2017 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
In addition to the full list of titles, the Quick Picks committee selected the following as its top ten.
Nonfiction
• Higgins, Nadia Abushanab. Feminism: Reinventing the F-Word. 2016. Illus. Twenty First Century Books / Lerner, $35.99. 9781467761475. A discussion of feminism, what it is, what it isn't, and why it is important.
Fiction
• Buxbaum, Julie. Tell Me Three Things. 2016. Delacorte Press / Random House Children’s Books. $17.99. 9780553535648. A mysterious admirer helps Jessie adjust to her new life in LA.
• Garvin, Jeff. Symptoms of Being Human. 2016. Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins, $17.99. 9780062382863. Riley, the child of a Congressman, secretly blogs about being gender fluid.
• Johnston, E.K. Exit, Pursued by a Bear. 2016. Dutton Books / Penguin Random House, $17.99. 9781101994580. Hermione is raped at cheer camp. In the year that follows, she deals with rumors, flashbacks, and a re-centering of her life.
• Lemire, Jeff. Plutona. 2016. Illus. Image Comics, $16.99. 9781632156013. A group of teens find the body of the superhero, Plutona, and must decide how to handle the situation.
• Lukavics, Amy. Daughters Unto Devils. 2015. Harlequin Teen / Harlequin, $17.99. 9780373211586. After a dreadful winter, Amanda and her family find a new home on the prairie. Unfortunately, the demon spirits are already waiting for them.
• Nijkamp, Marieke. This Is Where It Ends. 2016. Sourcebooks, $17.99. 9781492622468. A violent student with a grudge and a gun holds his classmates and teachers hostage for an hour.
• Reynolds, Jason and Brendan Kiely. All American Boys. 2015. Atheneum / Simon and Schuster, $17.99. 9781481463331. Accused of shoplifting and resisting arrest, Rashad is beaten by a police officer. Racial tension runs high as friends take sides and a community is divided.
• Russo, Meredith. If I Was Your Girl. 2016. Flatiron, $17.99. 9781250078407. Amanda is facing a lot of challenges, but nothing is as big as starting over after being relentlessly bullied for her transgender identity.
• Tash, Sarvenaz. The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love. 2016. Simon & Schuster BFYR / Simon & Schuster, $17.99. 9781481456531. Graham has realized he is in love with his best friend and partner in comic book creation, Roxy. What better place to declare his feelings than New York Comic Con?