8 books for young adults that borrow from the real world

The Grasshopper’s Run by Siddhartha Sarma

Set in a tribal village in the hills of the Northeast, it is a story of friendship and loyalty in the time of Japanese invasion in the 1940s. It’s a different kind of coming-of-age story, where grief over the loss of a friend makes a boy set out on the path to revenge. Extensive research, evocative portrayal of a people, and the brilliant insight into a teenage boy’s mind has made this book a bestseller for a decade now.

Blood, Bullets, and Bones by Bridget Heos

Forensic analysis has been practiced for thousands of years and has now evolved to use the most cutting-edge, innovative techniques and technologies. This fascinating book demonstrates the essential role forensic science has played in our criminal justice system, using real-life cases from the first test for arsenic poisoning to fingerprinting, firearm and blood spatter analysis, DNA evidence, and all the important milestones in between. Gruesome but scientific!

The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown

This graphic novel is an eye-opening exploration of the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis, exposing the harsh realities of living in, and trying to escape, a war zone. While other countries see a shift in attitude due to overwhelming costs and disruption to their own lives, the fleeing population still needs a place to live in peace and to feel safe. It is a testament to the loss and grief, of courage and resilience of the refugees, and a timely call to action for readers of all ages.

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Before 1920, women did not have the right to vote in the U.S. The suffragist movement fought for these rights. This book’s protagonist, a headstrong girl living in Oregon in 1900, is hypnotised to take the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures while unable to speak her thoughts out loud. The story—history mixed with the paranormal—shines a light on the determination of the women in this period and is also a journey of self-discovery.

Girl Code by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser

Through the viral success of their 8-bit video game ‘Tampon Run’, created to take the taboo out of menstruation, Andy and Sophie got unprecedented access to some of the biggest start-ups and tech companies at age 16, and now they’re sharing what they’ve seen. Perfect for aspiring coders everywhere, the memoir inspires you to put yourself out there. It also includes bonus content to help you get started coding!

Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman

This meticulously researched book draws on the 658 letters Vincent wrote to his brother during his lifetime, and shows how most people get where they are because of a solid support system. The brothers shared everything, swapping stories of lovers and friends, successes and disappointments, dreams and ambitions, although they had contrasting lives. For once, you see the famous artist as a person, an art history lesson in itself.

Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos

The story of sugar, something so commonplace—through narratives of the people whose lives were shaped by it for better or for worse—examines its role in transforming the world, particularly changing social, political and economic values. From religious ceremonies in India to Europe’s Middle Ages, to Columbus bringing the first cane cuttings to the Americas, the sugar trail follows the bloody slave trade to the seeds of revolution in the American colonies of Haiti and France. This provocative book calls for reflection on what motivates humans to commit atrocities and behave as they do.

Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder

A 14-year-old Norwegian girl enrols in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher—becoming obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her village life. A brief history of philosophy for curious, sensitive young minds that’s anything but textbook-ish, it presents history as a narrative, a mystery to be unravelled one letter at a time. The book has been translated into more than 59 languages and adapted into a film, a board game and a computer game since its inception.