Recs if you like Uglies...

SFF with worldbuilding that informs the plot, prose, characters, and underlying narrative in deeply meaningful, intentional, and complex ways, so much so that changing the world means changing the shape of the story itself. Or: worldbuilding that goes beyond simple set dressing and becomes a vehicle for the story and narrative. Always open to recs and suggestions! ❤️

Crimes committed by movie studios against amazing books. “The book walked, so these movies could trip and fall down the stairs” - JadeLovesBooks ✨

[BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF SOCIETAL COLLAPSE]

Dystopia-core library books you inhaled in middle school on the bus so you could talk about them during lunch period.

Or: books that had an entire generation of kids convinced they were going to develop powers and be taken to a secret government facility

Books recommended by musician Lucy Dacus, a solo artist and member of the band boygenius. Pulled from her goodreads list.

Allow me to set the scene:

It’s 2 AM on a school night but you only have 100 pages left. You will power through. Forget the math test you have first period. This is your priority. And you must know how the book ends.

I don’t know what sort of millennial catnip these 2000s YA authors put in these books, but let me tell you, my “baby millennial” self was addicted.

Pagebound Millennials: what YA were you reading?

Books of the millennial reader's childhood (not just scholastic book fair). Sticking with chapter books, and not picture books :) All books pre-2005 Taking recs!

Name-calling and insults you might hear on the playground and beyond...

Anything can be an insult if you believe it! My kid brother used to get in trouble for calling us "you...you BEAN" with all the spite his little preschool self could manage 🥹

the staples of the book community on youtube in the early to mid 2010s.

A roundup of YA books that were popular back in the days of us baby millennials. For anyone feeling nostalgic for the 2010’s. Draw a little mustache on your finger because you’re so quirky and get reading like you already finished your homework for the night!

Books with some good messages cloaked in fantastic/sci-fi forms. Includes anti-fascist and anti-capitalist books. Let’s recommend these to the people who really need them 😇

Based on my favorite podcast Rereading the Revolution. The hosts reread and recap popular 2000s-2010s novels from Divergent to Looking for Alaska.

The list is in order of oldest episodes to most recent. I will try and update when new episodes drop.

So take a walk down memory lane with these nostalgic picks, or find something new that sparks your inner teenager! Please give the podcast a listen, I think they’re a great bookish podcast to support

And baby, you KNOW these are problematic 🌚

When I say mid-00's I cannot stress enough that I am going on vibe alone. The actual publication date (or status as a YA book) matters way less than the fact that I, a teen in the mid-00s, consumed many of these titles.

Recommendations welcome! They don't have to have aged poorly for me to add them in, but boy it sure happens to have shaken out that way!

For the readers out there who were on the internet with no restrictions in the early 2010s XD

Please comment which book was your favorite during this era!

The first book in a series.

The young adult dystopian books of the late 2000s to late 2010s that are/were super popular. Primarily female main character (occasional male main character) taking down some corrupt government after the fall of civilization. Might have missed some though so this will be an updating list!

Dystopian young adult books

syllabus for the eager scholars of rereading the revolution aka the books that shaped teenagers from 2005 to 2015 (based on the books read & discussed on the podcast by Kellie & Daphne – regular episodes, without bonus )

it's the 2010s, you're watching the vlogbrothers on youtube & watching the hunger games movies with your friends in cinemas

Come for the futuristic, gritty city vibes, stay for the outcasts fighting corrupt systems.

This list includes a range range of cyberpunk and urban fantasy books not always featured in classic lists. Cyberpunk sci-fi often features high tech science-based futures, action and adventure, and outcasts fighting against systems. Urban fantasy has a similar feel, but uses fantasy elements like magic. Come enjoy some near-futuristic worlds bursting with creativity and scrappy characters.