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In the 12 years since The Mortal Instruments series and the Shadowhunter world first began, there have been so many wonderful characters that have enriched my life. I will forever have a special spot for Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane. From their first meeting to their first kiss, and everything that comes after, I will forever be team Malec!
Now, Alec and Magnus have their own book series and I couldn’t be more excited! The series follows the two as they tour the world after the Mortal War. The newly-repackaged The Red Scrolls of Magic is here and we’re already counting down the days until The Lost Book of the White comes out in September, so I thought this was the perfect time to share some of my favorite Malec fan art with you!
http://noksindra.tumblr.com/post/163878999806/in-a-heartbeat
Check out Angel-In-Imagination’s amazing deviantart page for more amazing Malec fan art!
We love this picture from walkingnorth! Check out their deviantart page here for more fan art!
Gorgeous picture from MagnusRayne! Check out their deviantart page for more here!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq2cfqTntVM/
We’ve been re-reading The Infernal Devices trilogy to help us get ready for the release of Chain of Gold, which means we couldn’t resist looking at some fan art. The fan art for this series is really incredible because it is set in 1878. The clothes of the time period really make these works of art special and set it apart from the fan art for the rest of the Shadowhunter books. Check ’em out!
Starting off strong with this stunning photo of Jem and Tessa.
created by taratjah
Jem and Will fighting side by side is everything. Honestly Tessa is so lucky to have both these men.
created by wasteddreams
LOVE this! So beautiful with London in the background.
Talk about the perfect family portrait.
created by emmilinne
Name a better trio. I’ll wait.
created by thewildestdreams
Oh man! The balcony scene! ?? BRB I have to get myself a glass of water.
created by NicoleCadet
This is so beautiful! Just look a Tessa in this watercolor. ?
created by kara-lija
Can we just talk about how adorable Will and Tessa are?! Totally #couplesgoals.
There is nothing better than a good contemporary read. Sure, I sometimes love to whisk myself away to fantasy worlds or immerse myself in books that show us a glimpse of what life was like a few hundred years ago, but usually, it’s the contemporary books that strike me the most. I connect with them on a personal level because the stories feel like they could happen to someone I know. Check out some of my favorites below!
From New York Times bestselling author Mary H.K. Choi comes a funny and emotional story about two estranged sisters and how far they’ll go to save one of their lives—even if it means swapping identities.
This book tells the story of Kiera Johnson, who builds a secret online role-playing game, SLAY, as a refuge for Black gamers everywhere. But when an anonymous troll infiltrates the game & threatens to destroy it, Kiera must fight to save the only world in which she feels that she can be herself.
Pablo Rind is a college dropout working the graveyard shift at a twenty-four-hour deli and drowning in credit card debt. Leanna Smart is a pop juggernaut with enough social media followers to populate whole contents. When they meet at 5:00 a.m. at the deli, its certifiably insane to think they’d be A Thing. But one hashtag leads to another and as they start to piece together who they are, who they want to be, and how to defy all the deafening expectations bearing down on them, Lee and Pab turn to each other. Which, of course, is when things get seriously complicated.
She’s the Worst by Lauren Spieller follows April and Jenn as they spend spend an epic day exploring the greatest hits of their childhood and all that Los Angeles has to offer. The sisters haven’t been close in years, but with only one day to set things right, the sisters must decide if their relationship is worth saving, or if the secret that Jenn has been hiding will tear them apart for good.
Can you love someone you can never touch?
In this moving story that’s perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, two teens fall in love with just one minor complication—they can’t get within a few feet of each other without risking their lives. Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Yet, as the two start to fall in love, distance is harder than it has ever been for either one of them. Now a major motion picture starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson!
This is an unforgettable romance that is part The Sun is Also a Star mixed with Anna and the French Kiss, following two Muslim teens who marvelously and oddly meet during a spring break trip.
Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens tells the story of Nima, who’s a little bit awkward and working through family issues. But when she finds herself immersed in the drag scene, filled with macho kings and magical queens, she learns how to confidently express herself and accept the love that surrounds her.
In the summer before eighth grade, Marco Suarez kissed his best friend Sally Blake. This was his first spark. And then, at the end of that year, she disappeared, leaving without even saying why. And now in their senior year, Sally unexpectedly returns and Marco is shaken. Still, he holds tightly to his carefully choreographed life. A life that is full of reasons why first sparks don’t matter, the main reason? He has a girlfriend.
A grieving teen faces dangerous classmates, reckless friends, and the one-year anniversary of his sister’s devastating death in this poignant, quirky, often humorous novel that’s perfect for fans of Jeff Zentner and Brendan Kiely.
Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.
