The Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list identifies titles aimed at encouraging reading among teens who dislike to read for whatever reason. The list selects both fiction and nonfiction. Click on the title of each book to be taken to the blog post featuring a review, or browse all blog posts here. You can see previous lists on the YALSA website and on the Teen Book Finder app.
2019 Quick Picks Nominees
Fiction
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- The Closest I’ve Come by Fred Aceves
- The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington
- Like Never and Always by Ann Aguirre
- The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
- Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
- Rebound by Kwame Alexander
- The Opposite of Here by Tara Altebrando
- Herding Cats: A “Sarah’s Scribbles” Collection by Sarah Andersen
- Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
- Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong
- The Devils You Know by M.C. Atwood
- Alone by Cyn Balog
- The Supervillain and Me by Danielle Banas
- Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart
- Sword Princess Amaltea by Natalia Bautista
- Far From the Tree by Robin Benway
- Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom by Terry Blas, Molly Muldoon, and Matthew Seely
- The Wood by Chelsea Bobulski
- Cold Hard Truth by Anne Greenwood Brown
- The Window by Amelia Brunskill
- This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender
- Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter
- Don’t Cosplay With My Heart by Cecil Castellucci
- American Panda by Gloria Chao
- Like Vanessa by Tami Charles
- The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar, and Michelle Schusterman
- Crush by Svetlana Chmakova
- Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles
- Screenshot by Donna Cooner
- Moonrise by Sarah Crossan
- Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now by Dana L. Davis
- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
- Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll
- Lies You Never Told Me by Jennifer Donaldson
- Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
- Crossing the Line by Simone Elkeles
- How We Roll by Natasha Friend
- Broken Beautiful Hearts by Kami Garcia
- The Second Life of Ava Rivers by Faith Gardner
- Scales and Scoundrels, Vol. 1: Into the Dragon’s Maw by Sebastien Girner and Galaad
- The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
- Grenade by Alan Gratz
- Game Changer by Tommy Greenwald
- Your Robot Dog Will Die by Arin Greenwood
- Between the Lines by Nikki Grimes
- Royals by Rachel Hawkins
- When Life Gives You Demons by Jennifer Honeybourn
- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
- Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
- The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
- That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger
- The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby
- The Many Deaths of Scott Koblish by Scott Koblish
- 59 Hours by Johnny Kovatch
- Prince of Pot by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
- Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno
- A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo
- Tight by Torrey Maldonado
- The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
- What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee
- #MURDERTRENDING by Gretchen McNeil
- I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina
- People Like Us by Dana Mele
- From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon
- The Hollow Girl by Hillary Monahan
- No Sad Songs by Frank Morelli
- Dare You to Lie by Amber Lynn Natusch
- Rewind by Carolyn O’Doherty
- Fence, Vol. 1 by C.S. Pacat, Illustrated by Johanna the Mad
- Mech Cadet Yu, Vols 1 & 2 by Greg Pak, illustrated by Takeshi Miyazawa
- Expelled by James Patterson and Emily Raymond
- The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed
- Words We Don’t Say by K.J. Reilly
- Lu by Jason Reynolds
- Sunny (Track #3) by Jason Reynolds
- Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
- If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say by Leila Sales
- City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
- Watch You Burn by Amanda Searcy
- As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti
- A Very, Very Bad Thing by Jeffery Self
- Impossible by Jocelyn Shipley
- The Academy by Katie Sise
- Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
- The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones
- The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding
- What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper
- Odd One Out by Nic Stone
- Sadie by Courtney Summers
- Check, Please!: #Hockey (Book 1) by Ngozi Ukazu
- Last Pick by Jason Walz
- The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
- Love, Life and the List by Kasie West
- Impostors by Scott Westerfeld
- The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde
- The Last Wish of Sasha Cade by Cheyanne Young
Nonfiction
- Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu
- The Grand Escape: The Greatest Prison Breakout of the 20th Century by Neal Bascomb
- Black Girl Magic: A Poem by Mahogany L. Browne
- Juniper, The Happiest Fox by Jessika Coker
- Coming Up Clutch: The Greatest Upsets, Comebacks, and Finishes in Sports History by Matt Doeden
- Sharks: Nature’s Perfect Hunter by Joe Flood
- Attucks!: Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team That Awakened a City by Phillip Hoose
- Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition, An Up and Out Collection by Julia Kaye
- Sweet Revenge: Passive-Aggressive Desserts for Your Exes & Enemies by Heather Kim
- Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
- Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee
- Unsinkable: From Russian Orphan to Paralympic Swimming World Champion by Jessica Long
- A Sloth’s Guide to Mindfulness by Ton Mak
- The Red Bandanna by Tom Rinaldi
- Legendary Ladies: 50 Goddesses to Empower and Inspire You by Ann Shen
- Pelé: The King of Soccer by Eddy Simon
- Animal Zombies! And Other Bloodsucking Beasts, Creepy Creatures, and Real-Life Monsters by Chana Stiefel
- What’s the Difference?: 40+ Pairs of the Seemingly Similar by Emma Strack
- Uncle John’s Top 10 of Everything 2018 by Paul Terry
- Bad Princess: True Tales from Behind the Tiara by Kris Waldherr
The 2019 Quick Picks Blogging Team was:
- Allie Stevens, coordinator
- Cassandra Cuppy
- Allyson Dowds
- Joie Formando
- KE Hones
- Lisa Krok
- Jodi Kruse
- Melora Norman
- Pamela Penza
- Jayna Ramsey
- Erica Rogers
- Beth Slade
- Anna Taylor
- Kaitlin Troch