Amanda’s Favorite YA Reads of 2023

List number two! Check out yesterday’s post to see my favorite middle grade reads of 2023.

Interestingly, I continue to read less YA and more middle grade. My Mount TBR still has plenty of YA in it, but I just don’t get to it as often as I intend to, for a variety of reasons, none of which are that I don’t like YA or don’t want to read it! I’ve been lucky to read so many great YA books this year and have squirreled away so many others that I hope to eventually find time to read (though we all know the idea of found time just does not exist).

Bear with me a bit as I repeat myself from yesterday:

As of this post, I have read 220 books this year. Did I get to read everything I had hoped to in 2023? Of course not. But I did read a lot! What follows are my favorite 2023 books that I reviewed here at TLT and excerpts of my reviews.

These are the books that most stuck with me this year.  Even though I’m a voracious reader, I’m sure I missed a lot of great 2023 books. I always enjoy reading the many lists that crop up this time of the year, but I also always want more variety and to hear from more people. So here’s my list—will you share yours with us too? Leave us a comment or hit me up on Twitter (assuming it still exists when this posts–which is the same thing I wrote in 2022!) where I’m @CiteSomething. 

Books appear on this list in order of publication date. These are excerpts of my reviews, with links at the end of each excerpt to the full review.

For Lamb by Lesa Cline-Ransome (ISBN-13: 9780823450152 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 01/10/2023, Ages 14-17)

This book wrecked me. By the end I was sobbing for Lamb, for her parents, for her brother, for the shameful history in our country. Marion, Lamb and her brother Simeon’s mother, is tough. She’s always done things her own way and seems hard on her children. She comes off like someone doing exactly what white people demand of her—be polite to them no matter how awful they are, never correct them, let them be nasty. She tries to keep her kids in line too, and for Lamb, that’s a bit easier. Lamb is quiet and careful and worries about consequences. Simeon is quick to speak up and correct people, even white people, is infuriated by the horrors and injustices happening all around them in the Jim Crow south, and wants nothing more than to get out of there and head north for college. But the reason Marion is always trying to shut him up and get him to just go along with things is that she knows that their survival, Simeon’s only chance of making it out, depends on them being “good” and respectful enough to stay off the radar of those who could end their lives, to just be left alone. But life never goes according to plan, does it?

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Play the Game by Charlene Allen (ISBN-13: 9780063212794 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication date: 01/31/2023 Age Range: 13 – 17 Years)

This book stressed me out. While I know that hardly sounds pleasant, it’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the book or anything. It’s a stressful story. Usually I read at work when the kids have their reading time, but I found I couldn’t do this book in little ten minute bursts—I just had to sit down, dig in, and find out what happened. Why was this story stressful? Well, if you read the summary up there, you might see why. VZ’s best friend, Ed, was recently killed, Ed’s killer, a white man, was never charged, and now this same man is found dead in the same area where he killed Ed, and VZ’s other best friend, Jack, is the prime suspect and on the run. I spent a lot of the book mentally yelling at the kids, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!” as they trailed suspects, tried to gather clues, and put themselves in all kinds of potentially dangerous situations. But, even though they were stressing me and my mom-self wanted to lecture them about risky choices, who can blame them? Who can blame these kids for wanting to see some justice, or maybe even revenge? Who can blame them for making rash decisions as they try to figure out who really killed Ed’s murderer, what really went down? Who can blame them for trying to prove a friend’s innocence while he’s hiding out and not telling them what he knows? It’s heavy stuff. It should feel stressful.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans (ISBN-13: 9780358721642 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication date: 04/11/2023, Ages 14-17)

