Favorite YA Books of 2020

Hi everyone! this is the start of my favorite books of the year series, I’m doing favorite YA books, favorite adult books and favorite romance books of 2020. The other two posts are coming in the next couple of days.

The last few years I have been reading less and less YA books, they simply don’t appeal to me as much anymore and in 2020 that trend was even more evident than in previous years. So far in 2020, I have read 196 books and out of those only 31 have been YA. Luckly, even when YA represents a small percentage of my reading, I managed to find some amazing YA books to talk about today. When I read YA is usually by Latinx authors and about Latinx characters, so that’s why all of these books were written by Latinx authors.

Withour further ado, here are my top 5 YA books of 2020 from least favorite to my absolute favorite:

5. Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova

When I read this book at the beginning of 2020, it had been a while since the last time a YA fantasy book gripped me the way Incendiary did. This book has an intricate magic system, intriguing characters, complex relationships, twists and turns that kept me at the edge of my seat, and an ending that left me wanting the sequel immediately. This is a tale of revenge, rebellion, betrayal, and secrets that change everything. (Full review)

4. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

This book brought me so much joy and comfort. The main characters are lovable and they have the most adorable and heartwarming romance I read this year. This book manages to be sweet, hopeful, and fun, while still addressing difficult subjects like transphobia, deportation, homelessness, gang violence, and abusive parents. This book does an amazing job of exploring the way transness is viewed and treated in a lot of brown communities, and particularly in the Latinx community; how Trans people are tolerated but not truly accepted. (Full review)

3. Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz

This book is action-packed and entertaining. I love how thorough and interesting the world building in this book is, but what makes this book so captivating and unique is Blazewrath, which is a sport played by teams of dragons and humans, and the Blazewrath games, which are an international sports tournament. The way Amparo Ortiz writes the Blazewrath matches is so incredible, I was at the edge of my seat the entire time while the matches took place, cheering for the Puerto Rican team. (Full review)

2. Lobizona by Romina Garber

This book takes elements that are common in the fantasy genre like an alternate dimension, werewolves, witches, a magical school and a magical sport, and it infuses them with Argentinian folklore and culture, which makes this book unique and captivating. Beyond that, Romina Garber does a great job of addressing important subjects like immigration and the situation that a lot of immigrants face in the United States, as well as sexism and gender essentialism within this magical world and even the Argentinian society. (Full review)

1. Miss Meteor by Anna-Marie McLemore & Tehlor Kay Mejia

McLemore and Mejia delivered a beautifully written, magical story about two characters learning to be true to themselves. This book has adorable friends to lovers romances, heartwarming friendships, wonderfully complicated siblings’ relationships, a powerful message, and amazing character development. I particularly loved how this book addressed heavier subjects like messed up beauty standards, xenophobia, and homophobia in a way that feels very organic. It doesn’t feel like a lesson on those subjects, it’s more about characters living their lives, encountering these things, and having to process and deal with them. (Full review)

What are your favorite YA books that you read in 2020?

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