We Were Here

I have to say, We Were Here by Matt de la Peña has to be one of the rawest books I've read in a while—and I loved it. Miguel's voice comes through so clear, and it's so different from any other YA voice I've read, and it really fits the tone of the novel perfectly.

I'm going to give an example because I love it that much:

“You know how when you're a kid and you get a new bad-ass rubber football for Christmas, and the morning it takes a few minutes to remember why you're so excited? It's like that for me, only the opposite. When I wake up, everything's normal for a while. I'm just plain Miguel. And then suddenly it hits me what I did. It punches me right in the ribs. It screams in my ears how everything isn't normal anymore, it's fucked.” —pg. 125.

We Were Here

Good characters, mostly characterizations and little plot, but still compelling.