As an adult, no book genre is off limits, and they all have lessons to teach us, no matter what the intended age group. That’s why I have no shame in saying that I still read plenty of YA novels and have read and reviewed several indie YA titles on this blog. It’s been fun revisiting these titles, and hopefully, this post will give them more of the recognition that they deserve. Below are 21 YA indie book recommendations.
Note: The bookshop.org links are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission on any sales. Links will open in a new tab.
Indebted: The Berkshire Dragon by Charmayne Hafen
Princess Wren has been confined to her father’s castle ever since her mother’s sudden disappearance. When the son of the castle’s cook, Aleric, teaches Wren how to sword fight, it gives her the confidence she needs to break out of her gilded cage, enter a sword fighting competition, and make a name for herself.
Though I’m not much of a fantasy author, I took a chance on this book, and I’m glad I did. It’s full of exciting twists and turns, great characters, and a satisfying conclusion that makes you wish you were a sword fighting princess.
You can read my full review of Indebted here.
Shadow Avenue Book 1: The Hidden House by Vivi Dubois
Teen Lionel Hartley essentially lives alone in a seemingly typical suburban home on Shadow Avenue after his father’s death and his mother’s job keeps her on the road. The street is eerily quiet except for the pair of red eyes that stares at him as he sleeps. He eventually makes friends with the family across the street, and he begins to realize that this family is made up of supernatural creatures.
As one of my earliest reviews, this book came onto my radar after I put out for indie books to buy, and the horror premise caught my eye. It was such a page turner that I bought its sequel as well. It’s a heart warming found family story that contains moments of pure horror and great world building that is both enticing and terrifying.
You can read my full review of The Hidden House here.
Pandora Reborn by John Coon
High schooler Ron Olson moves to Deer Falls with his mom and his little brother after his parents’ divorce. The town is full of urban legends and an unsettling atmosphere, but Ron is really just concerned with soccer and avoiding the bullies who he spars with. Then, his classmates begin to disappear, and Ron and a group of school misfits seek to uncover why.
This book reads like a teen horror movie that Miramax would have produced in the 90s, and I say that as a compliment. It’s got a great concept, an interesting collection of characters, and an energetic tone that makes for a great YA horror read.
You can read my full review of Pandora Reborn here!
Catch The Moon, Mary by Wendy Waters
Mary Granger is a young piano prodigy whose work captures the attention of an earthbound angel named Gabriel. Gabriel offers to protect her from her abusive father and further her career in exchange for the use of her music to help him recreate Heaven on Earth. As their relationship progresses, Mary has to choose between her love for Gabriel and the found family she has accrued through her music success.
This story takes the trope of selling your soul to the devil for success and turns it on its head by making our antagonist an angel and throwing in a love story on top of it. The story shows what desire and loneliness can drive us to submit to if we’re eager enough.
You can read my full review of Catch the Moon, Mary here!
Cry Wolf by Jacque Stevens
After her sheep farmer father is killed by a wolf in the forest, Isabelle seeks revenge by hunting down the wolf and is saved from death herself by a half-human, half-beast named Howl who nurses her back to health in his burned down castle. The longer she is with Howl, the more her feelings toward him grows and makes her question whether to return to her small French village or join him and his wolf pack.
A retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a werewolf spin, Cry Wolf is a sharply told fantasy/horror novel that really grabbed my attention and led me to read every book in the series. I loved the dynamic between Isabelle and Howl and how their love story is based on mutual trust, respect, and the desire for independence and freedom from normal society.
Check out my full review of Cry Wolf here!
The Night Sender by Christina Tsirkas
On the night of her 18th birthday, Rose Woodburn hesitantly awaits for her night sender demon to visit her and bite her to signal the start of her womanhood. To her surprise, the bite is pleasurable, despite warnings to the contrary, and he returns night after night, initiating a forbidden romance that she must keep secret from her mother, her betrothed, and the rest of court in the city of Dover.
Surprisingly grounded for a fantasy romance novel, The Night Sender is a well-crafted fable that says a lot about female societal expectation, gender roles, and hidden desires. The book is steamy, so it is better suited for older YA readers, but it has a great message that’s very influential to such an easily influenced age group.
Read my full review of The Night Sender here.
