Samantha 0:00
Welcome back to Creating Joyful Readers, the podcast where we dive into all things literacy, book recommendations, and the joy of reading. I’m your host, Samantha, and today I’m especially excited because we’re talking about one of my favorite things, young adult books, specifically the 10 best YA titles I read in 2024. Whether you’re an educator looking to add new reads to your classroom library, a media specialist keeping up with the latest releases, or just a book lover hunting for your next great read, this episode is for you.

Samantha 0:33
Welcome to Creating Joyful Readers, a podcast dedicated to empowering secondary educators with the tools, strategies, and inspiration to cultivate a lifelong love of reading in their students. I’m your host, Samantha. Tune in each week as we explore the transformative power of independent reading. Delve into the latest research on literacy, dissect projects that will help your students showcase what they’ve learned in a unique way, and share curated recommendations of young adult novels that will captivate and engage your learners. Join in as we embark on a journey to create joyful, lifelong readers one book at a time.

Samantha 1:10
I’ve spent the year diving into some incredible stories across a variety of genres, everything from heart pounding thrillers to heartwarming romances, and I can’t wait to share my top picks. These are the books that left me thinking, feeling, and in some cases, totally obsessed. Hello, the girl in question.

Samantha 1:27
A lot of people ask me how I read so many books, so I thought I would give a little insight into my day to day. So a few years ago, I started reading pretty prolifically. When I started teaching. I didn’t read outside of school more than a few books a year, honestly. But a few years ago, I learned about habit stacking, that is, from the book atomic habits, and I figured that I could probably habit stack reading, and so that was what I focused on. So now my reading process looks like this. I usually have three books going at any given time. I have one in the car, one for upstairs, and one for downstairs. I know that seems kind of silly, but because I do everything – I do audio, e-reading, and physical book reading, I like to keep them in separate places, because I don’t like to switch back and forth on my Kindle. So in the car, I usually have audio going, and that’s normally non fiction text. I find that I really listen better to non fiction through audio, and I like to do that in the car. I have a book upstairs, and that’s usually my YA. So I read that while my daughter is watching her TV show, that she likes to watch, whatever the TV show of the current season is. And because I’m, you know, not really excited about watching kids shows all the time, I have a book, and I sit there with her while she’s doing that. So that’s my upstairs book. And then downstairs is my e-reading. So anything that I am currently reading on my Kindle, I have a paperwhite for those of you who are curious, I do that downstairs in my bedroom. So I’m currently recording in October, at the end of October, and I’m up to about, I think my number is 135 for the year. So far, last year, I read closer to 200 but I knew I needed to slow it down this year, because I got a little burnt out towards the end of the year, and I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I wanted to, so I really needed to find a pace that worked for me, that really made me feel like I was still enjoying the books. So I’ve read close to 135 ish right now, and I feel pretty good about the pace that I’ve been on this year. I will say that my favorite genres are romance and fantasy, and I have been trying to get through the Sarah J Maas catalog completely. So I read acotar and most of Crescent City last year, and this year I read the rest of Crescent City, plus I have been trying to get through Throne of Glass. So my rate of books has slowed a little bit, because those books are very large and they take a lot of time, but I am thoroughly enjoying them. I’m currently on number five. I also do a lot of reviewing for NetGalley, and you can see most of those reviews on my Instagram, if you’re interested in those. So I say all of that to say I read a lot of books throughout the year, and I see a lot of things, and I like to think that I pick through a lot of the muck so that I can bring you just what’s the best currently in YA.

Samantha 4:27
I’ve been reading and reviewing for a few years now, so I have my own system down to a science. I have a full blog post detailing how I rate books that I’ll drop in the show notes if you’re interested in a deep dive, but I just want to provide a little overview for you before I dive into my recs. I have a simple process that I think makes a real difference in keeping my ratings consistent. First I look at the plot to see if it has a clear beginning, middle and end, and I ask myself, does this make sense? That’s usually first on my checklist. Then I focus on the characters. Are they relatable? Do they show growth throughout that story? I try not to get too caught up on whether I like them, because as long as they’re three dimensional and layered, then I think the author has done a good job. I really do try to keep my personal opinions out of it, except for the fact that if I cry, it gets five. That’s the rule. I didn’t make it up, but I honor it. I then consider the conflict, since I think that’s where the real magic happens. If readers don’t care about the conflict, the story can fall flat. Finally, I check to see if the book has a strong theme that sparks discussion, because I believe books should give us something to think about and talk about, when all of these elements are combined with beautiful writing, that’s a slam dunk. I do believe book ratings can be very subjective. But if you studied literary elements for any length of time, I think you could find some commonality between ratings and what we think is considered good. I tend to be very generous with my ratings. That is mostly because I have written and put out three books. I co-write with my best friend under the name E. S. Roslin. We write YA contemporary romance. So if you’re interested in reading anything I’ve written, you can go check us out. But I do think that I’m fair with my ratings. If you want to follow all of my own reviews in real time, you can find me at Goodreads. I’m www.goodreads.com/samantha in secondary. I put all of my ramblings there. Sometimes they make no sense, but if you are interested in checking them out, go find me on Goodreads. Okay, grab a notebook or open your Goodreads app, because I have a feeling you’re going to want to add these to your TBR. Let’s get started with my top 10 ya reads of 2024, in no particular order. Just a note, as I’m going through these, before I get started, I am going to give you the grade level, the number of pages in the book the Lexile where available and the genre, a lot of these do not have a Lexile available. So I will skip that in my intro if it’s not available.

