Great Young Adult Literature that Adults will Love!

Thanks, in part, to novels like Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, Young Adult books have been making a huge splash with the adult novel reading populace. YA literature has been growing by leaps and bounds with huge blockbuster movies being made from great books such as I am Number Four and the Hunger Games. This category is becoming more and more expansive with numerous series and genres appealing not just to teens but to multiple age groups. Here are some fantastic YA titles that have great adult, cross-over appeal.

Just in case you haven’t yet read The Hunger Games (trilogy) by Suzanne Collins there is still time before the movie comes out next spring. In a post-apocalyptic society a young girl volunteers for the Hunger Games in place of her younger sister, who was selected by lottery. The girl’s skills are put to the test as a gladiator representing her district, in a battle to the death. In the follow up novels; Catching Fire and Mockingjay, Katniss becomes a symbol of the revolution and the war to come between the districts and the capitol city of Panem.

Tamar by Mal Peet: After his death, fifteen-year-old Tamar learns about her Grandfather’s role in the Dutch Resistance during the last year of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. As the story unfolds between 1944 Holland and 1995 England. Tamar uncovers a great secret that will forever alter the course of her family and their history.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman: Seventeen-year-old Mia is in a coma after a tragic car accident. Her parents and brother are dead and Mia, through an out of body experience flashes back throughout her life. She must eventually choose whether to live or go on with her family.

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork: Seventeen-year-old Marcelo is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum and has been sheltered for most of his life. As he steps out of his comfort zone and into the “real world” he must face new challenges including romance and injustice when he goes to work in the mail room at his father’s law firm.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: This story narrated by Death, follows the life of a young German girl, Liesel and her experiences during World War II. Death takes an interest in her after he sees Liesel steal her first book. Liesel later helps sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding through books and storytelling.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis: Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard a spaceship and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years into the future. Her frozen slumber abruptly comes to an end fifty years too soon and she finds herself in a new world confined to the four walls of a spaceship with strange customs and rules. Amy’s awakening is no malfunction. With the help of a crew member born on the ship and destined to be its future leader, Amy must unravel the mystery of her awakening or her parents and the rest of the sleeping cargo could be next.

This is just a handful of the many satisfying Young Adult titles found at your local library. Check out these materials and more from your library catalog