd suggest the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown, but be prepared for SO MUCH DEATH in the last book.

Becca, SCCCLD Librarian

[☆ Raegan ☆]

Hi! I previously posted on the Fiction board, but found that I belong in the YA board! Looking for recommendations for someone who enjoyed:

Paper Towns
An Abundance of Katherines
Let it Snow
Harry Potter 1-7
Fangirl
Throne of Glass
Shadow Falls
Vampire Academy

Thanks!!

[Megan]

Romance: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. This is a very fast and fun book with a twist that I really enjoyed.

Humor: Mosquitoland by David Arnold or Me & Earl & the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. Both are funny but have a lot of heart and are filled with very interesting characters.

Sad: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. Very emotional book but definitely worth the read.

SciFi: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. Not a typical YA scifi but is a very unique and interesting look at an alien type invasion.

Dystopia: Divergent series by Veronica Roth. This series is one of my personal favorites. I know it gets a lot of flack because of the third book but I say give it a chance!

Megan, MCPL Librarian

[Maryalice]

Raegan wrote: "Hi! I previously posted on the Fiction board, but found that I belong in the YA board! Looking for recommendations for someone who enjoyed:

Paper Towns
An Abundance of Katherines
Let it Snow
Ha..."

I have had students who enjoyed the following similarly themed books:
Let's Get Lost and Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid;
Two Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt;
Brother, Brother by Clay Carmichael ;
Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick ;
Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist (published today!) ;
Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando ;
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sara J. Maas (series) ;
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (series) ;
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber ;
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead (series)

[Sukanta]

Hi everyone,
I need some recommendations on the ask a librarian task, I have read very few(one or two) books in YA. Can you suggest me a books I should have read till now. Some must read book. Thank you in advance.

[Nadine in NY]

Amanda wrote: "I highly recommend Every Heart a Doorway. I'm not normally a YA or fantasy reader, but I loved this. If you've ever wondered what happened when Alice came back from Wonderland, this..."

Hi Amanda! I'm just excited to see an Onondaga County librarian on here!!! I'm an OCPL card holder, my home library is Liverpool :-)

[Kayla Rae]

I'm in charge of YA purchasing where I work and I have had The Hate U Give in my cart since I first learned about it a few months ago. It sounds like it's going to be amazing. This one will probably easily fit into the "difficult subjects" category.

[Kayla Rae]

Sukanta wrote: "Hi everyone,
I need some recommendations on the ask a librarian task, I have read very few(one or two) books in YA. Can you suggest me a books I should have read till now. Some must read book. Tha..."

I cannot recommend The Book Thief enough. That book is untouchable for me. If you like some light fantasy/magic, I also recommend The Wee Free Men and the rest of the Tiffany Aching series. Those were my favorite as a high schooler and sparked a lifelong love of Terri Pratchett among my siblings.

[Nadine in NY]

Can anyone recommend some graphic novels for a ten year old? My daughter has read (and loved): all four of the Raina Telgemeier books, Roller Girl, Robot Dreams, the three-book Zita series, and she is currently working her way through the seven-book Amulet series. Owly, Bone, and Jellaby didn't seem to impress her.

What shall we read next?

[Thegirlintheafternoon]

Nadine wrote: "Can anyone recommend some graphic novels for a ten year old? My daughter has read (and loved): all four of the Raina Telgemeier books, Roller Girl, Robot Dreams..."</i>

Nadine, it's not exactly a graphic novel, but the Ms. Marvel comic book series (starting with [book:Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal) is FANTASTIC, and I don't remember anything in them that I would say is inappropriate for a 10-year-old. The March series (by Rep. John Lewis, about his experience in the Civil Rights Movement - starting with March: Book One) is also great, though much heavier.

[Noina]

Hey guys ! Looking for a one-shot that's not a John Green book, either in the style of Amy Reed's Clean or in the style of E. Lockhart's We were liars... Any idea ? Thanks :)

[Nadine in NY]

Thegirlintheafternoon wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Can anyone recommend some graphic novels for a ten year old? My daughter has read (and loved): all four of the Raina Telgemeier books, Roller Girl, [bo..."

Thanks I'll check that out! It's not so much a case of what appropriate for her as what she will be interested in. She's starting to get interested in the X-men movies, though, so I might get a spark with Ms Marvel.

[Thegirlintheafternoon]

Noina, I haven't read it myself, but I heard good things about The First Time She Drowned, which seems E. Lockhart-ish.

[Katie]

Thank you to all the librarians who give recommendations! I'm a teacher to English Language Learners in grades K-5. I'm looking for a chapter or middle grades book that's easy to read (maybe around second-grade level) featuring diverse characters. I love E. L. Konigsburg; my favorite is The View from Saturday. A graphic novel would be great; I've recently enjoyed Rollergirl and the first Secret Coders book by Gene Luen Yang. I'm also looking to read more mysteries. I really enjoy books that feature kids doing adventurous things they love that require courage. I'm also obsessed with Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie series but I'd like something for slightly older readers. Thanks in advance!

