With the help of my teenagers, we have come up with the best books for teenagers!
If you are reading this post, you have a teen who wants to read! Say what? You heard me right, teenagers reading, I have seen it happen! It is a rare, beautiful thing to see a teenager reading! For helpful tips on getting your teen to read more check out our post Why Teenagers’ Attention Span Ain’t What It Used To Be.
Sometimes the most difficult part for teens is finding the right book to read!
I know it sounds so simple, but it’s not! Libraries and bookstores are wonderful, but intimidating to many teenagers! They can be overwhelming to adults too! Unless you frequent them often, they are so big and confusing! If you don’t have a specific book in mind, it can be a daunting task.
There are several different genres of books for teenagers.
There are science-fiction, non-fiction, paranormal, fantasy, mystery, historic, funny….so many choices! Try to at least narrow it down to a genre for starters. Bookstores and libraries have these areas marked pretty well, so that is helpful. Store workers and Librarians are eager to help anyone who is interested in reading! Don’t be afraid to ask!
What are their friends reading?
Not only is it helpful to get recommendations from friends, but it’s fun! Why fun? Because just like seeing a good movie and chatting about it, reading a great book and sharing your thoughts with a friend is fun!
Here is our list of the best books for teenagers.
The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Teens, The Miniature Edition by Sean Covey
This book is based on the bestselling The Seven Habits Of Effective People. I had to start with this book for so many reasons! It is a fantastic book that is loaded with helpful stories from real teens! This book addresses the many different complex struggles a teen goes through, but it does it with humor, wit and some cartoons! This book is more than helpful, it is filled with great tips, fun quotes, and pointers for any teen. At first, your teen may think it’s another book to “teach them something”, that may be true, but it’s more than that! There is also a personal workbook and Kindle edition. I am definitely getting this book for my teens!
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
This fictional book will tug at your heart for sure. The Running Dream is about a teen girl who is in a terrible accident and loses her leg. Not only does she struggle physically but emotionally as well as she looks at life in a new way. She becomes dear friends with a girl not so different from herself now. When she is told she will never run again, she is devastated but overcomes her fears in an inspirational way. I love this book because teens and adults too can be very judgemental and cruel, but The Running Dream teaches us that we all have struggled. Life can change in an instant, so be open-minded and kind! This book is a well-deserved Teen Book Winner and The Schneider Family Book Award.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
This classic iconic book has captivated readers for over 50 years and continues to be a favorite amongst teens. This story is about 14 year old boy in 1965 who has good friends and brothers, but they all are continuously bullied by the rich, nasty kids. The Outsiders is a dramatic coming of age book that deals with issues much darker than your typical high school problems. This book still remains a bestseller among teens and young adults and is a New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Book. It has actually won too many awards to list!
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Both my kids, their friends, and a gazillion other people cannot get enough of these books! The movies are fun of course, but like always, the books are fantastic! This Dystopian Fiction book is about a world where a beautiful capital full of wealth is surrounded by utter poverty. Once a year the poor children are forced to play of survival to the death, in order to provide food and other essentials for their community. The Hunger Games are both fascinating and disturbing. With strong teen characters whom we all fall in love with, this book is sure to resonate with many readers. It is a bestseller in Children’s’ Dystopian Fiction Books.
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
This teen book is witty and charming and is loved by teens who are also fans of books by John Green. It stars a high school tennis player involved in an accident. This starts a whole domino of events that changes his social outlook. It is a teen romance, but with enough silly humor to appeal to most. The writing is humorous and I just think it’s a fun book!
The Giver by Lois Lowry
This popular book is absolutely a must read! This 1994 Newbery Medal winner touches the hearts of children and adults alike! It is often assigned in classrooms because it is such a beautifully written book and sure to be a classic! The story is about a 12 year old boy with a simple life who receives a new job that opens his eyes in ways he couldn’t imagine! I highly recommend this book, if they haven’t already read it!
Battlefield Earth by L.Ron Hubbard
This Science Fiction New York Times Bestseller is an exciting book about post-apocalyptic Earth in A.D. 3000. Few humans have survived a massive attack of aliens, and they want to form a rebellion to take back their freedom! Battlefield Earth is an edgy cool book, like a Star Wars to the teens today! This book is highly recommended by educators because iT encourages STEM, which is curriculum based on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Another great book for teens from John Green, author of the wildly popular Fault in our Stars. A young man leaves his boring, normal life and heads to boarding school where it is just the opposite. He quickly becomes fascinated by a quirky girl named Alaska who manages to find trouble. His once predictable life becomes a series of dramatic events, and he is changed forever. Looking for Alaska is the winner of several awards including NPR’s 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels and Times Magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time.
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
This book is a #1 Bestseller in Teen and Young Adult New Experiences fiction, and it’s easy to see why. Yes, it is another teen romance, but it deals with a bigger issue. The female character has a horribly rare disorder that makes her allergic to basically everything. She doesn’t leave her house ever, you can only imagine how different her childhood and teen years are like. Then a boy moves into the house next door and things are never the same for her. She is faced with making some very risky decisions. Everything Everything will make you laugh and cry all at the same time!
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
This amazing book is based on a true story and is a New York Times Bestseller. A Long Walk to Water tells two stories about a boy and a girl from Sudan who live in very hard times. They struggle to survive and are attacked by rebels and wild animals. Their stories eventually intersect. This is a beautiful story and should be told so children can understand what some other children have to endure. This book is good for the soul and everyone should hear these stories. This book would be great for teenagers but even kids as young as ten would understand.
I hope you enjoyed our list of some great books for teenagers. I hope this helps you out, maybe leads you to some other books too! Either way, check them out, they are truly wonderful!
Thank you so much and remember, read on my friends, Kris;)