A highly anxious teen with a long list of fears is forced to tackle them all at once (and add new ones) when they witness the murder (Fear #3) of a neighbor. Birdwatcher Bianca, a white nonbinary lesbian not yet out to their parents (Fear #11), teams up with their neighbor and only real life friend, Anderson, who is Black, to investigate a murder, which Bianca saw through a telescope. They quickly discover that the murder was not random but linked to a local cult, and follow the clues their neighbor left behind, facing peril at every turn. Working with Bianca’s crush, Chinese American Elaine, and a few others, the only way the murder will get solved is if Bianca can do things like break into a dead guy’s apartment (Fear #55), initiate conversations (Fear #6), and get out of an awful lot of dangerous situations (Fear #26). Fast-paced and well written, the story is as much about finding joy in exploring and discovering one’s identity as it is about a cult and conspiracy.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Khadijah VanBrakle (ISBN-13: 9780823454853 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 06/13/2023 Age Range: 14 – 17 Years)

I see a lot of books and a lot of time passes, so when I add something to my TBR or set aside a book to read, by the time I actually get around to it I’ve mostly forgotten whatever I read (the summary/blurb) and just know it’s a book I wanted to check out. So in my head, this was a light, cute book about a Muslim girl entering a baking contest. And she does—she enters a baking contest and much of the story revolves around her desire to win the competition and also to be allowed to pursue the career path she wants, not the one her parents want for her. But it’s also about so much more. Fatima’s mother would like to see her focusing on getting married, so when her family is approached by Raheem’s family (Raheem being the boy she has a crush on anyway), things move quickly ahead and before Fatima can ever really process what is happening, she’s engaged. Here’s why that should maybe be awesome: she actually likes Raheem! Here’s why it’s maybe not so awesome: Fatima just graduated from high school. She’s not at all looking to be married at 18. But it seems like her wishes are irrelevant.

And here’s why it’s really not awesome: Raheem is not who he seems. AT ALL. He is not some Disney prince. He is not supportive and kind. He is not open-minded (acting like he’s cool with Fatima’s best friend being a queer Muslim girl but then trash talking her and encouraging Fatima to drop her). And, most importantly, he’s not honest. Oh, and he’s also controlling and manipulative. And he blackmails her. He’s awful. But he keeps all of that awfulness hidden for a while, until he’s secured an engagement with Fatima.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Just Do This One Thing for Me by Laura Zimmermann (ISBN-13: 9780593530337 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 08/22/2023 Age Range: 14 – 17 Years)

Drew’s mother is best described as completely irresponsible, constantly running schemes, and obsessed with Justin Timberlake. She’s not exactly a great mom. In fact, she might be a terrible mom. Drew is the one to get her siblings up for school, make sure they’re fed, keep them organized. She also basically has to parent her mother. Drew and her sister share a dad, who is only barely in the picture, and their little brother has a different dad, who is absolutely not involved in his life. So it’s up to Drew to be the parent—to be all the parents. Is that a fair thing to ask of a senior in high school? Absolutely not. Do we all know plenty of kids who have unfortunately had to do the bulk of the parenting in their life? Yep. And when their mom takes off to Mexico for a JT concert, they figure she’ll be back in a week or so, and things will continue in the messy but typical way they always have. But there’s a twist coming. And it’s a big one. Drew and her siblings will have to call on all their skills for self-reliance, lying, scamming, and evasion to pull off the biggest scheme in their lives. Is it entirely believable? I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t care. It’s a great story, the kind that made me cringe repeatedly as they made bonkers choices and cheer when those choices paid off.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

All You Have To Do by Autumn Allen (ISBN-13: 9780593619049 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 08/29/2023 Age Range: 12 – 17 Years)

