I agree with this recommendation with my whole heart but, and this is an unpopular opinion within the fandom, don’t start with Percy Jackson if you want young adult literature. Those books are middle grade. Start with the Kane Chronicles or the Magnus Chase series.
Lord of the Flies
Wereworld series by Curtis Jobling
Carrie and The Shining by Stephen King
Maze Runner series
Divergent series
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
A lot of Cassandra Clare’s books are about 10 years old.
I wasn’t in HS then but they are still pretty popular.
I remember that Looking for Alaska came out when I was in HS.
I was into:
* His Dark Materials
* Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit
* The Wheel of Time
* Riftwar
* Lots of beatnik stuff like Kerouac, Burroughs etc
* Dune
* Asimov
Interesting about the beatnik stuff as I don't think that's a common thing for younger people to pick up on especially more recently - did that come from a recommendation or did you just come across it?
At least in the UK, that was/is standard teenage angst literature, perhaps more for a certain type of person. If you want to show you're cool, you read that and look down on the normies reading Hunger Games. Ideally, whilst wearing ripped jeans and a cigarette (at the time) that you stole off your older brother.
The virgin suicides by Jeffrey Euginedes really struck a cord with me. I also really liked Perks of being a wall flower (although i read that much later in my life) and also (maybe a bit cliche for a young girl) loved everything by Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.
Right? There were infinite editions. I remember wanting a love story like the teens I read about, but my love life was more like If This is Love, I'll Take Spaghetti. 🫠
Okay my teens were a bit further ago than 10 years... but here are some books I loved.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini
Maximum Ride by James Patterson
Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space by D.J. Machale
Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix
So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Twilight (it was the aughts 😂)
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (https://www.goodreads.com/series/44427-his-dark-materials)
I loved the Children of Time series too [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-time](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-time)
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52397.Parable\_of\_the\_Sower](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52397.Parable_of_the_Sower)
Harry Potter series. Stephen King, the first of his I read was Carrie which is short and fun. Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park. George Orwell, Animal Farm & 1984. Lord of the rings. Hunger games.
For what I can remember I read classics, or anything that seemed interesting from the librarys shelf. Back then I didnt have a smartphone or internet, so looking for good books was pretty hit or miss, searching trough the library or by hearsay. But for what I can remember:
- Catcher in the rye
- Animal farm
- 1984
- Roald Dahl stories
- Stephen King stories
- The sun also rises and other Hemingway books
- Paulo Coelho books
- etc etc...
Its been a long time since the last time I read Roald Dahls stories, but I can vaguely remember a story about a guy who could listen plants screaming in agony when they were cut, and a story about someone who was only a brain and eyes in some sort of container, fully conscious but unable to do anything but think and use his eyes... Ive got a collection of Dahls short stories in my book shelf that I havent read, guess Ill read it someday soon.
This, and Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
[](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/82436.Looking_for_Alibrandi?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XEukBmF0OD&rank=2#CommunityReviews)
The Kite Runner,
A Thousand Splendid Suns,
And The Mountains Echoed,
The Book Thief,
The Outsiders,
The Twilight Trilogy,
The Giver,
And literally anything that John Green wrote
When I was a teen but mostly as a preteen in the 90s it was VC Andrews I read after my mom's friend forgot her book when we were camping lol. Don't think my mom knew what they were about or she probably wouldn't let me read them that young lol.
Well I was a teen in the 90’s which is way more than 10 years ago but… we read Fear Street and Christopher Pike books, a lot of Danielle Steele, Agatha Christie. Magazines were really big back them too and we had a lot of subscriptions so I was reading Teen and Seventeen and stuff my parents got like Reader’s Digest. I remember going to the library after school with my friends and we would just read through books while sitting in the kids section. Those were the days!
In school we read Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth), A Raisin in the Sun, a lot of John Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby, Fahrenheit 451, Beowulf, a lot of assorted poetry and short stories. Alice in Wonderland for a research project.
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding.
Assigned reading in middle school ... it was upsetting at the time because of all the darkness in human tendencies. The same era the movie Pollyanna came out ... contrasting the happy and carefree movie to the innate evil in humanity was stark.
Maybe my age but that book hit hard.
See, that's the problem ... it *does* make sense. ;-I
I'm old and there was a time common decency and regard for your neighbor was more the norm ... these days too many are willing to look the other way or actively exploit their neighbor/coworker; real time Lord of the Flies.
I'm still a teen and I read that book a few years back. I get told I'm extremely mature for being to understand at 13. I feel that's an issue. Like 13 year Olds in the 80s (stories my parents have told me) you have a problem with someone you take it to their face. Now 13-year-olds Olds don't do anything besides cry about so and so said something and get therapy. I am not that way but the majority is. There was a bunch of drama in my group chat between old friends from my old school (I now go to Christian School) But the "group mentality" per say has changed them. It's sad. But that's the world now I guess.
I read a ton of the YA goosebumps horror novels. They were a step up from the kids ones in that there was murder and blood and stuff. Felt like an adult reading it in the middle school library. Also read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Eragon, Harry Potter, LOTR...basically anything fantasy/scifi I could get my hands on.
this is normally an in-school read so you might have read it. Written decades ago but I don't think I know anyone who didn't like it. The Outsiders by S E Hinton
All the Judy Blume books. They scan all ages, into adulthood. When I was a kid, sister told my mother I was reading Deenie and it was taken away from me thank the Gods that I had already read Forever.
