Jen Doll is the brilliant YA author behind hits like Save the Date and the newly-released Unclaimed Baggage. She shared with She Reads the books she loves in honor of Teen Read Week. Keep reading to get a look at the books Jen loves.

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

This YA novel makes me want to invent a time machine so I can go back to high school and start a feminist zine, and from that, a movement. But you can simply read it instead, and then share it with the young women in your life, and feel almost the same way – empowered, bold and awesome – with no plutonium required.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

I read this middle-grade book this summer and I’ve told everyone I know (young and old) about how wonderful it is. It’s based on Yang’s own experience of immigrating from China to America as a young girl. She, like her main character, Mia, helped manage the front desk of the motels where her parents worked. The way Yang tackles racism and bigotry is profound and poignant, and Mia is someone we’d all be lucky to be friends with. Forget the middle-grade label – adults need to read this, too!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

One of my all-time favorites, this is the epic coming-of-age tale of Francie Nolan, lover of books, and her family – an alcoholic, charming father, a hard-working, tougher-than-nails mother who wants more for her kids than she had, an array of memorable aunts, uncles, and grandparents, and her beloved baby brother, Neeley. This was probably the book that made me into a writer in the first place. Through reading, Francie is able to escape from the world that surrounds her, and eventually find her way into the life she needs.