Samantha 6:49
The first book we’re going to talk about is Royal Scandal by Amy Carter. It’s for grades seven and up. It’s 416 pages, 980 Lexile, and it’s mystery. In the second book of the royal blood series. Evan Bright the American girl who’s become a royal nightmare, faces even more sinister scandals and escalating threats as the media paints her as Britain’s villain, a mysterious assassination attempt leaves her fearing the palace itself may be out to get her. So I didn’t really have very high expectations for this book, because I liked the first one, which was called Royal Blood. But my enjoyment was really just lukewarm. I am very happy to say that I loved Royal Scandal. It was so fast paced, and seeing the characters grow and become more three dimensional was really just so satisfying. The ending was also such a cliffhanger that I’m super excited for the next installment. I think that kids would really enjoy this one. It’s very much kind of like American Royals meets Gossip Girl. There’s lots of drama and there’s action, and it’s very fun. And I just think a lot of teens would love it.

Samantha 7:55
Okay, the next book I’m going to talk about is Reckless by Lauren Roberts, grades nine and up, 400 pages, and this is fantasy in the kingdom of Ilya, Paedyn Gray is on the run after killing the king and igniting a resistance pursued by the one person she never expected. Kai Azer now loyal to his brother the new king, as Kai chases her across dangerous lands, the line between hunter and hunted blur and the tension between duty and desire becomes lethal. Okay, so I have a lot of books for you this time that are number two in a series. I don’t know why I’m currently in a season of number two in the series, but here we are. So I almost didn’t read this book. It’s the second in the series, just like real scandal, but I really didn’t enjoy the first one, which is called powerless. This book is so popular right now, so you’ve probably seen it around. It just felt like a Hunger Games knock off to me, and I could not get past it. However, the end of powerless had a super interesting cliffhanger, so I decided to give reckless a try. I absolutely adored reckless. It was so much fun. It is true enemies to lovers, and the romance just sizzles on the page without needing any open door scenes. If you’re a romance reader or a writer, you know how difficult that is, and Lauren Roberts does a great job of it. It also ended on a crazy cliffhanger, though, so I am beyond excited to read what I hope is the last installment. I think this is a trilogy, and I really hope that she wraps it up in the next one. Because sometimes these books can just go on forever, and I would love to see it just close on three books.

Samantha 9:32
The next book is called, I Wish You Would by Eva de Lauriers, grade nine and up 288 pages, and this is contemporary romance. At Senior Sunrise, Natalia and Ethan face each other for the first time since their almost-more-than-friends moment at junior prom, and the tension is high when a handful of their class’s private confessions are scattered across the beach, they’re forced to team up to retrieve the lost secrets while navigating their own feelings before time runs out.This is a debut YA contemporary romance, and it is so good. It’s angsty and swoony, and all of the things I love about the genre. If you know me or follow me on Instagram, you know that I absolutely loved Kristen Dwyer, some mistakes were made. I talked about that book for over a year, easily, over a year. This one had little peaks of that same angst and swooniness in it, and I just loved it. Also came to find out later, little trade secret, I believe Kristen Dwyer was one of the editors on this, so I think some of the style might have lined up. The senior year rituals were so much fun to read about. I didn’t have any of these in my senior year, so they were really interesting and unique, and the nostalgia factor was super high. I love YA in that it kind of takes you back to that high school place. And this one did a great job of it.

