6 of the Best YA Books with Family on the Page

The Upside of Unrequited, by Becky Albertalli
Molly is an expert when it comes to crushes, and while she longs for her feelings to one day be requited, she has no desire to make any sort of move—crushing from afar is definitely more her speed. At least until her twin sister, Cassie, gets her first real girlfriend, and Molly feels even more alone. Molly’s quest for romance is one of the main draws of this delightfully charming book, but it’s Molly’s familial relationships—with Cassie, with her mothers as they plan their wedding, with her difficult grandmother—that give Upside its heart.

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
When a cop murders Starr Carter’s friend Khalil and his death becomes national news—with Starr as the sole witness—her world is upended in myriad ways. What remains constant throughout, though, is the unconditional support and love of her family. Her parents especially are two of the best in YA, period. They are not only fully-formed characters with their own histories, faults, desires, and relationships, but they also have a continuously profound impact on Starr and her journey. They also feel real in an unbelievably satisfying way. With Maverick, Lisa, Uncle Carlos, Sekani, Seven, and Starr, The Hate U Give features one of the most—if not the most—memorable and beautifully rendered families I’ve ever seen on the page.

Wild Beauty, by Anna-Marie McLemore
For generations, the Nomeolvides women have tended the wondrous gardens of La Pradera. And for generations, they have been cursed: when a Nomeolvides woman falls in love, her lover disappears. But the sudden arrival of a mysterious boy in the gardens—a boy with no memory and no clue to his identity beyond three letters scrawled on a torn bit of paper—signals some sort of change, but none of the women can agree as to what sort of change. With McLemore’s signature lush prose and tender emotion, she creates a portrait of a family as gorgeous and complex as La Pradera itself.

I Believe in a Thing Called Love, by Maurene Goo
Desi Lee is an ace at everything she puts her mind to and always has been, with one glaring exception: boys. Not only has she never had a boyfriend, but her flirting disasters are legendary among her friends. So when a ridiculously attractive new guy shows up at school, Desi is determined to end her losing streak. How? With guidance from the Korean dramas her dad loves so much. While not the central concern of this hilarious romantic comedy, Desi’s adorable and deceptively complex relationship with her dad is the definition of heartwarming and one of the book’s many highlights.

This Side of Home, by Renee Watson
Maya and her twin sister, Nikki, have always been completely in sync. They have the same friends and interests, and they’re planning for the same future: college at a historically Black university. But as they start senior year, their neighborhood is changing—and the sisters don’t agree on whether it’s for the better or not. At the heart of this powerful look at gentrification is a pair of sisters moving in opposite directions and the pain of navigating that sudden division.

Unspoken, by Sarah Rees Brennan
Kami Glass has been in love with the boy in her head her entire life. He’s a constant presence and comfort for her, but when the mysterious Lynburn family moves back to Kami’s quiet English town, Sorry-in-the-Vale, the boy in her head becomes a boy in the flesh. What’s more, strange things have followed in the Lynburn clan’s wake, and Kami’s determined to get to the bottom of them. Throughout the course of this gorgeously gothic series, Kami discovers secrets about her own family—secrets that could jeopardize her parents’ happy, stable marriage. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that the Garcia family is as complicated and engaging as they come, especially when they’re falling apart and trying to find their way back to each other.