Top Four YA Novels of 2017

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Taken from the fantastic mind of Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer is a novel that follows the heroic quest in a nontraditional way. Strange, a boy whose life has been restricted to the ancient and subservient role of Librarian, has been obsessed with a city whose name was ripped from the histories and memories of his people. When a delegation of warriors arrives from the lost city to seek out scholars, he must find a way to break from tradition and follows his dreams. Dreams that may or may not be real already. Read this if you liked The Ranger’s Apprentice or Cinder.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Shannon and Dean Hale

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl follows the unique and super-powered Doreen Green as she moves from her home in LA and goes to school for the first time in the suburbs of New Jersey. In doing so, she’ll have to find a way to become friends with, not just the neighborhood squirrels, but normal people, too. This laugh-out-loud novel from the ever-talented duo Shannon and Dean Hale is perfect for all ages.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Starr has always been torn between two worlds: her run-down neighborhood where men with guns killed her childhood best friend and the elite private school she has been attending on scholarship. When she becomes the primary witness in a crime, the media takes on her friend’s murder in a frenzy: calling him a thug, a drug-dealer, and other things Starr could never imagine about him. What she does or does not say could upend her entire community, as well as endanger her life. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas should be on every high school summer reading list.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Four students are implicated in the murder of their classmate after an allergic reaction goes horribly wrong in detention. They seemingly have nothing in common, but their high profiles spark the interest of a nation. Bronwyn is a Yale-bound perfect student. Addy is the perfect girlfriend, her beauty making her a shoo-in for Prom Queen. Nate is a drug dealer already on probation. Cooper is headed to the Major Leagues as soon as he graduates high school. And one of them is lying. This novel, One of Us Is Lying, by Karen M. McManus is recommended for those who enjoyed Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl.