15 YA Books to Buy or Gift for Christmas!

Hey Guys so Christmas is coming very soon and a lot of people are clueless as to what to buy for their book loving friends so I decided to write a post to help you people out!

Even people who do have a clue can check out my picks and comment on the same!

So In no particular order, I list out some of my favorites.

YA Contemporary

1.To All The Boys I've Loved Before:

Follows a girl who is finally confessing her feelings to every boy she has ever loved through letters that she never thought would be delivered.The book deals with first love brilliantly and focuses on family as well. Read my review.

2.Sea of Tranquility:

One word. Heartbreaking.This one deals with some tough issues but life is tough.

3.The Duff:

This one is all high school and body shaming but the main protagonist is so witty that it's not as dreary as one would think.

Honorable Mentions

 Where You Are

This one is a bit of a gamble to buy on it's own as it is the second book in the series but can be read as a standalone.I would have recommended the first book in the series but it isn't as good as the sequels. Even the third book is pretty good.Good thing is that ecopies of this series (especially on Kindle) are very cheap. So you can gift or buy the entire bundle just be warned that you might not enjoy the first book as much.

 From What I Remember

A hilarious book that follows a jock and a nerd...getting married while drunk.This is a book version of a romantic comedy film. So if you or your friend loves rom-com do try this book.

 Getting Over Garrett Delaney

A book that focuses on finding oneself after letting go of that first crush or obsession. Incredibly cute and fun book. See my review

YA Retellings

4.Scarlet: 

A retelling of the Robin Hood legend with a twist. See my review

5. Cress

This is the THIRD book in the series.I'm recommending this because so far it's been the best. The first book Cinder is good but the second and third are much better. You can gift the series and I'm sure the person would appreciate it. Full disclosure: I haven't read the last book in the series yet so can't comment on the ending yet.

Honorable Mention

Destined: A retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth. As it is published by an indie author, the kindle edition is pretty cheap. See my review.

YA Fantasy

6. Six of Crows:

Absolutely brilliant and action packed. The world building is gradual but the characters are well structured and engrossing. One of the best books I've read in 2015. Perfect for fantasy,mystery and heist book lovers.

7.Crown of Midnight

This is the second book in the series.Again, I'm recommending this one and not the first as it is a million times better than the first book in the series.Lots of people loved the first book as well so it is safe to gift the first two books for Christmas (or even the entire series so far).I've only read the first two books so can't comment on the rest.

8. Graceling

Graceling follows a badass female who is so good at beating people up that you want to be just like her.The world and the abilities that we are introduced to are brilliant as is the slow build up of romance. No insta-love here!

Honorable Mention

 Defy

Strong female character disguised as a male,lots of fighting and magic.

YA Paranormal

9. Cracked

A hilarious book that has a very interesting protagonist. The characters make this paranormal romance stand out. See my review

10. Unspoken (YA Gothic)

This book isn't necessarily under the paranormal genre but it's really hilarious. See my review.

Honorable Mention

Moon Spell:

Recommended for people 16 and above. A great book again written by an indie author who has now gone mainstream (She wrote On Dublin Street). See my review.

YA Science Fiction

11. All Our Yesterdays

What does this book deal with, you ask? It deals with time travel and love and paradoxes .Now I, for one, am fascinated by time travel but almost every novel I've read about time travel so far has been disappointing. The best thing about this novel is the fact that it becomes VERY clear that time travel is central to the plot but the focus of this novel is not time travel.See my full review

12. These Broken Stars

Switching between past and present. This book is told brilliantly.The story revolves around two characters who get sucked in some mysterious place in space and how they survive or try to. The love story is also built up very well.

OTHER GENRES

13.The Naturals

This could be defined as a YA paranormal but it's more of a YA crime mystery thriller which is why I've tagged it under other. Really great novel that follows a secret group of teens who are helping the police solve crimes.See my review.

14. Every Day

This is technically contemporary but it has a touch of paranormal to it. One of the best and most touching books I've read.See my review.

15.Steelheart
Technically this should come under fantasy but it's more of a superhero vs normal people book and I AM OBSESSED with it.It's a brilliant novel especially for people who are really into superheroes and action.

Honorable Mention

Defiance (YA Dystopian)

I haven't found any dystopian as good as The Hunger  Games so that's why this is a honorable mention.See my review

So that's about it from my side. I'm currently fangirling over Six of Crows because I just finished reading it but all these books are worth a read! 

ANY SUGGESTIONS FROM YOUR END?

Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1)

by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

LINKS: Goodreads

Source: Library

Younger readers are advised that there is some promiscuous content and birds and bees talk in the book.

My Thoughts:

I didn't have very high expectations of this book especially after I found out it was written by Jenny Han.Her The Summer I Turned Pretty series is not one of my favorites. I loved the premise of the book so I picked it up even though Jenny Han has disappointed me before.

I loved this book! It's young adult contemporary romance at its best and I love how it gives insight into Korean culture as well. I had a very strong desire to eat Korean food after reading this book because of the beautiful way in which it was described.

Lara Jean is such a relateable character. Her relationship with her family especially her sisters was beautiful. It's been a long time since I've seen a healthy representation of family life in young adult.This, in my opinion is one of the major plus points of this book. Parents and family exist for once in Young Adult and it's beautifully implemented.

The characters are well defined and are realistic as is the story. The drama is not melodramatic and the book left me wanting more. The idea of letter writing and how it's formatted in the book  really adds authenticity to the book.

The ending might not satisfy some people but I loved it. In my opinion this book doesn't need a sequel but I think it already has one. I'm too scared to spoil the perfection that is this book by reading a continuation that quite a few people on Goodreads have stated is unnecessary. Well, if my library procures it I might read it but I'm very satisfied with just reading this book as it was great.

It's a great contemporary romance young adult after a really long time which got me out of my reading slump so I can't recommend it enough. The only reason it is not a full 5 stars is because I didn't like some of the male characters but that is just my opinion.

Overall, Where's my Korean food at?

My Rating:

4.5/5

Beautiful

Comment with your thoughts and suggestions on what Korean dish I should try.