Our Favorite Male POV Books
Boys, boys, boys. We like boys in boo-ooks. There's something undeniably intriguing about peaking behind the stoic veneer of a character you've previously only experienced through the eyes of another character. This is especially true for male characters. Oftentimes young men are taught to repress their emotions, so books provide a vital window into the feelings that bubble under the surface. Watching young men wrestle with and process their feelings over the course of a book can be a great way to look at how you deal with your own emotions. Plus, as an added bonus, boys healthily coping with their emotions is *chef's kiss* a complete serotonin boost. I could read about it all day (and I have). Boys, boys, boys. (We love them. We LOVE them.)
The Great Big ONe
BY J.C. Geiger
Everyone in Clade City knows the Great Big One is coming--a tsunami guaranteed to decimate the West Coast and sink their small coastal town. If they manage to live that long. Nuclear strikes seem increasingly likely. Wildfires. Solar flares, and a growing chance of apocalyptic horsemen. So Griff and the Lost Coast Preppers will be ready. Canning. Stockpiling. Monitoring radio signals. To survive, one must expect the unexpected. But the songs catch Griff and even his twin Leo by surprise.
What begins as a striking moment becomes a competition between Griff and Leo that divides the brothers: Griff toward music and Chastity, a striking new girl with an angelic voice; Leo toward his late-night prepping missions and stealing Chastity's attention away from Griff.
But when a mission to track the source of the music alters the course of Griff's understanding of life, which will win out: hope or fear?
MIDNIGHT SUN
BY STEPHENIE MEYER
When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella’s side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward’s version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.
This unforgettable tale as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?
MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE
BY SYED M. MASOOD
Danyal Jilani doesn’t lack confidence. He may not be the smartest guy in the room, but he’s funny, gorgeous, and going to make a great chef one day. His father doesn’t approve of his career choice, but that hardly matters. What does matter is the opinion of Danyal’s longtime crush, the perfect-in-all-ways Kaval, and her family, who consider him a less than ideal arranged marriage prospect.
When Danyal gets selected for Renaissance Man, a school-wide academic championship, it’s the perfect opportunity to show everyone he’s smarter than they think. He recruits the brilliant, totally-uninterested-in-him Bisma to help with the competition, but the more time Danyal spends with her . . . the more he learns from her…the more he cooks for her . . . the more he realizes that happiness may be staring him right in his pretty face.
TYLER JOHNSON WAS HERE
BY JAY COLES
When Marvin Johnson’s twin, Tyler, goes to a party, Marvin decides to tag along to keep an eye on his brother. But what starts as harmless fun turns into a shooting, followed by a police raid.
The next day, Tyler has gone missing, and it’s up to Marvin to find him. But when Tyler is found dead, a video leaked online tells an even more chilling story: Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer. Terrified as his mother unravels and mourning a brother who is now a hashtag, Marvin must learn what justice and freedom really mean.
WE CONTAIN MULTITUDES
BY SARAH HENSTRA
Jonathan Hopkirk and Adam “Kurl” Kurlansky are partnered in English class, writing letters to one another in a weekly pen pal assignment. With each letter, the two begin to develop a friendship that eventually grows into love. But with homophobia, bullying, and devastating family secrets, Jonathan and Kurl struggle to overcome their conflicts and hold onto their relationship…and each other.
HOW THE KING OF ELFHAME LEARNED TO HATE STORIES
BY HOLLY BLACK
Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone. #1 New York Times bestselling author, Holly Black reveals a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king, Cardan. This tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.
This new installment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humor, and drama that enchanted readers everywhere. Each chapter is paired with lavish and luminous full-color art, making this the perfect collector’s item to be enjoyed by both new audiences and old.
CAMP
BY L. C. ROSEN
Sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens. It’s where he met his best friends. It’s where he takes to the stage in the big musical. And it’s where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lim — who’s only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists.
This year, however, it’s going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as ‘Del’ — buff, masculine, and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish, and his unicorn bedsheets, he’s determined to get Hudson to fall for him.
But as he and Hudson grow closer, Randy has to ask himself: How much is he willing to change for love? And is it really love anyway, if Hudson doesn’t know who he truly is?
DEAR EVAN HANSEN: THE NOVEL
BY VAL EMMICH, STEVEN LEVENSON, BENJ PASEK & JUSTIN PAUL
When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family’s grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend.
Suddenly, Evan isn’t invisible anymore–even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy’s parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he’s doing can’t be right, but if he’s helping people, how wrong can it be?
No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He’s confident. He’s a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself.
FENCE: STRIKING DISTANCE
BY SARAH REES BRENNAN, ILLUSTRATED BY JOHANNA THE MAD, CREATED BY C.S. PACAT
Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion who dreams of getting the proper training he could never afford. After earning a place on the elite Kings Row fencing team, Nicholas must prove himself to his rival, Seiji Katayma, and navigate the clashes, friendships, and relationships between his teammates on the road to state championships — where Nicholas might finally have the chance to spar with his golden-boy half-brother.
Coach Williams decides to take advantage of the boys’ morale after a recent victory and assigns them a course of team building exercises to further deepen their bonds. It takes a shoplifting scandal, a couple of moonlit forest strolls, several hilariously bad dates, and a whole lot of introspection for the team to realize they are stronger together than they could ever be apart.