Whether you have a teenage bookworm at home or a casual reader, finding the right book is key to keeping them engaged and happy. My teenage daughter is a reluctant reader. However, once she finds a book or series she loves, she completely dives into it. With this in mind, I’ve compiled this list of best book for teens to inspire more young minds to pick up a good book.

You can encourage your teen or tween to read by taking a proactive approach.  

Make Reading Enjoyable

• Let them choose: Offer a variety of genres and authors to find their interests.
• Discuss books: Talk about what they’re reading, ask questions, and share your opinions.
• Book clubs: Join or create a book club to discuss books with peers. (and if you want a no commitment book club, join the Life Happens, Coffee Helps Book Club Facebook Group).
• Audiobooks: Offer an alternative format for those who prefer listening.

Create a Reading-Friendly Environment

• Lead by example: Show your teen that you enjoy reading.
• Designate a reading space: Create a cozy and inviting reading nook.
• Limit screen time: Encourage balance between digital and physical reading.

Connect Reading to Their Interests

• Explore their passions: Find books related to their hobbies or interests.
• Graphic novels and manga: These can be a gateway to traditional reading.
• Online articles and blogs: Encourage reading about topics they care about.

Make Reading Rewarding

• Incentives: Offer small rewards for reading goals.
• Family reading time: Schedule regular family reading sessions.
• Library visits: Make it a fun outing to explore books together.

Overcoming Challenges

• Be patient: Building a reading habit takes time.
• Avoid pressure: Don’t force reading; make it enjoyable.
• Celebrate successes: Acknowledge their reading achievements.

Remember, the goal is to foster a love of reading, not just to complete assignments. By making reading fun and engaging, you can help your teen discover the joy of exploring new worlds through books.

Here is our list of the best books for teens. These are individual books or a series. Click the image for a link straight to Amazon (affiliate link with a small commission for me at no cost to you).

The Maze Runner Series (5 Books):

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s welcomed to his new home, the Glade, by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

A telepathic girl is the key to an unknown world and it’s up to her to save it. This wildly popular New York Times and USA Today Best Selling series is 9 books and counting! Click the image to purchase.

The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The chance to live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. 

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Percy Jackson Series: 

Based in Greek Mythology, the very popular book series features a young boy named Percy who is diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia and goes on epic adventures with Greek Gods. There are 5 books in the series.

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Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter isn’t just a book series, it’s a phenomenon. If you or your child has ever been curious as to what all the hype is about, start at the beginning and give Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone a read. You might just dive into the wizarding world as the young orphan Harry did. 

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Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

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Skyfall by Zen Garcia

The Birth of an Empire

Skyfall goes back to the very roots of Skolia, showing how a chance meeting on a backwater planet forges a vast interstellar empire. Eldrinson, a provincial ruler on a primitive planet, is plagued by inner demons. But when he meets Roca, a beautiful and mysterious woman from the stars, he whisks her away to his mountain retreat, inadvertently starting a great interstellar war, and birthing the next generation of rulers for the Skolian Empire.

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The Giver by Lois Lowry

At the age of twelve, Jonas, a young boy from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is singled out to receive special training from The Giver, who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life.

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The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

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Heartless by Melissa Meyer

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

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Wings of Fire Series by Tui T. Sutherland

The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy — a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice.

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The Inheritance Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why—or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.

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The Book Jumper by Metchthild Glaser

Amy Lennox doesn’t know quite what to expect when she and her mother pick up and leave Germany for Scotland, heading to her mother’s childhood home of Lennox House on the island of Stormsay. Amy’s grandmother, Lady Mairead, insists that Amy must read while she resides at Lennox House—but not in the usual way. It turns out that Amy is a book jumper, able to leap into a story and interact with the world inside.

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The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

If you could open a door to anywhere, where would you go?

In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It’s a book – an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door.

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Inkheart Series by Cornelia Funke

One cruel night, Meggie’s father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART– and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever.

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Disney Twisted Tales by Liz Braswell

Experience the electrifying twists in Disney’s Twisted Tales. These stories are about power, love and revolutionaries, with each book asking the question: What if one key moment in the story changed everything?

The series includes Reflection, As Old As Time, So This is Love, Straight On Till Morning, Let It Go, Once Upon a Dream, A Whole New World, Mirror Mirror and Part of Your World.

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The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. In just a few weeks she’ll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she’ll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun. But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world—and it isn’t very pretty. 

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The Summer I Turned Pretty Series by Jenny Han

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

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Comment below if you or your child loved any of these books. And give us your own suggestions, too!