February
09
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TOP 10 YOUNG ADULT NOVELS WITH MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEW BY ELLA LEE
Many books are told through the eyes and mind of one person, whose opinions sway the storyline in to what the events and situations were like for them. But there is more than one side to every story. The following books are told by two or sometimes more perspectives.
Each one of these books also cover many current issues that young adults face today. Ranging from grief, mental health, suicide, gun violence and domestic violence, these novels discuss topics that should be talked about more often. However, just like life, these books are also filled with love, friendship, support, inspiration and optimism.
It’s hard to explain how in love I was with the following books whilst reading them. Heart wrenching, inspiring and raw, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the stories of multiple diverse characters in these young adult books told by multiple perspectives.
All The Bright Places – Jennifer Niven
All The Bright Places is one of my favourite books I’ve ever read. Telling the story of Theodore Finch and Violet Markey, two complex characters who first meet at the top of their school’s bell tower, preparing to jump. There, their story begins. They take up an adventure of wandering, going to the places no one seems to notice or care about, but are so cool, creative and beautiful. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
The Crash – Lisa Drakeford
Sophie was watching TV with her best friend Tye when a car crashes through the living room wall placing Tye in a coma. Inside the car are twins, Harry and Gemma and witnessing the crash next door is eleven-year-old Issy. In the aftermath, Tye is fighting for his life, Gemma’s dark past is threatening to ruin the present and Sophie starts to fall for someone she shouldn’t. All the while, Issy is hiding an awful secret.
The Art of Being Normal – Lisa Williamson
This read follows struggles of identity, in a world where everyone feels the need to be labelled and included. David is a closeted transgender girl and Leo’s troubled past has led him to want to be invisible. After Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. As secrets are revealed the friends find they may have more in common than they ever knew. With extremely high ratings, an important message and current topics being discussed, this book is not only such a great book but important too.
Holding Up The Universe – Jennifer Niven
Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, but no one looks past her weight to see who she really is. Ever since her mum’s death, Libby has been hiding, but as she starts high school, she wants to be the girl who can do anything. Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, charming and popular, little do they know he can’t recognize faces. His own brothers are strangers to him. When a cruel high school game leads the two in to group counselling, they are angry and isolated. But the more they spend time together, the less lonely they feel.
When Michael Met Mina – Randa Abdel-Fattah
When Michael meets Mina, they are at a rally for refugees standing on opposite sides. Mina fled her home in Afghanistan with her mother, through a refugee camp, a leaky boat and a detention centre. Michael’s parents are politicians, who have founded a new political party called Aussie Values. They want to stop the boats. Mina wants to stop the hate. When Mina wins a scholarship at Michael’s school, their lives crash together, making them question everything they ever thought. An awesome book that talks of racism, equality and politics, this is a fantastic book that will have you obsessed.
Wonder – R.J Palacio
The book first begins with the perspective of August, a 10 year old boy with a facial deformality, preventing him from attending mainstream school until now. August begins school and faces many challenges, triumphs and heartbreak. Through out the book the perspective switches to his classmate Jack, his sister Via, her boyfriend Justin, her best friend Miranda and another classmate named Summer. This book is so important and teaches the importance of kindness and the fact that beauty is only skin deep.
One Of Us Is Lying – Karen M. Manus
One Of Us Is Lying can be described as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars. The young adult mystery novel follows the perspective of four high school students, all of which were in attendance of an after-school detention. However, in the detention there were five students, but only four walk out alive. In the aftermath of the death, everyone is a suspect and they all have something to hide. A mystery novel that is so thrilling, exciting and a definite page turner!
The Sun Is Also A Star – Nicola Yoon
Natasha is a girl of science and facts. Not fate, nor destiny and is definitely not the kind of girl who meets a boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Especially not when her family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Daniel’s the good son, the good student, living up to his parents’ high expectations. But with Natasha, he can be the dreamer, and believes fate has something extraordinary in store for both of them.
Eleanor & Park – Rainbow Rowell
The story of two teenage misfits smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. Simple and popular!
This Is Where It Ends – Marieke Nijkamp
On the first day of a new semester at Opportunity High School, the school day at first seems like any other. But terror reigns as one student calculated revenge turns into a mission for survival. A thrilling book spanning over only 54 harrowing minutes, it is told by four perspectives, all in different places when the shooting begins. A compelling story not for the faint hearted.
Ella Lee is a passionate 14 year old writer from Sydney, Australia. Her favourite style of writing is creative, as her imagination is always full of many ideas and creations. Besides writing Ella also enjoys swimming, skate boarding, singing and hanging out with her family and friends (of course including her dog.)
Nerdy Book Club 
I would add Kekla Magoon’s Long Way Down to this list. A young black man is walking down the street when a car pulls up beside him, the driver gets out, and shoots him. The story is told from multiple perspectives: a store owner, the man walking behind him, other young POC sitting on a stoop across the way. And everything is NOT as it seems.
Typo? I think you meant: How It Went Down, Sherry. Added it to my TBR list now too. Long Way Down is by Jason Reynolds, another good one 🙂
No love for All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely?
Oooh, Ella! I’d add TIME BOMB by Joelle Charbonneau to your list. Thank you for these – I’ll be sharing some new ones I hadn’t heard of with my students.
I read The Sun is Also a Star. Love, love, love that book! Cannot keep that book on the shelf, my students love the book too! I read The Lines We Cross (aka When Michael met Mina). Love that book, too! One of my students has read All the Bright Places several times. Several students have read One of Us Lying–they loved that book. I’ll have to read the rest before I make additional comments.
I just want to thank you so much for this amazing list! My novel is also told from multiple perspectives because I love reading books that are written that way. The books has done well, won awards, and gotten great reviews. I had submitted to a small site recently for review, and the editors wrote back that the multiple points of view made the book feel like it wasn’t the main character’s story. I’d never gotten that kind of feedback before in the two years that the book’s been out. So I did a search for other books from multiple points of view and found your excellent post. It made me feel so much better, and made me realize that there are so many readers and authors out there who, like me, love seeing a situation from many different vantage points. THANK YOU!