Looking for a very specific category of books

[pearl w]

Hey so I just joined this platform like 20 minutes ago lol. Anyways, I'm here because I want book recommendations because I have a very specific criteria in books I want to read. I'm 13 going on 14 so I fit in the teen/YA category and one of my problems is that whenever I look through YA books personalized for girls they all are either romance or dystopian. Don't get me wrong--I love a cute romance and the only dystopian I like is The Hunger Games but I want something new and different. I want to read something that's smart but not pretentious (if that makes sense) I find that there's a lack of teen books that's catered to young women that speak intellectually and aren't afraid of talking about deep, serious topics. It may sound confusing how I describe "catered to women" or books that are just directed towards women in general, and I hope I don't sound crazy but I think you can just tell when a book's target audience is a certain gender or certain demographic. I think what I'm trying to say is I want a book that's smart, isn't afraid to talk about serious things, and isn't centered around romance. I hope this doesn't sound like I just yapped for a whole paragraph, any suggestions?

[FelinaAlpuertoPittman2859+]

HI! Why don't you try reading books written by Paul Zindel who specializes in teenage angst. Some titles I would recommend are, "The Undertaker's Gone Bananas, " "I Never Loved Your MInd," "Confessions of a Teenage Baboon," "My Darling, My Hamburger," and
"Pardon, You're Stepping on my Eyeballs." John Green has some good books too like "Paper Towns," and "Looking for Alaska."

[Jen Cowhig]

John Green has some books with some romance which are ultimately about bigger topics like Death, Mental health ect. My favorite of his books remains Looking for Alaska.

Another author to check out is Gale Forman. She has a few books out for teen girls like the popular If I Stay which is about the complications of life. I recommend “I was here” which is about a girl trying to find out why her best friend committed suicide.

I love YA books but as a girl who doesnt want to read a romance, these are authors I loved

[Jen Cowhig]

A single book that I recommend that doesn't shy away from hard topics is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson which is about the silencing of sexual assault survivors.

[Sarah Fisher_LP]

Maybe actually try Shadow of the Conqueror by Shad M. Brooks. Seems like you're interested in books that explore deeper moral questions. The Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras series by Scott Westerfield covers deep environmental and political questions.

Incarceron and it's sequel are also more "serious" and less "romantic". If you're really looking to get outside your comfort zone, maybe try The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien or Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

If you're looking to stay in YA, you can shake things up with some Garth Nix, who isn't into romance in the slightest. A good read of Clariel or Across The Wall will get you far out of the mush. And who can forget the dry Keys to the Kingdom series?

Even Margaret Peterson Haddix forgot the romance genre existed. The Unwound series too. There's plenty in YA outside of garbage romance. You just have to look for it.

[Violet Devreaux]

You might enjoy The Grace Year by Kim Liggett. It's a feminist YA dystopian novel that's reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, but with some of the vibes of Maze Runner. Except it's geared toward a younger audience than Atwood's works. If I recall correctly, there is some romance, but it's not the main plot of the book. There's a big emphasis on solidarity among women resisting oppressive structures. As well as coming of age under oppression/beginning to view older women in your life in a different light as you become an adult.