17 Of Your Favorite Best Contemporary YA
This Riot Recommendation is sponsored by Penguin Teen.
Turtles All the Way Down is about love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship. But at its heart is Aza Holmes. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
So many contemporary YA novels come to mind, from Fangirl to The Hate U Give, that choosing a best is hard! From the fun, to the romantic, to the ones with social justice themes we just can’t narrow it down—there are so many excellent choices!
So we asked you to tell us what you thought was the best contemporary YA and you responded. Here are 17 of your favorites!
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Up to This Pointe by Jennifer Longo
The Education of Margot Sánchez by Lilliam Rivera
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
