Best Young Adult Books [Top 10] [Update 2024]

What are the best young adult books? This age group likes to read and can handle more mature stories. Below we recommend a dozen of the best “young adult” books. Read along…

Best young adult books ever

We start our recommendations with the top 10 best books for Young Adults of all time. This list has been updated this year, including all the recent titles.

Best Young Adult Books	Author
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda	Becky Albertalli
The Book Thief	Markus Zusak
The Fault in Our Stars	John Green
Speak	Laurie Halse Anderson
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants	Ann Brashares
The Catcher in the Rye	J. D. Salinger
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging	Louise Rennison
The Perks of Being a Wallflower	Stephen Chbosky
The Outsiders	S. E. Hinton
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe	Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The updated top 10 list: the best young adult books

The Darkest Minds Series Boxed Set [4-Book Paperback Boxed Set] (A Darkest Minds Novel)

This boxed set includes 4 books from The Darkest Mind series: ‘The Darkest Minds’, ‘Never Fade’, ‘In the Afterlight’, and ‘Through the Dark’. Besides these four books, the set also gives you a couple of bonus stories.

Every Last Word

We recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt out of place in life. The key character in this book is Sam, who feels like she is not like all the other popular girls in her school. She tries to act like them to make friends, but her life changes when she meets Caroline, who is the opposite of the popular girls. Caroline then brings her into contact with a group of people who make her feel normal for the first time in her life.

Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive

When an American plane crashes into the ocean in 1943, no one is expected to have survived the crash. Then the only one who made it out of the crash needs to do everything he can to stay alive on the water. And the water has many dangers, but previously being an Olympic athlete, this soldier is ready to face his new challenge.

Midnight Sun

If you are a huge fan of the Twilight series, then you must read ‘Midnight Sun’, which tells the story from the viewpoint of the vampire instead of the beautiful Bella whom he falls for.

Educated: A Memoir

Tara escapes life from a father who was preparing for The End of Days and a brother that was abusive. When she breaks free from her old life, it is hard to start her new one, because she doesn’t even exist. No birth certificate, no medical records, nothing. Then she finds out what education can do for her.

Little Fires Everywhere: A Novel

Elena lives by the rules and the plans she made. When Mia shows up in her life and decides to rent a house from Elena and her husband, both families grow closer than is good for them. Will Elena be able to stick to her carefully planned life? Or will Mia mess things up big time?

Don’t Whisper in My Ear

Many people miss out on being loved as a child, and that is why we picked this book for our top ten list. The story covers Sandy Kelly growing up in a family without love. Will Sandy be able to make something of her life and find compassion for her own situation? Does JD McCarron help her achieve her goals, or does he do exactly the opposite?

Firekeeper’s Daughter

Daunis, a native teen, goes undercover to investigate a new drug that appears to be lethal. She knows Ojibwe traditional medicine and chemistry, which should make for an easy task. Secrets and her past end up getting in the way of her undercover job. Will she be able to prevent more deaths?

The Way I Used to Be

Eden is raped by her brother’s best friend, and her life changes from there on. Nothing is what it used to be, and she even decides to deny the trauma she experienced. Will hiding from what happened to her do her any good?

We Were Liars 

Cadence lives a life of luxury, and she spends every summer on a private island. Then something happens that she knows nothing about, and everyone is trying his best to keep the secret from her. Will she eventually find out what the secret is?