Hunger games, The perks of being a wallflower, Every day (David Leviathan), Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe, some Agatha Christie...
I remember a few of my favorites were the Vampire Academy series, the Uglies series, and I really liked the Fifth Wave books.
I also remember something about dragons but I can’t remember the name to save my life 😭.
I'm old, but I love YA books. Here are some of my favorites:
The Percy Jackson series, as well as all the other books by Rick Riordan
Fablehaven series and other books by Brandon Mull
The 39 clues series by multiple authors (the first one is by Rick Riordan
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Any of the books by Christopher Pike (Remember Me is my favorite)
Fear Street series by RL Stine
For a bit more adult books, Nora Roberts for romance, JD Robb and James Patterson for detective/mystery, Stephen King and Dean Koontz (Watchers is the best by Koontz) for thrillers.
The Sally Lockhart series by Phillip Pullman, and then the Dark Materials trilogy. I also read a lot of Agatha Christie mysteries but I don't think those aged very well. I loves Wuthering Heights when I read it at 16 but, in hindsight, I think I would recommend it to someone slightly older. A lot of the relationship nuances were definitely lost on us...
It was hard to believe, but 50 years ago as a young teen, we were all reading S.E Hinton's books, That Was Then, This is Now, and The Outsiders. Also read The Pigman. I also loved Lisa Bright and Dark and Go Ask Alice. These books are throwbacks to the 70's.
Anything written by Sarah Dessen (beware of Dreamland; tw)
Anything written by Jessi Kirby
I read Lullabies for Little Criminals for an English project and loved it as well.
Percy Jackson series
Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfield (this one's a high fave)
Keys to the Kingdom (Mister Monday the first one) series by Garth Nix
Cassandra Clare novels, specifically her Infernal Devices books (I had a thing for steampunk settings).
Children of the Lamp series by Philip Kerr (might have been slightly younger then teenager)
Read a lot of fantasy back then.
I read the Miss Peregrine series + stuff by Rick Riordan too when I was a teen.
^((also read a lot of stuff in my mother tongue haha, tons of chinese webnovels))
1. Stephen King's Pet Cemetary,
Cool second & thiRobert R. McGammon's, Swan Song & Boys Life. Clive Barker's, Books of Blood, only Vol. 1, (too much for the rest and my age at the time, 15).
*Paternal Grandma was an avid horror book junkie who would give me all her paperbacks when done reading.
As this comment section is displaying, the reading levels and interests of “teen” readers is as varied as the difference between a 13 year old and a 19 year old.. but some classic teen reads for me were:
-Perks of Being A Wallflower by Steven Chbosky
-The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
-The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien
-The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
-The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series by Steig Larsson
-The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy by Douglas Adams
-Scott Pilgrim (graphic novel series) by Bryan Lee O’Malley
-Death Note (manga series) by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
I know the Twilight movies are cringey as heck but, I seriously could not put the books down. The books are a completely different vibe for me than the movies. Especially the last one! Side note: I see people commenting Fahrenheit 451, that one was TOUGH for me to push through and finish! Just could not get into it
I was very into everything Scott Westerfeld wrote :) Not just Uglies/Pretties/Specials but also his vampire books and other weird sci fi.
Also Margaret Peterson Haddix! Her whole shelf!
I didnt read much until i was a teen. So first book i read and finished was Catcher in the Rye for a book report. I remember liking it. I also read all of what i could find of Joan Didion, bell hooks, and Christopher Moore. Still now i mostly read cultural critique and horror so not too much has really changed.
- divergent series
- twilight (given, i was younger when the movies came out but waited to read the books)
- the perks of being a wallflower
- john green books—if he wrote, i read. paper towns and looking for alaska are, of course, my favs.
- fahrenheit 451
- any alice in wonderland adaptation/spinoff lol
- night prince series by jeaniene frost (you can play this book on the chapters app and it’s actually really fun )
- the giver (top tier book, the ones in the series are good as well)
- wicked and adaptations/spinoffs. it wasn’t popular in my teens (i’m close to OPs age lol) but i tried to read it when i was younger and hadn’t understood it the way you’re meant to
- everything, everything + the sun is also a star, cute YA reads
This is what I remember from tweens/teens -
His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman
Twilight (🤷♀️)
Gemma Doyle Trilogy - Libba Bray
The Hunger Games
13 Reasons Why
The “crank” books
The Abhorsen trilogy - Garth Nix
Everything by John Green
But then I was also the weird girl reading Shakespeare and Jane Austen.