Over the course of one chaotic night stranded at the Denver airport, Ryn confronts her shattered past thanks to the charm of romance, the uniqueness of strangers, and the magic of ordinary places in this stunning novel.
A gorgeous and emotionally resonant debut novel about a half-Japanese teen who grapples with social anxiety and her narcissist mother in the wake of a crushing rejection from art school.
Feminism + ice cream + friendship + romance = the perfect contemporary novel.
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?
“Smart and funny, with characters so real and vulnerable, you want to send them care packages. I loved this book.” —Rainbow Rowell. Do you need a reason other than a Rainbow Rowell quote to pick up a book? I don’t think so.
Seventeen-year-old Dessa Rhodes is torn between leaving her modern nomadic life and pursuing her dreams of becoming an artist.
Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true.
A mystery kiss during a blackout at a football game leads Macy on the hunt for the culprit she suspects is a guy who made her junior year of high school really difficult. When new transfer and bad boy, Noah, takes credit for the kiss, things get a little more complicated.
The first novel in Abbie Glines’ Field Party series, about a small Southern town filled with cute boys in pickup trucks, Friday night football games, and crazy parties that stir up some major drama.
A shy, rule-following teen winds up joining a local rock band in this laugh-out-loud, heartfelt coming-of-age novel.
Two teens—one black, one white—grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension.
A girl who can’t speak and a boy who can’t hear go on a journey of self-discovery and find support with each other in this gripping, emotionally resonant novel.
Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.
What could go wrong?
Fangirl meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this funny and poignant coming-of-age novel from New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren about two boys who fall in love in a writing class—one from a progressive family and the other from a conservative religious community.
Until a political scandal costs Andie her summer pre-med internship, and lands both she and Dad back in the same house together for the first time in years. Suddenly she’s doing things that aren’t Andie at all—working as a dog walker, doing an epic scavenger hunt with her dad, and maybe, just maybe, letting the super cute Clark get closer than she expected.
A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping debut novel filled with romance, mystery, and adventure.
How do you let go of something you’ve never had?
Junior year for Brooke Winters is supposed to be about change. She’s transferring schools, starting fresh, and making plans for college so she can finally leave her hometown, her family, and her past behind.
From master storyteller and Printz Award–winning author An Na comes a dark, intensely moving story of a girl desperately determined to find a cure for the illness that swept her mother away, and could possibly destroy her own life as well.
The relationship between sisters is one of the most incredible relationships you can experience. There’s something about having someone who was by your side growing up and is not afraid to tell you like it is (for better or for worse). Sisters know your family history and what it means to grow up the same way you did. Sure, you can fight with your sisters unlike you would with anyone else, but that means you can also love each other in a way that is fiercer than with anyone else. Growing up with a sister was something I often took for granted, but now that we live five hours apart it’s easy to see just how much she means to me.
Relationships between sisters can come in all shapes and sizes, so thankfully there are plenty of YA books about it! Whether it’s dealing with the normal sister drama, or going through a serious illness, there’s something relatable and universal about the experience of having a sister. Check out these books about sisters below and let us know if you have any favorites!
(Also, don’t tell my sister I said any of this because she’ll never let me live it down.)
Everyone who has had a friend knows that things are not always easy. Often times, as we grow and change, so do our relationships. In YA, we see a lot of examples of female friendships that are nuanced and complicated. These books show the ups and downs you can have with your friends instead of just the happy times. Friendship can be a tricky thing, but it’s all worth it in the end to have someone who is there for you. Check out some examples of complicated female friendships below!
Willa and Taylor spend the summer sailing from Ohio to Key West, following a list of clues left by their best friend, Finley, who recently passed away. Finley was always the glue that kept them all together now that she’s gone, Willa and Taylor’s friendship is hanging by a thread. They have two months and two thousand miles to discover how life works without their best friend—and decide if their own friendship is worth saving.
Remy was happy once. She had her boyfriend Jack and her best friend Elise who understood her better than anyone else in the world. But now that happiness is gone. Jack is dead, shot through the chest, and it was Elise who pulled the trigger. As the police investigate, Remy does the same, sifting through her own memories, looking for a scrap of truth that could save the friendship that means everything to her. Told in alternating timelines, this twisted psychologically thriller explores the dark side of obsessive friendship.
Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with their music teacher, Mr. Cohn. Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. But as the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend, and herself.
Sixteen-year-old Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew, Las Mal Criadas, in Mega City. That role brings with it violent throwdowns and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but Nala quickly grows weary of her questionable lifestyle. Now for a chance out of the Mega City, Nalah must battle crews and her own doubts but the closer she gets to her goal the more she loses sight of everything—and everyone—she cares about.
