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;)
Great site! I have four children – all now adults in their 20’s – and they all had very specific genre preferences. On top of the fact, most of my work life has me around teenagers, most of whom have very strong opinions about what they do and don’t want to read. I LOVE the fact that your teen helped create the list. The language is engaging, your reviews are concise and understandable – this is a site that is definitely written well but in a way that teens wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by or that they were being talked down to. Well done.
Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it. Yes,I really wanted to get my kids involved in this process, and they love it so far.
I chuckled when I saw your book list because I just finished reading the adult version of James Covey’s book, 7 habits of Highly Effective People. I did not know that there was a version for teens until I looked through your list.
Do you have a recommended list of book for toddlers and early readers?
Thank you for your comment. I do have a post on toddler books, thank you for asking.
https://excitedaboutreading.co…
I am currently working on an early readers post. Check back soon!!
These books are really good recommendations… and in my opinion, they are not just for teenagers. I may just pick a few of them for my own reading pleasures. 🙂
I think nowadays people in general have so many distractions in their lives… you know the smart phones, the TVs, the cables & the internet that make reading a good book take the back seat. I am also one of them, but at least I am picking up on my reading once again.
So this site of yours is really interesting & I will be checking it out for recommendations on good books to read next!
Yes, there are distractions everywhere these days. We live in a “instant” society where we seemingly want everything now. I think this also happens with reading. Sometimes kids just want to watch the movie, or want the cliff notes version. Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it.
Glad that I came across this website. My son is 24 and is very active with teenagers, this will be great website that I know will benefit him so that he can offer advice to his students and Team.
Your site is very simple to navigate and your books recommendations will filll a void in building our teenagers in today’s society. Not only parents would benefit from this site, but teenagers interacting with each other will find it useful as you mention.
The seven habits of highly effective teen by Sean Covet is a classic, I glad that you include that in your arsenal of collections. Will be bookmarking this site for future use. I commend you for your work.
Cheers.
Thank you so much! I am certainly glad you enjoyed our site. Please check back soon for more great books and ideas getting our kids to read more.
My daughter is 18 now and she does still read books. The last fiction books were Harry Potter which was a good few years ago now, but she loves to read biographies and books about conspiracy theories.
Yes, Harry Potter was such a huge success. I have read them, my kids have read them multiple times. I still haven’t been able to get my husband to read them :(. That was really the book series that got my kids started. I was so impressed they were able to take on a novel at such a young age. Thank you for your comment.
Hi, Kris! What a wonderful list of books for teenagers! I always loved to read. I believe that books saved my life when I was in school. They were my hiding place from anxiety, stress, and worry. I always loved to dream, and books were my friends and teachers too. It’s hard for me to imagine my teenage life without books. Of course, nowadays I still like to read.
You have a great site, and I wish you a lot of success!
Thanks again!
Thank you. I remember those teen years well, and yes I agree, books are a great place to get away from it all. I still like to lose myself in a good book. Every night before bed, I wind down by reading. Thank you so much for your comment, I appreciate it.
Hello Kris,
Thanks for the great post! Teenagers must be encouraged to read books more than wasting time on social media, and I love how you’re recommending useful books for them, parents in general get confused about what is the best book to get to his teenager that can be useful for him, and this guide is just great!
Thanks for sharing.
I am glad you enjoyed this post. Books are something I am passionate about, so I really enjoy writing and spreading the word. Thank you so much for your comment, I appreciate it.
I really loved reading your article and book reviews. Even though I do not have a teenager but currently a 3 year old boy, he will eventually become a teen. With all the peer pressure and bullying that is going on in schools, reading should be encouraged for teens to view the reality of our society. I read the reviews on some of the books that you mentioned and they are very deep. The things that teens do not understand is that there is they do not stop and think on what is going on around the world and the suffering. Not all teens are like this but many think this way, about themselves and their issues. Every teen will go through change and that is a normal process. It is in being sincere that they have to understand and know that they are not alone in the world and help is out there. Reading is a powerful tool and the young adult mind has to slowly learn the context of the story. The best way that can be done is through assimilated reading which is not easy but will change their perspective on life in general. I hope that my son will become a reader and keeps an open mind about the walks of life and what life is really worth.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thorough comment, I really appreciate it. No doubt about it, books are great for teens on so many levels. Thanks again, I hope you come back soon.
You are doing an awesome job with these book recommendations. I was fortunate enough to see your post on the best books for children, which I totally agreed with. And now you have another great list for teens. I will make sure to keep this site book marked because I believe it is important to promote reading and I love to read as well! I have a few nephews as well that I will forward this list to. Thanks for the great reviews!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. I enjoy spreading the word about books!
Reading is really fun even though some teenagers think otherwise. I taught at a school some years ago and the librarian use to ask students (teenagers) to suggest the books that they would like to read in each genre. Based on their interests, she would then review the list, and order those books. Amazingly, the students would flock to the library to get the books as soon as they arrive, so teenagers will show more interest in reading if we allow them to have an input in the book selection. I like the Giver by Lois Lowry. I remember it was assigned to my kids for summer reading. My kids are no longer teenagers, but I have family members and friends that I will appreciate this page. I will definitely share.
