Escape From Thanksgiving with 5 Immersive YA Reads

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
Laini Taylor’s beautifully written Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy starts in the real world—Prague, to be exact—but trust me, the world won’t look familiar for long. Karou is a young art student. She sketches monsters that may (or may not) be real, makes wishes that come true (including a wish for blue hair), and runs strange errands for Brimstone, a creature who looks like a monster but who—along with his equally inhuman associates—are the closest thing to a family Karou has ever known. Then a handsome stranger named Akiva enters her life, bringing his own tortured past and deeply held secrets. Karou doesn’t know exactly who she is or where she came from, but is on the brink of becoming involved in a dangerous and ancient war—and she’s not sure which side she’s on. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is riveting from page one. Luckily, when you finish it, Days of Blood and Starlight and Dreams of Gods and Monsters are just waiting in the wings.

The Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer
The fourth book in Marissa Meyer’s bestselling fairy tale–inspired series was just published, so now is the perfect time to start at the beginning with Cinder. Cinder is a cyborg, a second-class citizen in New Beijing, barely tolerated by her stepmother and blamed for her beloved stepsister Peony’s illness. But Peony is just one more victim of the deadly plague that has ravaged planet earth while the people of Luna, led by the ruthless Queen Levana, watched and waited. No one is more surprised than Cinder when her life becomes intertwined with handsome and powerful Prince Kai’s. Suddenly Cinder, a lowly cyborg mechanic, is at the center of an intergalactic power struggle and involved in a forbidden romance. Cinder is beginning to question everything she thought she knew: where she came from, who she is, and where her loyalties lie. But Cinder’s story is just the beginning. The series continues with Scarlet, Cress, and the hot-off-the-presses Winter (just in time for the real thing).

Bone Gap, by Laura Ruby
This National Book Award finalist is filled with a magic all its own. Finn hasn’t been able to forgive himself ever since his brother’s girlfriend, Roza, went missing from their quiet Midwestern town, Bone Gap. Finn knows he saw a man kidnap Roza, but the information he gave the police proved useless. Finn’s brother Sean hasn’t been the same since Roza’s disappearance, and Sean certainly doesn’t understand why Finn is falling for Petey, a girl with the bad reputation. But there’s more to Roza’s disappearance than even Finn understands, and the beautiful black horse that showed up in Finn’s barn is more than just a horse. Finn and his horse race through a forest that should not exist, and fly over a cliff that can’t really be there, all in a quest to find the missing girl. Told from multiple perspectives that weave together seamlessly, Bone Gap is part magical realism and part fantasy—and all parts wonderful.

Every Day by David Levithan
This New York Times bestseller is utterly unique. Our protagonist, known only as A, wakes up every morning somewhere else. As someone else. A never knows where or who they might be, and lives by rigid rules: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. The rules are working—more or less—until A wakes up in Justin’s body and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. Now, A isn’t sure they can go on living life as they’ve known it, or continue to follow the old rules. Because for the first time, A has met someone they want to be with every day, no matter what body they’re in. But how can A love Rhiannon without knowing who or where they’ll be from one day to the next?  And what will happen when they discover they’re not the only one destined to live life this way?

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, by Holly Black
Tana wakes up one morning after (what she thought was) an ordinary party surrounded by corpses. Forty-eight of them, to be exact. But that’s not all. She discovers her ex-boyfriend Aiden and a mysterious vampire named Gavriel chained in a room. Together, they set off to the nearest Coldtown, one of the walled cities the government erected after vampires went public. In Coldtowns, vampires (and the humans who love them) are quarantined to keep the rest of the population safe. But safe is the last thing any human will be inside Coldtown. Tana knows that once she enters, it’s unlikely she will ever leave. And if she stays, it’s unlikely she’ll survive. Tana is determined to stay human, but can’t help being intrigued by Gavriel and his tortured past, despite the fact that he’s a monster. This grisly tale is equal parts horror and romance—and we promise it’s unlike any vampire story you’ve read before.