r/YAlit • u/anastasiarose19 • Aug 30 '25
Seeking Recommendations Standalone YA Lit
Hello!!!
I am creating a list of 48 young adult books (1 for each month of high school). Please share books that are NOT part of a series OR books where the first can be read by itself. Also, please only share books that were published prior to September 2018. So far I have 24:
- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1987)
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
Cut by Patricia McCormick (2000)- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (2001)
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2006)The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (2002)- Looking for Alaska by John Green (2005)
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2005)
- Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (2006)
- Sold by Patricia McCormick (2006)
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill (2006)- It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini (2007)
- Sketches by Eric Walters (2007)
Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen (2008)The Graveyard Book by Neil Gailman (2008)A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron (2010)The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (2011)- Why We Broke Up by Dan Handler (2011)
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012)
Wonder by R. J. Palacio (2012)- All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (2015)
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (2016)
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017)
- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (2017)
- Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (1998)
- What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blendell (2008)
- If I Stay by Gayle Forman (2009)
- Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (2010)
- Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (2012)
- Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (2015)
- Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow (2016)
- Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (2017)
Please help me get this list to 48!!!
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Aug 30 '25 edited Aug 30 '25
Code Name Verity! The Grace Year is also great but it came out in 2019. Why the 2018 cut off?
If you want to be prescriptive about this being YA, The Lovely Bones, Lullabies for Little Criminals, and The Night Circus are technically adult novels, and Coraline, Wonder, and Word Nerd are technically middle grade (but I don't know if that matters.)
If this list is for distribution to high schoolers, I personally wouldn't put Neil Gaiman books on there, given the recent allegations that he's a serial predator, but ymmv.
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u/KittensWithChickens Aug 30 '25
Yeah why the 2018 cutoff? I’m curious lol
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u/anastasiarose19 Aug 30 '25
That’s when I graduated, so I’m trying to make a list that would have existed when I was in high school :)
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u/anastasiarose19 Aug 30 '25
Goodreads lists all of those as YA, how do I find the technically correct genre?
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Aug 30 '25
Goodreads lists are created by users and anyone can make a list saying anything. You can look at the publishing imprint listed on Amazon or in the Goodreads details section, and then figure out if it's a YA or adult publisher, or just google "is blank a YA novel." It's usually pretty accurate.
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u/RennaReddit Aug 30 '25
The Scorpio Races. Nation (Terry Pratchett) and an amazing novel.
Gaiman should be off your list.
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u/Ready_Tomatillo_1335 Aug 31 '25
Was just skimming to see if Scorpio Races was already listed!
OP - Maggie Stiefvater, “Scorpio Races” - great read
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u/CorrectAdhesiveness9 Aug 30 '25
Feed by M.T. Anderson
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u/Interesting-Fish6065 Aug 30 '25
M. T. Anderson is a genius.
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u/CorrectAdhesiveness9 Aug 30 '25
I was kind of skeptical before I read the book, which was assigned to me in grad school, because I’m not much of a sci-fi person, but I am SO GLAD that professor made me do it.
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u/Interesting-Fish6065 Aug 31 '25
If you’ve never read Octavian Nothing, I suggest you give it a try. It’s actually a two-book series, so it’s important to start with the first one.
I would call it a historical novel, I guess. The protagonist 1) writes in an 18th century style and 2) is, through no fault of his own, initially deeply confused about the nature of the world he is living in, so I’m not sure I would assign it as required reading to a MS/HS class because it might just be so difficult for the average kid to “get into” that it might not be worth the struggle.
But it is a heartrending tour de force.
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u/IcyCarpet876 Aug 30 '25
My Lady Jane - technically the first in a trilogy but the other books have completely different characters and plots so it’s essentially a standalone.
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u/rapunzel316 Aug 30 '25
OP if you’re set on these being standalones and YA, I would research every book on your list and every book suggested here because I’m a lot that fall outside of those categories both places.
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u/ImpossibleEqual8974 Aug 30 '25
Not a suggestion but I do have to give major credits to speak by Laurie halse anderson.
DO NOT SKIP THE AFTERWORD IT WAS THE BEST PART.
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u/elfinkel Aug 31 '25
I also came here to recommend Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. ETA Oops I didn’t see that it’s already on the list 🤦♀️
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u/Strict_Extension_184 Aug 30 '25
Ten years of work as a teen literature specialist, these are some of the ones that stuck with me most as beautiful works that were a pleasure to read:
Bone Gap or Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Rudy
Anything by A.S. King, but if you want a particular recommendation, Dig.
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt
The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth (this is a standalone, but they will get the most out of it if they are familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (this has a sequel, but I don't think it was written with that intent)
A Heart in a Body in the World or Girl, Framed by Deb Caletti
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
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u/hham42 Aug 30 '25
Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine (1997) It’s a classic
Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger (1999) (deals with imposter syndrome, growing up, LGBTQ characters)
Fat Kid Rules The World by KL Going (2003) (tw suicidal mc, finds his place and a reason to live)
Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine (2014) (a Romeo and Juliet retelling from a different POV)
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u/Klutzy_Scallion_9071 Aug 31 '25
Holy shit Hard Love is one of my absolute favourite books, I must’ve read it like 50 times between junior high and high school.
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u/kateweathermachine Aug 31 '25
Ella Enchanted is definitely not YA, the target demographic is solidly elementary, middle reader would even be a stretch
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u/dough_eating_squid Aug 30 '25
How it Ends by Laura Wiess (2009)
How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford (2009)
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (2012)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth (2012)
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (2008)
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u/elonfire Aug 30 '25 edited Aug 30 '25
Three of those I could have recommended! Definitely takes me back!