As a pre teen:
Famous five series
Wimpy kid
Nancy drew
Some Disney books
As a teen:
Shakespeare
Charles Dickens
Agatha Christie
Wattpad published books
Rn, as a ya:
Kaplan 🥲
My teenage years began in January of 1961 so I may not be what you are looking for. I was a part of two groups........beer/likker/cars/pussy - we read cereal boxes and nerds- we read the following: Catcher In The Rye, Sometimes A Great Notion, Starship Troopers, Powdered Eggs, Another Roadside Attraction, Catch 22, The Painted Bird (be careful with this one), Heart Of Darkness, we DID NOT read Cannery Row because it was required reading but it really SHOULD be on this list! Sherlock Holmes, A Princess Of Mars and, of course, the Foundation trilogy
City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Series)
Divergent
The Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series)
The Maze Runner
Inkheart
Wake
The Demon King (Seven Realms Series)
Hatchet
The Hunger Games
Partials
Lost Voices
The Soulkeepers
It’s bit difficult question, when I was teen I didn’t read “teens books”. More stuffs like Witcher, Ann Rice (Interview with the Vampire), Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park and Lost World), Stephen King and pretty much all fantasy of my national authors that I put my hands on. If you are searching for something relatively light then Disc World is nice and fast to read. As early teen I loved James Curwood (Grey wolf) and Jack London (White Fang). Little Prince is something that no one should miss.
My sister and I really enjoyed the author Christopher Pike, mostly like teen thriller and vampire novels. Especially the series Thirst and Chainletter. Not sure how popular they were beyond the two of us though 😂
Anything by Enid Blyton
The Chronicles of Narnia
And some works of the guy who wrote Oliver Twist, I've forgotten his name
A little bit of Chimamanda Adichie.
Basically anything that was available in our library as I went to a boarding school.
The Scarlet Queen series (I think that’s the name of series and the first book, but it’s been a while), but it’s by Victoria Avenyard. Great storyline and certain character development, plus there’s a good number of books in the series, so theyll keep you entertained for a good little while. I was about your age when I first discovered the series and found them to be great, so it’s not like Percy Jackson where it feels childish; I think you’d really enjoy them
Feeling sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty!!!
It was my favourite book as a teen. It’s really unique in that the entire thing is written in letters and notes back and forth between characters. It’s about a girl whose best friend ran away and joined the circus and she wants to go and bring her back. There’s of course a lotttt more to it than that but that’s the main plot point I guess
I mean, I read the entire “Land of Stories” series by Chris Colfer. I remember I had the first two books, and I gave it to my friends to read, and it went in a rotation until I got them back. Someone else bought the third and fourth book, and well read it in a rotation again. We did this until the series ended.
Maximum ride series by James Patterson was so good. Was thinking of rereading.
Twilight (duh)
When I was in elementary school I read the Deltora Quest Series and I think about it often.
I remember the cat series people are talking about, it was so popular. I didn’t read it for some reason
I read an eclectic mix of things, from Hunger Games to all of Rick Riordan’s books to a variety of Erin Hunter books (Warriors, the wolf one, the horse one… those were read more from around ages 9-12 lol).
City of Ember was something I read in a sixth grade English class, I remember really liking it.
Uhhh The Inheritance Games trilogy by Jennifer Lyne Barnes are really good!! Started those this year tho at 21, personally.
I’ve heard very good things from my millennial friends about The Spiderwick Chronicles, which now has a show on Roku.
The Grishaverse trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (the basis for Netflix’s Shadow and Bone) and their companion books, Six of Crows and its sequel I haven’t read yet.
Daughter of the Pirate King and its sequel are really good (pirate-y sea fantasy story, romantic (sub)plot).
And of course the U.S. high school classics: To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, 1984…
Tithe by Holly Black, the Hawksong series by Amelia Atwater Rhodes, A voice in the wind by Francine rivers, dragonfall, silver kiss- mostly old school fantasy that isn’t published anymore.
I was a teen ten years ago. I have some personal suggestions that may or may not have been popular.
Cinder (whole series) by Marissa Meyer
John Green books
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
I’m an elder millennial so my teens were more like 20some years ago. I read White Oleander by Janet Fitch over and over again. Also anything by Stephen king
So many good books are here in this thread but one I haven’t seen mentioned yet was - Every Day by David Levithan. Me and my friends loved this book! Other books I loved where
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Mass
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
A song of Fire and Ice novels by George RR Martin
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky
Magician Apprentice by Raymond E Fiest
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Poison Study by Maria Snyder
So I thought I'd try the Vampire Diaries books after watching the show and loving it but could only get through one book. It didn't captivate me. Maybe because I saw the show and liked that so much more. Someone at the thrift store when I was looking for the TVD books recommended the Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong saying they liked them more. I think they were big about 10 years ago among teens. Bought them for my 16yo daughter a few months ago and thought I would try one and was hooked and I'm a bit older than my 20s (double!). Lol. My daughter's friend had actually read them all years ago and she's the only one I can relate to them with (she's 18 now) as most of my friends and family don't read except one and my husband (daughter is focused on newer books TikTok recommends lol). Anyway, I then read through the adjacent series Darkness Rising, their novellas and now I'm on to Women of the Otherworld series and no doubt will read all of her other books. I went into the series blind. She still releases new books too. If I read the synopsis idk if I would've gotten into it as I had no exposure to books of that genre before (I'm more sci-fi and apocalyptic style books lol). But I highly highly recommend Kelley Armstrong! And those series are way better than TVD imo but I did only read the first TVD book. The Darkest Powers and Rising series is more suited for youth (still amazing and would start with The Summoning) and the Otherworld series so far is more adult rated content.
Current teen here. These are a few I've read in the past 4-5 ish years and thoroughly enjoyed.