This is a novel about organizing, community, action, and doing the work. It’s a story about speaking out and taking a stand. It’s a story that looks at very specific moments in history—life right around the time of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination and life right around the time of the Million Man March. It is a story where students sit in classrooms and have really uncomfortable conversations, where people living in two very different versions of America don’t agree, don’t see the same things. There are students, especially in the 1990s timeline, who think everything is now equal, who believe we have “moved on” and have dealt with racism and discrimination. During a conversation with Kevin and his friends, in the 1960s, Allen writes, “There are two Americans, one Black and one white, and segregation and unequal treatment are the causes of urban uprisings. Even with the facts, people still act surprised. They don’t want to admit that segregation and unequal living conditions are a form of violence too” (pg 100). And then in the 90s, Gibran and classmates are still trying to come to terms with this reality, to get everyone to understand that we as a society have no somehow moved or or recovered from the many ill effects of slavery. As the class tries to have these conversations, their teacher tells them, “These conversations are not easy to have. But they are important. We broaden our views and hopefully get closer to being the inclusive community we strive to be” (pg 306). It’s 2023 and those lines ring as important as ever—maybe even more so, in this climate of so many working to shut down anything that shows the reality of the history and the present in this country.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr (ISBN-13: 9781419762611 Publisher: Amulet Books Publication date: 09/19/2023 Age Range: 14 – 18 Years)

Amina is not one to keep her thoughts to herself, whether that’s lashing out at her dumbass classmate Bowl Cut, or snapping at her father, or devastating her best friend with a cutting remark. She’s a fighter, a trait she inherited from her mother, who died when Amina was quite young. But in the wake of her sexual assault, an assault perpetrated by her church’s pastor, she finds she struggles to share her voice. She turns to journal entries (thanks to her therapist) and we hear her story through police report transcripts. These are places she reluctantly addresses what has happened to her, but when it comes to talking to people in her life about it, it’s hard. Of course it is. She and her father have never been close. Her best friend is in a new relationship leaving Amina to feel like a third wheel. Her boyfriend is the pastor’s nephew. And when she does share, she finds confidents in surprisingly people, like a teacher who never seemed to like her or a classmate who always seemed to think she was so much better than Amina.

Amina learns important lessons, lessons readers will take away too. Amina is strong even when she’s silent. And silence is complicated for her, because she feels like so often this is only when people approve of girls and women, when they’re silent. This is when you can only feel protected, if you’re keeping your mouth shut, keeping your “composure.” And it’s okay if you want to be silent, to feel protected by it, to not come forward, or to decide to step back (as is the case of another girl assaulted by the pastor). But it’s okay to use your voice, to share your experience, to let others surround you with support, to allow people the opportunity to step up and be there, to show you that you are not alone, and, most importantly, that the guilt or shame is not yours to carry.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow (ISBN-13: 9781536231113 Publisher: Candlewick Press Publication date: 10/03/2023 Age Range: 14 Years)

Ian’s life is HARD. From the outside, from a privileged eye, it looks basically impossible. Ian and his mother live in the kind of poverty we rarely see in YA. They are in a rural area of Vermont and Ian does his best to help them get by. Yes, his life is hard, but it’s also just his life—this is the only experience he has known for a long time now, and while he knows it’s unfair and that he’s having to do so much to get by that other kids don’t ever have to think about, it’s just what he has to do. There’s rarely heat in their ramshackle home, there’s not much to eat, and none of his clothes fit. He relies on school lunches, on being able to stop into the nurse for deodorant, and on odd jobs to cobble together enough to do small repairs and upgrades at home. His mother is in the picture, but her struggles with addiction make it difficult for her to keep a job, to do much parenting. Ian is used to fending for himself.

When things fall apart at home, Ian is gathered up by his community while the state figures out what to do with him. He has such good, caring people in his life. The kind of people we would all hope to be when we see someone needs support. But they’re not his family. And when he’s shipped off to his long-absent father, Ian takes his faithful dog, Gather, and hits the road (or rather, hits the woods).

Ian’s life is not the kind of life I would wish on anyone, but it goes without saying that Ian’s life is one that so many children live. The fact that Ian gets up every day and makes it to school seems like a miracle. And thank goodness he does go to school, because school is where he has people who will absolutely support him no matter what. He has teachers who make it clear that they will do anything to help him, that they will always listen to him, that they care about him. They make it clear that Ian matters. They make it clear that they see Ian. Good people in his community, they see him, they work hard to help him, to cut him a break. Ian is carrying a load no child should have to carry.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Filed under: Best of