Uglies series, Scott Westerfeld
Uglies is one of the most underrated dystopian series in the young adult genre and it’s also one of my favorites. Uglies takes place in a world where everyone is ugly until they get surgery to become pretty at the age of 16. The series focuses on a teen girl named Tally Youngblood. All she wants is to be pretty, but right before she turns 16, her new friend, Shay, runs away. Tally can either find Shay and become pretty, or stay ugly forever. Tally’s world is completely obsessed with beauty, but is it really that different from our own?
The Selection series, Kiera Cass
I have never read a book series as fast as I read The Selection. I originally thought this series was a trilogy, but I was pleased to find out that Kiera Cass was writing two more books after I finished. Waiting for the last two books was agonizing, but lucky for you, all of the books have now been released and you can binge read them all at once! The Selection series can be best described as a royal-fantasy version of The Bachelor. America Singer enters “the selection” to appease her family and of course, she is selected to compete for the affection of a prince. She is torn between winning the selection and going home to her secret love.
Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver
Before I Fall is about a girl who dies and wakes up the next day. Samantha Kingston keeps reliving the last day of her life, no matter what she does. While reliving the same day over and over, Sam discovers more about herself and realizes that there’s more to her classmates than meets the eye. This beautiful novel is currently being adapted into a movie starring Zoey Deutch. Read Before I Fall before March 3 to avoid spoilers!
The Host, Stephenie Meyer
The Host might share an author with Twilight, but the similarities end there. Okay, there is a weird love triangle (or “love box,” as the cast of the movie likes to call it), but that’s it. The Host takes place in an alternate future where aliens have invaded Earth and taken over the bodies of almost all of the humans. Once a human’s brain has been taken over, who they are fades away. Melanie Stryder refuses to give up her life to Wanderer, who has come to take over her brain. Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of her loved ones. Wanderer starts to care for the people in Melanie’s memories and together they search for the people that they both love.
Mara Dyer series, Michelle Hodkin
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer begins with Mara Dyer waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. Mara tries to move on from the accident that killed her friends and landed her in the hospital, but she can’t help thinking that it was more than just an accident. Strange things keep happening around Mara and she can’t help wondering if she’s causing them. Mara Dyer is a dark and thrilling series that you’ll have a hard time putting down.
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
The Book Thief is about an orphan who lives in Germany at the beginning of World War II. Liesel Meminger creates happiness in her dark world by stealing books and learning to read with her new papa and sharing the books with the Jewish man hiding in their basement. The Book Thief is an absolutely heartbreaking read that reminds us of the importance of books.
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
I had to include Pride and Prejudice on this list even though it’s so different from the other books I’ve listed. Mark Twain once said, “A classic is something everybody wants to have read, but no one wants to read.” Trust me, Pride and Prejudice is a classic that is definitely worth reading. Mark Twain hated this book (and would have hated the fact that I associated his quote with it), but he’s probably the only one. Pride and Prejudice is a bit of a tough read and takes a while to get really good, but this gorgeous book is definitely worth the effort. I mainly picked it up to see what all the fuss was about and I completely get all of the fussing now.