Book Recommendations
Time Capsule of 2019 Young Adult Books
Recent young adult books that should be classics.
We hear a lot about classics, books that are known throughout most households. Alice in Wonderland and Romeo and Juliet are two books still discussed in the field of literature, especially within children’s or young adult literature. Even some more recent texts like Speak or A Wrinkle in Time are continuously talked about from house to house. I often wonder what young adult books from our present time will be talked about in fifty years… a hundred years? Books that are considered classics are often viewed as a time-capsule of literature of that time, and yet they manage to still be read today.
Many classics are kept in print so a new generation of readers can read them, and I think that the books listed below should follow the lead of classics in that they should be reprinted for a new generation of readers.
Recently published books which are often deemed “classics” include The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, but there are others just as exceptional from the past few years that should be discussed more.
Although they alter in relevance, the five books I refer to below will continue to hold up through the years and will represent some excellent recent literature. I hope in many years, when people think of young adult books from this time, they will think of some of these. I think they will maybe even be considered classics in young adult literature one day.
“The Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo
Already toting multiple awards including The Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry (2019), The National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2018), and the Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers’ Literature (2018), I have a feeling The Poet X will be emblematic as an excellent book of 2018, or maybe even of the decade.
Told in verse, The Poet X follows a young Afro-Latina girl, Xiomara, who falls in love with poetry. Xiomara writes poems on a variety of topics including but not limited to her love of poetry, racism she experiences, and her struggles with religion. This book is a fresh voice in young adult literature, while also bringing new elements including being a novel written in verse.
Bringing up relevant topics allows for a reader to connect. This is a book that I will always call one of my all-time favorites. Xiomara is a passionate and headstrong young woman growing up in Harlem and learns how to use her voice to do good in the world.
To purchase this book, click here.
“How To Make Friends With the Dark” by Kathleen Glasgow
How to Make Friends with the Dark has a very quiet beauty in it. Tiger loses her mother, her only known family, and is thrust into a completely new world as she is put into foster care. Not only does she lose her mother, but we also see Tiger lose her dignity, her patience, and at times, it seems like she is ready to lose her own sense of self. Tiger’s voice is so raw and honest in her exploration of grief. While being put through so much, Tiger is tested to hold her life together when she thinks it is falling apart.
Although this is a difficult book to read, Tiger shows the ability to take control of her own life when she believes she is losing all sense of control. Glasgow starts the book with a short inscription:
this book
is for the grievers
this book
is for the left behind
this book
is for every broken heart
searching for a home
Tiger’s journey is never perfect, but I think her story is important to be seen in young adult literature. How to Make Friends with the Dark brings in topics that are often not seen in young adult literature, including being moved from home to home in foster care. It also manages to present a new look on what family means.
To purchase this book, click here.
“Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany D. Jackson
Monday’s Not Coming shocked me with how resonant it is. Claudia’s best friend, Monday, stopped coming to school and seems to have completely disappeared, but the problem is that no one will talk about it. Not getting any answers, Claudia must dig deeper to uncover how a teenager could vanish without anyone noticing.
Jackson has strong messages of friendship, domestic violence, and racism. Claudia is a realistic character, and I loved seeing her relation with Monday, and how important their relationship is to her. I also loved the non-linear timeline of the novel, with the story jumping around and being labelled as “Before”, “After”, “1 Year Before the Before”, and other cryptic and thought-provoking titles challenging the typical novel’s linear timeline.
Although this could be confusing, for me, it added another layer of intrigue and mystery, while also challenging what I expect when I first open a book. Monday’s Not Coming is an incredibly impactful novel that forced me to think critically about the world and my own relationships.
To purchase this book, click here.
“Pet” by Awkwaeke Emezi
Being only published in September of 2019, Pet is the newest-and shortest book of this list, as well as the least reviewed on Goodreads. Pet may be the underdog of this group, but it should not be overlooked in any way.
In the city of Lucille, monsters have been erased, or at least, that’s what the main characters are told. The protagonist, Jam, meets a monster named Pet who emerged from her mother’s painting; however, Pet is there to hunt another monster, one who lives in Jam’s best friend’s house. Pet struggles between keeping her new friend, Jam, safe, while also wrestling and hiding the fact that monsters are now a reality. In just 200 pages, this book yanked my heart in every direction and challenged my expectations, as well. Emezi combines such an innovative concept in beautiful and impactful prose, and although marketed as middle grade and young adult, this is a book that surpasses these categories.
To purchase this book, click here.
“When the Moon Was Ours” by Anna-Marie McLemore
When the Moon Was Ours stole my heart from the very first line and is my favorite magical realism book thus far.
In their trademark ethereal tone and lush storytelling, McLemore tells the story of best friends Miel and Sam. Miel is rumored to have spilled from a water tower when she was five and is known for having roses which grow from her wrists. Sam has just moved to a new town and struggles to go unnoticed as he hides a secret that could change his life: he is trans. Sam paints, hangs moons in the tree, and wants nothing more than to be called a boy–a man. Both Miel and Sam’s pain and journey tug at my heart, and I continue to refer back to this book as a favorite.
Every second of McLemore’s story is resonant, and the entire book is a perfectly crafted work of art. The author captures the essence of believability, a key feature of magical realism: anything that McLemore writes, I will completely believe is real because of how multi-dimensional and thought-out her writing is. McLemore allows for an escape into a new world full of beauty and magic, and yet they still manage to teach me so much about my own world.
I read all of these books in 2019, and I truly hope and believe people will continue to read and enjoy these books for years to come. I truly hope you give them a read.
To purchase this book, click here.
Check out these other reviews by Sofia St. John:
