8 YA Book Club Books To Read For Great Discussions

William Hussey’s romcom is a sweet and funny read, following young filmmaker Jesse Spark as he tries to occupy his time before a major heart surgery by making his dream film, a romantic thriller set during a zombie apocalypse. This book could lead to discussions of homophobia and inclusion, beauty standards and friendship, the nature of biological and chosen family, and the role of creativity in keeping people going during tough times.

This highly acclaimed novel is set in a world where the apocalypse is looming, and people are trying to fill their remaining time with as much joy and companionship as they can. Protagonist Aisha, along with her mother, her boyfriend and his parents, and a grumpy cat, decide to track down Aisha’s estranged sister, June so that they can spend time together before the end. Teens reading this book could discuss what they would do in an end-of-the-world situation, who they would spend time with, and the nature of community and forgiveness.

Jaigirdar’s historical thriller follows four young women who are attempting to carry out a heist, not realising that they’ll soon have more than the law to contend with — they’re trying to rob one of the rich passengers on the Titanic. This book could be a jumping-off point for a discussion about the real events of the Titanic’s doomed voyage and could also be a springboard for talking about race, class, and gender.

This novel deals with the recovery of a teenage girl, Moonbeam, who is a survivor of a Branch Davidian-style cult. As Moonbeam discusses recent events with her psychiatrist, young readers can consider the nature of fanaticism and healing, cults and healthy relationships, and dogma versus free thinking. After the Fire could also be a great resource for any students learning about real-world cults or cultish thinking.

This short novel is a gut-punching, important read. Justyce, a Black teenage boy attending a prestigious school, is wrongly arrested by a racist police officer and soon finds himself at the epicentre of an act of horrific anti-Black violence. Justyce tries to make sense of events through a series of letters to Dr. Martin Luther King. Dear Martin could be an important read for students discussing racism, resistance, Black Lives Matter, and other social justice movements.

Despite being over 20 years old, this cyberpunk YA novel is increasingly relevant. Set in a world that is slowly being destroyed by pollution and the excesses of capitalism, and where almost everyone has access to the internet inside their heads, it follows Titus and his friends, who are frighteningly oblivious to the way that society is crumbling around them. Feed would be a useful book for a group to use in discussions about the pros and cons of technology, corporate greed, and the impact of consumerism on nature.

Set in a high-concept fantasy world, Girls of Paper and Fire shows us a society inhabited by humans and demons. A member of the human Paper caste, the lowest-ranked group, Lei is brought to the royal palace to become a concubine for the demon king. The book includes sexual violence in a fantasy setting, so could be a starting point for sensitive discussion of this subject, as well as class, identity, and love.