For too long, girls, women, and femmes have been expected to live by an arbitrary set of rules: to be quiet and agreeable, to not bring too much attention to themselves, to be sweet at all times, even to people who don’t deserve their kindness. Meanwhile, boys are applauded for speaking their minds, for pursuing their goals even if it goes against what others think is best for them, for doing what’s necessary to protect themselves and others. The double standard is obvious.
The truth is, it doesn’t even take much for a girl to become “unlikeable.” Something as simple as acknowledging their own wit, talent, or power can be enough to set off the people who believe that girls should be shrinking themselves and that their words don’t matter.
Believe it or not, it isn’t every girl’s mission to be liked by everyone. Like any other person, many of them just want to live their life by being themselves, taking up space, and not playing by a certain set of rules just because of their gender.
Some of the girls on this list have dealt with things that hardened them—things that taught them to keep their guards up. Some are outspoken in a way that isn’t appeasing to everyone, whether that results in calling out systems of oppression or simply speaking up for themselves. Some have had to protect themselves and those they love (even if that results in murder). But something they all have in common is a desire to be true to themselves and finding the strength to do just that, even if there are consequences.
The girls in these books are role models for every girl out there who is still finding their voice, still figuring out how to be true to themselves, still holding onto guilt for not fitting into society’s standards. They may not please everyone, but they set a necessary example—regardless if they’re liked or not.
YA Books With Unlikeable Girls
AKA PROTAGONISTS THAT BREAK THE MOLD AND STAND UP FOR THEMSELVES
1. Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach
Why is it that when a woman is assertive, she’s bossy and a steamroller, but when a man is falsely confident, he’s adventurous and inspiring? Eliza Quan makes no apologies for her earned self-confidence, and people don’t like that, but we love her for it.
Eliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat because inexperienced Len—who is tall, handsome, and male—just seems more like a leader.
When Eliza’s frustration spills out in a viral essay, she finds herself inspiring a feminist movement she never meant to start, caught between those who believe she’s a gender equality champion and others who think she’s simply crying misogyny.
Amid this growing tension, the school asks Eliza and Len to work side by side to demonstrate civility. But as they get to know one another, Eliza feels increasingly trapped by a horrifying realization—she just might be falling for the face of the patriarchy himself.
2. Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Lisa Sterle
Becca and her new friends are popular by day, but by night, they’re making enemies in all the predatory, date-rapey bros that prey on unsuspecting girls. But standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves is almost always a risky business, and almost always a risk worth taking.
Pretty Little Liars meets Teen Wolf in this sharply funny, and patriarchy-smashing graphic novel from author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and artist Lisa Sterle. When the new girl is invited to join her high school’s most popular clique, she can’t believe her luck—and she can’t believe their secret, either.
When Becca transfers to a high school in an elite San Francisco suburb, she’s worried she’s not going to fit in. To her surprise, she’s immediately adopted by the most popular girls in school. At first glance, Marley, Arianna, and Mandy are perfect. But at a party under a full moon, Becca learns that they also have a big secret.
Becca’s new friends are werewolves. Their prey? Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls. Eager to be accepted, Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf, and finally, for the first time in her life, she feels like she truly belongs.
But then things get complicated. As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure, their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—and Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends.
3. Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
It’s hard to be a girl who actually speaks out against sexism in a small, conservative town, but Vivian Carter takes it on anyway, making lots of enemies in the process. But she keeps on going and makes a lot of friends—and a lot of progress—that makes everything worth it.
Moxie girls fight back!
Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with her small-town Texas high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes and hallway harassment. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.
Viv’s mom was a punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ’90s, so now Viv takes a page from her mother’s past and creates a feminist zine that she distributes anonymously to her classmates. She’s just blowing off steam, but other girls respond. Pretty soon Viv is forging friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, and she realizes that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution.
4. The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha
A tale as old as time: a girl wants to follow in her father’s footsteps, to make a name for herself, only to be shut out because she’s “just a girl.” Kai’s world might not be ready for the truth of who she is–but she’s ready to come to terms with her identity, and her destiny.
Kai Song dreams of being a warrior. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her beloved father, the commander of the Royal Legion. But while her father believes in Kai and trains her in martial arts, their society isn’t ready for a girl warrior.
