Young Adult. It’s easy to see why a name like that may put off some adults who are slightly older than ‘young,’ but YA is a growing genre (or collection of genres, really) that includes some of the most topical, thought-provoking and addictive books around, as this best Young Adult book list showcases.
Update: We've added a new entry to our shortlist, Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys. It's part of a four-book series and is a romance-infused supernatural drama in which a group of friends search for a long lost Welsh king. This one is highly recommended. Give it a read. And if you like it, upvote in the shortlist below.
The best YA books feature far more than just sparkly vampires. Some of the books listed here delve into topics including sexuality, mental health, racism and grief. Accessible and relatable to older teenagers, these stories are influencing, educating and entertaining the next generation of adults, so they really are rather important.
Many of them are just too good to miss out on if you tend not to explore the titles in this section of the bookstore, so here’s our pick of the top ten YA books adults will love.
Remember to upvote or downvote to have your say.
- Once you've read these, head over to our best dystopian novels list.
- Best YA movies: great young adult movies.
Best Young Adult books
SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?
Tell us about it, and if enough people agree we'll add it in.
