For all the teens out there who love to read, here’s a list of books you should definitely check out. For any of the not-teens out there who love to read, you should also check out these books because a good book is a good book.
1. "Thirsty" by M.T. Anderson
Sure, you could call Chris normal. If he wasn’t turning into a vampire. WAIT DON’T SCROLL DOWN!! This is not your average vampire book. It’s funny and witty and it’s got a few plot twists that you really won’t see coming. It’s full of terror, teen angst, and is more than a little satirical.
2. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
You probably were required to read this for school at some point, but if you haven’t you should definitely read it on your own time. Lee’s main character, Scout, is a 6-year-old girl growing up in Alabama in the 1930s. The story itself is brutally honest and manages to tell a complex adult story, with racism at the epicenter, from a child’s point of view. It is thrilling and touching, full of mystery and childlike wonderment, but it also does a great job at summing up an era in American history in a completely honest way.
3. "The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To" by DC Pierson
Darren Brown and Eric Lederer have so much in common it’s no surprise they become inseparable the moment they meet in high school. At first Darren thinks Eric is a normal kid until he finds out Eric couldn’t sleep, in fact, he’s never had to. It’s a secret kept for a good reason because when it gets out they’re both on the run. But Eric can do more than just not sleep. And the government want to do more than study him. It’s smart and funny and original and heartbreakingly honest.
4. "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton
This is a classic coming of age story. But it’s not about normal kids in normal high schools. It’s not about football players or prom queens (not that there’s anything wrong with any of those things), it’s about Ponyboy. Ponyboy lives in a world very separate from one with prom queens and jocks. He’s an orphaned gang member but in no way alone or friendless. It’s a story of heroes and friendship and belonging. Even if you don’t read it, remember Stay Gold.
5. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne
This is a story about a German boy called Bruno who has to move to Auschwitz because his father works for the German government. There Bruno meets the boy on the other side of the fence, the boy in the striped pajamas. This is a story about fences and something that happened to millions during World War II.
6. "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling
Ok, so if you haven’t joined the Harry Potter fandom you may be a little late to the party, but better late than never. Also, the series is not just for children, it’s for people of any age kids, teens, or adults. One of the things that makes this seven book series so appealing is that even though Harry Potter faces more than the average teen normally does he is just that, an average teen. He has to deal with bullies, bias teachers, grades, friends, girlfriend, and school sports. He’s even relatable when fighting Voldemort. There are honestly not enough words in the English language to describe how great this book series is, so let’s continue before this gets to be too long.
7. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
Charlie’s best friend committed suicide and now he has to face high school alone. There he meets Sam and Patrick, step-siblings and best friends. They invite Charlie, the introverted wallflower, into their friend group and show him a world of drinking, sex, and, of course, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. All of this Charlie writes to an anonymous stranger in a number of letters. This is truly a beautiful story with Charlie at the center of it all.
8. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
This story follows the story of one Arnold Spirit, or 'Junior', who is a Native American teenager living on the Spokane Indian Reservation. The story really gets going when Junior decides to attend an all-white public high school off the reservation. It’s written as a diary and has several illustrations as well. It’s a story about culture, courage, and resilience.
9. "Every Day" by David Leviathan
"Every Day" is about a person who calls themselves A. A wakes up as someone new every day. Seriously, A wakes up as a person who already exists and finds out how they live their life and how they interact with the people around them for a day then A goes to sleep and wakes up in someone else’s body. A is super nice, too—they never try to alter whoever’s life they’re inhabiting that day. That is until they meet Rhiannon. The sequel "Another Day" is from Rhiannon’s point of view.
10. John Green
Yes, yes, John Green is an author and this is a recommendation for all his books. So far he has written Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and The Fault in our Stars. While John Green’s voice is strong is each of these they are also so unique in their own way. They will all make you laugh out loud and a few may make you actually cry. If you like David Leviathan’s writing then you should know that he wrote “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” with John Green. John Green also wrote “Let it Snow” with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. If you’re a fan of John Green then be sure to check out his YouTube channel that he does with his brother Hank Green called Vlogbrothers and join the Nerdfighter family. You won’t be disappointed.
