Sunday, July 19, 2015

Best Young Adult Books of 2015 - Contemporary/Realistic Fiction

I presented my list of the best young adult books of late 2014-2015 on July 17, 2015,  at the Best of the Best Books Workshop. Here's my list! It may not include every book I think is "best" since I divvied up MANY other books with my fellow presenters. I will add to this list as I get to read their books.

Happy Reading!

Mosquitoland, by David Arnold
When she learns that her mother is sick in Ohio, Mim confronts her demons on a thousand-mile odyssey from Mississippi that redefines her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane. (Publisher)

The Fixer, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
When sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick is sent to live with her older sister, Ivy, she has no idea that the infamous Ivy Kendrick is Washington D.C.'s #1 "fixer," known for making politicians' scandals go away for a price. No sooner does Tess enroll at Hardwicke Academy than she unwittingly follows in her sister's footsteps and becomes D.C.'s premier high school fixer, solving problems for elite teens. (Publisher)

Love Letters to the Dead, by Ava Dellaira
When Laurel starts writing letters to dead people for a school assignment, she begins to spill about her sister’s mysterious death, her mother’s departure from the family, her new friends, and her first love. (CIP)

I’ll Meet You There, by Heather Demetrios
Skylar Evans, seventeen, yearns to escape Creek View by attending art school, but after her mother’s job loss puts her dream at risk, a rekindled friendship with Josh, who joined the Marines to get away then lost a leg in Afghanistan, and her job at the Paradise Motel lead her to appreciate her home town. (CIP)

Saint Anything, by Sarah Dessen
Sydney’s charismatic older brother Peyton, has always been the center of attention in the family but when he is sent to jail, Sydney struggles to find her place at home and in the world until she meets the Chathams, including gentle, protective Mac, who makes her feel seen for the first time. (CIP)

None of the Above, by I.W. Gregorio
When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him. But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts." Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self? (Publisher)

The Last Time We Say Goodbye, by Cynthia Hand
After her younger brother, Tyler, commits suicide, Lex struggles to work through her grief in the face of a family that has fallen apart, the sudden distance between her and her friends, and memories of Tyler that still feel all too real. (CIP)

The Truth Commission, by Susan Juby
As a project for her ‘creative non-fiction module’ at a school for the arts, Normandy Pale chronicles the work of the Truth Comission, through which she and her two best friends ask classmates and faculty about various open secrets, while Norm’s famous sister reveals some very unsettling truths of her own. (CIP)

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak, by Brian Katcher
When Ana Watson's brother ditches a high school trip to run wild at Washingcon, type-A Ana knows that she must find him or risk her last shot at freedom from her extra-controlling parents. In her desperation, she's forced to enlist the last person she'd ever want to spend time with—slacker Zak Duquette—to help find her brother before morning comes. But over the course of the night, while being chased by hordes of costumed Vikings and zombies, Ana and Zak begin to open up to each other. Soon, what starts as the most insane nerdfighter manhunt transforms into so much more. (Publisher)

All the Bright Places, by Jennifer Niven
Told in alternating voices, when Theodore Finch and Violet Markey meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school – both teetering on the edge – it’s the beginning of an unlikely relationship, a journey to discover the ‘natural wonders’ of the state of Indiana, and two teens’ desperate desire to heal and save one another. (Publisher)

Vanishing Girls, by Lauren Oliver
Two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident, a missing a nine-year-old girl, and the shocking connection between them. (Publisher)

The Boy in the Black Suit, by Jason Reynolds
Soon after his mother’s death, Matt takes a job at a funeral home in his tough Brooklyn neighborhood and, while attending and assisting with funerals, begins to accept death and his responsibilities as a man. (CIP)

Challenger Deep, by Neal Shusterman
Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench. Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior. Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images. Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head. Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny. (Publisher)

Every Last Word, by Tamara Ireland Stone

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.  (Publisher)

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