Samantha 10:48
Okay, I know I said this list wasn’t ranked, but this is if I if I did rank it, this would have been towards the top. This one is called The Girl in Question by Tess Sharp, grades nine and up, 416 pages. This is a psychological thriller. Nora O’Malley thought her summer backpacking trip with Iris and Wes would be a break from the chaos until her murderous stepdad Raymond mistakes Wes girlfriend for her and takes her hostage. With no leverage and a dangerous force to navigate, Nora, Iris, and Wes must rely on each other’s skills to survive, but with lies, secrets, and death looming, not everyone will make it out alive. I feel like I keep shouting this one from the rooftops, but it is so worth it. You need to pick this one up. This again, is second, but this is a duology. The first one is called The Girls I’ve Been and it’s in production from Netflix, starring Millie Bobby Brown. It’ll be a TV show. I was absolutely blown away by this book, it is probably one of the best ones I read this year, YA or otherwise. I mean, just in general, this book was fantastic. The pacing was just so good and the plotting was extremely clever. I felt for these characters and rooted for them until the very end of the book, I did not realize I even needed a second book in this series, but, oh, I very much did. If you read any of the books on this list, this one would be my first pick.

Samantha 12:07
Next on the list is The Wilderness of Girls by Madison Claire Franklin, grades 11 and up, 368 pages. This is a cross between thriller and magical realism. It’s very unique and genre bending. After being placed in foster care, Rhi starts working at the Happy Valley Wildlife Preserve and discovers a pack of wolves guarding four feral girls who claim to be princesses from another land. Unsure what to believe, Rhi brings the girls to civilization, facing societal uproar, and as strange phenomena blur the line between fantasy and reality, she must make a life changing decision. This is a debut YA thriller with a touch of magical realism. At some points it’s hard to tell if something is actually happening, but it makes the story that much more intriguing. There were times I was audibly gasping at the book. Not only is the story compelling, but there is so much meat here. The theme was so well done that I found myself stopping to try to highlight on my Kindle so often. If you teach Lord of the Flies or The Grace Year, this would be an excellent accompaniment, either for literature circles or maybe exerpted alongside them. The novel is so beautifully written that I’m willing to bet you could probably find plenty of mentor sentences in it too. It is a bit gritty. There is a specific scene that I will never get out of my head. And it’s it’s a little heavy. So there are tons of content warnings with this one that you’ll need to go look up before deciding to teach it. I would only consider it for grades 11 and up. That’s my official recommendation.

Samantha 13:35
This next book I love so much, and I have seen it going around. I know so many of you loved it with me, so it makes me so excited to be able to talk about it here. But this is called Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce. It’s grades seven and up, 304 pages, 690 Lexile, and it’s a romance. Riley dreams of directing on Broadway, but getting grounded and stuck working at her dad’s game shop throws a wrench in her plans to revive her high school musical. To free up her time, she strikes a deal with Nathan, a nerdy employee, agreeing to flirt with him to make his crush jealous, only to discover that joining his Dungeons and Dragons game is more fun than she expected, and her feelings for Nathan might be more real than she thought. This is one of the best YA romances I’ve read in years. Seriously, it is up there with the greats. I mean, I put it up against Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter and Tweet Cute by Emma Lord. It definitely deserves a spot among them on the shelf. It is so very nostalgic and sweet. It’s swoony and it’s completely clean. I know there’s a lot of YA out there that maybe don’t seem quite YA. This is YA. I haven’t seen many titles about Dungeons and Dragons either, and it was so well done. It’s a great recommendation for your romance loving, artsy kids who are delightfully quirky.

Samantha 14:53
I don’t know if we could have a list of YA books if I didn’t include my great queen, Lynn painter. So I am including. Nothing like the movies by Lynn Painter. This is for grades nine and up, 448 pages. It is romance. In this sequel to Better Than the Movies, Wes is determined to win back his dream girl, Liz, after heartbreak, tore them apart just before college. Armed with rom call worthy gestures, Wes schemes to get her attention, but with Liz keeping her distance and a new guy in the picture, he’s left wondering if their love story is truly over. I don’t know about all of you, but better than the movies is one of my favorite YA books ever. I’m talking any genre, any books – better than the movies, is it. When I heard it was getting a sequel, I was so very skeptical. I did not want anything to ruin the idea in my head of what became of Wes and Liz, because in my head they were off frolicking on a beach somewhere, gliding into the sunset, very happy. Turns out Lynn Painter is just as much of a genius as we all think she is. This follow up is brilliant. My heart palpitations are now officially settled, and I am proud to say that I was very happy to see Wesley on the pages again. Now I absolutely don’t want to see of them in another book unless they have a cameo. So if Lynn Painter could please now leave my book babies alone. This was brilliant, but I cannot take that kind of heartache again. So yes, read this. It’s perfect, but yeah, let’s be done with that one, Painter, let’s be done.

