Reading, recently.

A couple of great YA books I've read recently...

My Fat, Mad Teenage Diary by Rae Earl
I loved this - Rae and her real-life (non)adventures kind of reminded me of Caitlin Moran at her best, with a bit of Morrissey and every teenager everywhere.  So funny and poignant without being overdone.

The New Girl by Paige Harbison
I am a big fan of both Daphne Du Maurier and teenage novels, so how could I resist this modern-day boarding school retelling of Rebecca?  (Answer: I couldn't.)  There is a tiny detail at the end (I won't ruin it for you by elaborating) that made the whole book for me, updating the original story and giving a modern nod to the second 'Mrs De Winter'.  Clever.

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
Another one based on something I was already interested in: I have to confess to being horribly intrigued by the Meredith Kercher murder case.  Mostly just because, from pictures of her, she looked like a lovely girl I would be friends with.  And I can't get over the fact that there are so many awful mysteries that will never be solved - I don't think we will ever know what really happened.  So, this book could have seemed nasty and exploitative, but it was fascinating.  It was not only based on the one real-life murder case, but it was definitely an amalgamation of a few true-story inspirations.  And it was very, very well done.  Gripping.