Young adult, or YA, books are designated for readers from the ages of twelve to seventeen. And yet, a 2012 study found that 55% of the people buying YA books were over the age of eighteen. The majority of them weren’t getting these books for others either—78% of them said that they were purchasing the books for their own reading.
The truth is, terms like “children’s” and “YA” books are just marketing tools. Books are just books, and folks of any age can enjoy a good story no matter the age group it was intended for. We adults were all teens once upon a time and can connect to a story told from a young person’s point of view.
Here are fifteen young adult books that readers of any age will love. (If you’re a regular reader, you may notice we have discussed several of the books on this list in previous blog posts—that’s because I really, really love YA books and couldn’t help bringing up some of my favorites once again.)
1) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games books have come up a few times on the blog, and deservingly so. As much as I love the whole series, the first book is definitely my favorite—in fact, part of me wonders if it may have been even better as a standalone book rather than the first in a trilogy. This series features an inventive world and a strong protagonist to root for in Katniss Everdeen.
2) Divergent by Veronica Roth
Divergent is often talked about in the same breath as The Hunger Games. Both series take place in dystopian futures where society is divided into smaller groups, and each has a fierce female protagonist. But there are plenty of details about Divergent that make it a unique story. Some aspects remind me more of the film The Matrix and the way the factions are divided make for some fascinating interactions between their members.
3) Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Like the first two entries on this list, you’ll find Throne of Glass in my post about sci-fi and fantasy novels with strong female protagonists. It’s wonderful that so many YA authors are working to create compelling characters with some real grit to them for female readers to look up to. Considering that Celaena is a former assassin, readers may not look up to everything about this morally gray protagonist, but they will come to understand how she came to her career as an assassin and feel for her story. This fantasy series also has a fantastically well-imagined world.
4) Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
I first read Persepolis in college. So, I was a young adult, just not quite as young as your typical YA reader. This is a wonderful graphic novel with beautiful black and white illustrations that tells the story of Marjane Satrapi’s coming of age in Tehran as the country was going through some major political shifts with the end of the Shah’s regime, the Islamic Revolution, and the war with Iraq. This book will teach you a lot about this time and place in history through Satrapi’s likable, relatable perspective.
5) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
I have mentioned The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater before, but I love The Raven Boys almost as much. The magic of its world is very unique—full of ley lines and psychic powers. What really brings this story to life are its characters. Blue, Gansey, Ronan, and Adam are all fully-fledged, complex individuals and you will be eager to follow each of them on their magical journey.
6) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
This is another book that’s come up on the blog before. This is not only one of my favorite YA books, but one of my favorite books, period. As an introvert who had trouble making friends in high school, I deeply relate to the protagonist Charlie and everything he goes through in his first year of high school. He’s not the only great character in this novel—his love interest Sam and her stepbrother Patrick are wonderful as well. I also highly recommend the 2012 film adaptation, which was written and directed by Chbosky himself.
7) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Published in 1948, I Capture the Castle existed long before the category of “YA” came along. But it would definitely be marketed as young adult under today’s standards, as it tells the coming-of-age story of a seventeen-year-old girl. Cassandra makes what could seem like a rather bleak life living in an old, falling-apart castle with her family like a great adventure. She’s an incredibly likable protagonist who you will deeply enjoy following through her family relationships and first love.
8) Looking for Alaska by John Green
Aaand here is another book that has come up on the blog before. This was the first John Green book I ever read and fell head over heels in love with the writing and story. It was also the author’s debut and launched the mega-successful career he has today. The novel is full of fantastic characters and plenty of humor, which helps to balance the story’s bleaker aspects.
9) Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Talk about an inventive world! In New Beijing, Cinder is a second-class cyborg mechanic whose stepmother hates her and blames her for her stepsister’s illness. It’s a Cinderella story with steampunk motifs and a fierce heroine who doesn’t sit around waiting for a prince to rescue her.
10) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Like Cinder, Ella Enchanted is also a take on the classic fairy tale Cinderella story. In the book, Ella is cursed with the “gift” of obedience. Fortunately, this gift doesn’t stop Ella from being a smart and brave heroine with her own mind. This novel has great characters and a central romance you really root for. Unlike several of the other books on this list, I would not recommend watching the film adaptation.
11) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
This is another novel that, like I Capture the Castle, was written long before YA was a thing. It is now commonly seen as one of the greatest YA novels since it chronicles the coming of age of four unique young women. Readers of any age can see pieces of themselves in proper Meg, tomboyish aspiring writer Jo, sweet Beth, and precocious Amy.
12) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
This haunting novel chronicles the murder of fourteen-year-old Susie and the aftermath as she watches her family and friends move on without her from heaven. It’s a beautifully written book with well-developed characters. It is rather heart-wrenching, so I would recommend reading with a box of tissues nearby.
13) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I included Eleanor & Park in a list of love stories on the blog, but Fangirl also features a great romance. The story revolves around Cath, who is painfully shy and whose personality comes out through writing fanfiction online based on Harry Potter-esque books. The characters are very well-drawn, and readers of any age will enjoy following Cath through the growing pains of her first year away at college.
14) Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
This is a series I stumbled upon while browsing the shelves at a local bookstore in high school. I went home and started reading it that evening. It was only a day or two later that I returned to the bookstore for the other books in the series, beyond eager to find out what would happen next. This series has it all—fantastic characters, a fascinating future world, and an enthralling plot.
15) Fire: An Emlyn's Revelations story by Lore Nicole
This story features Emlyn, a heroine who has suffered abuse from her mother and her mother’s boyfriends. She finds a spark of hope—an inner flame that gives her the courage to flee. It’s inspiring to watch Emlyn as she learns to control her new powers. Emlyn is a well-developed character, and you really feel for her as she grows and changes over the course of the story. The book has a well-drawn medieval fantasy world as well. The bonus with this story is that you can read it right here on Fictionate!
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