My Favorite YA Books

I love young adult books because as a young adult I feel like they portray what being young- and having to deal with things- is really is like. All YA books do portray this well, but these are my top 3:

1. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

I actually didn't love this book until I let it soak in for a while, like ten minutes after I returned it to the library. The book is absolutely amazing, and I knew that from the start, but the psychology and thought put into it isn't really absorbed until you have had it run through your mind for a couple of days. I love this book and hope that anyone out there who hasn't read it will right now.

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth

This is the opposite of what happened with The Chocolate War, I loved it immediately. The opening scene with her haircut is just so powerful, like an undercurrent- while it isn't an obvious big flashy light powerful, it is a quiet one that you don't really see until you are halfway across the ocean. For all of you out there that have finished the whole trilogy, I totally approve of the ending.

3. Panic by Lauren Oliver

The way that I found this book is different from how I approached both of the other books listed above, I approached this with the I love that cover sort of mindset. And I know what you're thinking, don't judge a book by it's cover, well I do that and it usually works out for me. Panic perfectly explains what it is like to live in a crappy town that no one knows about and feel trapped there. I know what that feels like and when I read this book I couldn't stop relating to it and wanting to know if she gets out or not. Read this, please.

Adults/Parents: these books have helped me and they could very well help your child, there may be some language that you may not want them to use, but when the time comes that you think they can handle it give them these books immediately.