What YA' Reading: Variety

If you're not sure what you feel like reading next, check out my recommendations that have a little something for everyone: curses, comedy, vampires, graphic novels, D&D, fantasy, romance and more!

Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce

Riley loves musicals and she wants to be a director on Broadway someday. When her school's spring musical is dropped due to budget cuts, she knows she must save the day. But when she "borrows" her mother's car without permission to go to a musical, she gets grounded and has to work after school in her father's gaming store. It's the last place she wants to be, especially since she has to work with Nathan, who may just be the most annoying, nerdy guy ever. She discovers working with Nathan isn't that bad especially when they create a plan to solve their dating problems. Riley and Nathan start fake dating to help Nathan get the interest of the girl he likes and to get Riley's ex off her back.

Dungeons and Drama is a fun, rom-com read that will leave you laughing and wanting more. Riley is smart, sassy and wholeheartedly focused on her goals. Nathan is snarky, sarcastic and delightfully nerdy. Their friends are fun and quirky. Their interactions, the way they all support one another, and how Dungeons & Dragons and musicals are woven throughout this story absolutely make this book one to read.

If you like Dungeons and Drama, check out XOXO by Axi Oh.

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Schuyler Van Alen may go to a prestigious high school with the rich and well connected, but she has never felt like she fits in with them. Until Schuyler finds out she is half-vampire and is invited to join the vampire secret society. This brings her face-to-face with the secret life her family and peers have been living for forever. Will this give Schuyler everything she wants or will she find herself in more danger than she could have possibly imagined?

This book is the phenomenal start to the Blue Bloods series. Schuyler could easily come across as a cliche, but instead she is utterly relatable as the outsider looking in. She has a crush on the unattainable popular guy, likes to wear unfashionable clothes and isn't wealthy. Schuyler is comfortable in her own skin and secure in who she is. When the events of the book rock her world, she learns how to live in a new world while remaining true to herself.

If you like Blue Bloods, check out Melissa de la Cruz's other works, including The Headmaster's List, Alex & Eliza and The Queen's Assassin.

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

When Tohru Honda is orphaned, she decides she doesn't want to inconvenience anyone and is going to make it on her own. Tohru lives in a tent, not realizing she is on the Sohma family's property. She is invited to live with live with Yuki Sohma and his cousins Shigure and Kyo. She discovers the Sohmas live with an ancient curse and Tohru may just change their lives forever.

Fruits Basket is the first in a series of graphic novels that are both hilariously funny and so touching they made me want to cry. Tohru is the endearingly eternal optimist. Shigure is at times both the shamless flirt and the responsible adult. Yuki is the quiet, popular guy everyone likes. Kyo has a chip on his shoulder and wants more than anything to prove himself. The interactions between Tohru and the members of the Sohma family are heartwarming and show how much one person can change the lives of the people around them.

If you like the Fruits Basket series, check out The Apothecary Diaries.