The 20 Most Riveting YA Books of 2018

Amy Spalding's The Summer of Jordi Perez is a giddy romp of a book that reminds us that sometimes a story can be fun and important at the same time. Abby is a 17-year-old gay plus-size blogger with zero interest in romance until she meets Jordi Perez, her fellow intern who she's competing with for her dream job. Abby quickly finds herself on a journey of self discovery that involves romance, betrayal, self acceptance, and a search for the best burger in Los Angeles. Yes, this book is as fantastic as it sounds.

Courtney Summers's Sadie is one of the most talked about books of 2018 for good reason: it's riveting. Sadie goes on a quest to find her sister's killer as a radio personality launches an investigation of his own in hopes of tracking down Sadie after he overhears her story at a gas station. Their two journeys weave together to create a twisted mystery that you'll both dread unraveling and be unable to look away from.

Pride and Prejudice gets a modern update as Jane Austen's famous story is transported to the streets of Brooklyn in Ibi Zoboi's Pride. The witty romance of the classic remains, but the class politics get a major upgrade as the novel seamlessly tackles gentrification and racial politics.

Set during the immediate aftermath of 9/11, A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a heartbreaking, stunning novel about a young Muslim teen navigating New York during a period of time when prejudice lurks around every corner. Her experiences are difficult to read, but Tahereh Mafi's prose makes it clear why Shirin's story is just as vital now as it would have been in 2002.

Nothing will ever fully live up to the masterpiece that is Dumplin', but Julie Murphy's prequel Puddin' comes close. The novel can be read as a standalone, but for fans of Dumplin', it adds another layer of depth to Millie's story, while at the same time telling a stunning story of two young women who find each other at the perfect time.

It's impossible not to fall in love with Adam and Ben. The two boys at the heart of Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera's What If It's Us are a literary couple for the ages. This sweet love story is a beautifully crafted ode to the importance of listening to the universe (and your heart).

Shea Ernshaw proves to be a master at spinning an eerie atmosphere in The Wicked Deep. Set in the cursed town of Sparrow, every summer, three sisters who were drowned for being witches return to take their revenge by possessing three young women and luring men to their watery graves. Unflinchingly dark and full of genuinely creepy moments, this is one of the year's best novels designed to keep you up at night.

By all accounts, L.M. Elliott's Hamilton and Peggy! shouldn't work, and yet, it's a compelling look inside the Revolutionary War that finally gives Peggy Schuyler her due. The forgotten Schuyler sister's friendship with Alexander Hamilton is grounded in truth, but the novel wisely mixes fact and fiction to draw a picture of an indomitable young woman who found herself swept up in a war that divided the nation.

Tanaz Bhathena's debut novel, A Girl Like That, begins at the end of the story. In the first chapter, Zarin Wadia dies. The 16-year-old is an outlier in her community of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She's considered a troublemaker and someone who parents want their children to stay away from. That doesn't stop Porus Dumasia from falling in love with her, and it doesn't stop her story from being told. Bhathena uses several different points of view to uncover the truth behind Zarin's death and to tell the story of her daring life.

A fairy tale for modern times, Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood is atmospheric, enchanting, and more than a little haunting. Bad luck seems to follow Alice and her mother everywhere they go, and their fortune doesn't change when they arrive at the Hazel Wood estate. The sprawling home and its grounds belong to Alice's grandmother, a reclusive author. Soon, Alice's mother is spirited away to Hinterland — the not-so-fictional world her grandmother "invented." In order to find her mother, Alice must team up with her grandmother's fans and enter a world of the supernatural.

Becky Albertalli continues to expand the rich world she created in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda with Leah on the Offbeat. This time around, Simon's quirky best friend Leah takes center stage in her own journey of self-discovery. As her supportive friend group begins to experience growing pains, Leah gains the courage to speak her own truths about being bisexual, loving art, and not always being quite as confident as her pals think she is.

Justina Ireland's meticulously plotted Dread Nation is the perfect mix of reality and the supernatural. Dread Nation takes place in an alternate version of the United States where the Civil War was paused due to a zombie uprising. Jane McKeene is growing up in the years after the war was called off, and she's on the path to becoming an Attendant, whether she wants to be one or not. (Through the Native and Negro Education Act, children like Jane are taught etiquette alongside the art of combating the dead.) However, this world is just as unequal as the real one, as Jane knows all too well.

The third book in the Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir, A Reaper at the Gates, proves this fantasy epic just keeps getting better. Helene Aquilla is more determined than ever to protect her sister and the empire as their emperor becomes increasingly unstable. Elsewhere, Laia of Serra is on a hunt for the Nightbringer, while Elias Veturius sacrifices his freedom for a dark new role. Fans of Game of Thrones need this sprawling series in their lives.

Few books this year have been quite as relevant and heartbreaking as Jay Coles's Tyler Johnson Was Here. Marvin Johnson and his twin, Tyler, go to a party, but after a raid, Tyler is shot dead by the police. A devastated Marvin is left to deal with his mother's heartbreak and his own grief as he searches for some sense of justice in the aftermath of his brother's unnecessary death.

Janes throughout history are getting their due thanks to the trio of Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. After rewriting the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey in My Lady Jane, in 2018, they turned their attention to literary heroine Jane Eyre for My Plain Jane. And oh, is this fresh take on the classic fun. Jane moves to Thornfield Hall to be a governess for Mr. Rochester's ward, just as she does in the original Charlotte Brontë novel, but this time, she sees actual ghosts.

The world-building in Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone will take your breath away. The story is set 12 years after King Saran's raids across Orïsha end the culture of magic. Eleven years later, a young woman named Zélie, who possesses magical blood, embarks on a quest to bring magic back into her world. Poignant, evocative, and completely engrossing, this book leaves you craving more.

In the world of YA thrillers, Tiffany D. Jackson's Monday's Not Coming is one of the best. The story follows the disappearance of Monday Charles, who simply doesn't show up for school one day. Most unsettling of all is the fact that only her best friend Claudia seems to know — or care — that she's missing. This page-turner will keep you guessing (and your heart breaking) right until the end.

YA novels tend to be set in high school, but in American Panda, author Gloria Chao mines the college setting of MIT for all that it's worth. Mei is a 17-year-old who is on track to become a doctor, marry a nice Taiwanese man, and have children. However, that's not the future she wants; it's the one her parents want for her. After reconnecting with her brother, Mei begins to realize that she needs to be honest about what she wants for herself, no matter the cost.

Pulling off a high-concept novel is tricky, but Marisha Pessl makes it look easy in Neverworld Wake. Five friends return to a seaside estate one year after the mysterious death of one of their own. With their evening already awkward, the last thing they need is a knock on the door from a stranger who informs them that they're stuck in time, and the only way for them to ever move forward is for them to choose one among them to live, while the other four must die.

Vikings aren't usually the subjects of YA novels, but this book will convince you that they should be. In Sky in the Deep, Adrienne Young introduces readers to Eelyn. The young warrior only knows a life of fighting and survival, but her worldview becomes much more complicated when she discovers that the brother she thought was dead is actually alive and fighting for a rival clan.