I like to consider myself a true avid reader. My books are color coordinated and I refuse to re-sell any book. Any. I read at least one book a week, sometimes one a day. I carry at least four with me at all times (each a different genre, always a piece of poetry). I just really love words, y'know?

With that being said, I go through a lot of phases with my reading habits. I recently went through a "Dysfunctional Family" phase. I spent many years in a "Christian Living" phase. And even a "Non-Fiction, Sociology, Psychology" phase. Most recently, though, I find myself in the middle (I say middle because I see no end in sight) of a "Young Adult" phase.

When I was younger, other than the Harry Potter series (and "Captain Underpants"), I was never drawn towards young adult books. My favorite book when I was in middle school was "Watership Down." So why now? Why at 24, when high school is behind me, boy trouble is far less devastating and complicated and I still haven't received my Hogwarts Acceptance Letter...?

For whatever the reason, I have now found myself sucked into this YA culture. Truly believing it to be a rich, fascinating and constantly evolving subset of literature; speaking volumes about the values literature passes on to subsequent generations (and all generations for that mater). Yes, the greatest criticism for some of these books is their transparency and lack of engagement or suspense or "real life." Pish posh. I have found a new love for YA books, and an even greater love for their authors.

Like, seriously, if I had to choose authors to have lunch with, I would totally snag up J.K. Rowling and John Green.

No, I probably don't walk away from these books with a newfound outlook on life or with a new existential crisis on my shoulders, but I do walk away feeling a little lighter, totally emotionally drained, a little lovesick and a whole lot wide-eyed for something.

So here are the YA books I fancy, and a few I hope to conquer during this emotional phase.

Books that I've read:

1. Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling

Let's just start this off with the obvious choice, good ol' HP. I picked up Sorcerer's Stone as a young fourth grader and I will never stop picking them up. If you really want to know, I have read all of the books at least seven times.

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy. He lives with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley, who are mean to him and make him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. (Dudley, however, has two bedrooms, one to sleep in and one for all his toys and games.) Then Harry starts receiving mysterious letters and his life is changed forever. He is whisked away by a beetle-eyed giant of a man and enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard! The first book in the "Harry Potter" series makes the perfect introduction to the world of Hogwarts.

2. Divergent Series, Veronica Roth

I'm all for the dystopian fiction.

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

3. Hunger Games Series, Suzanne Collins

I read all three books in three days in college. Totally don't regret the classes I missed.

The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.

When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

4. The Fault In Our Stars, John Green

I don't care if you have seen the movie, please read the book. It's quick, and it will leave you in a puddle of tears for days.

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

5. Love Letters to the Dead, Ava Dellalra

Ugh, I hate how people bash the writing and chuck it up to be naive. This book is good (another quick read). No, it probably won't change your life, but it will make you think. We've all been young and though our circumstances may be different, we can understand the temptations and challenges Laurel faces in her young life. Shoot, we can understand them at any age -- we're not perfect, we all hold our ghosts close and we're afraid to open up. Not to mention the uniqueness of this writing and story line. It's good. Give it a try.

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person.

Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to the dead—to people like Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, Amelia Earhart, and Amy Winehouse—though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating the choppy waters of new friendships, learning to live with her splintering family, falling in love for the first time, and, most important, trying to grieve for May. But how do you mourn for someone you haven't forgiven?

It's not until Laurel has written the truth about what happened to herself that she can finally accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was—lovely and amazing and deeply flawed—can she truly start to discover her own path.

6. Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon

I finished this book in less than a day, so yes, it is good. It's so very different from any other YA or love story. It's so much less of a love story and more of a coming to story. Coming to what exactly? You decide. It's quirky, it's funny, it's heartbreaking, it's intoxicating. Yes, and cheesy. Yes, it makes you angry. Yes, you are going to scream: "What the heck?! That would never happen! Ugh!" Yes, the ending is happy. Yes, a lot of people don't like it. Psssh. Read it.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

7. I'll Give You The Sun, Jandy Nelson

I'm a sucker for metaphors, and this book never stops jumping off the page. Full of teenage angst, art, tragedy, love, confusion, family pain and so much more. There's a beautiful, terrifying, joyful, heartbreaking story in here. Find it.

Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

8. It's Kind of a Funny Story, Ned Vizzini

I had been meaning to read this book for so long, and I am so in awe of it. Even more so when I learned more about Ned and his own tragic (simultaneously beautiful) story.

Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life - which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself.

Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness.

9. Looking for Alaska, John Green

I was already a fan of John Green's voice and his way of thinking. I can't say this book necessarily blew me away, but it did make me cry (which, yes, happens a lot with books, but that's not the point).

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

And now, for some books I'm currently reading or want to read...

10. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Jesse Andrews

I honestly never heard of this book before seeing the movie previews. I am very adamant on not seeing a movie before I read the book, though, so I have waited to see the movie and am just starting into this book. So far it is very unique in the writing style, but an interesting start that I want to finish.

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

11. We All Looked Up, Tommy Wallach

The cover of this one got me. Currently a couple chapters in and so far so good.

Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels:
The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever.

But then we all looked up and everything changed.

They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end.

Two months to really live.

12. Every Last Word, Tamara Ireland Stone

So far I can't stop thinking "Yes" "This is so me" "I get this" Words are awesome!" Beautiful.

If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

13. The Way I Used to Be, Amber Smith

In the tradition of Speak, this extraordinary debut novel shares the unforgettable story of a young woman as she struggles to find strength in the aftermath of an assault.

Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes.

What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved—who she once loved—she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies. Nothing makes sense anymore, and she knows she’s supposed to tell someone what happened but she can’t. So she buries it instead. And she buries the way she used to be.

Told in four parts—freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year—this provocative debut reveals the deep cuts of trauma. But it also demonstrates one young woman’s strength as she navigates the disappointment and unbearable pains of adolescence, of first love and first heartbreak, of friendships broken and rebuilt, and while learning to embrace a power of survival she never knew she had hidden within her heart.

14. Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell

Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

15. Tell Me Three Things, Julie Buxbaum

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends.

16. This Is Where It Ends, Marieke Nijkamp

10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity High School finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m. The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03 a.m. The auditorium doors won't open.
10:05 a.m. Someone starts shooting.

Told from four different perspectives over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

17. Thicker Than Water, Brigid Kemmerer

Not my typical choice for YA reading, but this looks like an interesting and compelling story.

On his own.

Thomas Bellweather hasn’t been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad’s cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect.

Not that there’s any evidence. But before Thomas got to Garretts Mill there had just been one other murder in twenty years.

The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. Her best friend was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple answers.

Answers that could get them both killed, and reveal a truth Thomas would die to keep hidden…

18. The Memory of Light, Francisco X. Stork

What can I say, I like to cry. And dealing with my own bouts of depression and anxiety leads me to books like this.

Vicky Cruz shouldn’t be alive.

That’s what she thinks, anyway—and why she tried to kill herself. But then she arrives at Lakeview Hospital, where she meets Mona, the live wire; Gabriel, the saint; E.M., always angry; and Dr. Desai, a quiet force. With stories and honesty, kindness and hard work, they push her to reconsider her life before Lakeview, and offer her an acceptance she’s never had.

Yet Vicky’s newfound peace is as fragile as the roses that grow around the hospital. And when a crisis forces the group to split up—sending her back to the life that drove her to suicide—Vicky must find her own courage and strength. She may not have any. She doesn’t know.

Inspired in part by the author’s own experience with depression, The Memory of Light is the rare young adult novel that focuses not on the events leading up to a suicide attempt, but the recovery from one—about living when life doesn’t seem worth it, and how we go on anyway.

OK, so maybe my phase has a phase: "Young Adult Fiction That Will Make You Cry" with a sweet side of "Dystopian Young Adult" and we all know Harry Potter belongs in its own category (and it is so not a phase).

There are so many more, and my list is probably biased towards my need to cry and scream at the words on the pages. But hey, my whole point is to show you that Young Adult Fiction does not have an age limit.

Check out my Goodreads for more updates!