Let’s be honest, literature is important. But young adult literature is especially important, because it cultivates a strong foundation for a long life of literary consistency, leading to more adult readers. As the number of text-to-screen transitions increases in teen novels, it becomes exponentially harder to establish a list of the standard YA classics that are necessities in a teen’s literary toolbox. To make it quite simple, here are, in no particular order, 18 books that should be read before the age of 18.
1. The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
Five words with this one: You. Will. Love. Ezra. Faulkner. This book is pleasantly witty and it delightfully captures the high school experience in a unique perspective. Instead of the stereotypical rags-to-riches story of a nerd who takes off her glasses and becomes beautiful, Ezra has everything to lose. He takes a complete nose dive into the ground, reuniting with an old friend who he left among the ashes years before as he rose to popularity. While the love story isn’t the most original, the characters’ charm make the book impossible to put down. It’s relatable, but in a completely unforeseen way, leaving the reader so enthralled that all they can do is turn the page and read more.
2. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
The amazing feature of this book which sets it apart from the rest of YA fiction is that it doesn’t approach love with the same conveniences as other books do. It emphasizes the delicacy of an event transpiring, attributing the meeting of Hadley, a 17-year-old American girl, and a mysterious Brit named Oliver to missing a plane by four minutes. If Hadley were on time to the first flight, she would never have spent the long plane ride sitting next to Oliver, and they would never have been able to get to know each other. Another aspect of this novel I admire is the involvement of family. While many YA books negate any parental units to some tragic death or pure neglect, Smith writes realistically and profoundly, addressing issues encountered with relatives in day-to-day life. This book is refreshing, factoring in real-life instances to make for an engaging read.
3. Paper Towns by John Green
Okay, so this is pretty much my favorite John Green book of all time. Green writes candidly, with a biting humor that is fantastic in every way. Quentin Jacobsen, more commonly noted by his friends as Q, is pretty much completely in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman, his childhood friend who grew apart from him after years of developing different interests. Margo is a legend at the school, disappearing for weeks at a time before returning with an “I don’t kiss and tell” smile, never quite dispelling the insane rumors created by her classmates. I adore Green’s attention to detail in the novel, giving each character their own quirks, adding a new dimension to the story. Q ends up reuniting with Margo one night to help her in getting revenge on her high school enemies, and he believes that once she disappears again, he is to find her through clues that she left behind for him. A tale of self-discovery, the mystery Paper Towns enamors all who flip through its pages.
4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
When I walked around with this book nudged under my arm at school, I got remarks such as “Do you need a hug?” and “Have you gotten to the end yet?” This has arguably been the most influential YA book of the decade. Even people who don’t read have read this book.. As cancer is a relatively recent issue, this book captivates many who want to learn about the lives of those afflicted with the disease. Although it’s quite a heavy topic, Green artfully works around the life/death conflict of the scenario by cutting the severity of the situation with clever humor and deft sentences that make readers swoon at the drop of a hat. With “some infinities are bigger than other infinities” and “pain demand[ing] to be felt”, readers are left wondering why they don’t have the witty relationship of Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. This book leaves you on a roller coaster that only goes up.
5. The Selection Series by Kiera Cass
“A cross between The Hunger Games (minus the bloodsport) and The Bachelor (minus the bloodsport).” -Publishers Weekly
This series is beautifully written and it is one of the few books that I have actually re-read. Warnings about this book: 1) You’ll fall in love with Prince Maxon and 2) You’ll get lots of anxiety from the most intricate love triangle ever woven between America Singer, Prince Maxon and Aspen Leger. Spinning off of the caste system, the kingdom of Illéa is divided into social classes, with the title of One being reserved for royalty and Eight for the homeless. America Singer is a Five, and enters The Selection, a process in which the prince gives back to society by marrying a woman from the kingdom. Singer is selected for the competition, against her wishes, and embarks on an adventure that for 34 girls is the opportunity of a lifetime. For America, it’s a nightmare. Six words: love triangle, love triangle, love triangle. You won’t regret picking up this book.
6. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
You want another love triangle? Well, you’re in luck! Katniss Everdeen, wicked bow and arrow aficionado, Peeta Mellark, the baker boy, and Gale Hawthorne, smolder-eyed hunting sidekick to Everdeen make for a pretty dynamic trio. This book is pretty dark though. The Capitol holds an annual “Hunger Games”, which is designed to display the Capitol’s power and keep each of the 12 districts in check. It is a gruesome competition in which teenagers are put in a raffle and subsequently placed in an arena with 24 tributes, all fighting to the death to be the last survivor, or the victor. Prim Everdeen, Kat’s sister, is chosen, but Katniss volunteers as tribute to take Prim’s place in the games. Chosen alongside Peeta, Katniss’s story in the games is retold, demonstrating the lengths she has to go to in efforts to survive.
7. Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
8. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
So I think that it’s safe to say that Harry Potter is the most influential modern-day novel series. About a boy who is immersed into a completely different world by discovering that he’s a wizard, the series evolves from a whimsical take on magic to a dark and ominous twist caused mostly by He Who Must Not Be Named. By attending the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, Harry is transformed from a “muggle,” non-magic folk like you and me (mostly you,) to one of the most famous and talented wizards in the wizarding world. It’s hard to grasp the essence of this series in a paragraph. Just read it. Read it. Read it.
9. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
My name’s Holden Caulfield and I think that you’re a phony. You’ll get that once you read this book. And you need to read this book because it’s relatable as heck. This book explores coming-of-age topics such as inner angst and isolation. Caulfield fails out of his fourth private school and is confused about his purpose in life, more specifically, if there even is one. He leaves school early before his expulsion notice requires and goes on his own adventure in the city without telling his parents where he is. Even though this book is set in the 1950’s, the problems faced by Holden are the same ones still being fought by today’s youth. If you want to learn more about Holden’s story, as well as your own, The Catcher in the Rye is the book for you.
10. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Charlie, a socially awkward teen, hopes to cope with the recent suicide of his friend Michael by writing letters to a stranger who he has only heard nice things about. With the help of his step-brother Patrick and Patrick’s friend Sam, Charlie describes his transformation from a wallflower, or a bystander, to an involved member in school. Charlie experiences all of the things he hasn’t before: a friendship, a first love, and a new-found dream to become a writer. This book is a must-read, leaving you feeling infinite.
11. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
So this book is cool because two characters in a relationship are almost always the same. They are the same body type, same race and same personality. These other books try to teach you that you need to be exactly the same as someone else in order to make a relationship work. But Eleanor & Park illustrates just how wrong those other books are. Eleanor and Park couldn’t be more different. She is new to the school, dresses oddly and is made fun of by the whole school, whereas he’s known as stylish, handsome and very popular. The dynamic of their relationship itself is enough to make this a book worth reading.
12. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was immediately a big hit when it was published, and was told through the perspective of young Scout Finch, daughter of prominent lawyer Atticus Finch. The main conflict of the story is the issue of racial equality, occurring when Atticus agrees to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white woman. This novel unearths the double standard of racial inequality through an innocent and reliable narrator. Published in 1960, the book discusses issues still debated over today, making it an essential read.
13. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Okay, so how many times does the same pair of jeans fit four friends of different body types? The answer? Just once. In the case of Bridget, Carmen, Lena, and Tibby, the pair of pants fits all of them perfectly, and conveniently, as they all head off to separate destinations for the summer for the first time ever. The girls deem the pants magical and decide to trade off the pants between them over the summer, writing notes with the things that happened to them while in them. With the perspectives switched off between whoever has the pants, this novel is perfectly balanced with playful as well as solemn parts, creating a realistic visual of the highs and lows of life.
14. The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner
Have you ever woken up somewhere completely foreign to you with no memory of anything at all? Okay, maybe, but what about in “The Glade”, where a group of boys has been surviving, trying to figure a way out of their prison, running into a maze daily to find an exit? Yeah, well, this was a first for Thomas too. All Thomas remembers, other than his name, is that he has to be a runner. After valiantly saving the leader of the boys, Thomas earns his place as a runner, giving himself a chance to free all of the boys from their perpetual torture.
15. Mosquitoland by David Arnold
No lie, I picked this book up at the library because I thought the cover was aesthetically pleasing. And man, I am so glad that I did. Within the first ten pages, I was enthralled by Mary Iris Malone, or Mim’s, story. To escape her dad and her unwanted step-mom, Mim steals some money from a drawer in her house and takes a Greyhound to Cleveland to see her real mom, her paragon of a human being. Along the way, Mim encounters sketchy characters as well as down-to-earth ones. My mind was blown by this book and so will yours. Your mind will thank you once you read this. Seriously.
16. The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
This book is my newest obsession, and I am in love with this series and all things encapsulating Mare Barrow, Prince Cal and Prince Maven! So basically there is a huge division between blood types. But not like “The horrors of A+ v. O-.” It’s a tense battle of power between silver and red blood. Silver bloods are royalty compared to red bloods, all with special powers, such as healing abilities or shape-shifting. Red bloods are regular humans, corralled into small, dirty towns, and shipped off to the military if they don’t have an apprenticeship. By chance, Mare Barrow pickpockets Prince Cal, who takes pity on her, and gives her a great opportunity working in the castle. Mare finds out through another twist of fate that she is red-blooded, but with silver powers. Through this unique advantage, Mare faces daringly the challenges that come with embodying both types of blood. Anyone can betray anyone. Remember that.
17. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Told through the perspective of new NY denizen, Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby is one of, if not the most beautifully written books I’ve ever had the honor to read. This book considers the conflict of appearance v. substance—what a character’s persona is versus what their life is actually like. Set in the Roaring Twenties, this book gives off a luxuriant vibe that distinguishes this novel’s story line from any other I’ve ever read. Also, if you’re bored, look up some of the titles that Fitzgerald almost named The Great Gatsby. Then be thankful.
18) Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
So as you may know, Me Before You is set to be released as a film on June 3rd! Well, how couldn’t it be, with this as its summary hook: “What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?” In a bitingly realistic romance, Moyes delivers a fresh take on love through Louisa Clark and Will Traynor, only leading to the question: “How far will you go for love, or how many steps back will you take?” Read it. Live it. Love it. See it in theatres.
So do you agree with this list of must-reads? Are there books you would take out, or ones that you would add? Keep the conversation going in the comments!
