This list includes books that seem to be aimed at a YA (Young Adult) audience (approximately ages 12 to 18, usually with a protagonist about …
Young adult
Centre of My Everything by Allayne Webster
A review by Nalini Haynes Trigger warning: drug & alcohol use including by teenagers and preteens; domestic violence; rape Centre of My Everything has several …
Ruby Tuesday by Hayley Lawrence
A review by Nalini Haynes Trigger warning: rape Ruby Tuesday Matthews (not the model) lives in the bush near a small town where her mother …
Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim
A review by Nalini Haynes Trigger warnings: domestic violence (depicted), depression, and suicide (not depicted but discussed) Wen is the Tiger Daughter of two Chinese …
Shadow and Bone (Book 1: The Grisha) by Leigh Bardugo
A review by Nalini Haynes After reading The Ninth House, I promised myself some more Bardugo books. Then came her Wonder Woman story. Now Rule …
The Gaps by Leanne Hall
A review by Nalini Haynes Trigger warning: there are no actual depictions of rape or murder but characters contemplate these possibilities and live under the …
Witch by Finbar Hawkins
A review by Nalini Haynes Evey and Dill, two sisters, watch as a group of men murder their mother. They flee to their mother’s coven …
Outlawed by Anna North
A review by Nalini Haynes Outlawed is a change of pace from my recent reads despite the feminist theme running through all the shiny books …
Influence by Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham
A review by Nalini Haynes Delilah, Scarlet, Fiona and Jasmine are four famous influencers in Hollywood. They’re all around the same age – 16 to …
Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow
A review by Nalini Haynes Juniper limps towards New Salem, alone after murdering her father. Her sisters fled home seven years earlier, leaving her alone, …
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace
A review by Nalini Haynes Princess Amora turns 18 so faces a rite of passage where she must publicly kill a prisoner with magic. She …
Future Girl by Asphyxia
A review by Nalini Haynes Piper is Future Girl and she is Deaf. The nerves to her ears stopped working when she was about 3 …
Hanna (TV series 2019-)
A review by Nalini Haynes Hanna lives in the forest with her father, like so many stories involving hero’s journeys before her. She’s a teenager …
House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess
A review by Nalini Haynes Emilia hides a destructive power. If found out, authorities will torture her until she dies. Lucian was a soldier who …
Left-handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
A review by Nalini Haynes Susan Arkshaw moves to London to attend art school but arrives early, allowing her to spend the holidays looking for …
Deadly Education: Lesson One of the Scholomance by Naomi Novik
A review by Nalini Haynes Bram Stoker’s Scholomance provides a deadly education in the magical world existing alongside the ordinary non-magical world in this tale …