Still, Kai is determined. But she is plagued by rumors that she is the granddaughter of Gumiho, the infamous nine-tailed fox demon who was killed by her father years before.
Everything comes crashing down the day Kai learns the deadly secret about her mother’s past. Now she must come to terms with the truth about her identity and take her destiny into her own hands. As Kai desperately searches for a way to escape her fate, she comes to find compassion, and even love, in the most unexpected places.
Set in sixteenth-century Korea and richly infused with Korean folklore, The Fox Maidens is a timeless and powerful story about fighting for your place in the world, even when it seems impossible.
5. The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
We’re probably all familiar with YA characters who have to make questionable choices in order to survive–and Venus Stoneheart is one of the best. You may not agree with her methods–hell, she might not even agree with her methods–but you gotta respect her nonetheless.
In a country divided between humans and witchers, Venus Stoneheart hustles as a brewer making illegal love potions to support her family.
Love potions is a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her.
Then an enemy’s iron bullet kills her mother, Venus’s life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother’s killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.’s most influential politicians.
As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it’s hard to tell who to trust… herself included.
6. Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan
Morgan is too much—too loud, too out there, too queer—for everyone at her old school, and apparently for some people at her new school, too. But that doesn’t stop her from being true to herself. Ruby doesn’t fit the mold people want her to fit–she’s a pageant girl, but she’s not sweet, she’s tough. They may not follow the rules, but by being themselves, they open more doors for themselves and others, and that’s worth getting on people’s nerves.
In this YA contemporary queer romance from the author of Hot Dog Girl , an openly gay track star falls for a closeted, bisexual teen beauty queen with a penchant for fixing up old cars.
Morgan, an elite track athlete, is forced to transfer high schools late in her senior year after it turns out being queer is against her private Catholic school’s code of conduct. There, she meets Ruby, who has two hobbies: tinkering with her baby blue 1970 Ford Torino and competing in local beauty pageants, the latter to live out the dreams of her overbearing mother. The two are drawn to each other and can’t deny their growing feelings. But while Morgan—out and proud, and determined to have a fresh start—doesn’t want to have to keep their budding relationship a secret, Ruby isn’t ready to come out yet. With each girl on a different path toward living her truth, can they go the distance together?
7. Charming As A Verb by Ben Philippe
Corinne Troy is seen as socially inept, just because she isn’t the quiet, people-pleasing type that others expect her to be. But truthfully, Corinne is just honest, and some people can’t understand that. But that’s their problem, not hers.
Henri “Halti” Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, the dutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for his wealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University.
There is only one person who seems immune to Henri’s charms: his “intense” classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri’s less-than-honest dog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image at school. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself.
Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something more surprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . .
8. Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney
Is there any such thing as “unlikeable” when you’re fighting for your life?! Mr. Rochester seems to think so, but Jane and Bertha have bigger worries to contend with. He’ll soon learn, though, not to mess with them.
In this fresh reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason must save each other from the horrifying machinations of Mr. Rochester.
Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall.
Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air—not to mention a handsome face—Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward’s mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall—unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.
On the topmost floor, Bertha Mason is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha’s resilience and Jane’s persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize.
When their only chance at safety—and perhaps something more—is in each other’s arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward’s dark machinations close in around them?
9. The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett
Claude is used to being stereotyped—she knows that her reputation precedes her, much in part to her own mom, who was also known as the partying, troublemaking type. She’s even used to the cops giving her crap. But she won’t accept the accusations when another student turns up dead. It’s not easy to stand up for herself, but she does it anyway.
One of Us Is Lying meets Sadie in this twisty, feminist thriller for the Me Too era.
The troublemaker. The overachiever. The cheer captain. The dead girl. Like every high school in America, Jefferson-Lorne High contains all of the above.
After the shocking murder of senior Emma Baines, three of her classmates are at the top of the suspect list: Claude, the notorious partier; Avery, the head cheerleader; and Gwen, the would-be valedictorian.
But appearances are never what they seem. And the truth behind what really happened to Emma may just be lying in plain sight. As long buried secrets come to light, the clock is ticking to find Emma’s killer—before another good girl goes down.
