Explore our curated collection of young adult book reviews and recommendations.
First published in 1967 by Viking Press, S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel that redefined what young adult fiction could be — raw, class-conscious, and told entirely from the inside of a teenage world that adult literature had largely ignored. Narrated by fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, a working-class greaser navigating gang rivalry, loyalty, and loss in an unnamed Oklahoma city, the novel remains a standard-bearer of the YA genre and a fixture on school curricula across the United States. Critics has credited it with transforming young adult fiction "from a genre mostly about prom queens, football players and high school crushes to one that portrayed a darker, truer world."
Feb 12, 2026
Angie Thomas's debut young adult novel, The Hate U Give, follows sixteen-year-old Starr Carter as she navigates two worlds — the poor neighborhood she calls home and the elite private school she attends — until a white police officer shoots and kills her childhood friend Khalil before her eyes, thrusting her into a national reckoning. Originally published in 2017 by HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray, the novel debuted at number one on the New York Times young adult best-seller list and stayed there for 50 weeks, drawing widespread critical praise for Thomas's writing and the timeliness of its subject matter. It remains one of the most celebrated and most challenged YA novels of its era.
Feb 10, 2026
Stephen Chbosky's debut young adult novel, originally published in 1999, follows fifteen-year-old Charlie through his freshman year of high school in a Pittsburgh suburb, told entirely through letters he addresses to an anonymous "Dear Friend." The novel covers Charlie's friendships with seniors Patrick and Sam, his grief over the suicide of his only middle-school friend and the death of his aunt Helen, and his navigation of sexuality, mental health, substance abuse, and first love — all filtered through an introspective, philosophically inclined voice. The book reached the New York Times Best Seller list following the release of Chbosky's own 2012 film adaptation, and has become one of the most discussed and frequently challenged young adult novels in American schools.
Feb 18, 2026
Originally published on January 10, 2012, and later reissued in a Penguin Books paperback edition, The Fault in Our Stars is John Green's fourth solo novel — a young adult love story between two teenagers living under the shadow of cancer that became one of the best-selling books of all time and cemented Green's place at the top of contemporary YA fiction.
Feb 16, 2026
Thirteen Reasons Why is a young adult novel by Jay Asher, first published in 2007, that follows Clay Jensen as he listens to a series of cassette tapes left behind by his deceased classmate Hannah Baker, each one naming one of the thirteen people she holds responsible for her suicide. The novel became a New York Times bestseller and a widely discussed — and debated — touchstone of contemporary young adult fiction, later adapted as a Netflix original series.
Feb 10, 2026Search
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