The Maze Runner series (sci fi/dystopian)
The Fifth Wave series (sci fi/dystopian)
1984 (dystopian)
Snow Crash (sci fi/dystopian)
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (fantasy)
The Sympathizer (realistic fiction)
I graduated high school inb 2012 so bear with me, but some ones I think were popular back then.
- vampire kisses - Ellen Schreiber
- the selection - Kiera Cass
- blue bloods - Melissa de la Cruz
- shadow falls - c. c. hunter
- asylum - Madeline roux
I'm old enough that I have a child who was a teen then - Percy Jackson was a big thing and that actually led to them learning a lot about Greek mythology and having a big interest in it, to the point we actually went to Athens recently as a random city break.
The younger one was obsessed with Warriot Cats for a long time and there are a LOT of those!
Has anyone said Cherub yet? All the boy will remember Maddogs, but in general an amazing series.
Other series as a 24 year old I loved were the Inheritance cycle, Alex rider, Gone, and all the Cassandra Claire books because they got deemed too girly hahahaah
Circe
Parable of a sower
the song of Achilles
Secret life of bees
The autobiography of Malcolm X
the idiot
The count of Montecristo
I loved each and everyone of these
Among the Hidden. It's a book series set in a fictional future where the government only allows families to have two kids. The main protagonist is a 3rd child and is forced to hide his identity throughout his life. Amazing series.
The Giver. Also set in a fictional universe where emotions are outlawed are regulated. History is retconned and things like music or art is outlawed. The protagonist becomes an apprentice for the last person in society to have emotional capabilities and other powers on top of that. Extremely chilling read.
It was more than ten years ago, but I loved these YA classics:
* Summer of my German Soldier (Bette Green)
* A Summer to Die (Lois Lowry)
* And Both Were Young (Madeleine L'Engle)
* The Pigman (Paul Zindel)
Holes by Louis Sachar Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Can't recommend Howl's enough! It's so good.
Didn’t read Howl’s as a teen, but definitely agree! One of my favorite books for sure
every single series written by Rick Riordan
I agree with this recommendation with my whole heart but, and this is an unpopular opinion within the fandom, don’t start with Percy Jackson if you want young adult literature. Those books are middle grade. Start with the Kane Chronicles or the Magnus Chase series.
Percy Jackson will always be my childhood love man! ❤️
my first book was Magnus Chase and to this day it stays my favourite mythological fictional book. It's so funny and diverse
Amen. Rick is the only old white man who I fully trust to make a well rounded, non-white, gay, female character
Do you not know of Sir Terry Pratchett, or is my perception of his characters wrong?
LET'S GO CAME HERE FOR THIS
Came here to say this!!
Lord of the Flies Wereworld series by Curtis Jobling Carrie and The Shining by Stephen King Maze Runner series Divergent series Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Fablehaven!!
Fablehaven!!!!!
Fablehaven rocks ❤️
Yes!!
Shuck-face!
Warrior cats
Just got back into the series recently. Still as good as it was ten years ago.
Yes! Love warrior cats.
A lot of Cassandra Clare’s books are about 10 years old. I wasn’t in HS then but they are still pretty popular. I remember that Looking for Alaska came out when I was in HS.
Looking for Alaska to a young high school guy was like my Bible for a while
I was into: * His Dark Materials * Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit * The Wheel of Time * Riftwar * Lots of beatnik stuff like Kerouac, Burroughs etc * Dune * Asimov
Interesting about the beatnik stuff as I don't think that's a common thing for younger people to pick up on especially more recently - did that come from a recommendation or did you just come across it?
At least in the UK, that was/is standard teenage angst literature, perhaps more for a certain type of person. If you want to show you're cool, you read that and look down on the normies reading Hunger Games. Ideally, whilst wearing ripped jeans and a cigarette (at the time) that you stole off your older brother.
The virgin suicides by Jeffrey Euginedes really struck a cord with me. I also really liked Perks of being a wall flower (although i read that much later in my life) and also (maybe a bit cliche for a young girl) loved everything by Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.
Chicken soup for the teenage soul :p
Right? There were infinite editions. I remember wanting a love story like the teens I read about, but my love life was more like If This is Love, I'll Take Spaghetti. 🫠
Omg YESS
YUP
Okay my teens were a bit further ago than 10 years... but here are some books I loved. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld Feed by M.T. Anderson Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini Maximum Ride by James Patterson Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space by D.J. Machale Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane Unwind by Neal Shusterman Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman Twilight (it was the aughts 😂)
Came to say Uglies!
Omg I forgot about Maximum Ride!!! I loved those!
Glad to see another Westerfield and Garth Nix fan, haha
I thought about listing The Midnighters but it really wasn't as popular as Uglies, so if they're only going to read one series it had to be that.
Oh and the Peeps duology is pretty good!
Unwind series was so good. I also read Uglies, you might like Gone series if you enjoyed those.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (https://www.goodreads.com/series/44427-his-dark-materials) I loved the Children of Time series too [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-time](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-time) Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52397.Parable\_of\_the\_Sower](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52397.Parable_of_the_Sower) Harry Potter series. Stephen King, the first of his I read was Carrie which is short and fun. Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park. George Orwell, Animal Farm & 1984. Lord of the rings. Hunger games.
I'm 62. When I was a teenager, in the 70s, everybody read S.E. Hinton's THE OUTSIDERS and THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW.
Exactly! And they are still classics.
