YALSA's Ultimate Teen Bookshelf (PDF) highlights must-have teen materials for libraries. The Ultimate Teen Bookshelf, with titles listed on this webpage and as a PDF download, was developed in conjunction with the United We Serve initiative.
The list includes 50 books, five magazines and five audio books.
“During the summer months it is critical for young people to continue to read and visit the library. Studies consistently show that teens who do not read over the summer lose important reading skills, beginning the next school year at a disadvantage,” said YALSA President Sarah Cornish Debraski. “This summer in particular the library will be definitely be a destination as many teens find themselves without summer jobs. The Ultimate Teen Bookshelf is a great place to get started finding terrific reads for teens.”
Download the full list (PDF)!
Books
- Acceleration by Graham McNamee
- Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
- All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
- Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
- Beauty by Robin McKinley
- Black and White by Paul Volponi
- Blizzard! The Storm that Changed America by Jim Murphy
- Bone series by Jeff Smith
- The Book Thief by Mark Zusak
- Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
- The Chosen by Chaim Potok
- The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
- Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
- Feed by M.T. Anderson
- Fruits Basket series by Natsuki Takaya
- The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
- The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- The Guinness Book of World Records
- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
- I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
- The Killer’s Cousin by Nancy Werlin
- Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
- My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
- A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
- The Pigman by Paul Zindel
- The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
- Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
- Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
- Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
- Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
- Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
- Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
- The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
- Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
Magazines
- Game Pro
- Seventeen
- Rolling Stone
- Shonen Jump
- Mad
Audiobooks
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Recorded Books)
- Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer (Listen and Live)
- The Killer’s Cousin by Nancy Werlin (Brilliance)
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Caedmon)
- Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett (HarperAudio)