Books for Teens and Young Adults

Three award-winning US high school psychology teachers—authors of the website Books for Psychology Class—share their recommendations of the best psychology books for teenagers, students and their teachers, and reflect on why storytelling is a key aspect of the art of teaching.

From a love story set in Angola to a Hunger Games-style thriller, from the medieval Middle East and 19th century Ireland to the world of artificial intelligence and genetic engineering, our children's editor Tuva Kahrs recommends her best books for teens and young adults of 2024.

Long associated with Japanese popular culture, manga are now found in translation across the world. In North America, this dynamic form of visual narration is overtaking comics and graphic novels in popularity. Oscar, age 13, recommends his favourite manga for children and teenagers.

Thrillers for teens have to be fast paced, exciting and entertaining, argues Kathryn Foxfield, author of YA thriller Good Girls Die First. She recommends some of her favourite teen thrillers, from books published this year to classics of the genre.

Fantasy novels, with their limitless scope for possibility, appeal to children with vivid imaginations. Here 14-year-old Zoe, who lives in the US and is a big fan of the genre, recommends her current favourites.

Whether you want your kids to know more about the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War or the life of Vincent van Gogh or Dmitri Shostakovich, we're entering a golden era of nonfiction books for teens (also known as 'Young Adult' or YA nonfiction). Marc Favreau, author of the brilliant Spies, recommends some of the best.

Young Adult science fiction extends far beyond the typical dystopian novels which immediately come to mind. Estelle Francis, a teenage author who recently published her first book, shares her favourite YA sci-fi reads.  

Dr Andrew Brower Latz, Head of Philosophy at Manchester Grammar School, talks about why it's important to study philosophy and recommends five books to get an interested teen started.

Historical novelist K J Whittaker takes us on a time-travelling adventure as she selects five brilliant historical novels for teens.

Audiobooks are a great way to get teens into books, as good stories read by expert narrators bring characters and the challenges they face to life. Here are recommendations for the best young adult audiobooks of 2024 from the experts at AudioFile magazine, the best place for audiobook recommendations on the web.