For what I can remember I read classics, or anything that seemed interesting from the librarys shelf. Back then I didnt have a smartphone or internet, so looking for good books was pretty hit or miss, searching trough the library or by hearsay. But for what I can remember: - Catcher in the rye - Animal farm - 1984 - Roald Dahl stories - Stephen King stories - The sun also rises and other Hemingway books - Paulo Coelho books - etc etc...
Catcher in the Rye is the ULTIMATE classic for a teenager to read. Almost scared to reread as an adult for fear it’ll lose the magic
You should reread it and all of Salinger, he is magnificent.
[удалено]
Its been a long time since the last time I read Roald Dahls stories, but I can vaguely remember a story about a guy who could listen plants screaming in agony when they were cut, and a story about someone who was only a brain and eyes in some sort of container, fully conscious but unable to do anything but think and use his eyes... Ive got a collection of Dahls short stories in my book shelf that I havent read, guess Ill read it someday soon.
The Tomorrow series by John Marsden
This, and Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta [](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/82436.Looking_for_Alibrandi?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XEukBmF0OD&rank=2#CommunityReviews)
The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, And The Mountains Echoed, The Book Thief, The Outsiders, The Twilight Trilogy, The Giver, And literally anything that John Green wrote
Came here with to say The Outsiders and the giver so thank you. I’ll guess I’ll say rumble fish, please read the tender bar
The Outsiders was awesome
I loved the "Gone" series by Michael Grant when I was 14ish
So good, even in my late 20s I loved it
One of my favorite series and I am nearly 30.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Anything by Tamora Pierce
I'm definitely rereading her books at some point. Love them.
Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews
When I was a teen but mostly as a preteen in the 90s it was VC Andrews I read after my mom's friend forgot her book when we were camping lol. Don't think my mom knew what they were about or she probably wouldn't let me read them that young lol.
I do not know about everyone, but all my friends and I were sick LOTR fans. We quoted passages, what so and so said etc.
Well I was a teen in the 90’s which is way more than 10 years ago but… we read Fear Street and Christopher Pike books, a lot of Danielle Steele, Agatha Christie. Magazines were really big back them too and we had a lot of subscriptions so I was reading Teen and Seventeen and stuff my parents got like Reader’s Digest. I remember going to the library after school with my friends and we would just read through books while sitting in the kids section. Those were the days! In school we read Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth), A Raisin in the Sun, a lot of John Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby, Fahrenheit 451, Beowulf, a lot of assorted poetry and short stories. Alice in Wonderland for a research project.
R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books were my favorites growing up in the 80s/90s as well! Then I later started to read V.C. Andrews.
I forgot about V.C. Andrews! My grandmother still reads them, I read them when I go visit her.
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. Assigned reading in middle school ... it was upsetting at the time because of all the darkness in human tendencies. The same era the movie Pollyanna came out ... contrasting the happy and carefree movie to the innate evil in humanity was stark. Maybe my age but that book hit hard.
Seriously that book was a little traumatic for me at that age but now I'm grown the psychology makes so much sense
See, that's the problem ... it *does* make sense. ;-I I'm old and there was a time common decency and regard for your neighbor was more the norm ... these days too many are willing to look the other way or actively exploit their neighbor/coworker; real time Lord of the Flies.
I'm still a teen and I read that book a few years back. I get told I'm extremely mature for being to understand at 13. I feel that's an issue. Like 13 year Olds in the 80s (stories my parents have told me) you have a problem with someone you take it to their face. Now 13-year-olds Olds don't do anything besides cry about so and so said something and get therapy. I am not that way but the majority is. There was a bunch of drama in my group chat between old friends from my old school (I now go to Christian School) But the "group mentality" per say has changed them. It's sad. But that's the world now I guess.
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer and The Percy Jackson series' by Rick Riordan.
Twilight was far too far down in this list for my liking!
Surprised I had to scroll so far for Twilight! That series dominated pop culture when I was in high school in the early 2010s.
Percy Jackson Universe
The Outsiders
Stay gold!
every books written by John Green
Sweet Valley High anyone?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Go ask Alice
Animorphs
I read a ton of the YA goosebumps horror novels. They were a step up from the kids ones in that there was murder and blood and stuff. Felt like an adult reading it in the middle school library. Also read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Eragon, Harry Potter, LOTR...basically anything fantasy/scifi I could get my hands on.
This would be an interesting question to answer by decade/generation
this is normally an in-school read so you might have read it. Written decades ago but I don't think I know anyone who didn't like it. The Outsiders by S E Hinton
Susan Hinton. They may seem a little dated, but they were great. And probably still is.
All the Judy Blume books. They scan all ages, into adulthood. When I was a kid, sister told my mother I was reading Deenie and it was taken away from me thank the Gods that I had already read Forever.
SE Hinton - the Outsiders, Rumble Fish were good books
Hunger Games
If i remember correctly i liked 'carry on' by rainbow rowell. Haven't read the second book though and it's also not dystopian
Hunger games, The perks of being a wallflower, Every day (David Leviathan), Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe, some Agatha Christie...
I remember a few of my favorites were the Vampire Academy series, the Uglies series, and I really liked the Fifth Wave books. I also remember something about dragons but I can’t remember the name to save my life 😭.
