2012 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults

Carson, Rae. The Girl of Fire and Thorns.
After being kidnapped, Princess Elisa, bearer of the Godstone, and secret wife of a king, is forced to hike across a desert and ends up in a horrific war.

 

Cohen, Joshua C. Leverage.
An unlikely friendship between a stuttering, emotionally shattered, talented football player and a short, competitive gymnast, creates a bond that may help them stand up to three football bullies.

 

King, A.S. Everybody Sees the Ants.
Lucky faces a bully, meets a girl, and tries to bring his POW/MIA grandfather home from meetings that take place in his dreams as he struggles to find himself.

 

McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. Under the Mesquite.
When Lupita’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family shifts, bringing big changes for this tight-knit Mexican-American family.

 

Myracle, Lauren. Shine.
When Cat’s friend is brutally beaten in a hate crime, Cat feels driven to find out the truth about the assault and the attackers.

 

Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls.
The monster comes for Conor just after midnight, again and again. That is, until he’s ready to share how he feels about his mom’s cancer.

 

Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray.
In 1941, Lina and her family are taken from their home in Lithuania and sent to Siberia where, despite horrific conditions, Lina maintains hope that she will survive.

 

Stiefvater, Maggie. The Scorpio Races.
Sean and Puck fall in love when each is desperate to win the Scorpio Races, when wild meat eating water horses race on the beach.

 

Taylor, Laini. Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
Karu questions how she came to be raised by the chimaera Brimstone. When she meets the seraph Akiva, events unfold that could answer her questions—but at great cost.

 

Zarr, Sara. How to Save a Life.
Jill, who is grieving the death of her father, is appalled that her mother is adopting a baby and giving the pregnant mother, Mandy, a home… but Mandy’s got a story of her own.

 

 

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