Yes, I remember getting so excited as a kid when our book orders would arrive. I agree, most kids will have more interest if they have a say in it. Teens are at the age when they are looking for their opinion to matter. Involve them in the decision and the results may be better than anticipated. Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it.
I actually won the Hunger Games Trilogy in a contest for Subway of all things. I really enjoyed the series. You have a great list of books, and although I don’t have teenagers, I will certainly recommend your site to my sister and her teens. I think it is really important for teenagers to have some downtime to read. This allows your mind to engage, and be creative. Thanks for sharing this, you have some great book ideas.
Thank you so much for your comment, I really appreciate it.
Your article was interesting and pleasing to the eye. It’s nice to have so many options on one site so if I see a book I would like I can just click and purchase it. I read A Long Walk to Water and really enjoyed it. Thanks for the article! Katherine
Thank you Katherine, I appreciate your kind words.
I love these suggestions! My oldest is about to turn 11, but he reads like a teenager. I find it hard to monitor what books he reads simply because he CAN read book that are written for older teens/adults, but the question then becomes ‘should’ he read them. Sometimes it’s hard to know what is age appropriate, especially if I haven’t read it myself.
These are some great suggestions and some I’m gong to put on my list! I think he’ll enjoy most of these, especially The Outsiders, The Giver, and Battlefield (which I had never heard of before now).
But I think I’ll make it mandatory to read the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Such a good suggestion!
Thanks!
I know the feeling, my kids were such good readers, they could read pretty much any book, but like you said, is it age appropriate. I read a lot of books and if I think they will enjoy them, I suggest they read it to. It’s really fun to read the same books! Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it.
Thanks for the post and list of books attached. Honestly, I have not read any of them but assume that they are good. My daughter is 15. She is addicted to movies and books like Twilight and such. She is crazy about it! I will forward your list to her. I hope she will find other series that she enjoys. There are so many good ones out there, but she tends to stick to the same genre. Thanks for sharing your list.
Thank you very much. I agree, it’s time she explores some different genres. There are so many fantastic books out there, hopefully she will find another series she likes.
Hi Kris
I am still an avid reader at age 63, though not all I read is fiction now. In the past I have recommended books to friends/family, but always got strange results.
Quite often they couldn’t see why I loved the book. My conclusion from then, and is still my opinion now, is that different books ‘speak’ to different people. Our loves can not always be experienced by others, it is a very personal journey.
Getting any teenager to read a book is great, I used to read science fiction in my teen years.
Cheers
I agree with you, different books speak to different people. My husband and I will read a book, he loves it, I don’t, or vice versa. Thank you for your comment, I really appreciate your time.
I loved reading your list here! I don’t see any teens reading anything on paper anymore! I must admit I don’t get around to reading books much myself anymore! It is terrible!
I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on. Where I lived in a remote part of Alaska, we had to get library books flown in on the mail plane. I could order specific books or tell the librarians the type of books I liked and they would pack up a whole box and send them out. It was great! All for free.
Later when we lived in town I loved going to libraries and book stores. I could happily stay there all day.
I think it is very important to find books teens are interested in now. I don’t have a teenager but I hope to adopt an older child someday and I will be needing to address this too.
Thanks,
Jessica
Wow, that is not something I hear every day, having books flown in! That sounds like a great memory from your youth, and something you will remember forever. Thank you so much for your comment, I really appreciate your time.
I am glad that you are encouraging your children to read books. Seeing a teenager with a book in hand is indeed a rare site. Books can enrich a child so much and your recommendations seem to be really good choices. One book that I thought original was a bad choice on your list is Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard. With all the controversy going on right now about Scientology but it is good to get different views on things and make your own decisions. That is why reading is so good.
Thank you for your comment. You are exactly right, you may not agree with every selection, but you have choices. Thanks again for your time.
Hi there,
Many thanks for posting such a great and interesting post. I have not seen many articles or posts promoting books to read and which are the best for the dufferent age groups.
The book still has a place in every home, despite our world today, being over run with digital technology.
I remember long ago when we were small, our parents insisted that we all join the local library and read one book at least once a month.
I suspect that JK Rowling has brought the fun, interest and excitement back into reading with her Harry Potter series and as a result the interest in reading books has been heightened considerably.
Best wishes and continued success
Cheers PB
Thank you for your comment. I agree with your Harry Potter assessment. My kids have read the series multiple time and so have I. I haven’t quite got my husband there yet! Thanks again for your time.
What a fun list! I remember loving reading only when I would start a good book. I saw the giver on your list which is a great book too. I’m definitely going to check out your other lists, including how to teach your child to read. I just wrote a blog post on what we are starting doing with my oldest so I’d love to see your recommendations.
Great, I am glad you enjoyed this post. Thank your for your comment, I really appreciate it.
Love The Outsiders! Read it when I was in Grade 8 for the first time and I’d still rank it as my favourite book of all time. My daughters in grade 1 right now, but loves to read, it’s her favourite hobby by far (she already reads at a 7th Grade level) so my fingers are tightly crossed that it’s a hobby that continues throughout her life. Such an opportunity for imagination, learning, and growth.
That’s great, thank you. I appreciate your comment, thanks for your time.