Sometimes, when the world seems like too much, all you need is a good book. Teens who understand the power of literature will agree. But even if they don’t appreciate a good written story, it might just be because they haven’t yet found the right one. During such critical, formative and sensitive years, teens are looking to be understood, seen and heard, whether they say so or not. Even the adults can agree, if they reflect on their own lives. We might know how it’s like.
Check out the list of best books for teens compiled below. You’ll find several categories on the best books for girls and boys, the best series, mysteries, teen romance, classic coming-of-age and more modern recommendations. Do note that no category is restrictive by any means. After all, the books are meant to be widely shared by all.
Best Books for Teen Girls
1) Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Celeste Ng’s debut novel centers on Lydia, the middle daughter of a mixed-race Chinese-American family, who is found in a local lake. It’s a page-turner that encompasses how families struggle to understand each other.
2) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
When two friends begin a successful video game company together, what could possibly go wrong? Meet Sam and Sadie in Gabrielle Zevin’s intricately crafted world of friendship, love, and video games. Their journey tests just how far people are willing to go to chase their dreams.
Best Books for Teen Girls (Continued)
3) Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Set in the realm of prep, or boarding school, Curtis Sittenfeld’s debut novel dives headfirst into adolescent distress and desire. Prep is a coming-of-age story that will make you laugh and sit in silence as race, class and gender are examined at the Ault School in Massachusetts. If you know a teenager who won’t stop fantasizing about boarding school, then this might be an insightful read.
4) Deenie by Judy Blume
A mother’s lofty expectations for her seventh-grade daughter to become a model featured in magazines. A daughter who just wants to live out her teenage years with her friends. What comes next when the daughter is suddenly diagnosed with scoliosis?
Best Books for Teen Girls (Continued)
5) With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
6) The Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Yo
7) I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez
Best Book Series for Teens
8) Dune (Series) by Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert’s enthralling Dune series remains as one of the most important stories in the universe of literary science fiction. The entire series consists of six books: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, Chapterhouse: Dune. If you haven’t seen the film adaptations, you’re in for a treat.
9) Heroine Complex (Series) by Sarah Kuhn
In the Heroine Complex series, the favorite superheroes of San Francisco, Evie and Bea Tanaka and Aveda Jupiter, unite to ward off unwanted visitors. There are six books in the series: Heroine Complex, Heroine Worship, Heroine’s Journey, Haunted Heroine, Hollywood Heroine and Holiday Heroine. If your teen is looking for some Asian-American superheroes, look no further.
Best Book Series for Teens (Continued)
10) Binti: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
The Binti trilogy is a Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning series about a girl’s incredible interstellar journey to Oomza University. But danger lurks around Binti’s spaceship, especially when creatures called the Medusae attack her crew. Binti soon finds herself at the crossroads of two warring parties, the Medusae and the Khoush as she navigates how to save the planet her university is on.
11) Red Rising by Pierce Brown
12) The Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
Best Mystery Books for Teens
13) The Secret History by Donna Tartt
In an idyllic New England college, where a classics professor wishes to selectively educate his students, what could go wrong? Hailed as a contemporary literary classic, Donna Tartt’s first novel, published in 1992, stands as one of the best mystery books for teens today. For teens and adults interested in psychological thrillers, or just an incredible story, this is a must-read.
14) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Lauded as a classic in mystery books, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca has been haunting readers since its publication in 1938. The Gothic novel centers on an unnamed young woman who impulsively marries a wealthy widower. So where does the name Rebecca come in? She happens to be the man’s late first wife who haunts him and the very house he lives in. Teens looking for a classic, Gothic mystery should grab a copy right away.
Best Mystery Books for Teens (Continued)
15) One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
Entertain Weekly called Karen M. McManus’s novel, One of Us is Lying, “Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club.” Picture five high school students walking into detention, but one of them doesn’t make it out alive. That boy’s name is Simon, and Simon had apparently planned to tell shocking secrets about his classmates. Is the killer among the four who got out alive? Or is someone else out there? If this satisfies your teen’s mystery addiction, then be sure to read the sequel, One of Us is Next.
16) Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
17) Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell
Best Teen Romance Books
18) Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson
This familiar-titled romance is one for fans of Jane the Virgin. Ramón and Julieta are brought together on the Day of the Dead by none other than tacos and destiny. Julieta is a celebrity chef who desperately fights to keep her taqueria alive, while Ramón turns out to be the landlord trying to ruin her business. He’s also the son of the man who stole her mother’s taco recipe. Alana Quintana Albertson’s novel stands as one of today’s best teen romance books.
19) Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
If you’re a teenager passionate about STEM and romance books, then Ali Hazelwood’s novel is your next pick. This is a story about rival physicists who bump heads in academia and dating. The Washington Post described Hazelwood as “The reigning queen of STEM romance,” and for a very obvious reason.
Best Teen Romance Books (Continued)
20) Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar
Tiwa and Said are two ex-best friends who have to work together to save their Islamic Center from crumbling. When the Islamic Center suddenly catches fire, the two frenemies are forced to confront each other. Was their old friendship meant to be a romance all along? Four Eids and a Funeral is one of the best teen romance books that addresses grief, racism, and adolescent reconciliation in the Muslim community.
21) Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang
22) Leap by Simina Popescu
Best Books for Teen Boys
23) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Perhaps you’ve already seen the Steven Spielberg film before reading the book. Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One ranks as one of the best books for teen boys that USA Today describes as “Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.” Wade Watts only really feels alive when he’s in OASIS, a looming virtual world. But when the founder of OASIS dies and leaves behind puzzles who anyone who wants to inherit his fortune, competition becomes fierce. When Wade cracks the first code, he soon finds himself fighting – and playing – for his life.
24) The Martian by Andy Weir
A #1 New York Times Bestseller, Andy Weir’s The Martian is for space lovers and anyone wondering about what it might be like to be stranded on Mars. Mark Watney finds himself left behind on the red planet after his crew tries to escape a dust storm. His supplies are low, his chances of survival are close to none. And yet Mark is determined to do whatever he can to survive while utilizing his engineering skills. You’ll laugh, you’ll cheer, you’ll tense up as you read this novel that inspired the film starring Matt Damon.
Best Books for Teen Boys (Continued)
25) All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Activist and journalist George M. Johnson wrote this as a “memoir-manifesto” that explores coming-of-age in New Jersey and Virginia. All Boys Aren’t Blue is a series of young-adult memoir essays that capture the highs and lows of living as a Black queer boy. A New York Library Best Book of 2020 and People Magazine Best Book of the Summer, among others, All Boys Aren’t Blue is an unapologetic triumph.
26) Soldiers Unknown by Chag Lowry
27) The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
28) Ghost by Jason Reynolds
29) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Best Coming-of-Age Books for Teens
Check out the following classic stories about growing up and finding your place in the world.
30) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
31) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
32) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
33) The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
34) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
35) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
List Continued
36) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
37) Lord of the Flies by William Golding
38) A Separate Peace by John Knowles
39) The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
40) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
41) The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
42) The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
List Continued
43) Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
44) Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
45) Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
46) The Giver by Lois Lowry
47) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
48) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
49) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
50) Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
List Continued
51) The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
52) Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
53) Forever by Judy Blume
54) Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman
55) Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
56) We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson
Best Modern Fiction Books for Teens
Discover the more recent stories that are being hailed as contemporary classic books for teenagers.
57) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
58) Uprooted by Naomi Novik
59) Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs and Cassandra Jean
60) This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab
61) The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
62) Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
63) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
64) Divergent by Veronica Roth
65) Caraval by Stephanie Garber
66) The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
67) Tracked by Jenny Martin
68) Starters by Lisa Price
69) Matched by Ally Condie
List Continued
70) The City of Ember Jeanne DuPrau
71) The Selection by Kiera Cass
72) Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
73) The End of Oz by Danielle Paige
74) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Mass
75) Lawless Spaces by Corey Ann Haydu
76) Summer Nights and Meteorites by Hannah Reynolds
77) Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
78) I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
79) First Thing About You by Chaz Hayden
80) All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
List Continued
81) The Girls by Emma Cline
82) Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
83) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
84) Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
85) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
86) The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
87) The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
88) Replica by Lauren Oliver
89) Shiny Broken Pieces: A Tiny Pretty Things Novel by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra
Best Books for Teens (Continued)
90) Icarus by K. Ancrum
91) Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known by George M. Johnson
92) The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
93) This is My America by Kim Johnson
94) Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
95) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
96) Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
97) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
98) The Color Purple by Alice Walker
99) Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
100) All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
101) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Best Books for Teens
A good book can transport teens to a refreshing new place in a way that helps their ideas and identities thrive. As seen above, there are genres, like classics, fantasy, mystery, romance and others, that help kindle adolescent empathy and imagination. Teens are coming-of-age, and yet they are also of the age they are now. Why not pique their curiosity, right where they are today, so they’re prepared for the next chapter in their lives?
Additional Resources
- 25 Best Books of 2024
- 101 Best Audiobooks
- AP Lit Reading List
- 60 Best Short Stories for High School Students
