Our Choice – Best Young Adult Books 2020
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Young Adult Books - Our Choice of the titles, teens are sure to love.
Here at Enfants d'Azur we have put together our choice of some of the best Young Adult (YA) Books for your teens for the remainder of 2020.
The YA category is growing year on year and it has a lot to offer as teens demonstrate their appetite for socially-progressive stories.
No matter what your teen loves to read, whether it’s thrillers, romance, fantasy, nonfiction, or graphic novels, you’ll find a wide variety of books in our list sure to satisfy every kind of reader. With all of these great works to read, your teen may even ditch the social and be happily turning pages instead.
'A must-read . . . A heart-rending and all-too credible tale of sacrifice, the ugly face of authority and the courage of youth' Sunday Times' Children's Book of the Month
About this book
Rebellions are built on hope. A fight against islamophobia. Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens. Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp's Director and his guards. If you enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale, you will love this!
About the Author
"A Hunger Games without Everdeen might have seemed as peculiar as a Potter without Harry, but it works beautifully" Collins leaves us with a cliffhanger that doesn't just ask politely for another book, it prostrates itself and begs. Please don't make us wait another decade. - The Times
About this Book
Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price.
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
About the Author
A thrilling blend of family secrets, illicit romance and a high-stakes treasure hunt . . . The nonstop twists kept me guessing until the very last page! - Katharine McGee, NYT bestselling author of American Royals
About this Book
Avery Grambs is a relative nobody when she learns that an eccentric billionaire she never knew has died and named her the largest beneficiary to his massive estate. The only catch? She must move into his sprawling home with the extended family that he just disinherited, including his four charming, mysterious and good-looking grandsons. Filled with riddles, puzzles and high-stakes twists all leading to a thrilling conclusion, this one will leave you reeling long after you’ve finished.
About the Author
Jennifer Lynn Barnes has written more than a dozen acclaimed young adult novels. Jen is also a Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 2012 and is currently a professor of psychology and professional writing at the University of Oklahoma. You can find her online at www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com or follow her on Twitter @jenlynnbarnes.
“de la Cruz’s trademark tight construction, detailed world building, and action-packed romance are all at work in this sure-to-be-popular new series.” --Booklist
About this Book
If you love YA fantasy novels with deadly assassins and forbidden romance, you're in luck. Melissa de la Cruz's newest book is the first in a duology about Cal, an assassin magically bound to serve the queen. When he collides with Shadow, a girl bound to the court, they team up and uncover the corruption and secrets hidden in the kingdom.
About this Author
Melissa de la Cruz is the #1 New York Times, #1 Publisher’s Weekly and #1 IndieBound bestselling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for readers of all ages. Her books have topped USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists and been published in more than twenty countries. She is best-known for her Blue Bloods series (with more than three million copies in print), The Descendants books based on the Disney Channel films, and the Witches of East End novels, which were turned into a two-season drama series on Lifetime Television. Melissa de la Cruz lives in West Hollywood with her husband and daughter.
“The shivery fantasy and bluntly realistic historical detail harmonize well, and there’s plenty to ponder about women whose contributions have been suppressed or lost to history.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
About this book
A historical YA fantasy about a musical prodigy and the dangerous lengths she'll go to make history remember her.
Two siblings. Two brilliant talents. But only one Mozart.
In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically-told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.
Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish--to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age--her tyrannical father has made that much clear.
And as Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true--but his help may cost her everything.
About the Author
Marie Lu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Young Elites series, as well as the blockbuster bestselling Legend series. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry as an artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing games, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles with her illustrator-author husband, Primo Gallanosa, and their dogs.
Visit her online at Marielubooks.com or on Twitter @Marie_Lu.
Absolutely essential, as is the underlying message that girls take care of each other when no one else will. -Booklist
About this Story
Girls on the Verge is an incredibly timely novel about a woman's right to choose. Sharon Biggs Waller brings to life a narrative that has to continue to fight for its right to be told, and honored.
