6 YA Books You Can Finish in a Weekend
Jennie Richardson is a TV Features and Lists Writer for Collider, and a graduate student pursuing an MFA in Fiction Writing. In other words, she really loves stories.
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Great Young Adult (YA) books come in all genres, from lighthearted contemporary romances to suspenseful and heartbreaking sci-fi and fantasy novels. No matter the main storyline, the best YA books tell compelling coming-of-age stories centered on characters who are nuanced and flawed. These characters are dealing with their own issues at the start of the story, both internally and externally, but they ultimately embrace the changes that come their way over the course of the book.
There are a number of phenomenal YA books that are longer reads, with 400 or more pages. These books take readers on an emotional and transformative journey with their protagonist, and they take a longer time to read all the way through. That said, there are also a number of truly fantastic YA books that are much shorter. These books draw readers in early on with captivating character dynamics, strong worldbuilding, and beautiful writing, and they're difficult to put down once started. These are amazing YA novels that you can read in a single weekend.
'This Adventure Ends' (2016)
This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills is a young adult contemporary novel that follows Sloane, a teenage girl who moves from New York City to a small town in Florida when her romance novelist father seeks out a change in scenery to try to fix his writers' block. In her new town, Sloane quickly befriends her classmate, Vera, who is a famous influencer. Vera then introduces Sloane to the rest of her friends, including her twin brother, Gabe. Sloane soon starts to really love her new life, made up of this close friend group and an after-school job that is growing on her.
Then, a painting that Vera and Gabe's late artist mother made specifically for them goes missing. Thus, Sloane joins the twins on a quest to track the painting down and get it back, no matter what. It's an extremely difficult task that takes a great deal of time and effort, and for all that they know, the painting could already be lost forever. Still, Sloane is determined to help her new friends, and the search brings them all closer together. This Adventure Ends is a fun and cozy novel with hilarious banter and a lovely main friend group. It makes for the perfect mental vacation, and it's a quick read that would be great for a weekend binge.
'We Are Okay' (2017)
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour is a gut-wrenching and breathtaking YA novel about a first-year college student named Marin who left her entire life back in California behind a few months ago after a devastating tragedy. Now, Marin has just completed her first semester, and it's officially winter break. She doesn't have it in her to go back home, but everyone else on her small New York college campus is leaving for the break. Because of this, Mabel – formerly Marin's best friend and girlfriend – is coming to spend the break with her.
Marin and Mabel never properly had a falling out or a breakup, and they are still planning to go through the motions of their old friendship over the break. Still, Marin pushed Mabel away months ago in the wake of her own pain and grief, and the two no longer know each other better than anyone else. We Are Okay is a quiet, thoughtful novel that packs a strong emotional impact. In the present, Marin and Mabel reunite on an empty college campus and try to figure out where they stand now. At the same time, Mabel internally reflects on her past and everything that got her to where she is now.
'The Raven Boys' (2012)
While it's sadly not possible to read an entire series in just one weekend, a couple of days dedicated to reading is perfect for starting a new series. For this, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – the first book in The Raven Cycle – is the perfect choice. The novel follows Blue Sargent, a teenage girl who comes from a family of psychics but isn't one herself. Blue has a curse: If she ever kisses her true love, she will kill him. Luckily, Blue's never been in love. At the start of the novel, though, Blue learns that this is going to be the year that she falls in love. Additionally, she finds out that a teenage boy named Gansey is going to die this year, and that she's either his true love or the one who kills him (or, likely, both).
Shortly after, Blue is working a shift at the local pizza shop when she meets four "Raven Boys," which is how she refers to students of Aglionby Academy, the all-boys prep school in town. There's Gansey, and his three best friends: Ronan, Adam, and Noah. Blue can't stand Gansey, but she does spark an immediate romantic connection with Adam. Blue sees them again soon when Gansey shows up with them in tow for a psychic appointment with her family, not knowing that they're her family. As it turns out, Gansey has spent years on a quest to find and wake a long-dead Welsh king named Owen Glendower, and he believes he might finally be on the right path. Over the course of the novel, Blue befriends the Raven Boys and joins them on their quest, while struggling to keep some major secrets from them. The Raven Boys is a magical and captivating read, and it will draw new readers into the series right away.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Iconic Fandom Should You Join? Harry Potter · Lord of the Rings · Star Wars · Star Trek
Eight honest questions about how you actually are: what you put on when you need cheering up, how deep you go into the things you love, what you argue about, what you keep on your shelf. Answer them and we will tell you where you belong. Four of the biggest fandoms on earth are taking new members, and they could not be more different from one another.
⚡Harry Potter(Wizarding World)
💍Lord of the Rings(Middle-earth)
⚔️Star Wars(A Galaxy Far Away)
🖖Star Trek(The Final Frontier)
01
What do you put on when you need cheering up? Nobody is brave about this one.
02
How deep do you go into something you love? There is no shallow end here, only different deep ends.
03
What do you and your friends actually argue about? Every fandom has one argument it has been having for years.
04
How do you feel about a room full of strangers? Every one of these comes with a very big room.
05
Where would you rather spend a week? Pick on instinct rather than on budget.
06
What do you believe about people, mostly? All four of these stories have an answer, and they disagree.