10. You Know I’m No Good by Jessie Ann Foley
Mia is used to turning people against her, including her own stepmom, which is how she ends up in a boarding school for girls meant to “fix” her. And Mia knows she’s not perfect—but she also knows that there are reasons why she is the way she is, and she needs to be understood to truly heal.
Mia is officially a Troubled Teen™— she gets bad grades, drinks too much, and has probably gone too far with too many guys.
But she doesn’t realize how out of control she seems until she is taken from her home in the middle of the night and sent away to Red Oak Academy, a therapeutic girls’ boarding school in the middle of nowhere.
While there, Mia is forced to confront her painful past at the same time she questions why she’s at Red Oak. If she were a boy, would her behavior be considered wild enough to get sent away? But what happens when circumstances outside of her control compel Mia to make herself vulnerable enough to be truly seen?
Challenging and thought-provoking, this stunning contemporary YA novel examines the ways society is stacked against teen girls and what one young woman will do to even the odds.
11. Shut Up, This is Serious by Carolina Ixta
Belén might seem like a mess, might seem like too much to some of the men in her life–but we know better. Belén is a girl trying to make it through a series of deeply complicated events. She’s doing her best, and we love her for it.
An unforgettable YA debut about two Latina teens growing up in East Oakland as they discover that the world is brimming with messy complexities.
Belén Dolores Itzel del Toro wants the normal stuff: to experience love or maybe have a boyfriend or at least just lose her virginity. But nothing is normal in East Oakland. Her father left her family. She’s at risk of not graduating. And Leti, her super-Catholic, nerdy-ass best friend, is pregnant—by the boyfriend she hasn’t told her parents about, because he’s Black, and her parents are racist.
Things are hella complicated.
Weighed by a depression she can’t seem to shake, Belén helps Leti, hangs out with an older guy, and cuts a lot of class. She soon realizes, though, that distractions are only temporary. Leti is becoming a mother. Classmates are getting ready for college. But what about Belén? What future is there for girls like her?
From debut author Carolina Ixta comes a fierce, intimate examination of friendship, chosen family, and the generational cycles we must break to become our truest selves.
12. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Alex has a chip on her shoulder, and most people wouldn’t get it. So she isn’t the most likable person in town, but she can live with that. The only person she has to worry about living with is herself…and that’s where things get tricky.
Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it.
Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence.
While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone.
As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.
13. We’re Never Getting Home by Tracy Badua
We love mess, and we love messy characters! Jana and Maddy are at odds, they’re driving each other crazy, they end their friendship when they really should be getting closer. They might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we loved reading about them coming back to each other.
HBO’s Insecure meets Dazed and Confused in this messy, tender YA novel about a friendship breakup, set against the backdrop of a chaotic night at a music festival.
Jana Rubio and her best friend, Maddy Parsons, have an epic senior year finale queued up: catching their favorite band at the Orchards, an outdoor music festival a two-hour drive away. When a blowup over Maddy’s time-sucking boyfriend exposes a rift that may have already been growing between them, Jana calls off their joint trip and gets a lift to the festival from her church friend Nathan…only to realize Maddy and her boyfriend are along for the ride, too.
All Jana wants is to enjoy the concert and get home as soon as possible. But then Nathan loses his car keys crowd-surfing, and it’s up to Jana and Maddy to find them. As they navigate stolen phones and missing friends, scale Ferris wheels and crash parties, the two of them are forced to reckon with the biggest obstacle of all: repairing their friendship.
Will Jana and Maddy find their way home—and also back to each other?
14. The Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
You never really know what someone’s motivations are. Brie’s reputation as a thief precedes her, but she’s just trying to keep her family afloat. Unfortunately for her, it isn’t enough, and she soon has to face those she hates most to save someone she loves.
Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she’ll do whatever it takes to get her back—including making a deal with the king himself to steal three magical relics from the Seelie court.
Gaining unfettered access to the Seelie court is easier said than done. Brie’s only choice is to pose as a potential bride for Prince Ronan, and she soon finds herself falling for him. Unwilling to let her heart distract her, she accepts help from a band of Unseelie misfits with their own secret agenda. As Brie spends time with their mysterious leader, Finn, she struggles to resist his seductive charm.
Caught between two dangerous courts, Brie must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart.
