Young Adult (YA) literature is exploding. A broad range of stories is coming out right now in the unprecedented numbers of books for young adults. On the one hand, this has meant some incredibly powerful stories that can connect deeply with our students in terms of both the brokenness of our world and also the beauty of moments of grace and redemption. On the other hand, vulgar language and scenes of teens exploring sexuality have almost become a prerequisite for publication. The challenge for Christian schoolteachers is to find books for students that are authentic in how they address the challenges of adolescence and simultaneously to avoid books that are prohibitively vulgar, promote an unhealthy view of sexuality, or lack any hope in the face of a broken world.
The good news is that really good stuff is out there, but it requires a lot of reading to find it. Here are ten books (more or less) that I read this past year that represent a good start. I absolutely loved reading these books and hope you will too.
The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
This book, at first, seems to be a collection of disconnected stories about the inhabitants of two towns in Alaska. Three boys stow away on a ferry to run away from their abusive home. A girl who is pregnant and alone is sent to a convent by her grandmother. Another girl wins a local lottery just before her alcoholic father gets out of jail. A girl decided not to attend a ballet audition that could get her into college in favor of working on her dad’s fishing boat. Then, slowly, all of these threads of brokenness start to weave together as the characters encounter kindness, love, and grace. That doesn’t mean that all the problems go away, but there is hope. This is an emotionally powerful book.
There are some instances of vulgar language, drinking, smoking, and allusions to abuse and sexuality, but the redemptive nature of the book more than makes up for that. While you should pre-read this book with your school community in mind, I don’t think it is likely to be challenged.
This would be a great book to teach in a high school literature class but would also be an excellent addition to your classroom library. Oh, and if this did make me cry a little bit, there is no way I would admit it.
Wires and Nerve series by Marissa Meyer
These graphic novels are an extension of Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series of conventional books. In the Wires and Nerve series, Earth and its lunar colony are recovering after the reign of an evil queen who had ruled both Earth and the moon with the help of genetically modified wolf-human hybrid soldiers. The cast of characters includes a cyborg mechanic who discovers she is the lost princess of the moon, a farm girl who befriends and falls in love with one of the wolf-human soldiers, and an android who had been a serving girl but is upgraded to be one of those sent to capture the wolf-soldiers who are wreaking havoc even though the war is over.
And that might sound like conventional science-fiction fare, but as with most sci-fi, it is best not to confuse the setting with the story. At heart, this is the story of people trying to figure out what it means to be human. The princess wants to figure out how to rule without hurting or exploiting people, the reformed wolf-soldier doesn’t know whether he is capable of resisting his violent instincts, and the android wants to know what makes her different from humans.
There is enough action here to keep the interest of those students who have no interest whatsoever in themes or ideas, but they will be exposed to them all the same. It is just a really fun story. There is some violence here, but it isn’t gory or celebrated. This book would be great for a classroom library (and would probably work for middle school and high school both).
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
This is the sort of book that makes me grab people by the lapels and tell them that they must read this now! Then I wrestle them to the ground and sit on them until they agree to read the first couple of chapters. Then I wait until they finish so I can talk to them about it. It is that good. (OK, maybe not really, but I dream of doing this).
Natasha is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica with her family. Her family has sent her to a lawyer for a last appeal when she meets Daniel, a Korean-American teenager who is on his way to an alumni interview to get into a good college. And in that moment, everything changes and nothing changes.
And look, the plot is fine. It is well-constructed and doesn’t go the way you think it will, but that isn’t the point. The writing and characterizations are what make this book shine like a nova. Every page is a joy to read. The ending isn’t what I was hoping for, but it is right. Look, just read it, OK?
This would be worth studying in a high school English class. There is some vulgar language in the book, but it is moderate. In any case, you need this book in your classroom library. Read it first though. You can thank me later.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Gloom runs deep in the land of the Protectorate. The Elders of the village have convinced the people that the only way to appease the witch who lives in the woods is to sacrifice a baby to her every year. The people of the Protectorate live in despair and fear. But the witch is not what she seems. Perplexed by the actions of the villagers, each year she takes the abandoned children and brings them to a far-off land where they will be cared for by families that love them. One year the witch makes a mistake and feeds the baby moonlight instead of starlight. She ends up raising the little girl, and on her thirteenth birthday, the girl starts developing powers that would make her a target but could also allow her to free the Protectorate from the despair and fear they live with.
