5 YA Books to Read When You’re Burnt Out on Love

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks, by E. Lockhart
Frankie could just play the girlfriend. After all, her boyfriend’s hot, and a senior. But when he joins a secret all-male society at their fancy boarding school, she refuses to take “no girls allowed” for an answer. And thus an all-out prank war ensues, instigated by budding criminal mastermind Frankie, who refuses to be mere arm candy even for big man on campus Matthew Livingston. In this book, the girl ditches the dude and demands to be noticed for her smarts and her heart.

Endangered, by Lamar Giles
Quiet and forgettable, Lauren “Panda” Daniels is great at keeping secrets—and at spilling them, as the girl behind Gray Scales, an anonymous photo blog that exposes the dirty deeds of teens and teachers at her school. She’s managed to stay under the radar so far, but when she reveals the unsavory relationship between a teacher and student, someone catches her in the act and decides to beat her at her own game, blackmailing her with a cutthroat game of truth or dare that escalates to dangerous levels. This page-turner is fast-paced, complex, and compelling, with nary a distracting kissing scene in sight.

Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
Finding fantasy that isn’t all about slow-simmering romance and swoonworthy swashbuckling can be a challenge. But once you start Bardugo’s delicious caper, you’ll fall all in. Mastermind Kaz Brekker is offered the opportunity of a lifetime, but he can’t pull it off alone. So he gathers a ragtag gang, each member serving his or her own purpose, and they embark on a mission far bigger than anyone knows. Set in Bardugo’s vivid Grisha-verse, this is a heist story you’ll be unraveling again and again, savoring the worldbuilding and structure, the characterization and the interaction. A delicious read.

The Darkest Corners, by Kara Thomas
Her hometown of Fayette, Pa., is the last place Tessa wants to be. After all, she left years ago, abandoned by her mother when her father was sent to prison. But now he’s dead, and she’s back, reliving the reasons she left in the first place—chief among them the murder of her best friend Callie’s cousin, for which she and Callie were the only witnesses. Tessa and Callie’s testimony sent Wyatt Stokes to prison, branded a serial killer, but then another girl turns up dead. Did the girls put an innocent man behind bars? And will the secrets she keeps make Tessa the next victim? You’ll be too busy gasping at the twists and turns to think about love.

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
It’s 1969, and New York is burning. Evelyn is 14, growing up in Spanish Harlem, where Puerto Rican activist group the Young Lords ignites protests that leave her little corner of the city in ruins. When her grandmother comes to live with them and heeds the cause, Evelyn is conflicted. She doesn’t understand the need for revolution, and the idea that that when it’s ignored, history tends to repeat itself. But under the careful tutelage of her outspoken grandmother, she’ll start to learn. Based on her own experiences as a teen, Manzano—yes, Maria from Sesame Street—explores a rich, fraught moment in time that is more relevant than ever.