The Children’s Book Review | April 11, 2017

Popular Books for Teens

This month, you’ll discover five books that we’re highlighting from The New York Times’ best selling hardcover young adult titles including The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas; and The Sun is Also a Star, by the talented Nicola Yoon.

Nationwide Best Selling Young Adult Books

The Sun Is Also A Star

Written by Nicola Yoon

Publisher’s Synopsis: Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

Ages 12+ | Publisher: Delacorte Press | November 1, 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-0553496680

The Hate U Give

Written by Angie Thomas

Publisher’s Synopsis: Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Angie Thomas’s searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty. Soon to be a major motion picture from Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Ages 14+ | Publisher: Balzer + Bray | February 28, 2017 | ISBN-13: 978-0062498533

Heartless

Written by Marissa Meyer

Publisher’s Synopsis: Long before she was the terror of Wonderland―the infamous Queen of Hearts―she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Ages 12-18 | Publisher: Feiwel & Friends | 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-1250044655

Everything, Everything

Written by Nicola Yoon

TCBR Review: Nicola Yoon’s debut novel, Everything, Everything, is a must-read, inviting a broad spectrum of audiences, from preteens to the older generations. This trendy-styled book illustrates the life of eighteen year-old Madeline Whittier through plain text as well as with pictures, instant messages, journal entries, and emails. Through Madeline’s innovative narrative, the reader is immersed into her life of an “allergic to everything” teenage girl. Read the full review …

Ages 12+ | Publisher: Delacorte Press | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0553496642

Strange The Dreamer

Written by Laini Taylor

Publisher’s Synopsis: A new epic fantasy by National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy.

Ages 15+ | Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | March 28, 2017 | ISBN-13: 978-0316341684

This information for the best selling books was gathered from the New York Times Best Sellers list for hardcover young adult books, which reflects the sales of books from books sold nationwide, including independent and chain stores. It is correct at the time of publication and presented in random order. Visit www.nytimes.com for their most current and up-to-date list.

For more best selling fiction Young Adult books, follow along with our Best YA tag.