The Mainland: The Terra Testimonies by Sara Francis is a riveting young adult dystopian novel. This is book 2 of 3 in the Terra Testimonies. This story centers mainly on the Hodgins triplets: Mark, Aymie, and Shane, and actually makes you think about what MIGHT...

Scotty's Junction by Andrew Arthur is an impressive YA coming-of-age novel. Centering on an artistic genius named Scotty Madaki, we are introduced to this teenager and his father in a New York park. Scotty's father, who he calls Pops, places a high value on education,...

On Fred’s twenty-first birthday, his father runs off and his great-aunt Bridget passes away. He soon realizes that he is in charge of caring for his two younger sisters. When their home burns to the ground, they are forced by the townsfolk to leave because...

“In Truth, all is black or white. There is no room for color nor gray; no indecision here.” And so goes the rule of an organized religion known as Truth. Yet Castor, an ardent believer and follower of this religious community, will discover that there...

Flashpoint Stentorville 2003 by Helmut and J.E.H. Roth has the makings of a YA icon. It's about two young teens, Bart and Ollie, whose lives intersect later, but whose stories are told separately at first. Bart hops a train out of town and goes east,...

Valiance by Vanessa Caraveo is a young adult story that will inspire and educate people of all ages and creeds. Diego Herrera was born deaf and mute and his parents are illegal immigrants from Mexico. All these things mean that life is not easy for...

Hannah is the Vice President of her school's Students Against Destructive Decisions club. She gets good grades and is called Mouse by her close friends because she often doesn’t make decisions for herself and lets others make them for her. She gives in to her...

The Dorks by Timothy Imhoff is a light-hearted look at coming-of-age. Jason Davis has spent the bulk of his young life living with his grandparents in Sarasota, Florida after his mother was tragically killed in a car accident when he was eight. Unable to cope...

Rocket Queen by Julianna Morgan is a mesmerizing coming-of-age YA novel that follows sixteen-year-old Wren Evans as she deals with depression and seeks deeper levels of connection with herself. She forgets dates, often feeling moody and lonely. But her depression becomes stronger when she is...

Haskell Himself is an LGBTQ coming-of-age novel written by Gary Seigel. It was 1966, and Haskell considered his life to be as optimal as it could get. Granted, his single mom worked all hours of the day and night, so they never really did get...