Camille couldn't be having a better summer--she kills it as Ophelia in her community theater's production of Hamlet, catches the eye of the cutest boy in the play, and nabs a spot in a prestigious theater program. But on the very night she learns she got into the program, she also finds out she's pregnant. She definitely can't tell her parents. And her best friend Bea doesn't agree with the decision Camille has made.
Camille is forced to try to solve her problem alone...and the system is very much working against her. At her most vulnerable, Camille reaches out to Annabelle Ponsonby, a girl she only barely knows from the theater. Happily, Annabelle agrees to drive her wherever she needs to go. And in a last minute change of heart, Bea decides to come with.
Over the course of more than a thousand miles, friendships will be tested and dreams will be challenged. But ultimately, the girls will realize that friends are the real heroes in every story.
About the Author
Sharon Biggs Waller is the Friends of American Writers-award winning author of A Mad, Wicked Folly and The Forbidden Orchid. She also writes for magazines about horses, chickens, and farming. Previously, she worked as a riding instructor at the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace. In addition to writing, she is a dressage rider and trainer and Planned Parenthood volunteer. She lives on a ten-acre sustainable farm in Northwest Indiana with her husband, Mark
A stunning and life-affirming memoir about surviving a willfully impoverished, eccentric, and severely misguided family.
About this Memoir
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
About the Author
Jeannette Walls graduated from Barnard College and was a journalist in New York. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, has been a New York Times bestseller for more than six years. She is also the author of the instant New York Times bestsellers The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, which was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Walls lives in rural Virginia with her husband, the writer John Taylor.
“Parallel mysteries unfold with cleverly written dialogue, pate-turning brilliance, and a young sleuth as captivating as Hercule Poirot.” -USA Today
“Take it from the world’s most impatient reader: If the Truly Devious series is basically one long mystery book, The Vanishing Stair is middle part so enjoyable you won’t even want to skip to the end.” - Entertainment Weekly
“A richly satisfying, Poirot-like ending for Johnson's inspired and inspiring teen sleuth.” - Kirkus Reviews
About this Trilogy
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”
Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.
True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester.
But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.
The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.
About this Author
Maureen Johnson is the bestselling author of several novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes, the Truly Devious series, the Suite Scarlett series, and the Shades of London series. She has also written collaborative works such as Let It Snow with John Green and Lauren Myracle and The Bane Chronicles with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan. Maureen lives in New York and online on Twitter @maureenjohnson or at www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com.
'Alina and Tomasz's story is one of bravery, resilience, and the lengths we will go to for the ones we love' Sally Hepworth
About this Story
It begins with the discovery of a tattered photo, a letter and a tiny leather shoe...
World War Two, Poland. Alina and Tomasz are childhood sweethearts. The night before he leaves for college, Tomasz proposes marriage. But when their village falls to the Nazis, Alina doesn't know if Tomasz is alive or dead.
2019. Life changed beyond recognition for Alice when her son, Eddie, was born with autism spectrum disorder. She must do everything to support him, but at what cost to her family? When her cherished grandmother is hospitalised, a hidden box of mementoes reveals a tattered photo of a young man, a tiny leather shoe and a letter. Her grandmother begs Alice to return to Poland to see what became of those she held dearest. In Poland, separated from her family, Alice begins to uncover the story her grandmother is so desperate to tell, and discovers a love that bloomed in the winter of 1942. As a painful family history comes to light, will the struggles of the past and present finally reach a heartbreaking resolution?
About this Author
Kelly Rimmer is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of ten novels, including The Secret Daughter and The Things We Cannot Say. Her books (Paperback Editions) have sold more than one million copies, and have been translated into more than 20 languages worldwide. Kelly lives in rural Australia with her family and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil.
“Fans of Children of Blood and Bone, Mulan, and the Dora Milaje from Black Panther are going to adore this one.” —BuzzFeed
About this Story
The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired, feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice.
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known.
About this Author
Namina Forna has a MFA in film and TV production from USC School of Cinematic Arts and a BA from Spelman College. She now works as a screenwriter in LA and loves telling stories with fierce female leads. The Gilded Ones is her debut novel. Visit her on twitter at @NaminaForna and on Instagram at @namina.forna.
