100 books like Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks

I read this book after a long, dull period when I couldn’t seem to find anything to read that sparked my interest. Trail of Lightning picked me up, whirled me around, and made me fall head-over-heels in love with speculative fiction again.

Set in a bleak, post-apocalyptic world, it’s brutal and gripping, but where there should only be sadness and despair, there are unexpected moments of un-looked-for kindness. This isn’t a light read, and it isn’t exactly happy—but there’s a beautiful optimism underlying the bleakness, that after all, even in the worst of circumstances and at the worst of times, people can be kind. 

What I found unique about Deal with the Devil was that it was written by two authors who specialize in writing steamy romance books, who, together, go by the pen name Kit Rocha. Genetically and cybernetically enhanced humans has always been one of my favorite sci-fi concepts. This book has two teams of enhanced humans. There is Nina and her all-female crew, who are the book’s main characters, and there is Knox and his all-male crew. I enjoyed learning about the different abilities and troubled pasts of these characters. And with the setting being in a dystopian environment, another concept I enjoy, coupled with the book having all the spiciness and sensuality you'd usually find in an urban fantasy novel, this sci-fi story was intriguing. I believe it will be a winner for adult male and female readers.

A whole agency of supernaturally gifted investigators… oh, yes, please! This story focuses on Aidan, who is able to read people and objects through touch. He’s been disgraced after failing to find a missing child and has come to Savannah to nurse his wounds. The heroine, Lexie, is a reporter and believes a serial killer is hunting in their city, but no one believes her. She enlists Aidan’s reluctant help and the two of them develop a romance as they search for clues. This story has adventure, romance, psychic powers, and a ghost that is used for reconnaissance. It’s got everything! The characters’ powers are solidly researched and feel like they could be possible and the suspense plot will take your breath away.

What are you supposed to say when you find out that you’re the descendant of an actual god? The heroine, Nikki, wakes up to discover that she is now immortal and has supernatural powers, thanks to being a descendant of Artemis. Of course, no one can tell her exactly what those powers are or how to use them. The first book in the series follows her adventure as she learns how to use her supernatural gifts to hunt along with her skills as private investigator. Along the way, the sparks burn with a passionate attraction to a fellow god descendant, Jamaal, who has the powers of Kali and a difficult temper. It’s a great urban fantasy series that taps into a lot of different mythologies and keeps the action at full tilt.

Most books with a 13-year-old protagonist tone reality down to get the story past gatekeepers, but this one digs into the gritty mess of what middle school life is actually like, and it’s so refreshing. I’d been searching for a book that accurately reflected my middle-school trans kid’s experience of gender exploration and social interactions that didn’t make eighth-graders sound like fourth graders, and this was it. Pubescent kids talk rough. They are rough. And they laugh constantly to cope with the mobius loop of disasters that is life in the 2020s. I loved how Eli’s experience of gender didn’t fit neatly into a box, and how it was presented as one facet of Eli’s complicated, resilient personality rather than as a single defining feature. 

Like my book and my first recommendation, this book is a humorous and poignant YA novel that stars a flawed, fleshed-out main character who makes me feel embarrassingly seen (starting to see a pattern?)

Despite spreading the dangerous notion that Whataburger is better than In-N-Out, this book is a realistic, enjoyable coming-of-age novel that hits all the right notes.

This is a YA novel, but it deals with adult themes like suicide, crumbling families, and mortality. 

It’s also drop-dead funny, with a smartass, teenage narrator you’ll alternately want to hug or slap silly. He believes he’s been abducted by aliens and given the choice of either saving the world or destroying it, and he only has a few months to decide. I love the witty dialog and the genuine, complex relationships, but what especially drew me to this story is the love story between the narrator and his new boyfriend. 

I wish I’d had a book like this to read when I was a teenager struggling with my own sexuality; it would’ve helped me immensely to see a fully-realized gay character like this one, both flawed and lovely, trying to find his place in the world, just like me.

I’ve been a big fan of James Tynion IV since his prolific run on Batman. He has a really strong understanding of how to write compelling characters while still exploring an interesting world.

In Wynd, he has created a wildly innovative world of magic creatures and political conflict. The love story is adorable and creates an interesting parallel to the exploration of Wynd’s character.

This book is engaging and brilliant, with a lot of humor but also real honesty and raw truth. A coming of age story for all ages. The story follows Ben, as he confronts of pressures of school and home, and his passion and attraction for two separate, and very different people.

The Gravity of Us, by Phil Stamper, is a treasure. Social media influencer Cal and reserved Leon fall for each other when their parents are selected for a NASA mission to Mars, and they’re quickly swept up in the media frenzy surrounding the mission. This book does many things well, including its exploration and open discussions of depression and anxiety within ourselves and within the people we love.