For the Paducah Tilghman library, the number of book check-outs by students this year has set a record within the school. Mrs. Wyant, Tilghman’s wonderful librarian, says she is thrilled that “students are reading and are excited about it”. A stress-reducing activity such as reading can be used as an outlet for many students, as well as provide many other benefits, such as an improved vocabulary and functioning of the brain, along with strengthened writing skills. The library has many genre options, ranging from “who done it” mysteries, dystopian stories, fantasy tales, non-fiction books, and of course all the trending young adult books of this time.

Are you interested in reading one of the most popular books in the library? Here are the top three young adult books in the library, as per Mrs. Wyant’s recommendations:

Starting with the most checked out book in the library right now, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by number-one “New York Times” bestselling author Holly Jackson. Mrs. Wyant has not been able to keep this book on the shelf due to the number of students wanting to read it! This book is a “who done it” teen crime thriller based around Pippa (Pip) Fitz-Amobi, who investigates a local murder that occurred five years ago. While everyone in the town believes the killer was caught, Pip believes there is not enough evidence and there were too many loose ends left, so she decides to do her own research on the case for her final-year project. This book was published on May 2, 2019, and has been nominated for an award. The sequel to this book, “Good Girl, Bad Blood,” was published March 2, 2021.

Coming in number two is another book which cannot be kept on the shelf, “Concrete Rose” by another number-one “New York Times” bestselling author, Angie Thomas, who is also the author of another popular young adult book, “The Hate U Give.” This moving, powerful story serves as a prequel to “The Hate U Give,” which was released in 2017, by returning to the town in which it took place to tell the story of the events that occurred 17 years before those of “The Hate U Give.” This prequel was released on January 12, 2021.

Our third and final mention is a series from 2015, but one that remains a favorite. The Selection Series, which is a five-book collection, was written by number-one “New York Times” bestseller, Kiera Crass. If you loved “Divergent,” “The Hunger Games,” or love “The Bachelorette,” this futuristic, fairy-tale romance may be the series for you. In this series, thirty-five girls enter a competition to win the opportunity to escape from their caste system and be chosen to be loved by a prince and live in a palace, every girl’s dream, right? This is not the case for America Singer, whose selection means leaving her secret love and winning a crown she doesn’t want. This book series is a soon-to-be Netflix movie, so be on the lookout for that as well.