I have loved reading since I was a child. Books can take you places you will never go otherwise. That’s why it’s so important to have good, clean books that take you places you want to go and books that don’t strand you somewhere you don’t want to be. As a YA author myself, I am passionate about providing literature for teens that is adventurous and relatable, without the spice that often flavors today’s books. I hope you love diving into this list of clean recommendations!
I’m a big Gordon Korman fan, especially his older books, and this is one of my favorites! The humor is timeless, the descriptions are witty, and the adventures are crazy. I have reread this book many times over the years, and it never fails to produce a few laughs…the out-loud, can’t-keep-it-in kind of laughs!
I have many memories of chuckling over scenes in this book with my family. This story is hilarious, wild, and a great clean read for younger readers!
Gordon Korman’s uproarious, outrageous, and all-too-familiar summer camp adventure is BACK!
Rudy Miller really isn’t into the whole camping thing. So when his parents send him to Camp Algonkian “for his own good” all he wants to do is go home.
Rudy teams up with his cabin-mate Mike for a series of carefully planned ― yet hilariously bungled ― escape attempts. Unfortunately, their counsellor (and nemesis) Chip is as determined to keep them there as they are to get away.
Rudy and Mike spend their days plotting, playing chess, and working off punishments for their failed escapes. Hmmm, maybe it…
As a country gal myself, I love books where a big-city chic is forced into a backwater town. Meet Penny—a girl I fell in love with and cheered for through every stage of the book. I love Penny’s creativity, strength, and character growth.
This book definitely cycles through my re-read list, and for good reason. It deals with common teen problems like bullying, divorce, and homesickness in relatable ways, with just the right touch of humor. If there’s ever a bus headed to Hog’s Hollow, I just might be on it!
A confection of a novel, combining big city sophistication with small town charm.
When her mother moves them from the city to a small town to open up a cupcake bakery, Penny?s life isn?t what she expected. Her father has stayed behind, and Mom isn?t talking about what the future holds for their family. And then there?s Charity, the girl who plays mean pranks almost daily. There are also bright spots in Hog?s Hollow?like Tally, an expert in Rock Paper Scissors, and Marcus, the boy who is always running on the beach. But just when it looks as though Penny…
A grumpy-sunshine, slow-burn, sweet-and-steamy romance set in wild and beautiful small-town Colorado. Lane Gravers is a wanderer, adventurer, yoga instructor, and social butterfly when she meets reserved, quiet, pensive Logan Hickory, a loner inventor with a painful past.
Dive into this small-town, steamy romance between two opposites who find love…
When Thea comes with her dad to the Double R Guest Ranch to help Tully open the place back up, she doesn’t expect to find a decades-old mystery hidden among the old records. She also doesn’t expect to reconnect with horses, the beautiful animals her mother used to train.
This novel is a fantastic coming-of-age story, with grief, loss, and reconciliation sprinkled throughout. An engaging mystery flavors it further, making this book hard for me to put down.
Thea and her dad are always on the move, from one small Cariboo town to another, trying to leave behind the pain of Thea's mom's death.
They never stay long enough in one place for Thea to make friends, but when her dad gets work renovating a guest ranch on Gumboot Lake, she dares to hope that their wandering days are over. At the ranch she makes friends with Van, a local boy, and works hard to build the trust of an abused horse named Renegade. When Thea unearths the decades-old story of a four-year-old girl who disappeared from the…
If I met Eric Walters, I would ask him how he, as a middle-aged male writer, got so effectively inside a teen girl’s head. I enjoyed following Alexandria’s journey from a rich suburb to a small non-profit in Kenya.
The dusty plains of Kenya are a far cry from her walk-in closets and piles of expensive clothes, but they hold valuable lessons for one used to being coddled by society. I loved the character development, the experiences, and the true friendship Alexandria discovered over the course of the story.
For Alexandria Hyatt having a fabulous life is easy: she knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. Being glamorous and rich is simply what she was born to be. When Alexandria is arrested for shoplifting, having to drag herself into court to face a judge just seems like a major inconvenience. But Alexandria has been in trouble before–and this time she can’t find a way to scheme out of the consequences. Before she knows it, she’s on a plane headed to Kenya where she has been ordered to work for an international charity.
A fake date, romance, and a conniving co-worker you'd love to shut down. Fun summer reading!
Liza loves helping people and creating designer shoes that feel as good as they look. Financially overextended and recovering from a divorce, her last-ditch opportunity to pitch her firm for investment falls flat. Then…
I love it when the main character is determined, and Dani is exactly that—she’s going to hike the Appalachian trail alone from Georgia to Maine.
I loved following Dani’s journey as she worked through grief, hard questions, and the divorce of her parents. She’s gutsy yet sensitive, afraid yet strong. The descriptions and emotions were great, and, in a way, I felt like I got to ‘hike’ the trail along with her!
Twelve-year-old Dani is running away from home, or what’s left of home anyway. Her older brother, who had muscular dystrophy, died a few months ago. Then her father left and her parents got divorced. Now home is just Dani and her sad, silent mother, and Dani’s got to get away. She plans to do something amazing, and go where her parents will never find her: she’s going to hike the whole Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine. The trail is a legend in her family, the place where her parents met, fell in love, and got married 14 years before.…
Twins, Taylor and Mackenzie, have always shared everything—a love of horses, a disdain for small, yappy dogs, and a cancer diagnosis. After months of grueling treatments, they are in remission and ready to enjoy the best summer of their lives.
When the twins find an old diary on their property, written by a young slave girl, they are drawn into the story of another teen whose life, in some ways, mirrors their own. They discover that joy and sorrow often walk hand in hand and that life cannot be lived without both.
Haunted by her choices, including marrying an abusive con man, thirty-five-year-old Elizabeth has been unable to speak for two years. She is further devastated when she learns an old boyfriend has died. Nothing in her life…
