The Young Folks team has come together to list the very best in entertainment and pop culture for the year 2015!
From “A Court of Thorns and Roses” to “Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda,” our tastes in books may slightly differ, but there’s no doubt that 2015 gave us a great amount of the best and most thought-provoking novels. Click through the slideshow to see our cumulative and some individual writers’ lists, and sound off in the comments with your favorite books of 2015!
Best YA Books of 2015 (As voted by TYF’s book staff)
In no particular order…
“Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard
“Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo
“The Rest of Us Just Live Here” by Patrick Ness
“The Wrath & The Dawn” by Renee Ahdieh
“The Mime Order” by Samantha Shannon
“Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell
“Dumplin’” by Julie Murphy
“The Start of Me and You” by Emery Lord
“The Summer of Chasing Mermaids” by Sarah Ockler
“Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertelli
“More Happy Than Not” by Adam Silvera
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Bri Lockhart’s Top 10 Books of 2015
- “Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli
Hands down, my favorite read of the year goes to Becky Albertalli’s debut. Warm, funny and diverse, Simon offers a protagonist you’d want to be your best friend and more laughs than you’ll know what to do with.
- “Bone Gap” by Laura Ruby
Magical realism with a side of fairy tale. Laura Ruby delivered a beautifully written, smart read that kept me guessing until the end.
- “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas
2015 brought two new books from Sarah Maas–”A Court of Thorns and Roses” introduced a world based on Beauty and the Beast and Tamlin.
- 4. “The Royal We” by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
This charming fictionalized account of an English prince falling in love with an American commoner was an utter delight to read.
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- “Queen of Shadows” by Sarah J. Maas
While I enjoyed “Heir of Fire,” it was a good amount of set up. This fourth installment of the “Throne of Glass” series brought our favorite characters back together with new friendships, a bunch of action and some vengeance.
- “The Darkest Part of the Forest” by Holly Black
A beautifully written tale of siblings, guilt, unreliable narration and unexpected love between friends. Another awesome novel from Holly Black.
- “Dumplin’” by Julie Murphy
Dumplin’/Willowdean is an awesome protagonist who addresses the topic of body image head on without getting preachy. I loved seeing how Willowdean’s confidence changed throughout the course of the story, as well as all of the Dolly Parton references.
- “The Alex Crow” by Andrew Smith
“The Alex Crow” brings some of the crazy found in Andrew Smith’s 2014 novel “Grasshopper Jungle” to meet the heart wrenching story of Ariel, a refugee from the Middle East who finds himself at a tech detox camp. Packs quite the emotional punch.
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- “Winter” by Marissa Meyer
The end of the “Lunar Chronicles” brought a satisfying ending to the characters’ stories in a fast-pace fourth volume. Bonus points to Meyer for making an 800+ page tome feel like a breeze.
- “Royal Wedding” by Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot’s return to “The Princess Diaries” series was fabulous fan service and I loved every minute of it.
Honorable Mentions For 2015 Books I Read in 2014: “The Wrath and the Dawn” by Renee Ahdieh, “The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly” by Stephanie Oakes, “Fish in a Tree” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, “An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir
Gabrielle Bondi’s Top 10 Books of 2015
Another year where I need to apologize for not reading enough books! However, I have to admit that this is the year where I was introduced to comic books and pretty much devoured a ton of them. Comics are an interesting and underappreciated medium for storytelling, and some of this year’s best new stories were from comics. In addition to that, I have managed to read quite a few books. From the delightful “Hold Me Closer” musical book to the magical “Court of Thorns and Roses” to the rousing and ambitious “Walk On Earth A Stranger,” it was another outstanding year for Young Adult literature.
- “Ms. Marvel Volume. 4: Last Days” by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
- “Walk on Earth a Stranger” by Rae Carson
Brooke Pawling Stennett’s Top 10 Books Of 2015
It’s been a tough year with books for me. Despite the lack of reading I set aside this year, I really enjoyed these books and would highly recommend them to read, if you haven’t done so already.
- “Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli
- “Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell
- “Saint Anything” by Sara Dessen
- “More Happy Than Not” by Adam Silvera
- “All the Bright Places” by Jennifer Niven
- “Traffick” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Binge” by Tyler Oakley
- “Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoon
- “An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir
- “The Weight of Feathers” by Anna-Marie McLemore
Lauren Wengrovitz’s Top 10 Books of 2015
- “Dumplin’” by Julie Murphy
- “Saint Anything” by Sarah Dessen
- “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo
- “See How They Run” by Ally Carter
- “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard
- “The Start of Me and You” by Emery Lord
- “Ten Thousand Skies Above You” by Claudia Gray
- “The Fixer” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- “Trouble is a Friend of Mine” by Stephanie Tromly
- “The Conspiracy of Us” by Maggie Hall
Top 10 Most Anticipated YA Books of 2016
It’s not the end of the year unless we are also reflecting on which books we are looking forward to reading in 2016. As voted by TYF’s book reviewers, we list in no particular order the Top 10 YA books we are eagerly anticipating in 2016.
“The Raven King” by Maggie Stiefvater
“Truthwitch” by Susan Dennard
“A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J Maas
“The Glass Sword” by Victoria Aveyard
“Passenger” by Alexandra Bracken
“The Rose and the Dagger” by Renee Ahdieh
“The Last Star” by Rick Yancey
“Crooked Kingdom” by Leigh Bardugo
“The Song Rising” by Samantha Shannon
“A Gathering of Shadows” by Victoria Schwab
Honorable mentions to: “Heartless” by Marissa Meyer, “Lady Midnight” by Cassandra Clare, “The Winner’s Kiss” by Marie Rutkoski, “A Torch Against the Night” by Sabaa Tahir, “Morning Star” by Pierce Brown, “This Savage Song” by Victoria Schwab, “The Girl from Everywhere” by Heidi Heilig
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