Classic Teen Fiction
Explore timeless classic teen fiction books that captivate young readers. Discover must-read novels perfect for teens, from adventure to romance, in this curated list of beloved stories.
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The Outsiders
by S. E. Hinton
Includes bonus material, a new foreword by the author, and a discussion guide.
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Clicking Beat on the Brink of Nada
by Keith Hale
By turns funny, romantic, erotic, and sad, this evocative novel brilliantly recreates the landscape of late adolescence, when friendships seem eternal and loves reincarnate. Set in Arkansas but first published in Amsterdam, Clicking Beat on the Brink of Nada (published under the title of Cody in United States) quickly won praise from reviewers and readers across Europe and North America. So beautiful, brave, and ahead of its time that William S. Burroughs was an early fan, Clicking Beat remains remarkably current and continues to be unique in coming of age literature.A haunting vision of young friendship shattered by an outrageously cruel world. Keith Hale's novel aches with adolescent first loves. It is tender, funny, and true. - William S. BurroughsDon't overlook Keith Hale's Clicking Beat on the Brink of Nada. Hale commands much of J.R. Ackerley's honesty, intimacy, and ease of style. Real warmth. - Jonathan WilliamsClicking Beat is a must. - RFDPoetically evokes the pathos of early friendships and the frailty of adolescent dreams. - The AdvocateKeith Hale has given his novel characters with tenderness, wit, and humanity. You should rush to purchase this book-a remarkable novel that deserves wide readership. - Bay Area ReporterTop of the heap of gay fiction. - Gay Community News
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The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
J.D. Salinger's classic of adolescent angst is now available for the first time in trade paperback. Holden Caulfield, knowing he is to be expelled from school, decides to leave early. He spends three days in New York City and tells the story of what he did and suffered there.
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That Was Then, This Is Now
by S. E. Hinton
Another classic from the author of the internationally bestselling The Outsiders Continue celebrating 50 years of The Outsiders by reading this companion novel. That Was Then, This is Now is S. E. Hinton's moving portrait of the bond between best friends Bryon and Mark and the tensions that develop between them as they begin to grow up and grow apart. "A mature, disciplined novel which excites a response in the reader . . . Hard to forget."—The New York Times
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Rumble Fish
by S. E. Hinton
Rusty-James wants to be as great a street-fighter as his older brother until Bill Wilcox suddenly pulls a knife on him.
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The Giver
by Lois Lowry
In a future society, young Jonas is given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
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Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away.
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Tex
by S. E. Hinton
“In Tex, the raw energy for which Hinton has justifiably reaped praise has not been tamed—it’s been cultivated, and the result is a fine, solidly constructed, and well-paced story.”—School Library Journal, Starred An ALA Best Books for Young Adults A School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
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Rainbow High
by Alex Sanchez
Jason Carrillo, the best-looking athlete in school, has had his eyes on the prize from day one: a scholarship for college. But then his eyes turn to love -- and Kyle. Kyle Meeks, swim team star and all-around good guy, is finally in the relationship he wanted. Being in love feels so good, in fact, that he can't imagine giving it up to go to Princeton. Something he's worked for his entire life. Nelson Glassman, outgoing and defiant, might be HIV positive. Jeremy, the boy he loves, is HIV positive. Although Nelson fears testing positive, if he is infected Jeremy might stop protecting him and pushing him away. They can be together. High shool's almost over. Graduation is ahead. Life's a bowl of cherries, right? Right...
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Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson's award-winning, highly acclaimed, and controversial novel about a teenager who chooses not to speak rather than to give voice to what really happened to her marks ten years in print with this special anniversary edition. Bonus material created for this edition includes a new introduction and afterword from the author, resources, and discussion guide. Will also include a preview of Anderson's newest book, Wintergirls. The quintessential edition for all fans of this powerfully moving book.
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The Chosen
by Chaim Potok
For use in schools and libraries only. A baseball injury precipitates a friendship between two boys from Hasidic and Zionist families.
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Cut
by Patricia McCormick
"A tingle arced across my scalp. The floor tipped up at me and my body spiraled away. Then I was on the ceiling looking down, waiting to see what would happen next."Callie cuts herself. Never too deep, never enough to die. But enough to feel the pain. Enough to feel the scream inside.Now she's at Sea Pines, a "residential treatment facility" filled with girls struggling with problems of their own. Callie doesn't want to have anything to do with them. She doesn't want to have anything to do with anyone. She won't even speak.But Callie can only stay silent for so long...
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Go Ask Alice
by Anonymous
A teen plunges into a downward spiral of addiction in this classic cautionary tale. January 24th After you’ve had it, there isn't even life without drugs… It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth—and ultimately her life. Read her diary. Enter her world. You will never forget her. For thirty-five years, the acclaimed, bestselling first-person account of a teenage girl’s harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. As powerful—and as timely—today as ever, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
The handsome appearance of dissolute young Dorian Gray remains unchanged while the features in his portrait become distorted as his degeneration progresses.
