5 Popular YA Novels I Didn't Like

Disclaimer: I do not hate the author themselves, I just strongly dislike the story and plot points. I tried my best not to sound offensive about any book. Each book I listed does have it's finer points, but the negatives outweigh the positives (in my mind). I also do not think I can write better than these authors because I obviously can't.

The books in the images are some of the many YA books that I didn't like. This list only narrows it down to 5 books. These are the books that I wouldn't recommend people, though many people will tell you otherwise. I am a very picky reader, for many books I read I tend to think that it was boring and didn't reach my expectations. So don't take my opinion to heart.

5. Matched by Ally Condie

I didn't entirely enjoy the similarities the series has with The Giver by Lois Lowry. Though people will say it may be a retelling, I think that it lacked the originality for it to be a retelling. The author tried to make it sort of adventure, but realistically it was just forced. The series should have stayed as a standalone instead of making two more that drives the plot into another direction. The third book was an entirely different story, there were so many plot holes, and every possible detail in the story was predictable and cliché.

4. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I used to like this book, mostly because I used to like the show (please don't judge me). But a friend told me the harm rather than good this book does to the people who read it. The fact that the author makes it seem like love could have saved the girl or that committing suicide as a revenge plot was the way to solve your problems is not a good message to send. It would seem that this book would help people suffering the same issues as the main character, but the negative emphasis on depression will only validate the reader's thinking. There are better ways to approach this situation and this book honestly made it worse.

3. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I personally think that there were many plot points that were unnecessary, it just cluttered the book with scraps and junk (the book literally didn't need the "liars" part). The writing itself was bland and the relationship was confusing. Many people say that the twist at the end was what made it really good. To me, I think the twist was predictable. But it's my word against others, read at your own will. Look out for a podcast episode on We Were Liars that I'm doing with my friends.

2. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass, a very popular series people on TikTok enjoy and the worst series about the faerie world I will ever read. Sarah J. Maas isn't entirely a terrible writer, just the amount of explicit scenes she adds into a YA novel makes me question what she thinks teenagers would enjoy. I think the first three books were good (including the prequel not Heir of Fire), but after reading Heir of Fire, I think that Maas needs to make a chart or list to organize her plots. To me, they're all over the place. She changes the plot mid series which is just hysterical and confusing. I get this is some high fantasy world, but the first two books have nothing to do with faeries and SJM just throws it in for kicks and giggles. Not only that, the amount of predictability and plot points there are in this series is just annoying and overdone. I'm not going to count the number of times that she would constantly remind the reader of the character's physical features because all YA authors do that. But her cliché writing style just lacks the creativity in writing that I tend to look for in books. Look out for a podcast episode on Throne of Glass that I'm doing with my friends.

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I wonder how many people I offended from putting Divergent on this list. Personally, I think the characters were dry and not well developed. The concept was good, it had lots of potential, but the execution just fell short. This possible dystopian future in Divergent just seems unlikely to happen. YA dystopian novels have a plot, a corrupt society and then a rebellion. This series had exactly that, EXCEPT NO PLOT. The only thing that this series had going were the factions (which were just undeveloped versions of Harry Potter houses) and characters, which isn't plot it's just story elements.

I always have a problem with trilogies, the author never makes the series one cohesive story it's always just three separate plots that don't piece together. The second book was boring, the third book was just a mess and her short story continuation of Divergent in her new book was the worst possible ending I could ever imagine (not impressive for a popular series). I will definitely say that this is the one series that I think was hyped more than it deserved. Listen to my podcast episode about Divergent on Spotify if you want to hear more of my friend's and my book review and opinions.