While Naomi embarks on her mysterious – and potentially dangerous – trip to Europa, Leo continues to work with a scientist on Earth in the hopes that he will send him to meet Naomi at the International Space Training Camp. The highly-anticipated sequel to The Final Six features contestants Naomi and Leo after Leo was left to survive on a failing Earth. Also, the female protagonist drives a motorcycle, so that’s pretty badass too. When the daughter of a prosecutor and a gang member fall in love, they must beat the odds for their relationship to survive. This forbidden romance story sounds sultry and loads of fun. (Who else thought it was ending with book three, then just kept going? Just me? Oh.) I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what happens with Jacob and the gang next in The Conference of the Birds. I really love the Miss Peregrine’s series. The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs This book is ultimately about a friend break-up, but the two things that really sold me? The title has me singing the Veronica Mars theme song over and over, and one of the main characters is a girl named James! I’ve always loved names that defy gender expectations and this novel is sure to be one of the best YA picks of the year. While this list will definitely grow once more titles are released for the second half of the year (I’m looking at you, Angie Thomas), these are currently the 18 must-read YA books of 2020. For 2020 YA, I’ll take all the queer witches, badass female protagonists and sensitive boys. More than ever, YA is such an important genre in the literary world: diverse characters and settings magic, fantasy, realism and for me, the most critical piece is characters who are relatable, real, down-to-earth. There’s nothing like a new reading challenge and new books to devour, and 2020 promises a whole new plethora of YA novels.

Alexandra monir the life below