Contemporary YA book recommendations

It’s been more than a year since my last entry and what better time to make a triumphant return than the beginning of my favourite time of year. This summer, feelings wise, has been an odd one; far from the worst, and yet I’ve experienced feelings of confusion and heartache more strongly than ever. Being empathetic to the point of being physically incapable of not inserting myself into someone else’s shoes has led to the return of late-night conversations and battles with myself and my thoughts. My ceiling and I have a lot to discuss these days.

In my absence, Train of Thought turned four, the age I was when I started learning to read. My blog is past its infancy and yet, my published works on Instagram seep with girlhood. There’s a wide-eyed girl behind everything I create who tries to rid herself of the childlike need to be loved by everyone she encounters. The day she can evict herself from that façade might be the day she grows up, for good.

Reading has been my escape, my safe place and my solace for years. This past summer, I’d go far as to call it a sanctuary. The moment a conflict of any kind arises, I’ve retreated, pulling either my Kindle or a paperback from my bag and leaving the real world behind.

I read Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt back in April. The prose was fascinating; Schmidt’s prose is straightforward, easy and yet every emotion on the spectrum has been underlined and utilised to the extreme. In the best way. The protagonist, Jack, has a new foster brother called Joseph. Despite the shortness of the text, the love and protectiveness Jack and his family have for Joseph practically leaps off the page in its vehemence. Joseph’s past, typical to a foster child within a young adult text, is troubled but not in the way you’d expect. He’s the father of a child and wants nothing more than to reunite and care for his daughter. The prose tiptoes around the longing and devastation between the characters but provides enough for readers to fill in the gaps for themselves. I finished the book in a waiting room with How to Save a Life by The Fray playing on the radio. It was a lot, so much so that it took me two months to pick up the sequel, which I loved just as much.

Jupiter Rising is an equally stunning read. I have yet to encounter an author like Schmidt. Aspects of his texts remind me of Hemingway; both authors succeed in telling stories through simple, thought-provoking sentences. However, Schmidt's characters ooze with substance. Every line tells a story on its own. Whilst it's hard to go into details without covering the ending of the original text, I can say that Jack remains the protagonist and the book is told from his perspective. Every heartfelt, unique experience from Orbiting Jupiter is addressed.

I’ve been taking sign language classes this past year and was delighted to discover On the Bright Side by Anna Sortino. The protagonist, Ellie, attends a deaf boarding school. The school is closed down at the start of the text and Ellie is forced to move back in with her parents. Sortino’s prose regarding the parental relationships in the text is excellent; as a 26-year-old who thirsts for independence but still lives with her parents, I found the dialogue and Ellie’s hardships insightful to read. Despite her disability, Ellie has always been resourceful and capable and has, in actuality, lived without familial emotional support for years. Her frustrations and newfound bond with Jackson, who makes an unexpected discovery about his own health, were engaging to read.

Last year I discovered Natalia Gomes and fell in love with her texts. My favourite was Blackbird, and I’ve since recommended it to everyone I know. The plot is unbearably sad; the protagonist, Alex, and her family are reeling after the murder of her sister Olivia. With her parents drowning in their own grief, Alex finds herself turning to Detective Birkins who has been assigned to her sister’s case. The dialogue between Alex and Detective Birkins is a standout highlight; this newfound, avuncular figure with his guardian angel tendencies is the only light in Alex’s seemingly endless dark tunnel of a future. The relationship Gomes illustrates between the pair is heart-warming and yet, plagued with melancholia. Alex’s life will never be the same and this newfound friendship is a result of a devastating event. Though a heavy read, I loved every page of the book.

I recommend Kathleen Glasgow’s books to everyone; You’d Be Home Now and The Glass Girl are incredible reads. I read the latter last year and the former back in 2021. The Glass Girl’s protagonist is a girl called Bella (Glasgow successfully makes a Twilight joke, don’t worry). Bella is fifteen years old and is struggling; her parents have split and her grandmother has recently passed away. Until I discovered Glasgow’s works, I’d never read a book about teen addiction. Bella uses alcohol to numb her grief and escape from the expectations she puts on herself. When she is forced to seek treatment, she encounters teenagers with struggles similar to her own. I was rooting for every single character and shouldered their setbacks as if they were my own. The intensity of the prose doesn’t ebb as the text progresses; Glasgow cleverly illustrates how time fails to heal wounds completely.

You’d Be Home Now differs in that the text focusses more on the relationships between siblings. The familial unit is what the book circulates back to every event. Not having an older brother myself, I fell in love with Joey, who has returned to his family home after a stint in rehab. The protagonist, Emmy, is a deeply-feeling and emotional girl. She’s very much like the girl I described in the second paragraph of this article, actually. Fiercely protective of the people she loves and emptying herself of willpower to make everything okay.

I'm back! We'll see how long this lasts.

For more stuff like this, follow my Instagram @thethinkingtrain.

Wishing you a happy and heartfelt September,

Karisma

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