Samantha 16:26
Next is a really cool book that I thought was just so unique. It’s called Us in Ruins by Rachel Moore. It’s grades seven and up, 368 pages. It’s a mix of historical fiction, romance and fantasy. So I’ve been calling it historical romantasy. That’s trademarked. Don’t take it. Obviously, I’m kidding. Margot Rhodes embarks on a school trip to Pompeii in search of the long lost vase of Venus, guided by a century old journal from a teenage explorer Van Keane. But when she brings Van back to life through a mysterious statue, she discovers he’s nothing like the romantic writer she imagined, and they must work together to survive Venus’s deadly challenges and uncover the vase before it’s too late. I absolutely loved this reading experience. It’s a little cross between The Mummy and Encino Man, and while I realize that I am definitely aging myself by bringing that movie up, it just shows that you need to suspend some of your belief in order to enjoy it, which I was able to do easily. I listened to it on audio, which was really well done. The book is so fresh and funny, besides some mild violence and a little bit of underage wine drinking in the middle. There is little by way of content warnings. I’d be fine with this book going all the way down to seventh grade and up, there are real layers to this story, and Moore does a fabulous job of weaving them all together just when I thought she was going to have to forget one of them. Because, seriously, there were so many plot lines going on at once. The book was tied up with a neat bow. A+ addition to your classroom library. Enjoyable as an adult, and will definitely be a slam dunk for the right teenage reader.

Samantha 18:00
Next is The Judgment of YoYo Gold by Isaac Blum, grades seven and up, 304 pages, contemporary. YoYo Gold has always followed the rules of her Orthodox Jewish community, but when her best friend is cast out over a minor mistake, she begins to question everything. Venting anonymously on Tiktok, YoYo’s viral videos lead to personal chaos, forcing her to choose between her faith, her family, and her own voice. Isaac Blum is a new author for me, and this is his second offering. I loved his first book, The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen, but I loved YoYo even more. Blum has a really fresh writing style that is just so quippy. I laughed out loud many times while listening. I think a lot about Dr Rudine Sims Bishop’s idea of books being mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors a lot when I read contemporary books like this. I lived in Philadelphia for a long time and interacted with the Orthodox Jewish community in my area in a limited way, but this book really gave me a peek inside. Blum does a great job of challenging misconceptions and explaining things that people outside the community might not know. I always feel like I learn a lot when engaging with one of his books. He’s definitely an auto buy author for me now.

Samantha 19:07
Last but certainly not least, we have Mirror Girls by Kelly McWilliams, grades seven and up, 320 pages. This is another genre bender. I’m not exactly sure what to call it, historical fiction mixed with fantasy, but maybe it might be magical realism, not 100% sure. As infants, twins Charlie and Magnolia, were separated after their parents’ tragic death for loving across the color line. Growing up worlds apart, one as a black activist in Harlem, the other as a white-passing heiress in Georgia. When their paths cross in the haunted town of Eureka, they must confront their shared past and break a family curse that threatens their futures. This is a very recent read for me, as in the very last young adult book that I read, but I really enjoyed it and felt like I needed to include it. It’s very moody and atmospheric with excellent writing. The chapters are short and it moves quickly, so I think a lot of teens would be as captivated as I was. It also has a lot of layers thematically and a lot to say. So I enjoyed that as well.

Samantha 20:04
And that wraps up this episode of Creating Joyful Readers. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my top 10 YA reads of 2024 as much as I love sharing them with you. Each of these books brought something unique to the table, whether it was thrilling twists, relatable characters, or heartfelt moments that lingered with me long after I turned the last page. It’s been such an honor to share in the joy of books and literacy with you this year, and I can’t wait to do so much more of it in 2025. If any of these titles caught your eye, I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can find me talking all about books and more on Instagram. So give me a follow at Samantha in secondary. I love chatting all things books. So go ahead and DM me the best title you read this year. I’d love to add more great reads to my own TBR in 2025. Thanks for joining me today and happy reading.

Samantha 20:50
Thanks for tuning in to creating joyful readers. I hope you found inspiration and practical strategies to ignite a passion for reading in your students. Remember, every book we introduce and every reading experience we foster can transform lives and help students become lifelong readers. Follow me on social media at Samantha in secondary for more tips, book recommendations, and to connect with a community of educators dedicated to making reading a joyful journey, until next time happy reading.