18 Young Adult Novels That Weren't So PG After All

TBH, our library cards got us wayyyy more than we bargained for.

We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community which YA books really "got them going." Here's what they had to say:

1. The Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar

Via instagram.com, Warner Bros. Television

"As a non-American high school student, I was introduced to the throngs of partying and sexual topics that fill these books. I remember thinking how different the culture presented in the book was from what I'd experienced."

—hazelmaligayai

2. Forever by Judy Blume

Bradbury Press

"I remember this being passed around my group of girlfriends like a secret in year 7 or 8."

—katem4aa58ae4e

3. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

christine_queenofbooks / Via instagram.com

"This book had the first sex scene I’d ever seen in writing and I could picture the whole thing as clearly as if I was in that wine cellar. It definitely doesn’t help that it was written in first person!"

—anavictorialn

4. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

reader_nation / Via instagram.com

"I was 11 (way too young, sorry mom) when I read this. It was my first introduction to sex in books and to homosexuality. I still think the shared urn thing was one of the most romantic endings (save a happy ending where they're both, y'know, alive)."

—m4c248eed6

5. Girl by Blake Nelson

princess_risk / Via instagram.com

"This book talked about a young girl who shaved her head, hooked up on a summer camp on a dock, then became a groupie. The book was so explicit that I shared the passages with all of my friends at slumber parties."

—kristend44a2ada62

6. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Via instagram.com, Don Carmody Productions

"I had always loved Jace, but in City of Heavenly Fire a lot of ~mischief~ happens between he and Clary (and Simon and Izzy) in the demon realm. I hadn’t experienced that before outside of an educational setting, so it got me curious. Jace Herondale, man."

—fangirlsandflowers

7. It by Stephen King

Viking

"As an adult, I now see how out of place Stephen King's cocaine-fueled section of It was, when Bev has sex with all the boys in the Losers' Club to keep them all together forever. I was the same age as the kids at that point and even though I was an avid reader, it was the first time I had read a sex scene, let alone a scene describing a girl losing her virginity, so I thought it was hot. Now, whenever I read it, I think of that Chapelle's Show quote: 'Cocaine is a hell of a drug.'"

—clairew469e28fce

8. The True Blood series by Charlaine Harris

keelsmeach / Via instagram.com

"So in middle school, a girl literally did a book report on True Blood. MIDDLE SCHOOL! Being a massive reader, I had my mother, of all people, buy the first two books for me. Of course, the girl at school left out all the juicy details of the book so my mother and I didn't know the full extent of the series and the cashier said absolutely nothing. Those were some spicy books for a 12- or 13-year-old to read."

—monikap6

9. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Bloomsbury

"I realized I was gay when reading Sarah J. Maas's Heir of Fire and I had a dream about banging Manon while riding a wyvern. It was my first real fictional character crush (and a rather shocking revelation). Since then, I've lusted after plenty of kickass fictional women, but I've thankfully learned better sex positions."

—pks0

10. The Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard

Via instagram.com, ABC Family / Freeform

"I remember being so shook by Ezra and Aria’s problematic relationship…but it was hot!" —mb03

11. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

fictionbookcafe / Via instagram.com

"I still remember the kiss being described as tasting like stale bubblegum."

—s46acde3c7

12. Ready or Not by Meg Cabot

HarperCollins

"In this book there's a part where Sam’s sister tells her about masturbating with the shower head. I had never read a book before that spoke so frankly about female masturbation."

—meganj45c2b9b47

13. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares

Via instagram.com, Alcon Entertainment

"I was already a late teen when I read these books, so while it wasn’t exactly a sexual awakening, it was the first book/series that made me really want a boyfriend (specifically a hot Greek man lol)."

—pandabear14

14. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Random House Trade Paperbacks

"I don’t know if it was because I was in a very similar position as the protagonist (an economically disadvantaged girl at an elite school), but it spoke to me on a profound level. It has very realistic depictions of different kinds of sex, and I was here for it. My sophomore year of high school, during a free period, my table was talking about books that made us feel some kind of way and I brought up Prep. We all swapped books, but I never got mine back."

—desencuentro

15. The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

Via instagram.com, Reliance Entertainment

"The relationship that grows between Rose and Dimitri was inspirational. It was the first time I'd seen a female lead who was strong and put her self-worth above others. The scene with the red shirt gets me every time."

—megh4c5bf483c

16. The Frog Princess series by E.D. Baker

yellow_chair_books / Via instagram.com

"This series really did it for me. There was no sex whatsoever, but every time the two main characters kissed, I was done for (of course I’m a lesbian now though so does it really count?)."

—booklover321

17. The After series by Anna Todd

rentasticreads / Via instagram.com

"I read this series and all I can say is, 'OH MY GOD.' I don’t think anyone would read this book and think otherwise. The relationship between the main characters is so intense that you feel like you’re the third wheel."

—ellien41f8b1be0

18. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

bidasari78 / Via instagram.com

"Zach Taylor was the beekeeper of my 12-year-old fantasies."

—francesa4466a4219

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