15 YA Books That You Haven't Read (But Totally Should)

Everyone has read The Fault in Our Stars and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but these under-appreciated YA books will make you think, make you cry, make you laugh, and change your life... and you'll wonder what you have been missing. (Don't worry, Agustus Waters, I still love you!)

1. Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

Amazon Rating: 4.2/5.0 stars.

What's it about? If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) is a mystery to them. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

Why is it so fantastic? This book is full of lovable characters (Hudson has to be one of the sweetest male characters in the history of books), realistic situations, and a highly original (and super fun) plot. I could not put it down!

2. Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas

Amazon Rating: 4.4/5.0 stars

What's it about? For Steve York, life was good. He had a 4.0 GPA, friends he could trust, and a girl he loved. Now he spends his days smoked out, not so much living as simply existing. But his herbal endeavors -- and personal demons -- have lead to a severe lack of motivation. Steve's flunking out, but if he writes a one-hundred-page paper, he can graduate. Steve realizes he must write what he knows. And through telling the story of how he got to where he is, he discovers exactly where he wants to be.

Why is it so fantastic? This book is written from the true perspective of a teenager in search of a meaning in his life when things seem hopeless and lost. It is gritty and real and emotional and so so good.

3. If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

Amazon Rating: 4.4/5.0 stars.

What's it about? I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial. So let me tell you...

Why is it so fantastic? I haven't cried this much while reading a book since TFiOS. It is a beautiful story that is beautifully written. It's so authentic, so heartbreaking, and so life-changing.

4. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Amazon Rating: 4.2/5.0 stars.

What's it about? If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss.

She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps.

She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia.

She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.

She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She’d get all his inside jokes, and maybe he wouldn’t be so frustrated with her for forgetting things she can’t possibly remember.

She’d know about her mom’s new family.

She’d know about her dad’s fiancée.

She wouldn’t have to spend her junior year relearning all the French she supposedly knew already.

She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her.

She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back.

But Naomi picked heads.

Why is it so fantastic? I was drawn to the title, and based on it I expected it to be good. But I never expected it to be this great. It's captivating and moving and really makes you think about life. Definitely didn't disappoint.

5. Chasing Trains by Mackenzie Herbert

Amazon Rating: 4.7/5.0 stars.

What's it about? Kaitlyn's life has been stuck in neutral- a lonely girl trying her best not to stand out. But by not standing out, she never really fit in. When an impulsive decision leads her to the local wild child and her quirky group of perfectly imperfect friends, she's immersed in a world she never knew existed. In this summer before college, she learns about friendship, falling in love, heartbreak, and how sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith in order to soar. Through unlikely friendships, she'll finally find the spark to chase her dreams and to live life, not just survive it.

Why is it so fantastic? Beautiful story, beautiful writing, beautiful characters. This book so perfectly captures the emotions and trials of being a teenager- even the not-so-pretty bits.

6. Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo

Amazon Rating: 3.5/5.0 stars

What's it about? From the moment Amelia sets eyes on Chris, she is a goner. Lost. Sunk. Head over heels infatuated with him. It's problematic, since Chris, 21, is a sophisticated university student, while Amelia, 15, is 15. Amelia isn't stupid. She knows it's not gonna happen. So she plays it cool around Chris—at least, as cool as she can. Working checkout together at the local supermarket, they strike up a friendship: swapping life stories, bantering about everything from classic books to B movies, and cataloging the many injustices of growing up. As time goes on, Amelia's crush doesn't seem so one-sided anymore. But if Chris likes her back, what then? Can two people in such different places in life really be together?

Why is it so fantastic? it is smart, painfully awkward, and so realistic. It's a cute book but it's also full of depth.

7. The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

Amazon Rating: 3.3/5.0 stars.

What's it about? For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now . . . not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are? Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be. And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them.

Why is it so fantastic? First love is one of my favorite things to read about, and this was a beautiful story about first love. I loved the writing, I loved the story, but most of all I loved the emotions that I could feel in the story and the emotions it made me feel.

8. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Amazon Rating: 3.7/5.0 stars.

What's it about? Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time—when not playing video games and avoiding Earl’s terrifying brothers— making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don’t make them for other people. Until Rachel. Rachel has leukemia, and Greg’s mom gets the genius idea that Greg should befriend her. Against his better judgment and despite his extreme awkwardness, he does. When Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl must abandon invisibility and make a stand.

Why is it so fantastic? It took me by surprise with its ability to make me laugh, infuriate me and have me on the verge of tears, often in the span of a single page.

9. Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S King

Amazon Rating: 4.5/5.0 stars.

What's it about? Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far. But Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?

Why is it so fantastic? This is one of those books that I feel is so important for everyone to read. It's dysfunctional and full of flawed characters but so so extraordinarily wonderful.

10. Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Amazon Rating: 3.8/5.0 stars.

What's it about? When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs. So she convinces her best friend to help her with a crazy bucket list that's as much about revenge as it is about hope. But just when Alice's scores are settled, she goes into remission, and now she must face the consequences of all she's said and done.

Why is it so fantastic? This book is too amazing to really describe. Emotional and real and honest and funny. It's the whole package.

11. And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

Amazon Rating: 3.6/5.0 stars.

What's it about? When high school senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school library with a stolen gun, he threatens his girlfriend Emily Beam, then takes his own life. In the wake of the tragedy, an angry and guilt-ridden Emily is shipped off to boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she encounters a ghostly presence who shares her name. The spirit of Emily Dickinson and two quirky girls offer helping hands, but it is up to Emily to heal her own damaged self.

Why is it so fantastic? It's inventive and unique- told in verse and in prose. It paints the aftermath of tragedy as a landscape where there is good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.

12. How to Love by Katie Cotugno

Amazon Rating: 4.1/5.0 stars.

What's it about? Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember. But he's never noticed that Reena even exists . . . until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.

After: Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter. Reena's gotten used to life without Sawyer, but just as suddenly as he disappeared, he turns up again. Reena wants nothing to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said his being back wasn't stirring something in her.

After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

Why is it so fantastic? This book felt so real, like everything written could happen to me. And that both scared and thrilled me. It's beautiful and heartbreaking and so so amazing.

13. The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

Amazon Rating: 4.4/5.0 stars.

What's it about? A severely burned teenager. A guitar. Punk rock. The chords of a rock 'n' roll road trip in a coming-of-age novel that is a must-read story about finding your place in the world...even if you carry scars inside and out.

Why is it so fantastic? This book is humorous, heart-breaking, and hopeful. There is so much emotion and honesty. It will change your life and the way you look at the world.

14. The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

Amazon Rating: 3.4/5.0 stars.

What's it about? Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she's not popular, not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet good girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now, in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change but doesn't know how. Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe's: star of the lacrosse team, at the top of his class, and on the fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a "term-paper pimp." Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change but doesn't know how. One fateful night, their paths cross at Wren's family's Arthurian-themed catering hall. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

Why is it so fantastic? This book delivered on the promise and was absolutely amazing. It's sweet and fun and sometimes you just need to read a book like that.

15. Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

Amazon Rating: 4.3/5.0 stars.

What's it about? Seventeen-year-old "Hank" has found himself at Penn Station in New York City with no memory of anything--who he is, where he came from, why he's running away. His only possession is a worn copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. And so he becomes Henry David--or "Hank"--and takes first to the streets, and then to the only destination he can think of--Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Cal Armistead's remarkable debut novel about a teen in search of himself. As Hank begins to piece together recollections from his past he realizes that the only way he can discover his present is to face up to the realities of his grievous memories. He must come to terms with the tragedy of his past to stop running and find his way home.

Why is it so fantastic? It's an interesting plot that is full of twists, turns, and unexpectedness. It's compelling and so well written. A definite must read!