This was the most circulated YA book in the library this year. Starr moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend. Brilliantly written.

Historical fiction at its best. Nora Lopez is seventeen during the summer of '77, when the City is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam. It's a book with thrills, romance, and family angst.

Renee Watson is a rising YA star. Our readers connected to this book in a big way. Jade goes to a private school and is tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Read on!

We were really surprised at how these books took off this year. Gene Luen Yang is a genius, no doubt. In his companion graphic novels, Yang tells the story of The Boxer Rebellion from the perspective of two young boys on opposite sides of this complex and violent conflict.

A graphic novel coming of age memoir by Tillie Walden. As a young girl, figure skating was a central piece of her identity, her safe haven from the stress of school, bullies, and family. But when she got into art, and fell in love with her first girlfriend, she began to question how the close-minded world of figure skating fit in with the rest of her life.

This book is magical. Super high interest but written in verse, which is appealing to reluctant readers. We handed it to a variety of kids, and each one came back saying, "Oh my God, this book was sooooooo good." It takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.

Heartily endorsed by Amanda B., this is on our reading list for sure. It's long, but we think kids will be pulled in by the social justice theme -- as well as the violence, betrayal, and star-crossed love.

High school senior Maya Aziz works up the courage to tell her parents that she's gotten into the film school of her dreams in New York City, but their expectations combined with anti-Muslim backlash from a terror attack threaten to derail her dream.

The newest from our good friend Jewell. Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing. Then he meets Emmet Till.