Victory Lap by K.A. Mielke and Riley Alexis Wood
Josh McTavish is forced to repeat his senior year of high school. Luckily, his friend, Mel, is also along for the ride, and they make friends with Kiki, formerly known as Kyle until she began to transition over the summer. As the year progresses, they tackle bullies, family issues, and heartbreak which lead to some tough decisions about their individual and collective futures.
This modern story about friendship, acceptance, and coming to terms with one’s decisions and the blowback from those decisions, will really strike a chord with modern readers. I really felt for these characters and was anxious to know how their conflicts would resolve. I also loved their sophisticated, sarcastic teen speak which really enriched the characterization and made them feel like real and interesting people.
Read my full view of Victory Lap here!
My Name is Layla by Reyna Marder Gentin
Layla is just trying to survive the eighth grade while maneuvering through her chaotic family situation. As her grades slip, she has to come to terms with a learning disability that has largely gone ignored until now.
My Name is Layla is a great representation of middle school life and the feeling of being bogged down by so many conflicts to the point where you just try to ignore it all so that you can cope from day to day. I love Layla’s personality, and I root for her to succeed, even when her actions are less than desirable.
Read my full review of My Name is Layla here!
Living at Langster Motel by Cindy Sabulis
Cali Jarvis lives with her mother and two sisters at the Langster Motel in the midst of her parents’ divorce. While there, her family and the other long-term guests of the motel become a little community, and she becomes best friends with Rivka, the daughter of the motel’s owner. However, hoping to become more popular at school, she begins to work hard to try to impress the popular girls which drives her away from Rivka and requires her to figure out what is more important, loyalty or popularity.
A great tale about being a displaced teen, this story is one of my favorite YA novels that I have read on my blog. I love the episodic chapters, the flawed yet lovable characters, and the classic morality tale that encompasses these pages.
Read my full review of Living at Langster Motel here!
Signs We Don’t See by Carrie Beamer
Set in 1987, Etta juggles high school, a part-time job at her best friend, Nessa’s, family’s deli, and her father’s crippling depression which renders him unable to work. Then, she meets Jordan Caldwell, a rich kid at school, and the two begin secretly dating until Jordan stop showing up for school, and Etta begins to wonder if it has something to do with her.
Beamer has crafted a teen love story reminiscent of Pretty in Pink but very much its own story with more likable characters and deeper social issues plaguing them. It’s the perfect read for teens who are currently dealing with issues far more complex than they should at this age.
You can read my full review of Signs We Don’t See here!
Breathe Deep and Swim by Jenna Marcus
Set in the thick of Covid-19, two teen brothers find themselves orphaned when their father dies of the illness at home. Instead of surrendering themselves to social services, the two travel from Florida to New York to locate their estranged mother and hope that she will take them in.
This poignant road trip story features two mature boys who you want to succeed because of all they have been through and all they have to go through to reach their destination. Fast-paced and intense, it’s a very topical yet classic story about strong sibling bonds.
You can read my full review of Breathe Deep and Swim here!
Power On by H.L. Burke
Brothers Jake and Caleb are working for their Uncle Vic as members of a supervillain team when they are captured by a superhero organization and offered rehabilitation. There, they meet a team of fellow superpowered teens, and Jake, whose initial goal is to escape this team, soon begins to consider sticking around instead of escaping back to his supervillain ways.
A fun superhero story that’s a mix between the X-Men and The Breakfast Club, this novel puts a fantasy spin on the misfit teen trope and the difficulty in deciding what is good and what is evil. Despite not having the illustrations of a graphic novel to back it up, the imagery is very clear and descriptive, the characters are interesting, and the story is action packed.
You can read my full review of Power On here!
FAT: The Other F Word by Dan Radlauer
Teen actor Quincy has just landed his first starring role in a major TV sitcom. The only problem is that most of his character’s jokes revolve around his weight. As a health issue forces him to lose weight, he worries about losing the part. At the same time, the public’s torn reaction to his character threatens his best opportunity to break into the acting industry full time.
An unpredictable teen drama, this novel brings depth and relatability to any reader who has struggled with being overweight. And it shows that even a confident, easygoing kid like Quincy struggles when his personal issue is thrust into the limelight.
Read my full review of FAT here!
Rules of Falling by Leslie Tall Manning
Erica O’Donnell has a condition that causes her to chronically faint. Her best friend, Lindsay Bennett, has always been around to catch her, but when Lindsay develops a secret relationship with an older man, Erica finds that she’s the one who is going to have to catch Lindsay for once.
