Popular Teen Books
& Best Books for Teens

Here are popular teen books and the best books of all time for mid teens.

This list of best selling books is also a useful tool for writers looking for ideas on how to write popular books for teens. Read these to gain insights into how to appeal to teen readers aged 15-17:

Popular Teen Books #1: Best Personal Growth Books & Books on Adolescent Self Esteem & Relationship Questions

Best Selling Books List & Approximate Sales Figures
Wilson Rawls: Where the Red Fern Grows (over 6.75 million)
Paul Zindel: The Pigman (over 3.5 million)
Mildred Taylor: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Newbery Medal; over 2.6 million)
Betsy Byars: The Summer of the Swans (over 1.4 million)

Popular Teen Books
Sharon Creech: Walk Two Moons (Newbery Medal)
Sarah Dessen: Dreamland; This Lullaby and The Truth About Forever
Jennifer Donnelly: A Northern Light
Sharon Draper: The Battle of Jericho
Paula Fox: One-Eyed Cat (Newbery Honor); and The Moonlight Man
Valerie Hobbs: Tender
Irene Hunt: Up a Road Slowly.
Gail Carson Levine: The Wish
Walter Dean Myers: Monster; Scorpion (Newbery Honor); Slam!; Hoops; and Somewhere in the Darkness
Louis Sachar: Holes (Newbery Medal)
Ivan Southall: What About Tomorrow?
Mildred Taylor: Let the Circle Be Unbroken; The Well: David's Story; Mississippi Bridge; Song of the Trees; The Road to Memphis
Markus Zusak: The Book Thief

Popular Teen Books #2: Best Books for Teens Dealing with Choices, Transitions & Social Issues

Best Selling Books List & Approximate Sales Figures
John Bunyan: Pilgrim's Progress (250 million)
Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird (Pulitzer Prize; 30 million)
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom's Cabin (28 million)
SE Hinton: The Outsiders (9.7 million); That Was Then, This is Now (over 4 million); Rumble Fish
Anonymous: Go Ask Alice (over 4.6 million)
Elizabeth George Speare: The Witch of Blackbird Pond (over 4.25 million)
Mildred Taylor: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Newbery Medal; over 2.6 million)

Popular Teen Books
Avi: Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel (Newbery Honor)
Melody Carlson: Diary of a Teenage Girl series
Sharon Draper: Forged by Fire and Darkness Before Dawn
Toni Morrison: The Bluest Eye
Mildred Taylor: Let the Circle Be Unbroken; The Well: David's Story; Mississippi Bridge; Song of the Trees; and The Road to Memphis

Popular Teen Books #3: Parent & Sibling Relationships, Friends & School Life

Best Selling Books List & Approximate Sales Figures
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings: The Yearling (Pulitzer Prize; 3.5 million)
Lucy Maud Montgomery: Anne of Green Gables series, especially Rainbow Valley (over 1.4 million); and Rilla of Ingleside (1.35 million)

Popular Teen Books
Louisa May Alcott: Little Women and Jo's Boys
Melody Carlson: Diary of a Teenage Girl series
Madeleine L'Engle: Austin family series - Meet the Austins; The Moon by Night; The Ring of Endless Light; Troubling a Star
Francine Pascal: Sweet Valley University series
Laura Peyton Roberts: Clearwater Crossing series
Dodie Smith: I Capture the Castle
Jerry Spinelli: Stargirl
Cynthia Voigt: Homecoming; Dicey's Song (Newbery Medal); Come a Stranger; A Solitary Blue (Newbery Honor); Sons from Afar; Seventeen Against the Dealer

Popular Teen Books #4: Best Mystery Books & Thriller Adventure Stories

Best Selling Books List & Approximate Sales Figures
Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (115 million)
Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins: Left Behind series (63 million)
Lew Wallace: Ben Hur (50 million)
Johnston McCulley: The Mark of Zorro (50 million)
Robert Louis Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (16 million)
Scott O'Dell: Island of the Blue Dolphins (over 6.6 million); The Black Pearl (Newbery Medal; 1.3 million)Jack Schaefer: Shane (6.4 million)
Theodore Taylor: The Cay (over 3 million)
Gary Paulsen: Hatchet (Newbery Honor; over 3 million)
Jean Craighead George: Julie of the Wolves (over 2.8 million)
Elizabeth George Speare: The Sign of the Beaver (over 2.25 million)
Avi: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (over 1.8 million)

