Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
I was the sort of kid who ignored age recommendations and read everything that grabbed my interest, so this week’s prompt was a little tricky for me. In the end, I decided to narrow this down to young adult books published in the last decade or so that I would have loved as a kid.
Of course I can read them as an adult, too, but I think they would have been even more meaningful to me if I were still a kid or teenager. Some of my answers have to do with the desire to read about characters like me in some way, and I’ve noted which ones fit into this category. Everything else simply seemed like it was a great story!
It will be interesting to see how all of you interpreted this prompt!
1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
2. Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan
3. Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
I have a food allergy, too, and would have loved to read about a protagonist who understood what it was like to have to watch what she ate so carefully. That can be a lonely experience when you’re a teenager and everyone else can eat whatever they wish (or so it seems at that age).
5. Timekeeper by Tara Sim
I would have loved this paranormal LGBTQ+ tale. It was rare for me to find books about non-heterosexual characters back in the day. Once again, representation matters!
6. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
7. Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmad
8. Want by Cindy Pon
9. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
10. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Definitely loving your first and 4th choices. You have thought about it creatively, too.
Aww, thanks!
Ooh, very great list. A lot of these are still on my TBR but I do wonder if I would’ve loved Hot Dog Girl as a middle schooler because (unfortunately) it really wasn’t my jam when I read it last year 😂 I think younger me would’ve benefitted from seeing more diverse authors and characters. I really wonder how my reading would be if the diverse books available now were available back then!
Sometimes books really do work better for certain age groups. If only we had time machines! Ha. And thank you.
I thought about this list yesterday, but I was finishing up the trial chapters in Brothers Karamazov. It’s good to still be able enjoy lit that’s published for audiences younger than us..
For sure. 🙂 I hope you’ll be able to join in next week if you want.
Probably not next week, but the fall TBR & quotation ones, for sure! I’ve been working on the quotations one for a couple of months because I have a lot of candidates to weigh. 🙂
I love Timekeeper, such a good book!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/08/top-ten-tuesday-280/
Glad you liked it!
Wonderful list of books. There is such a wealth of kiddie lit out there today.
Thank you. And totally agreed there.
Great job! As much as I love Elizabeth Acevedo today, I don’t know how she would have resonated with my younger self. I was pretty much into snobby, rich stuff LOL
Heh, interesting!
Fangirl is one of those books that is good at both younger and older ages. I wouldn’t have minded reading it while I was in college, but I probably appreciated it more as an adult.
Cool!
What a great list! Fangirl is one of my favorites, and I am currently re-reading Everything, Everything. I feel like I will never get too old for YA, lol. The Star-touched queen is on my TBR. Great post and happy TTT!
Thank you. Happy TTT!
I’ve actually read and loved a few of these books and can see why they would be hits for you. I too have food allergies (nuts, dairy, shellfish) and noone really understood. And you’re right, representation ALWAYS matters. Great list!
Here’s my Top Ten Tuesday post.
Thank you. Sorry to hear about your food allergies. 🙂
I almost put Fangirl on my list as well. Thanks for stopping by my blog! Great list!
You’re welcome!
Poet X is so good!
Glad to hear it.
I haven’t read any of these, but quite a few are on my TBR.
Hope you like them!
Representation definitely matters! I wish I had read more diverse books when I was younger. They were a lot harder to find then, but there had to be some.
I totally hear you there.
Fangirl for sure. I would have loved it if books like that had been around when I was younger.
Cool!
This is such a fantastic list of books! I wasn’t very familiar with Timekeeper, so I just looked it up—it’s exactly the kind of thing I would loved when I was younger, too. Really, any LGBTQ+ books would have been great!
My thoughts exactly on any LGBTQ+ books being great! And thank you.
I only put 1 YA book on my list because I don’t know if I would have liked a lot of YA books more than I do now. Some of them I might have liked less. But my grandma played with dolls in her 80s so I guess I get the YA mindset from her! I loved Fangirl at this age minus a year though!
Very cool. 🙂
I loved The Star-Touched Queen!
Cool! Glad to hear it.
Our lists are on the same theme. I loved Fangirl so much! My TTT list of books my teen self would have loved
They sure are. 🙂
Ohh, Fangirl is one that I would have loved younger too. A lot of these are on my TBR still!! Great list.
Thank you. Hope you enjoy the books still on your TBR.
Oh Dread Nation is a good one! I read it recently and as much as I think I appreciate it more now than I would have as a teenager, I do think I would recommend it to a lot of people both my age and younger!
I’ve only read Fangirl and Everything, Everything from this list. I agree that they would have been great to be able to read when I was younger, especially Fangirl. Cath is so me.
That’s awesome!
I actually haven’t read any of these! But a couple are on my tbr list (which is so long that who knows when I will get to them…)
Hope you enjoy them!
Fangirl would have been great to have read in high school or college even. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome. And agreed.
It was really hard for me to see myself in the characters of the books I read as a child. I think it would have been especially difficult if I, like you, had food allergies. Glad things are better today.
Thank you very much. 🙂
I was the same way when I was a kid and was grateful that my parents let me read whatever I was interested in. I think younger me would have loved all of these titles too.
That’s neat!
Great list!
(wwww.evelynreads.com)
Thank you.
Love the list! Great reminder that I NEED to read Fangirl and Everything, Everything lol.
Thank you. Hope you enjoy those stories!
I interpreted this TTT the same way too — and it makes so much sense so many of us have the same kind of response to THS TTT because YA is a genre that is just getting better in leaps and bounds.
Yay! I’m so glad you interpreted it the same way. And, yes, YA has improved wonderfully since we were kids.
Same as you, I read anything for any age. But that was mainly because I read anything that I could get my hands on.
Thanks for visiting my TTT earlier.
You’re welcome. And there’s something to be said for reading a wide variety of things!
Just added nine more books to my TBR. 😁 I’ve only read The Star Touched Queen. Great List!
Woohoo! Enjoy. And thanks.
I love that you included Want and The Star-Touched Queen! I love a lot of the books that you included on this list, actually!
Thank you very much. 🙂
I definitely ignored age recommendations too when I was a little girl!! 🙂 and as for the list you have, I have to read all of them except The Poet X.. and I know I would have devoured it at any age.. (will do so in the future too!)
Oh, that’s awesome! Hope you enjoy the rest of the books on my list if or when you read them.
I’ve only read Fangirl from your list (several are on my tbr), but I would have also loved that one as a teen, I think. I really need to pick up The Poet X, too.
I hope you enjoy it!
Ohhh I also ignore reading age and might have stumbled upon adult stuff when I was too young. And I need to read The Poet X, Dread Nation, and everything by Roshani Chokshi! Thanks for sharing your list!
You’re welcome. It sounds like we have some stuff in common. 🙂
This topic is such an interesting one, especially since I was never really a keen reader when I was younger, but I think my younger self would have loved Fangirl.
Cool!
I distinctly remember picking up Tess of the D’Ubervilles in junior high only to be told by the librarian that it was “too old” for me. I never picked it back up. That may be why I don’t like Hardy, even today. Like your list!
Thank you! What a shame that you were dissuaded from reading that book.
There’s so much excellent sounding YA getting published these days. I read Dread Nation recently and it was a lot of fun even as an adult.
So glad to hear that. 🙂
I think a lot of us wish we’d read Fangirl when we were youunger, too! Great list 🙂
Thanks. 🙂
Oh yes! I also wish I had been able to read Fangirl earlier in my life.
🙂
There were only a few on this list i have heard of. Great list.✌️