I love this book. It is very well written and communicates an important message about how fears can cripple communities and how love can restore them.
At first glance this seems like an upper elementary/middle school book, and it would work well, particularly as a read-aloud book, for those grades. But I am betting that high schoolers would enjoy this book and get a lot out of it too.
It does have a witch in it, which may make it a hard sell for some parents, but this witch is really just a kind old lady who does magic. I would argue that the overall message of standing up for justice and mercy in the face of fear-mongering more than makes up for any worries about dark magic (which is not present in the witch, though there are some bad guys in the village who seem downright evil). Read it for yourself. See what you think.
Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
Carver Briggs had three best friends: Eli, Blake, and Mars. One night, impatient for them to pick him up, Carver texts them. When the driver of the car tried to text back, they got in an accident and were killed. Carter is devastated. Some of the families don’t blame him. Others do. He may be prosecuted for manslaughter. And to make matters worse, Blake’s grandma, with whom he lived, has asked Carver to spend a day with her, celebrating Blake’s life. Then other families ask for goodbye days, including the family that blames him for their son’s death. Most days it seems like the only friend Carver has is Eli’s girlfriend, Jesmyn. Carver likes her a lot, but he feels disloyal to his dead friend for even talking to her.
This book is about grief, responsibility, pain, celebration, guilt, loss, anger, and, in the end, possibly redemption and forgiveness. It is a good and powerful book that would be an excellent choice to read aloud with high schoolers, to study with a high school class, or to make part of a classroom library. Strong middle school readers might like it as well.
There are some occasional vulgar words and a couple of fleeting references to masturbation, but nothing here that would cause the book to be challenged by most parents. Well worth checking out
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Joseph and his family are fleeing the anti-Semitism of the Nazi regime of 1930s Germany. They are on a passenger liner bound for Cuba, an island nation they hope will become their new home. Isabel and her family are fleeing Fidel Castro’s oppressive regime of the 1990s. They are traveling in a makeshift boat bound for Florida, a state in the nation they hope will become their new home. Mahmoud and his family are fleeing the violence of the Syrian Civil War of 2015. They are driving, riding, and walking their way toward Germany, a nation they hope will become their new home. All three teenagers are dealing with prejudice, disappointment, storms, predators, bureaucrats, opportunists, robbers, horrible choices, and people and nations who do not want them there.
This novel is a grand-adventure novel. The stories connect in a way that reminds me of the book Echo. Like that book, Refugee has a social conscience and a message that reminds us that when we are discussing the politics of immigration, we are talking about human lives and families—yet it does not have a particular political message.
Because the stories are so gripping, this book would make an excellent read-aloud. It could also be a book to study in class, with plenty of thematic ideas to consider. I lean more toward the read-aloud option, though.
There are some horrible situations in this book including a shark attack and a moment when a family must give their baby to a stranger in an attempt to save the baby’s life. I could imagine a challenge to the book based on the mistaken notion that it is trying to make political point—but I think that is a wrong interpretation. This is a book that reminds us of who our neighbor is. If that message is political, then those who object might want to challenge Jesus’s words in the Bible as well.
The Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero by Patricia McCormick
Yes, I know this isn’t a novel; it’s a biography—but seriously, how often is a biography of a theologian written for middle school and high school students by a two-time National Book Award winner? And it is an excellent portrayal. Here students will meet Bonhoeffer, a young theologian in Hitler’s Germany, who, acting out of the convictions of his faith, becomes involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, plans and works toward that day, is ultimately unsuccessful, and is captured, imprisoned, and executed, all the time with his faith undaunted. This book does an excellent job of considering how people of faith make moral decisions when their government is engaging in activities that are wrong. As Bonhoeffer says in the book, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
I cannot imagine any Christian having any objections to this book. It would be an ideal supplemental text to Eli Wiesel’s Night, The Diary of Anne Frank, or any other book that touches on World War II. It would also be an excellent addition to a classroom library.