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How They Met, and Other Stories
by David Levithan
A collection of eighteen stories describing the surprises, sacrifices, doubts, pain, and joy of falling in love.
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Star of Light
by Patricia Mary St. John
In a mountain village in Morocco, an Englishwoman transforms the lives of her visiting niece, a blind baby girl, and an eleven-year-old boy through her work as a missionary nurse.
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Blood and Chocolate
by Annette Curtis Klause
Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf? Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would. Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate?
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Saints of Augustine
by P. E. Ryan
In St. Augustine, Florida, former best friends Charlie Perrin and Sam Findley, now both sixteen, come to realize that their friendship is the only thing that will keep them afloat when each of their worlds is turned upside down through death, divorce, and the seemingly out-of-control direction of their lives.
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Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
Read the beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man’s best friend. This edition also includes a special note to readers from Newbery Medal winner and Printz Honor winner Clare Vanderpool. Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs. So when he’s finally able to save up enough money for two pups to call his own—Old Dan and Little Ann—he’s ecstatic. It doesn’t matter that times are tough; together they’ll roam the hills of the Ozarks. Soon Billy and his hounds become the finest hunting team in the valley. Stories of their great achievements spread throughout the region, and the combination of Old Dan’s brawn, Little Ann’s brains, and Billy’s sheer will seems unbeatable. But tragedy awaits these determined hunters—now friends—and Billy learns that hope can grow out of despair, and that the seeds of the future can come from the scars of the past.
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory. Now a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic. The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. A years-long #1 New York Times bestseller, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and Best Book for Reluctant Readers, and with millions of copies in print, this novel for teen readers (or “wallflowers” of more-advanced age) will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps feel nostalgic for those moments when you, too, tiptoed onto the dance floor of life.
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Bridge to Terabithia (rack)
by Katherine Paterson
Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone. That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits. Then one morning a terrible tragedy occurs. Only when Jess is able to come to grips with this tragedy does he finally understand the strength and courage Leslie has given him.
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The Call of the Wild
by Jack London
Rugged, outdoor story of the sled dog Buck, who, mistreated by his master, breaks free to roam the Alaskan wilderness.
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Beneath the Wheel
by Hermann Hesse
Constitutes an attack on educational systems that foster intellect, purposefulness, and ambition to the detriment of emotion, instinct, and soul.
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Watership Down
by Richard Adams
WINNER of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program Now a Netflix animated miniseries starring James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, and Oscar and Grammy award-winner Sir Ben Kingsley. A worldwide bestseller for more than forty years, Watership Down is the compelling tale of a band of wild rabbits struggling to hold onto their place in the world—“a classic yarn of discovery and struggle” (The New York Times). Richard Adams’s Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in the Hampshire Downs in Southern England, an idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of “suspense, hot pursuit, and derring-do” (Chicago Tribune) follows a band of rabbits in flight from the incursion of man and the destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they travel forth from their native Sandleford warren through harrowing trials to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society. “A marvelous story of rebellion, exile, and survival” (Sunday Telegraph) this is an unforgettable literary classic for all ages.
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The Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return.
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Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
Presents the complete text of Charles Dickens' classic novel along with background and source information and twenty essays that critically examine his work.
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Sounder
by William Howard Armstrong
The Powerful Newbery Award-winning classic A landmark in children's literature, winner of the 1970 Newbery Medal, and the basis of an acclaimed film, Sounder traces the keen sorrow and the abiding faith of a poor African-American boy in the 19th-century South. The boy's life is changed forever when his father is caught stealing a ham to feed his starving family. His dog, Sounder, is wounded in the incident and waits faithfully for his master to come home. Read by Avery Brooks, this timeless and compelling parable will move listeners of all ages.
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Out of the Pocket
by Bill Konigsberg
As Bobby Framingham, quarterback of his high school football team, finally acknowledges to himself that he is gay, events start to spin out of control when his sexual orientation is revealed in the student newspaper and then in the local press, and he learns that his father has cancer.
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Dishes
by Rich Wallace
Nineteen-year-old Danny spends an eventful summer in Maine, looking for romance, working as a "straight" dishwasher in a gay bar, and trying to reconnect with his estranged father.
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What They Always Tell Us
by Martin Wilson
After being distant from each other for years, popular senior James and his outcast younger brother Alex finally find a way to bond through the encouragement of a new friend, Alex's sudden passion for running, and a newfound mutual respect.
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The Vast Fields of Ordinary
by Nick Burd
The summer after graduating from an Iowa high school, eighteen-year-old Dade Hamilton watches his parents' marriage disintegrate, ends his long-term, secret relationship, comes out of the closet, and savors first love.
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David Inside Out
by Lee Bantle
At a Minneapolis high school, a cross-country runner tries to deny his sexual feelings for a male teammate.