Popular Teen Books
Lynne Reid Banks: Melusine: A Mystery
Gary Paulsen: Dogsong (Newbery Honor); Tracker; and The Island
Frank Peretti: The Veritas Project: Hangman's Curse
Ellis Peters: A Morbid Taste for Bones and Sanctuary Sparrow
Dorothy Sayers: Strong Poison; Gaudy Night; and Nine Tailors
Ian Serraillier: The Silver Sword
Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time

Popular Teen Books #5: Best Fantasy Books & Cliffhanger Stories

Best Selling Books List & Approximate Sales Figures
JRR Tolkien: Lord of the Rings Trilogy (over 100 million): The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King.
Madeleine L'Engle: A Wrinkle in Time (Newbery Award; 6.4 million); A Wind in the Door (2.2 million); A Swiftly Tilting Planet (over 2 million); Many Waters

Popular Teen Books
Susan Cooper: Over Seas, Under Stone; The Dark is Rising; The Grey King; Silver on the Tree; and The Boggart
Brian Jacques: Redwall and sequels: Mossflower; Mattimeo; Mariel of Redwall; Pearls of Lutra; The Legend of Luke
Ursula LeGuin: A Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; and The Farthest Shore
Kenneth Oppel: Silverwing; Sunwing; Firewing
JRR Tolkien: Farmer Giles of Ham; and The Hobbit
Megan Whalen Turner: The Thief (Newbery Honor)

Popular Teen Books #6: Best Love Stories & Teen Romance Stories

Contemporary Romance Stories
Ann Brashare: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series
Sarah Dessen: This Lullaby; Someone Like You; Keeping the Moon; and The Truth About Forever

Historical Romance Stories
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (28 million)
Georgette Heyer: Black Sheep; Regency Buck; These Old Shades; Arabella; and The Unknown Ajax
Janette Oke: Love Comes softly; Love's Enduring Promise; Love's Long Journey

Popular Teen Books #7: Historical Adventure & Cliffhanger Stories

Best Selling Books List & Approximate Sales Figures
Lew Wallace: Ben Hur (50 million)
Esther Forbes: Johnny Tremain (over 4.8 million)
Elizabeth George Speare: The Witch of Blackbird Pond (over 4.25 million)

Popular Teen Books
Lloyd C Douglas: The Robe
Paula Fox: The Slave Dancer
Karen Hesse: Out of the Dust (Newbery Medal)
Katherine Paterson: The Master Puppeteer; Lyddie; and Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom
Richard Peck: A Long Way from Chicago (Newbery Honor); A Year Down Yonder (Newbery Medal)
Anne Rinaldi: The Color of Fire; The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre; A Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials; and The Second Bend in the River
Rosemary Sutcliff: The Eagle of the Ninth; and Song for a Dark Queen
Anne De Vries: Journey through the Night
Gloria Whelan: Miranda's Last Stand; Once on This Island; Farewell to the Island; and Return to the Island


What kinds of stories are most popular with Mid-Teens? To find out, go to Creative Writing Ideas: Cool Story Ideas for Mid Teens

For creative writing ideas to help you write stories in a way that gets teens reading, go to How to Write Stories Kids and Teens Want to Read.

Return from Popular Teen Books to Creative Writing Resources: Top Cool Books for Teens

Return from Popular Teen Books to Creative Writing: Write to Win Hearts

Acknowledgments: Publishers Weekly; Wikipedia; Barnes & Noble; Amazon.com; Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson, Crossway Books, 2002; Honey for a Teen's Heart by Gladys Hunt & Barbara Hampton, Zondervan 2002. Also, to all who have contributed reviews, information and advice, Thank You!

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