15. The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige
Pressure makes diamonds—and it also makes for snappy teen girls who are fed up with unrealistic expectations. Even the magical ones need a break, like Scarlett Winters. And Vivi Deveraux is trying to forge her own path, too—away from everyone that defined her before—so if that focus makes her seem selfish, it’s a risk she’s willing to take.
Kappa Rho Nu isn’t your average sorority. Their parties are notorious. Their fundraisers are known for being Westerly College’s most elaborate affairs. But beneath the veil of Greek life and prestige, the sisters of Kappu Rho Nu share a secret: they’re a coven of witches.
For Vivi Deveraux, being one of Kappa Rho Nu’s Ravens means getting a chance to redefine herself. For Scarlett Winters, a bonafide Raven and daughter of a legacy Raven, pledge this year means living up to her mother’s impossible expectations of becoming Kappa Rho Nu’s next president. Scarlett knows she’d be the perfect candidate—that is, if she didn’t have one human-sized skeleton in her closet….
When Vivi and Scarlett are paired as big and little for initiation, they find themselves sinking into the sinister world of blood oaths and betrayals.
16. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Of course people would hate a Truthwitch—Safiya can see through everyone’s lies. When her secret gets out, a witch hunt is launched, and her best friend, Iseult, is there to protect her, which means taking on some of her burden. And there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other.
In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.
Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.
Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she’s a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden – lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult’s true powers are hidden even from herself.
In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls’ heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.
17. Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo
Tavia, Karam, and Saxony are products of their environment, so they won’t shoulder the guilt that might plague other crooks, even if that upsets people. When you’ve lived through what they have, a little animosity is more of an afterthought than anything else.
The streets of Creije are for the deadly and the dreamers, and four crooks in particular know just how much magic they need up their sleeve to survive.
Tavia, a busker ready to pack up her dark-magic wares and turn her back on Creije for good. She’ll do anything to put her crimes behind her.
Wesley, the closest thing Creije has to a gangster. After growing up on streets hungry enough to swallow the weak whole, he won’t stop until he has brought the entire realm to kneel before him.
Karam, a warrior who spends her days watching over the city’s worst criminals and her nights in the fighting rings, making a deadly name for herself.
And Saxony, a resistance fighter hiding from the very people who destroyed her family, and willing to do whatever it takes to get her revenge.
Everything in their lives is going to plan, until Tavia makes a crucial mistake: she delivers a vial of dark magic—a weapon she didn’t know she had—to someone she cares about, sparking the greatest conflict in decades. Now these four magical outsiders must come together to save their home and the world, before it’s too late. But with enemies at all sides, they can trust nobody. Least of all each other.
18. It Ends In Fire by Andrew Shvarts
Alka has no qualms about the lying, cheating, and killing she has to do as a means of survival in the smoke and mirrors of the magic academy she attends. And while it makes people weary of her, she’s got enough charm to make friends on her side, too.
ALKA CHELRAZI IS ON A MISSION:
1. Infiltrate Blackwater Academy
2. Win the Great Game
3. Burn Wizard society to the ground
As a child, Alka witnessed her parents’ brutal murder at the hands of Wizards before she was taken in by an underground rebel group.
Now, Alka is deep undercover at the most prestigious school of magic in the Republic: Blackwater Academy, a place where status is everything, where decadent galas end in blood-splattered duels, where every student has their own agenda. To survive, Alka will have to lie, cheat, kill, and use every trick in her spy’s toolkit. And for the first time in her life, the fiercely independent Alka will have to make friends in order to recruit the misfits and the outcasts into her motley rebellion.
But even as she draws closer to victory—to vengeance—she sinks deeper into danger as suspicious professors and murderous rivals seek the traitor in their midst, and dark revelations unravel her resolve. Can Alka destroy the twisted game…without becoming a part of it?
19. Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
When Enne Salta leaves the life she knows behind to search for her missing mother, she knows that the journey she’s set out on threatens to corrupt her, but it’s a risk she’s willing to take. And she’ll learn that maybe corruption isn’t as black and white as it seems.
Welcome to the city of sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…and secrets hide in every shadow
Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so–called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school – and her reputation – behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.
Frightened and alone, Enne has only one lead: the name Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected – he’s a street lord and con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unravelling investment scam, so he doesn’t have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne’s offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to allhis problems.
Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless Mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi’s enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…
And she’ll need to play.
20. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
People fear Juliette Cai—and they should. As heir of the Scarlet Gang, she is a force to be reckoned with. But despite her reluctance to make any part of herself appeasing to anyone, her appeal can’t be controlled.
The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.
A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.
But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.
21. Wicked Fox by Kat Cho
Being an actual man-eater doesn’t exactly make Gu Miyoung the most popular girl around. Her double life as a half-human, half-gumiho isn’t easy on her, especially since her own mother seems to resent the human side of her that feels things differently. But there’s someone else who brings out that part of her and knows her secrets—and he loves her. If only it could be easy.
Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.
But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.
Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He’s drawn to her anyway.
With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.
22. These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy
Twins Izaveta and Asya struggle with tension when they’re reunited after years apart, finding that they couldn’t be more different now. But under that resentment, there’s an understanding that even though they didn’t choose these lives for themselves, they can choose to come together.
When twin heirs are born in Tourin, their fates are decided at a young age. While Izaveta remained at court to learn the skills she’d need as the future queen, Asya was taken away to train with her aunt, the mysterious Firebird, who ensured magic remained balanced in the realm.
But before Asya’s training is completed, the ancient power blooms inside her, which can mean only one thing: the queen is dead, and a new ruler must be crowned.
As the princesses come to understand everything their roles entail, they’ll discover who they can trust, who they can love—and who killed their mother.
23. Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley
A curse can make someone hateful—especially if that curse steals their ability to love. And that’s what happens to Tasmin, a powerful witch who has been punished. Meanwhile, Wren is in need of magic, and she’s got plenty of love to spare. Both girls have what the other needs: but can they make it work?
Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others.
Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret.
When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.
Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don’t kill each other first..
24. Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova
A rebel with the ability to steal memories is bound to make plenty of enemies. But unlike those against her, Renata refuses to be hollowed out and filled with hate. She lets love be her motivation to save someone special—and the world as she knows it.
I am Renata Convida.
I have lived a hundred stolen lives.
Now I live my own.
Renata Convida was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King’s Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a Robari, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata’s ability to steal memories from royal enemies enabled the King’s Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.
Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown and helping the remaining Moria escape the kingdom bent on their destruction. The Whispers may have rescued Renata from the palace years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred–or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she turned “hollow” during her time in the palace.
When Dez, the commander of her unit, is taken captive by the notorious Sangrado Prince, Renata will do anything to save the boy whose love makes her place among the Whispers bearable. But a disastrous rescue attempt means Renata must return to the palace under cover and complete Dez’s top secret mission. Can Renata convince her former captors that she remains loyal, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.
But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom–and end the war that has cost her everything.
25. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
It’s not Jude’s fault she’s so hated—she didn’t ask to be a mortal. But when it seems she won’t be able to save her sisters without opening herself up to the ways of the world she hates, she has no choice but to defy her own expectations.
Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.
26. Malice by Heather Walter
Alyce is supposed to be a monster—her dark powers have earned her that classification. But if she’s so evil, why is she the only one who cares to save Princess Aurora?
Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss.
You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.
Utter nonsense.
Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either.
Until I met her.
Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.
But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.
Nonsense again.
Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I—I am the villain.
27. Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing-Wen
In one summer, Ever Wong sheds all her constrictive rules and angers a lot of people in the process: her parents, her roommate, her program director…but in the end, she finds herself, which is worth the drama with everyone else. Besides, she never starts a problem she can’t fix.
“Our cousins have done this program,” Sophie whispers. “Best kept secret. Zero supervision.”
And just like that, Ever Wong’s summer takes an unexpected turn. Gone is Chien Tan, the strict educational program in Taiwan that Ever was expecting. In its place, she finds Loveboat: a summer-long free-for-all where hookups abound, adults turn a blind eye, snake-blood sake flows abundantly, and the nightlife runs nonstop.
But not every student is quite what they seem:
Ever is working toward becoming a doctor but nurses a secret passion for dance.
Rick Woo is the Yale-bound child prodigy bane of Ever’s existence whose perfection hides a secret.
Boy-crazy, fashion-obsessed Sophie Ha turns out to have more to her than meets the eye.
And under sexy Xavier Yeh’s shell is buried a shameful truth he’ll never admit.
When these students’ lives collide, it’s guaranteed to be a summer Ever will never forget.