When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret and Milla must help to save her as she becomes possessed by a demon. Yet, as Milla ventures on the journey, she realizes she’s changing, into the something everyone fears.
Seventeen-year-old Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked at the stand every summer for the past three years, and Amelia is “Head Girl” at the stand this summer. Amelia has to figure out how this new responsibility affects her relationship with Cate—who wanted to be Head Girl just as much as she did.
Three misfits come together to avenge the rape of a fellow classmate and in the process trigger a change in the misogynist culture at their high school transforming the lives of everyone around them. Though these three girls are all very different, they are united by a common cause.
When Penny leaves home to attend her first year of college, she becomes close with a boy named Sam. But it turns out he’s her new roommate’s shockingly young ex-uncle. Penny hides the fact that they’re talking but it’s only a matter of time before things blow up.
When Anna’s best friend Elise is found brutally murdered during their spring break trip to Aruba, the police look to Anna for answers. Even worse, accusations start flying that Anna might have somehow been involved in her death. Told in alternating past and present chapters, we learn about Anna and Elise’s complicated friendship.
Twinkle and Maddie have been best friends since they were little. But when Maddie becomes friends with the girls in the popular crowd, Twinkle feels left out. Maddie will only talk to her when they’re alone and refuses to take a stand when her new friends are mean to Twinkle. Twinkle quickly learns that it can be hard when your best friend gets new best friends.
When a political scandal costs Andie her summer pre-med internship, she is forced to stay home for the summer and take a job walking dogs. She’s happy that she at least has her three best friends, but as secrets come to light, it becomes clear that no one can love or hurt you quite like your best friend.
In Tally’s world, everyone has an operation that will turn them from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty. But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world—and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally’s choice will change her world forever.
Then: They were four—Bex, Jenni, Ellory, Ret. (Venus. Earth. Moon. Sun.) Electric, headstrong young women; Ellory’s whole solar system. Now: Ellory is alone, her once inseparable group of friends torn apart by secrets, deception, and a shocking incident that changed their lives forever.
There’s nothing as bone-chillingly terrifying as reading a book that seems to have been ripped straight from the headlines of a news story. Sure, they may be devoid of ghosts and other “scary” things, but there’s so much truth in the words and stories that the haunting tales stay long after you wish you could forget them. These are the stories that stay with you because they’re 100% possible. They make you question everything about yourself and your future.
I’ve put together a list of my favorite books, fiction, and nonfiction, that have been or could have been inspired by things happening in the real world. Some of these books are frightening, with characters that are no doubt guilty of their crimes. Others are enlightening, delving into the complex problem of how our criminal justice system treats certain victims. But they all have one thing in common…they’re endlessly fascinating.
What does it mean when you thought you knew someone? What does it mean when that person is your new boyfriend? Courtney Summers meets Deb Caletti in this page-turning suspense story of what it is to face hard truths about yourself and others, and how to find strength when you need it most.
The numbers are staggering: nearly one in five girls ages fourteen to seventeen have been the victim of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. This is the true story of one of those girls.
When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman.
A young, street-savvy runaway looking for a place to call home realized he might have conned his way into the wrong family in this fast-paced and thrilling novel.
Lizzie is an edge-of-your-seat reimagining of one of the most chilling mysteries in modern history—Lizzie Borden.
Prestigious. Powerful. Privileged. This is Fullbrook Academy, an elite prep school where history looms in the leafy branches over its brick walkways. But some traditions upheld in its hallowed halls are profoundly dangerous.
A girl tries to outrun her demons in this searing, universal novel about the impact of gun violence, everyday sexism, rape culture, and internalizing—and overcoming—guilt. Make sure you add this one to your Goodreads Shelf and get ready to read it in September!
A bag of chips, that’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leaving the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the concrete pavement?
In a year of firsts—the first year without parents, first love, first heartbreak, and her first taste of freedom—Brooke must confront the shadow of her family’s violence and dysfunction, as she struggles to embrace her identity, finds her true place in the world, and learns how to let go.
On May 22, 1995 at 7 p.m. sixteen-year-old Jimmy Farris and seventeen-year-old Mike McLoren were working out outside Mike’s backyard fort. Four boys hopped the fence, and a fight broke out inside the dark fort made of two-by-four planks and tarps. Within minutes, both Mike and Jimmy had been stabbed. Jimmy died a short time later.
It’s Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off on a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations.
In soaring images and powerful poems, this is the breathtaking story of what became known as the Zoot Suit Riots as only Margarita Engle could tell it.
