VCL Young Adult Reading Suggestions: Kim's Picks for High School Students Summer 2019

One night Justyce helps buckle his drunk ex-girlfriend into the passenger seat of her car. A white cop happens upon the scene, assumes Justyce is harassing her, and arrests him. Justyce is black. This is the first of a whole string of racist incidents that Justyce experiences. This book showed me that racism is still a problem in America and it is up to white people to fix it. I recommend this book to anyone that is passionate about social justice issues.

Xiomara is a poet with a very strict mother who does not support her poetry or let her date. Then, Xiomara meets a really cute boy who shares her taste in music and likes her poems. This book is about Xiomara’s struggle to live her life on her own terms without sparking her mother’s rage. I recommend it to people who like realistic fiction, feminist themes, dark themes, literary writing, and romance.

Rowan and Citra are two teens living on a future Earth where people live forever. There’s no sickness, hunger, poverty, war, etc. However, the world population still needs to be controlled, so a group of people called Scythes exists to kill people. Rowan and Citra are picked to be a Scythe’s apprentices. I recommend this book to people who like science fiction, technology, action/adventure, and surprising twists.

Number Four looks like your typical teenager but is actually an alien with developing super powers. He tries to blend in with normal American high schoolers to hide from another alien race that is trying to kill him and 9 others like him. When three of them are murdered, Number Four has to go on the run, again. I recommend this book to people who like fast-paced action and adventure, science fiction, and a good underdog story.

Sadie is on the road hunting down the killer of her thirteen-year-old sister. A true-crime podcast follows her journey and reveals her traumatic past. I recommend this book to people that like strong female characters, dark violence, thrillers, detective stories, and podcasts.

This book is inspired by Alice in Wonderland, but in this version Alice fights monsters. She is a Dream Walker with special powers she uses to kill nightmare creatures before they get into the real world. I recommend this to people who like fantasy, action, adventure, and romance.

This is a comic book with a twist: The Joker is a good guy and the people of Gotham start to question Batman’s tactics. Does he have a role to play in police brutality? While it is part of the Batman Universe, you don’t need to have a lot of backstory knowledge to enjoy this comic. I recommend this to people who like action, superheros, anti-heroes, and social justice.

This book is a true story about two teenagers, Sasha and Richard. Sasha identifies as agender and uses the pronouns they and them. They like to wear skirts. On the bus one day, Richard thinks it would be a good prank to light Sasha’s skirt on fire. Richard gets arrested and the judge decides his crime is severe enough to charge him as an adult. However, is that what Richard deserves? Is that what Sasha wants? I recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about social justice and likes thought-provoking true stories.

This book is a true memoir written by a woman who had a difficult upbringing in a large family that lives off the grid in the mountains of Idaho. She is sheltered from much of the outside world and abused by her brother. She works really hard to get into college so she can gain independence. I recommend this book to people who like true stories about people who overcame difficult childhoods.

SCRAWL is a literary magazine featuring the writing and artwork of high schoolers and middle schoolers in Rockland County. If you are an aspiring writer or artist this is a great opportunity for you. Submissions open in January.