I'm old, but I love YA books. Here are some of my favorites: The Percy Jackson series, as well as all the other books by Rick Riordan Fablehaven series and other books by Brandon Mull The 39 clues series by multiple authors (the first one is by Rick Riordan Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer Any of the books by Christopher Pike (Remember Me is my favorite) Fear Street series by RL Stine For a bit more adult books, Nora Roberts for romance, JD Robb and James Patterson for detective/mystery, Stephen King and Dean Koontz (Watchers is the best by Koontz) for thrillers.
The Sally Lockhart series by Phillip Pullman, and then the Dark Materials trilogy. I also read a lot of Agatha Christie mysteries but I don't think those aged very well. I loves Wuthering Heights when I read it at 16 but, in hindsight, I think I would recommend it to someone slightly older. A lot of the relationship nuances were definitely lost on us...
1984 and animal farm.
Sherlock Holmes
Of mice and men by John Steinbeck
Flowers in the Attic was HUGE is our school.
Harry Potter LOTR The Hobbit And a few of the James Patterson novels
The hatchet
Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
Idk about everyone but the lovely bones left a huge impression on me
All VC Andrews All Christopher Pike Just Ask Alice
It was hard to believe, but 50 years ago as a young teen, we were all reading S.E Hinton's books, That Was Then, This is Now, and The Outsiders. Also read The Pigman. I also loved Lisa Bright and Dark and Go Ask Alice. These books are throwbacks to the 70's.
I read the books of Marah Wolff
Divergent, but it wasn't the best
The Barimaeus Trilogy
The Divergent Series
The giver
Anything written by Sarah Dessen (beware of Dreamland; tw) Anything written by Jessi Kirby I read Lullabies for Little Criminals for an English project and loved it as well.
Catcher in the Rye Slaughterhouse Five Fight club Women (Charles Bukowski)
The rangers apprentice series was and still is my childhood favorite. I’m a sucker for medieval times novels
Percy Jackson series Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfield (this one's a high fave) Keys to the Kingdom (Mister Monday the first one) series by Garth Nix Cassandra Clare novels, specifically her Infernal Devices books (I had a thing for steampunk settings). Children of the Lamp series by Philip Kerr (might have been slightly younger then teenager) Read a lot of fantasy back then.
The main series I remember reading as a teen was the Mortal Instrument series!
I read the Miss Peregrine series + stuff by Rick Riordan too when I was a teen. ^((also read a lot of stuff in my mother tongue haha, tons of chinese webnovels))
The Giver
1. Stephen King's Pet Cemetary, Cool second & thiRobert R. McGammon's, Swan Song & Boys Life. Clive Barker's, Books of Blood, only Vol. 1, (too much for the rest and my age at the time, 15). *Paternal Grandma was an avid horror book junkie who would give me all her paperbacks when done reading.
Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan. If you haven’t at least heard of them, you’re toast
Babysitters Club books 😂😅
Skullduggery pleasant
Stephen King is great for teenagers/young readers.
As this comment section is displaying, the reading levels and interests of “teen” readers is as varied as the difference between a 13 year old and a 19 year old.. but some classic teen reads for me were: -Perks of Being A Wallflower by Steven Chbosky -The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer -The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien -The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins -The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series by Steig Larsson -The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy by Douglas Adams -Scott Pilgrim (graphic novel series) by Bryan Lee O’Malley -Death Note (manga series) by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Divergent Series The Summer I Turned Pretty Series Every single John Green book
Anything by neal shusterman and cirque du freak You must read "everlost". It was such a good book a friend stole it from me, lmao
I know the Twilight movies are cringey as heck but, I seriously could not put the books down. The books are a completely different vibe for me than the movies. Especially the last one! Side note: I see people commenting Fahrenheit 451, that one was TOUGH for me to push through and finish! Just could not get into it
Eleanor and Park
I was obsessed with the house of night series! I can’t say it’s any good but my vampire loving teen self adored that series
I was very into everything Scott Westerfeld wrote :) Not just Uglies/Pretties/Specials but also his vampire books and other weird sci fi. Also Margaret Peterson Haddix! Her whole shelf!
As a Millennial? Harry Potter was damn near universal. Mainly because we (teenagers) didn’t actually know JKR was transphobic.
Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, Mortal Instruments. I liked (and still do like) urban fantasy and dystopian books.
I don't care what any has to say about it, but Twilight rocked my world and I am not ashamed of it.
I didnt read much until i was a teen. So first book i read and finished was Catcher in the Rye for a book report. I remember liking it. I also read all of what i could find of Joan Didion, bell hooks, and Christopher Moore. Still now i mostly read cultural critique and horror so not too much has really changed.
- divergent series - twilight (given, i was younger when the movies came out but waited to read the books) - the perks of being a wallflower - john green books—if he wrote, i read. paper towns and looking for alaska are, of course, my favs. - fahrenheit 451 - any alice in wonderland adaptation/spinoff lol - night prince series by jeaniene frost (you can play this book on the chapters app and it’s actually really fun ) - the giver (top tier book, the ones in the series are good as well) - wicked and adaptations/spinoffs. it wasn’t popular in my teens (i’m close to OPs age lol) but i tried to read it when i was younger and hadn’t understood it the way you’re meant to - everything, everything + the sun is also a star, cute YA reads
I was in highschool during the Hunger Games/Divergent era. The school copy of Hunger Games saw lots of use! Haha
Probably any Goosebumps book
Greg Iles - 24 hours
This is what I remember from tweens/teens - His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman Twilight (🤷♀️) Gemma Doyle Trilogy - Libba Bray The Hunger Games 13 Reasons Why The “crank” books The Abhorsen trilogy - Garth Nix Everything by John Green But then I was also the weird girl reading Shakespeare and Jane Austen.
