YA Wednesday - Favorites of 2019

Here are my  favorite teen novels published in 2019, listed alphabetically by author.  Although they may be classified as mysteries or romances, they are educational as well as enjoyable.  


A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo (HarperCollins hardcover, 5 November 2019).

Trish McCabe doesn't know who her father is, and her mother abandoned her.  Luckily, she's seventeen, old enough to take care of herself, as long as she stays on the move.

This heartwarming story about a teenager who (cliche coming) learns to open up to others will be perfect for fans of Julie Buxbaum's Tell Me Three Things. 

NB:  There is a companion/prequel novel, The Deepest Roots, which I've not yet read.

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston (Disney Book Group hardcover, 1 October 2019).


Seventeen-year-old Sophie is excited about having  the house to herself when her parents go to be with her older sister, who's having a troublesome pregnancy.  But her plans to have some alone time with her boyfriend Griffin are thwarted when he decides they need "a break".  

Stunned and shaken, Sophie goes to her grandparents house.   Much of  her large extended family lives nearby, and when her Nonna comes up with a plan to fix Sophie up on 10 blind days in ten days, the raucous group are all in.  At first Sophie is reluctant, but soon begins to enjoy the craziness.

This absolutely delightful novel is the perfect read for when you need to relax and giggle.

Run, Hide, Fight Back by April Henry (Holt Books for Young Readers hardcover, 27 August 2019).

When a deadly shooting breaks out in a Portland shopping mall, a diverse group of teens ends up trapped behind a store's security shutter. To her own surprise, seventeen-year-old Miranda finds the others looking to her as their leader. But she's hiding a big secret?and she's not the only one. The group has only three choices? Run, hide, or fight back. The wrong decision will have fatal consequences.

This timely and topical novel is a gripping story in the vein of Marieke Nijkamp's This is Where it Ends.


The Birds, the Bees and You and Me by Olivia Hinebaugh (Swoon Reads hardcover, 22 January 2019).

Seventeen-year-old Lacey Burke is the last person on the planet who should be doling out sex advice. For starters, she’s never even kissed anyone, and she hates breaking the rules. 

But when Lacey sees first-hand how much damage the abstinence-only sex-ed curriculum of her school can do, she decides to take a stand and starts doling out wisdom, contraception and other advice to anyone who seeks her out in the girls' restroom. 

Although classified as a romance, this is another timely and topical novel, mirroring current events in North America.  

This Time Will be Different by Misa Sugiura (HarperTeen hardcover, 4 June 2019).

CJ Katsuyama, another 17-year-old girl, has never lived up to her mom's type-A ambitions for her.  She's happy working in the family's flower shop, especially once she discovers a talent for arranging bouquets.  

When her mom decides to sell the shop to the family who swindled CJ's grandparents when they were sent to an internment camp during WW II, CJ is appalled and finds herself in the midst of a controversy involving the entire community.  

Also classified as a romance, this sneaks in historical facts about the Japanese internment and its effects. 

Ordinary Girls by Blair Thornburgh (HarperTeen hardcover, 4 June 2019).

Plum and Ginny are sisters who are about as different as possible, and their relationship is prickly.  When their ramshackle Victorian house needs repairs their mother can't afford, things become even more complicated.  

Yes, this is loosely based on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, but it brings the story into the 21st Century.  The girls have to deal with grades, affording tuition, friendships and romantic relationships and other issues that would have been unimaginable to the Dashwood sisters.