07
What is actually on your shelf? Look over at it before you answer.
08
What do you actually want from a story? Eight questions in, this is the one that picks your fandom.
Membership Confirmed Your Fandom Is…
Four of the largest communities on the planet, and four completely different reasons to belong to one. Here is yours, what it would give you, and the argument you would be having within a week.
Harry Potter
You belong to the fandom that is really about comfort. Hogwarts works on people because it is a place rather than a plot, and the pull is not the wizard war so much as the corridors, the food, the weather and the sense that somebody is expecting you.
- You are drawn to belonging, which is why this fandom sorted itself into houses within about five minutes and has never stopped.
- This is the most social of the four, and the one most likely to know which type every single person in your life would be.
- The books are built to be reread rather than analysed, and rereading is exactly what you do with things you love.
- The new HBO series is bringing the whole thing back one book at a time, which means the arguments are about to start all over again.
Lord of the Rings
You belong to the deepest fandom on this list, the one where somebody has always read further than you and is quietly delighted to say so. Middle-earth rewards patience more than any other world in popular culture.
- You like the sense that the story you are reading is only the visible part of something enormous, which is precisely how Tolkien built it.
- This fandom takes adaptation seriously to a degree that other fandoms find slightly alarming, and it has good reasons for that.
- Your favourite thing about the books is probably the bit that is not action at all, which is the walking, the songs and the long goodbyes.
- Nobody here thinks heroism belongs to the powerful, and the whole story exists to make that argument.
Star Wars
You belong to the loudest and largest tent of the four, the one where three generations are all watching the same thing and none of them agree about any of it. That disagreement is not a flaw in this fandom, it is the main activity.
- You want something you can share with absolutely everybody, from a six year old to a grandparent, and this is the only one on the list that really does that.
- Nobody argues like Star Wars fans argue, and the argument has been running since roughly 1980 with no sign of resolution.
- The pull here is sensory before it is narrative, since it is the sound design, the score and the look of a used and dented galaxy.
- You would be first in the queue, in costume, with strong opinions and a genuinely good time.
Star Trek
You belong to the thinking fandom, the one that turns up for the argument rather than the explosion. Trek has always been a series of ethical problems in space, and the people who love it love being asked what they would have done.
- You are an optimist in a way that is currently unfashionable, and this is the only major franchise still willing to say the future might be better.
- The best episodes are the ones where nobody fires anything, which is a sentence that makes perfect sense to this fandom and to nobody else.
- Starfleet Academy brought the franchise back to a classroom in 2026, which is appropriate, because Trek has always been a bit of a seminar.
- You would want the conversation afterwards more than the episode itself, and here you will always find somebody willing to have it.
'You Should See Me in a Crown' (2020)
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson is a cozy and sweet YA contemporary novel with a fantastic main romance. It follows Liz Lighty, a high school senior who is determined to leave her small hometown next year to attend her dream college. When the financial aid she counted on to attend is no longer an option, Liz joins a contest to try to become the prom queen. It's not something that she would have done otherwise, but the chosen prom king and queen win college scholarships, so Liz puts her all into it.
While Liz is competing and participating in her school's unique prom-themed events to try to become queen, she meets her dream girl, Mack. Mack is new to town and has the same favorite band as Liz, and they instantly have a spark. The problem is, Liz is not out to the rest of her school, and her new romance could affect her chances of getting the scholarship. You Should See Me in a Crown is a fun and fast read with a great romance, and it's a delight from start to finish.
'Picture Us in the Light' (2018)
Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert follows Danny Cheng, a high school senior who already has a scholarship to RISD. Although Danny's dream of pursuing his art is finally coming true, he is still struggling with the weight of everything that he will be leaving behind when he goes off to college. It's almost the one-year anniversary of a tragic loss for Danny, which is bringing up painful memories. At the same time, Danny is worrying about how his parents will do when he's gone, and he's trying not to think too much about his complicated feelings for his best friend, Harry.
Then, Danny stumbles upon a box belonging to his father that reveals a horrifying family secret. All at once, everything he thought he knew is turned upside down, and he doesn't know how to move forward from there. Thus, Danny has to process this new reveal while navigating all of the other changes in his life, and he also has to decide what he's going to do about it. Picture Us in the Light is a stunning and heartbreaking novel, and it is impossible to put down once the story gets started.
'The Naturals' (2013)
The Naturals is the first in a four-book series that will certainly take more than a few days to read in full, but the first book in the intense thriller series makes for the perfect weekend binge-read. It follows Cassie Hobbes, a teenage girl with a talent for criminal profiling. Cassie only ever had her mom, and she lost her five years ago. Now, Cassie is recruited to join a secret FBI program for teenagers with extraordinary skills that can help solve long-abandoned cold cases.
The program gives Cassie stability and a place to live, and all she has to do is hone her profiling talent by working through forgotten cases from years ago. When a new killer pops up and becomes a threat to Cassie and her friends, though, Cassie realizes just how dangerous it is to be in this program. She starts to understand that there is much more to this program — and to these cold cases — than it appears on the surface, and she becomes determined to catch this killer and get answers. The Naturals is a suspenseful and gripping novel full of twists and turns, and it's impossible to put down.
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