Welcome to another edition of Must Read Monday!

This feature is where I spotlight older, recent, or upcoming releases I am looking forward to. The lists will include all genres I like to read, everything from picture books to comics, children’s lit to adult fiction!

This week is all about young adult fiction! Even whittled down, there are piles of tremendous-sounding YA titles on my TBR list! Here is a selection of eight: some have been waiting a while (I am sorry, dear books), others are new and forthcoming, some from authors I adore, and some I have read rave reviews for:

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Publication: February 23, 2016 by Wendy Lamb Books
Book Description:

Alaska: Growing up here isn’t like growing up anywhere else.

Ruth has a secret that she can’t hide forever. Dora wonders if she can ever truly escape where she comes from, even when good luck suddenly comes her way. Alyce is trying to reconcile her desire to dance with the life she’s always known on her family’s fishing boat. Hank and his brothers decide it’s safer to run away than to stay home—until one of them ends up in terrible danger.

Four very different lives are about to become entangled. This is a book about people who try to save each other—and how sometimes, when they least expect it, they succeed.

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes
Publication: May 17, 2016 by HarperTeen
Book Description:

No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time the roller coaster jumped off its tracks. Or the time the house next door caught on fire. Or that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch.

It’s safest for Maguire to hide out in her room, where she can cause less damage and avoid new people who she could hurt. But then she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star. Jordy is confident, talented, and lucky, and he’s convinced he can help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can do for Jordy is to stay away. But it turns out staying away may be harder than she thought.

Running Girl (The Garvie Smith Mysteries #1) by Simon Mason
Publication: August 30, 2016 by David Fickling Books (first published 2014)
Book Description:

Meet Garvie Smith. Highest IQ ever recorded at Marsh Academy. Lowest ever grades. What’s the point? Life sucks. Nothing surprising ever happens. Until Chloe Dow’s body is pulled from a pond. Garvie’s ex-girlfriend.

Inspector Singh is already on the case. Ambitious, uptight, methodical, he’s determined to solve the mystery–and get promoted. He doesn’t need any “assistance” from a notorious slacker. Or does he?

Smart, stylish, and packed with twists and turns from start to finish, Running Girl introduces an unforgettable new character to the world of crime fiction–so lazy he’d only get out of bed for murder.

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig
Publication: October 4, 2016 by Feiwel & Friends
Book Description:

Flynn’s girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?

Flynn’s girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can’t answer, and her friends are telling stories that don’t add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January’s boyfriend, he must know something.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January’s disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman
Publication: November 22, 2016 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Book Descsription:

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Publication: February 28, 2017 by Balzer + Bray
Book Description:

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter 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, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, Khalil’s death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Starr’s best friend at school suggests he may have had it coming. When it becomes clear the police have little interest in investigating the incident, protesters take to the streets and Starr’s neighborhood becomes a war zone. What everyone wants to know is: What really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could destroy her community. It could also endanger her life.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Expected publication: March 7, 2017 by Clarion Books
Book Description:

From the multi-award-winning author of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe comes a gorgeous new story about love, identity, and families lost and found.

Sal used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving Mexican-American family, and his best friend, Samantha. But it’s senior year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal’s not who he thought he was, who is he?

This humor-infused, warmly humane look at universal questions of belonging is a triumph.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Expected publication: April 11, 2017 by Balzer + Bray
Book Description:

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker, Reid. He’s a chubby Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him.

Right?

Another year of reading is inching its way to an end! All around, I would say that it has been a pretty solid year of reads: from brilliant and moving picture books, to gems in young adult, children’s and adult fiction, there have been a number of winners.

I am so happy to say that though I did not read a ton of YA, there were a number of terrific– smart, sharp, meaningful, innovative- teen titles in the relatively small selection I did get to. Great crop! In no particular order, here are my picks for best young adult fiction:

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
A Sense of the Infinite by Hilary T. Smith
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales
The Truth Commission by Susan Juby
Thrice Burned (Portia Adams Adventure #2) by Angela Misri
Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert

*Some titles may not have been published in 2015; the books are titles I read over the last year. Some titles may have been gifted from publishers in exchange for honest reviews; this had no impact on placing in this list.

This week: ten books that celebrate diversity and/or diverse characters*! In no particular order, my list of twelve terrific young adult and middle-grade titles and series featuring and celebrating diverse characters:

*To borrow from The Broke and the Bookish’s reference:

For the purposes of this topic our definition of diversity is aligned with that of WNDB: “We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (Contemporary YA; LGBTQIA)
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour (Contemporary YA; LGBTQIA)
So B. It by Sarah Weeks (Middle-grade title; main characters with disabilities)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Middle-grade title; main characters with disabilities)
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Contemporary YA title featuring protagonist with prosthesis and a main character with cerebral palsy)
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten (Contemporary YA featuring main characters with mental health issues)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Contemporary YA featuring Native American narrator/protagonist)
Ask the Passengers by A.S. King (Contemporary YA; LGBTQIA)
The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher (Middle grade mystery title featuring female ethnic minority main character)
The Agency (Mary Quinn mystery series) by Y.S. Lee (YA historical mystery series featuring female ethnic minority main character)
Origami Yoda (series) by Tom Angleberger (Middle-grade contemporary series; LGBTQIA, gender diversity, ethnic minorities, mental health issues)
Wells & Wong (series) by Robin Stevens (Middle-grade historical mystery series featuring female ethnic minority main character)

Bonus picture book pick:
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena, illus. Christian Robinson

What are your picks this week?