[Nadine in NY]

Katie wrote: "Thank you to all the librarians who give recommendations! I'm a teacher to English Language Learners in grades K-5. I'm looking for a chapter or middle grades book that's easy to read (maybe around..."

I'm not a librarian, but I just needed to give a shout-out to Zita the Spacegirl - if you haven't tried that yet, you must! (downside: they all look rather white)

[Judi]

Noina wrote: "Hey guys ! Looking for a one-shot that's not a John Green book, either in the style of Amy Reed's Clean or in the style of E. Lockhart's We were liars... Any idea ? Thanks :)"

Have you read Ellen Hopkins' "Crank" series? Our copies get checked out regularly and it's a different view into drug addiction. The first one in the series is called Crank, followed by Glass .

[Judi]

Nadine wrote: "Can anyone recommend some graphic novels for a ten year old? My daughter has read (and loved): all four of the Raina Telgemeier books, Roller Girl, [book:Robot Dreams..."


Read The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 1.
She'll LOVE it!
(Don't know why, but the cover isn't coming up...)

[Kimber]

Got a recommendation for Birthmarked from a librarian. It is a YA and LGBTQ related. I cannot wait to read it!

[Katie]

Have a recommendation for someone who really enjoyed:

Eleanor & Park
13 Reasons Why
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
The fault in our stars (hated paper towns)

[Thegirlintheafternoon]

Katie wrote: "Have a recommendation for someone who really enjoyed:

Eleanor & Park
13 Reasons Why
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
The fault in our stars (hated paper towns)"

Katie, definitely check out Nicola Yoon's books, Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star. They've got the same sort of beautiful language and heightened emotions of the books you listed.

[Amanda]

Hi librarians, I'd love a YA recommendation I may not have come across before. I'm a big fan of Patrick Ness, Melinda Salisbury and JK Rowling, although I'd like to read something a little more realistic than my usual fantasy fare. I've read and loved All The Bright Places and Eleanor and Park, so anything along those lines would be great.

Thanks!

[Nina]

Have you read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli? It works as a read-alike for Eleanor & Park. Another option is Neal Shusterman's Bruiser.

On the fantasy front, try Graceling by Kristin Cashore , A Wizard of Earthsea by the great Ursula K. Le Guin, or Croggon, Alison's series The Books of Pellinor which starts with The Naming.

[Amanda]

Thanks, will give them a try!

[Judi]

So I'm currently working my way through my state's recommended reading list for the 2017-8 school year.

I am falling absolutely in love with the Raven Cycle. I only had to read #2, but in a few days I am almost done with series (and don't want it to end!) This is definitely a great series for fans of:
-supernatural storylines
-true love
-gritty,southern settings
-ghosts, dreams, and things unknown
-quests
-strong family relationships

I highly recommend it-lots of suspense and you will love Maggie Stiefvater's writing! 👍🏽👍🏽

[Tytti]

These books are not all YA novels (I really don't understand that category) but they have been collected by one city library for high school literature classes (they needed "more compact" ie. shorter and newer novels). But I thought I'd post them in case someone is interested in what is being read in other countries. The title is in the original language if there is no English translation in GR. (I didn't include those that haven't been translated at all, though there were a couple of interesting ones among them, too.)

There Were Many Horses
Stone Dreams
Kingdom Cons
Signs Preceding the End of the World
A Thousand Rooms of Dream and Fear
La petite fille qui avait avalé un nuage grand comme la tour Eiffel
The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an IKEA Wardrobe
Érase una vez el amor pero tuve que matarlo. Musica de Sex Pistols y Nirvana
The Guest Cat
Indian Nocturne
The Whale Rider
Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow
Bury Me Behind the Baseboard
Tokyo Fiancée
Fear and Trembling
La contadora de películas
Snow
Auringon asema
Beasts of No Nation
Please Look After Mom
Sniper
Bunker
Night Train
The Cement Garden
Raid And The Blackest Sheep (not actually the one suggested, it hasn't been transalated)
Eric
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Pulp
The War of the Worlds
White Hunger
The Brothers
Compartment No. 6
Perhoskerääjä

[Michelle]

Looking for a new author or two to check out. I prefer serieses to one-off books but my tastes are very varied. Right now, what I'm aiming for is somebody clever, quirky, and humorous without trying too hard. Absolutely love Jasper Fforde and have already read everything he's written. Read everything by Neil Gaiman and most of Christopher Moore's and Douglas Addams' stuff. Other top favorites include the Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman, Ready Player One, and The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. I lean towards Sci-fi/fantasy/YA but not LOTR or Potter. Thanks in advance for any suggestions! (Cross-posted to Fiction and Sci-Fi)

[Nina]

Michelle... In the category of scifi/fantasy authors to consider...

Leigh Bardugo, Scott Westerfeld, Vivian Vande Velde, Kristin Cashore. Have you read any Piers Anthony, Terry Pratchett, or Robert Asprin? These last 3 are not necessarily YA, but they wrote with quirky humor.