Favorite Recently Published YA Books

As we are working on the early stages of opening a children’s bookstore, we have a lot of ideas that we are brainstorming. Almost too many ideas for our team of four, who also are working other jobs and parenting our kids.

But at the heart of the bookstore is that we will be offering a specially curated children’s book collection, ranging from board books and picture books to Young Adult novels. So I threw this question out to my family and friends, what is your favorite YA (or MG) book from the last five years?

I got a lot of answers—I guess I should have specified PUBLISHED in the last five years because I would have very different answers.

For me, my top two are Love In English by Maria E. Andreu and Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli. I’m pretty sure that either Rainbow Rowell or Becky Albertalli recommended Love In English on Instagram, so it really makes sense.

I’m currently re-reading Love in English, and I’m loving it even more the second time around. Ana has newly immigrated to the U.S. and we follow her as she navigates starting over in a new country, in an American high school, with English as a second language for her. The thing is, even though I am not an immigrant, I come from an immigrant family. And I still can completely relate to what she is feeling as she—like many teens—suffer mortification in her high school halls through many misunderstandings and self-doubt. You don’t have to be learning a new language to have a typical teenage experience.

What I love about Andreu’s depiction of Ana is that Ana is a poet. Words have a lot of meaning for her. And starting over in junior year of high school in a new country means also taking away a power that she used to yield. Andreu’s brilliant use of journaling (text in cursive) and ###### for all the words and sentences that Ana doesn’t quite understand is endearing and engaging.

What is your favorite YA novel that was published in the last five years? Favorite in general?

Side note: I have read Kate in Waiting 2-4 times, including via audiobook. If you are a theater kid or think like a theater kid, then this is a great one for you. And, it’s Becky Albertalli….enough said. :D

*** I am currently in the process of switching affiliate links from the [Behemoth river one] to Bookshop.org, which supports indie bookstores. Here is my link. ***