Losers Bracket by Chris Crutcher
Annie is a talented basketball player, a bright and motivated student, and completely torn between two families. Her foster family is stable and loving most of the time but also strict and dismissive of her biological family. Her biological mom and sister are dysfunctional, overly blunt, embarrassing, struggling with substance-abuse issues, but they’re also still her family. And her sister’s son is exasperating, needy, and one of the brightest points in Annie’s life. When he goes missing at Annie’s swim meet, Annie wants to rescue him, but is not sure what home to bring him back to. The ending turns on doing the right thing versus following the rules.
I have loved Crutcher’s work for many years. He is a remarkably authentic writer (years as a school social worker really help with that) who is not afraid to tackle difficult problems and situations. This book is completely honest about how broken the world is but also amazingly attuned to the way God’s grace can fit through the smallest of openings (though the book doesn’t identify it as such).
This book has some vulgar language and shows what substance abuse can do to families. But it is a strong book for showing that to really understand people, you need to know their context. There are some excellent themes in here and it might make a great choice as a book to study in a literature class. Read it first though. It could also be a great book for a classroom library.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Rachad Butler stops by Jerry’s Corner Store on his way home from high school to buy a bag of chips. A police officer mistakenly believes that Rachad is trying to steal the chips and grapples with him, forcing him out of the store and beating him badly enough that Rachad has to be taken to the hospital. In alternating chapters, Rachad tries to deal with the shock and violence of the act and decide how to respond. Rachad’s white classmate, Quinn Collins, who witnessed the beating, tries to come to terms with the fact that the officer who beat Rachad is Paul Gulluzzo, who has become a mentor and father figure to Quinn since his own father’s death.
This is a gripping narrative that provides an excellent starting place for some serious conversations about race in our country and how deeply injustice can divide us. Those are not easy conversations to have but avoiding them doesn’t prepare our students to grapple with the issues that they will need to help decide.
There is a bit of vulgar language in this one, but not much. There is nothing in this book that would offend a reasonable parent. It could make a great book to study in class and would also be a fine choice for a classroom library.
The Nameless City series, Book 1: The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks, color by Jordie Bellaire
In this graphic novel series, Kaidu, the son of a Dao general, and Rat, a street urchin raised by monks in the Nameless City, team up to save the General of All Blades who is seeking to broker a peace deal between the factions that have been fighting over the Nameless City. Then they find themselves running for their lives along with Kaidu’s father after Erzi, the son of the General of All Blades, kills his father and then moves to arrest Kaidu’s father in order to derail the peace process. While Kaidu’s father goes to meet with an invading army, Kaidu and Rat need to steal back the sacred book that Erzi stole, which could give the new despot more power than anyone can imagine.
The way Hicks draws the lost city makes it a place that the reader wishes he or she could live in. It is a world with a remarkable amount of depth in terms of architecture, cultural groups, geography, religion, and history. It is also a lot of fun to follow Kai and Rat as they run across the tiled roofs of the city. This series will keep that student who is addicted to graphic novels busy for a while.
This one would be perfect for middle school, and it would also work for high school students. There is not quite enough thematic depth for it to be an obvious choice for a literature class (but it might work well for a combined English/history class). It is not exactly fantasy (no magic or dragons), but it does take place in an imagined world.
While there is some violence, it is not particularly graphic. There is no vulgar language and no scenes of sexuality. There is an oblique mention of same-sex attraction among one of Rat’s friends, but its subtlety would fly over most middle school readers’ heads.
And that is the list for this year. Happy reading. If you would like more recommendation, you might want to check out my book review blog at https://bookcommercials.wordpress.com/.
Bill Boerman-Cornell is a professor of education and English at Trinity Christian College. He coauthored graphic novels in high school and middle school classrooms.
