I feel like I am repeating myself but I can’t help it. Before you explore this list, check out the previous age categories first because those lists contain a lot of books for this age group but perhaps they could be enjoyed by younger kids already so the books are there and not here.
I am perfectly aware of the fact that kids mature at a different pace and that you might not agree with the recommended age. My kids are only 6 and 8 right now so it is hard for me to take a guess when they could read the following books. I checked other websites and went with their recommendations.
I only listed some books so far. I will work on this category soon. Take a look at the titles first and then you can find more information under the following links:
Best Books for Young Adults (12 – 18)
YALSA’s Alex Awards (The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.)
YALSA’s Best of the Best
Printz Award
Reading List Grade 9 &10
Reading List Grade 11 & 12
Reading List 1 Highschool
Reading List 2 Highschool
Reading List 3 Highschool
I found a nice list of recommendations for websites for young book lovers, click on the link below to read more:
14 Super Cool Websites for Adult and Teen Bookaholics
Books that might be the next Hunger Games
Check also the following websites for tips on what to read next:
Genrefluent – Teen Talk About Books
A local library put together a list of non-fiction titles for young adults.
31 Must-Read Book Series for Teens
The 100 Best Young-Adult Book of All Time
13 and up
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants For a list of books in the Sisterhood series click here. My daughter read it in 7th grade.
Divergent For a list of books in this series click here.
The Hunger Games For a list of books in this series click here.
His Dark Materials Omnibus (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)
Insignia For a list of books in this series click here.
Ship Breaker Click here for a sequel.
The Selection For a list of books in this series click here.
The Reluctant Assassin For a list of books in the WARP series click here.
SYLO For a list of books in The SYLO Chronicles series click here.
This Dark Endeavor Click here for the sequel in The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series.
Crap Kingdom I am not sure about this one, it has mixed reviews but a lot of people find it funny.
Erebos: It’s a game. It watches you
Partials For a lists of books in the Partials Sequence series click here.
Leviathan For a list of books in this series click here.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
Shadow and Bone For a list of books in The Grisha Trilogy click here.
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights (non-fiction)
The Eye of Minds For a list of books in The Mortality Doctrine series click here.
The Young Elites For a list of books in this series click here.
Matched For a list of books in this series click here.
Princesses of Myth Series The Princesses of Myth series follows the fictionalized yet historical stories of various heroines throughout history: Helen of Sparta, the Egyptian queen Nefertiti, Princess Maeve of Ireland, etc.
Midnight Thief For a list of books in this series click here.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
The Master Puppeteer Probably not a book for everyone but if you like historical fiction (feudal Japan here) try it.
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow (Nonfiction)
Left for Dead: A Young Man’s Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis
Scythe For a list of books in the Arc of a Scythe series click here.
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler
Dragons of Autumn Twilight (for an avid reader if they can read Lord of the Rings) For a list of books in the Dragonlance Chronicles series click here.
Steelheart For a list of books in the Reckoners series click here.
Brody’s Ghost For a list of books in this series click here.
Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War (Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award)
The Last Magician For a list of books in this series click here.
Strange the Dreamer For a list of books in this series click here.
Warcross For a list of books in this series click here.
13 or 14?
Anna and the French Kiss For a list of books in this series click here.
Murder on the Orient Express For a list of books in this series click here.
Discussions and recommendations on books by Agatha Christie for 13-year-olds can be found here (Perfect first Christie for a teenager)
Daughter of Smoke & Bone (probably closer to 14) For a list of books in this series click here.
Son of the Mob Click here for a sequel.
Flags of Our Fathers: A Young People’s Edition
The Clockwork Scarab: A Stoker & Holmes Novel For a list of Stoker & Holmes Novels click here.
Let the Sky Fall For a list of books in this series click here.
Maisie Dobbs For a list of books in this series click here.
Hush, Hush As with every book—read a few reviews first if it is for you—there are thousands of great reviews but some people really hated it. For a list of books in The Hush, Hush Saga click here.
The Raven Boys For a list of books in the Raven Cycle series click here.
Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive
The Wrath & the Dawn For a list of books in this series click here.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Ink and Bone For a list of books in The Great Library series click here.
The Book of Dust (trilogy)
14 and up (Grade 9 and up)
If I Stay and its sequel Where She Went
Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog
Witch Child Click here for a sequel.
Sabriel For a list of books in the Abhorsen series click here.
Shadowland For a list of books in The Mediator series click here.
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Keeping the Moon (and other books by Sarah Dessen have also good reviews—teenagers seem to enjoy them)
The Once and Future King For a list of books in this series click here.
Throne of Glass For a list of books in this series click here.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone For a list of books in this series click here.
The Winner’s Curse For a list of books in The Winner’s Trilogy click here.
In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer (nonfiction)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns For a list of books in this series click here.
Midwinterblood (mixed reviews but many people loved it and it was selected as one of the top 0 books for young adults in 2014)
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
The Belles For a list of books in this series click here.
Lost at Sea (possibly even for older teens)
The Cruel Prince For a list of books in this series click here.
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Binti For a list of books in this series click here.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue For a list of books in this series click here.
Graceling For a list of books in this series click here.
Finnikin of the Rock For a list of books in the The Lumatere Chronicles click here.
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer For a list of books in the Necromancer Series click here.
Twilight For a list of books in the The Twilight Saga click here.
Runaways For a list of books in this comic book series click here.
The Lightkeeper’s Daughter For a list of books in the Mercy Falls Series click here.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal (funny)
The Raging Quiet
Daughter of the Forest For a list of books in The Sevenwaters Trilogy click here.
A Court of Thorns and Roses For a list of books in this series click here.
This Savage Song For a list of books in the Monsters of Verity series click here.
The Last Dragonlord (for lovers of fantasy and romance) For a list of books in this series click here.
The Eye of the World (or possibly even older than 14) For a list of books in The Wheel of Time series click here.
Ms. Marvel (graphic novel, not sure what the earliest age suitable for this book is) For a list of books in this series click here.
14 or 15?
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia
Noggin (funny)
A Great and Terrible Beauty For a list of books in The Gemma Doyle Trilogy click here.
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
The 5th Wave For a list of books in this series click here.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Flowers for Algernon I have seen this in theater and loved it.
The Sky Is Everywhere
Imani All Mine
Last Night I Sang to the Monster
The Diviners For a list of books in this series click here.
Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
City of Bones For a list of books in The Mortal Instruments series click here.
A COMPANION SERIES TO THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS (City of Bones)
Lady Midnight For a list of books in The Dark Artifices series click here.
ASSASSINS APPRENTICE For a list of books in this series click here.
15 and up
Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A classic I love!
Riddle-Master (age not clear but no need to rush)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
A Certain Slant of Light (another book in the Light series)
The Impossible Knife of Memory
Grave Mercy For a list of books in His Fair Assassin Trilogy click here.
The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone
We Were Liars (mixed reviews, some people loved it, some hated it—one of the most talked about books of 2014)
A Girl Called Fearless (not many reviews yet but a lot of people liked this book so it is probably worth a try) For a list of books in this
series click here.
Delirium For a list of books in this series click here.
My Father Bleeds History Check out its sequel here.
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
The Way of Kings For a list of books in this series click here.
15 or 16 and up
16 and up
Born Survivors: Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and Hope
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