Check One Out! NPR’s Picks for Best Young Adult Novels of the Year

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson Content to shadow her high-wattage older sister throughout her seventeen years, clarinetist and secret poet Lennie is devastated when Bailey dies suddenly. Lennie's profound loss awakens unexpected new feelings, including inexplicable sexual desires. An intimate story about coping with loss, Nelson's first novel is tender, romantic, and loaded with passion. Horn Book Review

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver Sam relives the last day of her life seven times, hoping to make amends with the family she's neglected and the schoolmates she and her friends have tormented. With each additional final day, Sam makes new mistakes and discoveries that bring her closer to redemption. This promising debut imbues small memories--a word, a joke, a kiss--with transformative power. Horn Book Review

The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt Levi's older brother Boaz enlisted in the Marines after graduating from high school. Levi has felt the distance grow between them prior to and throughout his enlistment. Now, Bo is returning home from the Middle East. The person who arrives bears little resemblance to his previous self, holing up in his room. When Bo announces his intention of hiking the Appalachian Trail, Levi (who has snooped in Bo's Internet history) knows better. With a little help from best friends Pearl and Zim, he joins Bo on his personal hegira. The first-person, present-tense narration takes readers steadily toward the core of what has happened to Bo. Kirkus Review

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney The only thing that means yes is yes.” When Alex, a junior at a New England boarding school, wakes up in a boy’s bed, she doesn’t immediately realize what has happened during the previous drunken night. As fragmented memories return, she begins to understand that what happened was date rape. With the encouragement of her friends and older sister, Alex submits her case to the Mockingbirds, an underground justice system inspired by Harper Lee’s classic novel, in which students investigate and try crimes committed against other students.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins Anna is not happy about spending senior year at a Paris boarding school, away from her Atlanta home, best friend Bridgette, and crush Toph. But she soon finds friends and starts enjoying French life; she is an aspiring film critic. Complications arise, though, when she develops feelings for cute—and taken—classmate Etienne, even though she remains interested in Toph. Her return home for the holidays brings both surprises, betrayals, and a new perspective on what matters in life—and love. Booklist Review