The Other Talk is such a pertinent read in this day and age. The book begins a much-needed conversation about race for white kids. In an instantly relatable and deeply honest account of his own life, Brendan Kiely offers young readers a way to understand one’s own white privilege and why allyship is so vital, so that we can all start doing our part—today.
There is nothing sweeter than a first love. It comes in all shapes and sizes—whether it’s the person you’ve been best friends with for years or the new kid who just started at school—but it’s always exciting. I find books about first love to be hopeful and sometimes even painful, but it’s an experience that most people will go through during their lives so it helps to have company. YA books are full of stories like this, so I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorites.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson in March 2019!
In this moving story that’s perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, two teens fall in love with just one minor complication—they can’t get within a few feet of each other without risking their lives.
After an awkward first encounter, Daniel and Birdie soon realize that they are now co-workers on the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel. Lovers of mysteries themselves, the two quickly embark on a hunt for clues as they begin to unravel the identity of a world-famous reclusive author who may be meeting someone at the hotel. Can they guess who he is before he stops visiting?
Lara Jean’s love life gets complicated in this New York Times bestselling “lovely, lighthearted romance” (School Library Journal) from the bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?
When travel plans go awry, Addie suddenly finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with her brother Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan.
Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life and the condition has made her feel invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He’s deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she’s assigned to help him acclimate.
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime.
When a group camping trip goes south, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.
After she doesn’t get accepted to the art school of her dreams, Kiko takes a leap of faith and accepts an invitation from her childhood friend to leave her small town and tour art schools on the west.
West Ashby and Maggie Carleton both have their secrets. As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.
Tash’s amateur web series has been nominated for a Golden Tuba award, meaning her cyber-flirtation with a fellow award nominee suddenly has the potential to become something IRL—if she can figure out how to tell said crush that she’s romantically asexual.
All the Bright Places meets If I Stay in this heart-wrenching, romantic novel about a tight-knit group of teen girls coping with a devastating loss and what happens when your best friend is also your first love…and your first heartbreak.
One of my favorite things in a book is romance. I’m a die-hard shipper and will endure not-so-great plots if there’s a strong enough romance. I love finding stories about two characters that connect with each other on a deep level, and a lot of the time these couples decide to take the next step in their relationship and have sex. I love it when authors embrace this step in a relationship in a way that does not shame the characters for making this decision together. These stories show sex in a positive light, showing people how they can be smart and safe without being shamed. Check out my favorite sex positive stories below!
Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers, this seductive and intense thriller unfolds in interwoven timelines of two summers as three friends are torn apart by buried secrets and star-crossed attraction…then pulled back together by tragedy.
In this coming-of-age romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, scandal and romance collide when an ambitious teen returns to her hometown only to have her plans interrupted after falling for the town’s “bad boy”—a.k.a. her childhood best friend.
An unexpected and searing romance unfolds between a young recording artist and her ex-Marine bodyguard trying to outrun his difficult past in this wrenching novel from the author of Come Back to Me and Run Away with Me.
Jenn Bennett is a great author for realistic, sex positive stories. In Starry Eyes, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness alone. They are able to maturely handle discussions about where they’d like to take their relationship and protection. On top of that, Lennon’s moms’ even own a sex shop and it is not treated as anything particularly shameful.
Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Mean Girls as lovably flawed high school student Chloe Snow chronicles her junior year as she navigates the highs and lows of family, friendship, school, and losing her virginity.
When Dimple Met Rishi is about two Indian-American teens whose parents conspire to arrange their marriage. Sandhya Menon allows this couple to decide what is best for them when it comes to their relationship, despite the pressures their parent’s place on them.
After an awkward first encounter, Birdie and Daniel are forced to work together in a Seattle hotel where a famous author leads a mysterious and secluded life in this romantic contemporary novel.
Come Back to Me is a story about a young Marine and his best friend’s sister plunge into a forbidden love affair while he’s home on leave. Though their romance is forbidden, they maturely navigate what it means to be together.
It’s no surprise that there is another Jenn Bennett book on this list, as she really writes some of the best sex positive romances. In Alex, Approximately Bailey has to deal with a hate to love romance, and secret aliases. But as the relationship develops, it stays away from any shame surrounding sex.
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has never shied away from talking about sex in age-appropriate ways in her Alice series, starting with Alice in sixth grade. This first collection of Alice’s High School years is no exception.
In You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone, eighteen-year-old twins deal with the life changing possibility of receiving a positive result from a genetic test for Huntington’s. This story delves deep into what this means for the girls, and also shows that it’s okay to be sexually confident and unapologetically act on your desires.
In Four-Letter Word eight friends engage in a high stakes game. At the heart of the story, a character thinks hard about risks and consequences of sex and ultimately embracing going after what she wants.