11. "Rapture Practice" by Aaron Hartzler
This is actually a memoir of Aaron’s life growing up in a very strict, very religious family. Aaron is not allowed to go to the movie theater and he grew up believing that everything in the Bible is true. Everything. But when he becomes a teenager he starts to become more materialistic and more of… a teenager. He starts sneaking out, he starts drinking. He also starts wondering if there really isn’t a girl of his dreams out there. But maybe a boy? One of the nice things about his book is that it’s not only about Aaron’s sexuality, it’s more about how that fits into his faith as a Christian. And for Aaron, his sexuality can coexist with his faith.
12. "The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green" by Joshua Braff
Much like Aaron Hartzler Jacob Green’s family is very religious. Only they’re Jewish. Jacob feels trapped by his father, an active member in their synagogue, as he’s forced to go to Hebrew school and write the perfect thank you notes. Jacob envies his older brother who managed to break free from it all. Jacob wants to break free too. But that would be unthinkable. This is a story about how to define yourself when you’ve spent your whole life being defined by your family.
13. "The Book Thief" by Mark Zusak
The year is 1939, in Nazi Germany and Death has never been busier. But even so, Death takes an interest in a young living girl called Liesel Meminger, a young orphaned girl whose adoptive father teaches her how to read with a book Liesel stole from her mother’s graveside. It’s a book about grave digging, but Liesel doesn’t care and falls madly in love with reading and so she becomes the book thief.
14. "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
This is about 15-year-old Craig Gilner and his star at a psychiatric hospital. The story is actually inspired by Ned Vizzini’s experience in a similar facility. It’s an honest story about a stressed and depressed young boy who is about to commit suicide when he calls a suicide hotline instead. While at the mental hospital Craig learns how to live a healthy life again. Even if you’ve never spent time in a psychiatric hospital or have never been diagnosed with depression the characters in this story are very real and relatable.
15. "The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater
Every November on the island of Thisby riders take their wild and vicious horses from the sea and race them in the Scorpio Races. It’s fast, it’s dangerous, and it’s deadly. Even though Puck doesn’t have a horse born of rage and sea water, she’s still going to try to win. Even if it kills her. You really don’t have to love horses to love this story.
16. "I Am the Messenger" by Mark Zusak
The story starts when Ed Kennedy receives an ace in the male. Now he is the messenger. For the rest of the story, Ed tries to figure out how he can help those the cards lead him. And leaves him trying to figure out who’s putting him up to this.
17. "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Anne Frank was a normal girl. Even while she was in hiding with her family, living in an attic to escape the Nazi rein, she tried to do her hair like the stars of the time did, she had a crush, and she had a diary where she wrote it all down. Anne’s diary is more relatable than some other holocaust stories and bring home the fact that the deaths in concentration camps were more than just numbers they were real people.
18. "Across the Universe" by Beth Revis
First of all, no, this does not have anything to do with the Beatles. The title is to be taken quite seriously—the story is about people traveling across the universe in a spaceship. Even if you’re not crazy about the Sci-Fi genre you might still like this, it’s got a pretty compelling mystery story that is carried throughout all three books, and all the characters are really relatable.
19. "Night" by Elie Wiesel
Elie was a teenager when he and his family were forces to leave Transylvania in 1944. They were sent to Auschwitz and later to Buchenwald. All of this actually happened. All of this was real. Nothing has been embellished or changed. Elie Wiesel was a holocaust survivor. He wrote that he could never forget what happened to him, what he saw and you won’t forget what you read.
20. "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
Hannah Baker committed suicide and left behind a few cassette tapes listing the reasons why. There are thirteen reasons. She set a plan into play that will send the tapes to thirteen people who are each a reason. Clay Jensen has received the tapes because he’s one of her reasons.
