7 YA Books You’ll Want to Throw Across the Room (In a Good Way)

Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
Start warming up your throwing arm with Perkins’ adorable romance. The story follows Anna, who is forced (forced?) to spend her senior year in Paris, far, far away from her friends and crush. While in the city of love, she meets Etienne St. Clair, who’s both gorgeous and taken. The near-misses and slow-burn romance will have your throwing arm twitching, and the hilarious dialogue and adventures will keep you turning the pages.

Willful Machines, by Tim Floreen
Do some light to moderate warmup throws with Floreen’s sci-fi thriller. Lee Fisher has a full plate between being the president’s (closeted) son, navigating a crush on the new guy, and not to mention freaking out about the artificial human, Charlotte, who has escaped, is wreaking havoc on America, and has Lee in her sights. The suspense and major plot twists will make you want to aim this book right at the nearest wall. Bonus points for its swoon-inducing romance.

The Shadow Queen, by C.J. Redwine
Time for practice pitches with this dark Snow White retelling following Lorelai Diederich, a young woman on a mission to take down her evil stepmother, the queen who killed her father. The biggest problem, beyond the fact that fugitive Lorelai has to form a reluctant alliance with Prince Kol, who may or may not betray her? The key to taking down the queen is through magic…which she and the queen both have. The battle scenes and minefield of plot twists will have you launching this book in the air quicker than you can say, “Huntsman.”

Titans, by Victoria Scott
Victoria Scott’s high-stakes futuristic tale is just begging to be sent soaring across the room. The story follows Astrid Sullivan, fascinated with the mechanical horse races that go down at a local track in her near-future Detroit hometown. She’s set to compete for a place in the upcoming derby, but she has to keep her goal a secret from her father, who lost the family’s money gambling at the races. The racing scenes are overflowing with tension, especially as they come with an edge of secrecy.

The Dead House, by Dawn Kurtagich
Scary books are high on the list of books you’ll want to send flying: there’s something about a particularly frightening scene that makes you crave a few yards of distance between you and the book that’s making you cry tears of terror. The Dead House features a mysterious disappearance, an eerie journal, and a school that’s much darker than it appears. Wing it across the room when your spine can’t take any more chilling, but be ready to run over to grab it immediately, because there’ll be no resting until you find out what really happened.

Damage Done, by Amanda Panitch
Warning: When the major twist is uncovered in Panitch’s debut, you might dislocate your shoulder in full-on shock throw. Julia Vann used to have a solid identity, a twin brother, friends, and even a boyfriend. Now everything has changed, her old life is behind her, and she goes by the name Lucy Black. But ashe slowly discovers her past won’t let her go, she’ll have to face the secrets she has held close for so long.

Sea of Shadows, by Kelly Armstrong
This entire trilogy is like a marathon for book throwing. From frustration-fueled betrayals to cliffhangers to twist after twist to almost kisses, you’ll have to make sure to aim this book at different spots on the wall so you don’t create a hole. The story follows twins Moria and Ashyn, who are gifted with the ability to control the spirit world. When a dark force is unleashed upon their village and family, their trip to save themselves and the rest of the empire is as addictive as it is gasp-inducing.