A really unique teen drama that throws a lot of varying elements into the mix and expertly ties them together, Rules of Falling is an intriguing page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat, especially during its climactic ending. I wish I could find more YA novels like it.
Read my full review of Rules of Falling here!
Reaper by Jonathan Pongratz
While babysitting his little sister, Imogen, on Halloween night, Gregory is horrified to find that Imogen has been taken away by a monster who emerges through a strange door in their basement. As the police search for Imogen, Gregory seeks the help of an older boy in town who has also lost a younger sibling to unearth an ancient secret that plagues their towns and their respective families.
A horror adventure tale, Reaper has a Stranger Things quality to it in which the actions of adults greatly affect the younger characters and opens up a supernatural world far more complex than their own. It’s a great, quick read for anyone looking for a fun horror story.
You can read my full review of Reaper here!
Summer’s Second by Jeff Billington
Asher Summer is an in-the-closet teen who lives in a small town in a broken home and is counting down the days until he can escape until he gets his girlfriend pregnant and realizes that he may never leave. As he deals with one issue after another, his chances of leaving seem more and more bleak, but there are glimmers of hope in the support of his coworker, Sally, his extended family, and his English teacher who work to keep him safe until an opportunity arises that allows him to leave.
A dark, brooding coming of age tale, Summer’s Second is a great read for those who are feeling hopeless. Hopefully, Asher’s story can give them comfort that he’s not alone and hope that things can get better.
Read my full review of Summer’s Second here!
All Our Faults by Charlotte Brough
The three Porter boys are spoiled rich kids who are left largely unsupervised with their workaholic father after their mother leaves them. When tragedy strikes, it turns their lives upside down and leads to self-destructive behavior that forces them all to come to terms with their family dynamic.
A heartbreaking story about how one action can change your entire life, All Our Faults is a cautionary tale for both teens and parents who sometimes learn the hard way that no one is immortal. However, healing is possible at any stage in life.
Read my full review of All Our Faults here!
The Peculiar Case of the Petersburg Professor by Sharon Kay
Michelle Kilpatrick, a young woman working towards her journalism degree in the 1970s investigates the murder of her journalism professor who is found dead in her office on campus. In doing so, she uncovers a mountain of secrets buried in her small town’s history.
More of a new adult novel than YA since our hero is in college, this story will still resonate with any teen mystery lover. Michelle is a nerdy yet self-aware girl who has a lot on her plate, yet she pushes it all aside for the sake of solving this mystery, and her tenacity keeps the reader entertained and on the edge of their seat without events ever getting too dark or gory.
Read my full review of The Peculiar Case of the Petersburg Professor here!
Things to See in Arizona by Mary Vensel White
Tuesday Mayes’ college plans are put on hold when her father has disappeared to an undisclosed location for a few weeks. Intent on cementing her enrollment, she and her best friend’s older brother set out through the desert to track him down and bring him home.
A great coming of age summer road trip story, this novel is part romance, part drama, part mini adventure that feels very grounded and realistic. I love the setting, the mysterious emotional baggage that these characters carry, and the budding romance that unfolds during this trip.
You can read my full review of Things to See in Arizona here!
The Bully Solution by Kathy Greenberg
Tired of her best friend being bullied, freshman Audrey Wood comes up with a plan to crack down on the bulling at school. But things don’t go according to plan as things take a turn for the worse before they are able to get better.
The Bully Solution is a realistically told high school tale that shows that sometimes, just one person is not enough to make a change. But the trick is to not let it break you and remain faithful to yourself and your allies.
You can read my full review of The Bully Solution here!
GOOSH by Seth McLane
Isaac Strawbridge learns that his mother has cancer the day before he begins seventh grade. To cope with this news, he spends most of his time shooting baskets at a local park. There, he meets Mr. Brooks, a former pro basketball player who becomes his school’s basketball coach and helps him through the challenges of his home and school life.
GOOSH is a great sports novel for teens that goes beyond the sport and focuses on the personal conflicts that plague its protagonist. I love the portrayal of Isaac’s one-track mind and how his thoughts consume him and spill into other areas of life, taking the form of obsessiveness, anger, and any other emotion other than what he’s truly feeling: sadness.
Read my full review of GOOSH here!
Which book would you most like to read on this list? Leave your answers in the comments below!
Pin it!
Ooo, a fantastic list with many titles I recognize!