They were not available, and I was busy discovering graphic novels like American Born Chinese and Journey into Mohawk Country.

Personally, I didn’t avoid it, I didn’t seek it out – it just happened! Working at the library, the book and its sequels were always checked out, and I put these series titles on hold for patrons what seemed like three times a shift. Now, it wouldn’t be #IreadYA week if I didn’t address the Twilight (Twi-hard, Twi-mom) phenomenon/saga.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashares.

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.

There were many books I read in that first year that I loved. However, my amazing colleagues ( Lori and Vaun) had put together a list of suggestions for me, and, from this list, the first book I intentionally read as a YA title was The Book Thief– which is FANTASTIC I highly recommend the audiobook. I was hired based on my experience in the high school classroom, and (trained as an English teacher) my idea of teen lit was basically titles such as Romeo & Juliet, 1984, and Things Fall Apart! At the public library, our youth services manager told me, to read whatever I want, there are no must-reads. But besides what I found in the paperback spinners at the local library, I don’t think I completely understood that young adult literature is a type until I got a job as a teen librarian. Martin to Stephen King, but there was a middle ground where I got into series like Sweet Valley Highand Point Horror, and I still have a soft spot for Remember Me and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Truth be told, as a reader it feels like I jumped from Ann M.

Tyrell by coe booth audiobook