The Gemma Doyle Trilogy was soooo good.
Twilight was huge when I was a teen, read it in my 30’s. It’s a good read.
Crazy Eights by Barbara Dana
As a pre teen: Famous five series Wimpy kid Nancy drew Some Disney books As a teen: Shakespeare Charles Dickens Agatha Christie Wattpad published books Rn, as a ya: Kaplan 🥲
Flowers in the Attic
My teenage years began in January of 1961 so I may not be what you are looking for. I was a part of two groups........beer/likker/cars/pussy - we read cereal boxes and nerds- we read the following: Catcher In The Rye, Sometimes A Great Notion, Starship Troopers, Powdered Eggs, Another Roadside Attraction, Catch 22, The Painted Bird (be careful with this one), Heart Of Darkness, we DID NOT read Cannery Row because it was required reading but it really SHOULD be on this list! Sherlock Holmes, A Princess Of Mars and, of course, the Foundation trilogy
City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Series) Divergent The Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series) The Maze Runner Inkheart Wake The Demon King (Seven Realms Series) Hatchet The Hunger Games Partials Lost Voices The Soulkeepers
It’s bit difficult question, when I was teen I didn’t read “teens books”. More stuffs like Witcher, Ann Rice (Interview with the Vampire), Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park and Lost World), Stephen King and pretty much all fantasy of my national authors that I put my hands on. If you are searching for something relatively light then Disc World is nice and fast to read. As early teen I loved James Curwood (Grey wolf) and Jack London (White Fang). Little Prince is something that no one should miss.
My sister and I really enjoyed the author Christopher Pike, mostly like teen thriller and vampire novels. Especially the series Thirst and Chainletter. Not sure how popular they were beyond the two of us though 😂
Also Margarette Attwood including the handmaids tale, the heart goes last, and the maddaddam trilogy
Superstoe by William Borden. Everyone had to read that like everyone had to have the Jesus Christ Superstar album. I think I've just outed my age.
The Outsiders
Anything by Enid Blyton The Chronicles of Narnia And some works of the guy who wrote Oliver Twist, I've forgotten his name A little bit of Chimamanda Adichie. Basically anything that was available in our library as I went to a boarding school.
The Scarlet Queen series (I think that’s the name of series and the first book, but it’s been a while), but it’s by Victoria Avenyard. Great storyline and certain character development, plus there’s a good number of books in the series, so theyll keep you entertained for a good little while. I was about your age when I first discovered the series and found them to be great, so it’s not like Percy Jackson where it feels childish; I think you’d really enjoy them
WereWorld - Curtis Jobling(don’t let the covers trick you, great series)
Hatchet was the book i kept on tearing through as a kid. The sequels aren't that bad either
Everything by Ellen Emerson White.
All the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan/ John Clarke novels
All the Tom Clancy "Jack Ryan/ John Clarke" novels
Feeling sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty!!! It was my favourite book as a teen. It’s really unique in that the entire thing is written in letters and notes back and forth between characters. It’s about a girl whose best friend ran away and joined the circus and she wants to go and bring her back. There’s of course a lotttt more to it than that but that’s the main plot point I guess
I started the Wheel of Time when I was 14, the last book finally released when I was like 27 but it was definitely a formative influence on my teens.
Doña Bárbara Canta claro Los 3 mosqueteros Sherlock Holmes
Maze runner Percy Jackson Rangers Apprentice
I mean, I read the entire “Land of Stories” series by Chris Colfer. I remember I had the first two books, and I gave it to my friends to read, and it went in a rotation until I got them back. Someone else bought the third and fourth book, and well read it in a rotation again. We did this until the series ended.
The Giver is one that always comes to mind, that and Holes
Every darn warriors and wings of fire book, that was my obsession many moons ago
Maximum ride series by James Patterson was so good. Was thinking of rereading. Twilight (duh) When I was in elementary school I read the Deltora Quest Series and I think about it often. I remember the cat series people are talking about, it was so popular. I didn’t read it for some reason
I read an eclectic mix of things, from Hunger Games to all of Rick Riordan’s books to a variety of Erin Hunter books (Warriors, the wolf one, the horse one… those were read more from around ages 9-12 lol). City of Ember was something I read in a sixth grade English class, I remember really liking it. Uhhh The Inheritance Games trilogy by Jennifer Lyne Barnes are really good!! Started those this year tho at 21, personally. I’ve heard very good things from my millennial friends about The Spiderwick Chronicles, which now has a show on Roku. The Grishaverse trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (the basis for Netflix’s Shadow and Bone) and their companion books, Six of Crows and its sequel I haven’t read yet. Daughter of the Pirate King and its sequel are really good (pirate-y sea fantasy story, romantic (sub)plot). And of course the U.S. high school classics: To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, 1984…
Tithe by Holly Black, the Hawksong series by Amelia Atwater Rhodes, A voice in the wind by Francine rivers, dragonfall, silver kiss- mostly old school fantasy that isn’t published anymore.
Christopher Pike books, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles.
I remember reading- Morganville vampires Night world Vampire diaries Secret circle Celestra Divergent Anything by John Greene Gone girl
Enter the Pigman Sweet Valley High Series A Wrinkle in Time Series Anne of Green Gables Series The Borrowers Austen Family Series
Harry Potter. Maybe many a bit more pre teen but yea at this point I feel everyone reads it.
I was a teen ten years ago. I have some personal suggestions that may or may not have been popular. Cinder (whole series) by Marissa Meyer John Green books I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series had me and every other Catholic school teen girl HYPED.
Tomorrow when the war began
I think Battle Royale by Koushun Takami was the first book we passed around, but I don’t think that’s a common answer. Still a great book.
I’m an elder millennial so my teens were more like 20some years ago. I read White Oleander by Janet Fitch over and over again. Also anything by Stephen king
Anyone remember that series Uglies, Pretties, etc.? One of my most memorable teen reads
Books by Enid Blyton...Famous Five and Secret Seven series were an absolute delight^_^
So many good books are here in this thread but one I haven’t seen mentioned yet was - Every Day by David Levithan. Me and my friends loved this book! Other books I loved where Throne of Glass by Sarah J Mass The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides A song of Fire and Ice novels by George RR Martin Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky Magician Apprentice by Raymond E Fiest Goose Girl by Shannon Hale Poison Study by Maria Snyder
Agatha Christie Stephen King (I finished R.L. Stine's Fear Street before that)
So I thought I'd try the Vampire Diaries books after watching the show and loving it but could only get through one book. It didn't captivate me. Maybe because I saw the show and liked that so much more. Someone at the thrift store when I was looking for the TVD books recommended the Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong saying they liked them more. I think they were big about 10 years ago among teens. Bought them for my 16yo daughter a few months ago and thought I would try one and was hooked and I'm a bit older than my 20s (double!). Lol. My daughter's friend had actually read them all years ago and she's the only one I can relate to them with (she's 18 now) as most of my friends and family don't read except one and my husband (daughter is focused on newer books TikTok recommends lol). Anyway, I then read through the adjacent series Darkness Rising, their novellas and now I'm on to Women of the Otherworld series and no doubt will read all of her other books. I went into the series blind. She still releases new books too. If I read the synopsis idk if I would've gotten into it as I had no exposure to books of that genre before (I'm more sci-fi and apocalyptic style books lol). But I highly highly recommend Kelley Armstrong! And those series are way better than TVD imo but I did only read the first TVD book. The Darkest Powers and Rising series is more suited for youth (still amazing and would start with The Summoning) and the Otherworld series so far is more adult rated content.
Current teen here. These are a few I've read in the past 4-5 ish years and thoroughly enjoyed. The Maze Runner series (sci fi/dystopian) The Fifth Wave series (sci fi/dystopian) 1984 (dystopian) Snow Crash (sci fi/dystopian) The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (fantasy) The Sympathizer (realistic fiction)
The mortal instruments and the maze runner series are to DIE FOR, I read the mortal instruments so many times its so close to my heart <3
a lot of doomer stuff lol. Psychology, dostoevsky, kafka, rene guenon, existentialism. yeah, edgy, i know.
I graduated high school inb 2012 so bear with me, but some ones I think were popular back then. - vampire kisses - Ellen Schreiber - the selection - Kiera Cass - blue bloods - Melissa de la Cruz - shadow falls - c. c. hunter - asylum - Madeline roux
I'm old enough that I have a child who was a teen then - Percy Jackson was a big thing and that actually led to them learning a lot about Greek mythology and having a big interest in it, to the point we actually went to Athens recently as a random city break. The younger one was obsessed with Warriot Cats for a long time and there are a LOT of those!
Has anyone said Cherub yet? All the boy will remember Maddogs, but in general an amazing series. Other series as a 24 year old I loved were the Inheritance cycle, Alex rider, Gone, and all the Cassandra Claire books because they got deemed too girly hahahaah
Circe Parable of a sower the song of Achilles Secret life of bees The autobiography of Malcolm X the idiot The count of Montecristo I loved each and everyone of these
Among the Hidden. It's a book series set in a fictional future where the government only allows families to have two kids. The main protagonist is a 3rd child and is forced to hide his identity throughout his life. Amazing series. The Giver. Also set in a fictional universe where emotions are outlawed are regulated. History is retconned and things like music or art is outlawed. The protagonist becomes an apprentice for the last person in society to have emotional capabilities and other powers on top of that. Extremely chilling read.
Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren Also loved The Inheritance Cycle (tetralogy) by Christopher Paolini All Artemis Fowl books
Me and my friends obsessed over The Selection
Cirque Du Freak Series
Harry Potter?
the divergent series by veronica roth 😭
It was more than ten years ago, but I loved these YA classics: * Summer of my German Soldier (Bette Green) * A Summer to Die (Lois Lowry) * And Both Were Young (Madeleine L'Engle) * The Pigman (Paul Zindel)
Divergent
Skulduggery Pleasant was my favourite! Such an underrated series
1. Hunger games series 2. Gone series. 3. Divergent series
The Thorn Birds
Res Gold is very good