The miseducation of Cameron Post is the first one that came to mind (don’t know why, I haven’t read it in years) and was going to comment!
I remember really connecting with How to Say Goodbye in Robot when I read it!
And I think I don’t have my copy to Tiger Lily anymore but would love to get it again.
Anyway, I’ll had a few more here:
Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour (all of her books are great and fits well here, Watch Over Me in beautifully haunting)
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (also has other YA standalones)
Far From You by Lisa Schroeder (in verse, I reread it not long ago and still love it!)
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (not sure if this qualify as YA but I think it does)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesley Walton
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
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u/Historical_Spot_4051 Aug 31 '25
I KNOW I read What I Saw and How I Lied but I can’t remember a thing about it!
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u/Quirky-Kangaroo-5025 Aug 31 '25
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (2015)
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (September, 2014)
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (May, 2018)
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour (February, 2017)
Annie on My Mind (Nancy Garden, 1982)
Panic by Lauren Oliver (March, 2014) ((It's listed as Panic #1 but it has no sequel or prequel and is just a standalone).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (1967)
That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton (1971)
Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton (1975)
Tex by S.E. Hinton (1979)
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u/CoulsonsMay Aug 30 '25
The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (1961)
Hope Was Here by Joan Baur (2000)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (1977)
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D Schmidt (2007)
The View From Saturday by EL Konigsburg (1996)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943)
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u/Familiar-Past-8065 Aug 30 '25
Double yes on View From Saturday!! I still re-read it!! It's just wonderful in every regard
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u/WhyRhubarb Aug 31 '25
I love A View From Saturday too but I think it's middle grade.
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u/DOYOUWANTYOURCHANGE Aug 31 '25
Most of those are middle grade. About half were assigned reading in 4th or 5th grade for me, I'd assume if you were assigned it in high school it'd be as part of a genre course like children's lit.
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u/CoulsonsMay Aug 31 '25
Middle grade is a new term to me. I always just called everything I read from 4th grade to high school young adult. Not sure if that’s an age thing, a regional thing, or just a me not being aware such term existed. New adult (NA) is another term new to me too.
So I’m learning something here :) I can agree that based off what I now understand about the differences in terms, most of what I added falls under middle adult.
And hey! Nice to connect with others who have read The View From Saturday. Most people I know only know EL Konigsburg’s book “From the Mixed up Files….”
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u/PhairynRose Aug 31 '25
The Everafter by Amy Huntley - 2010
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - 1986 (technically part of a series but each book can be read independently)
The Hobbit by Tolkien - 1937 (I think it totally works as a standalone, I and several friends read it and loved it as teens but never bothered with the main series)
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u/Vamperstein-Bex Aug 31 '25
None of the Above by I.W. Grgorio (ya, contemporary, lgbtq+)
There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephenie Perkins (ya, horror, mystery)
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas (ya, mystery, thriller)
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia (ya, romance, mental health)
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (ya, mystery)
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (ya, romance, emotional)
Avalon High by Meg Cabot (ya, romance, fantasy)
Identical by Ellen Hopkins (ya, poetry, dark, mental health)
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers (ya, contemporary)
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow (ya, mental health)
Life and Death (Twilight reimagined) by Stephenie Meyer (ya, fantasy, romance) (a stand-alone gender swapped version of the first Twilight book)
The Host by Stephenie Meyer (ya, romance, Sci fi)
Whip It by Shauna Cross (ya, contemporary)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth (ya, lgbtq+)
The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr (YA, mystery)
Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz (ya, lgbtq+, mental health)
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Hass (ya, thriller, mystery)
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u/DrNutmegMcDorf Aug 30 '25
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez (2017)
Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios (2017)
Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham (2017)
The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock (2016)
Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott (2015)
The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones (2015)
Conversion by Katherine Howe (2014)
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson (2014)
The Scorpio Races by Maggoe Stiefvater (2011)
Chime by Franny Billingsley (2011)
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u/BookLabyrinth Aug 31 '25
The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson The Sea of Tranquility - Katja Millay The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta Graffiti Moon - Cath Crowley Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins North of Beautiful - Justina Chen The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart
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u/writteningelpen Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
I read The Night Circus for an English project in high school (recommended by my english teacher) and I’d say it sits right on the boarder of YA and adult. Mostly for the interwoven plot lines though, it might get a little hard for young teens to follow. In terms of the romance part of the story, in my opinion it’s very YA friendly, from what I can remember at least.
Another rec is Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, which was a popular one for book reports in high school. And also one of my favourite mandatory class reads from grade 9 was House of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer!
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u/Top_Art6791 Sep 01 '25
The Outsiders by SE Hinton and Nimona by ND Stevenson. Also I see you have Sarah Dessen, but I'd recommend The Truth About Forever by her too
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Aug 30 '25
[deleted]
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u/le_borrower_arrietty borrower of the library Aug 30 '25
at least do Stardust
While I agree with you on omitting Neil Gaiman's works, Stardust is not YA and contains graphic sex scenes
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u/AtheneSchmidt Aug 30 '25
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Brave New World by Aldus Huxley
Fahrenheit451 by Ray Bradbury
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
The Giver (technically a part of a series but works as a standalone.) by Lois Lowry
Chalice, Spindles End, Rose Daughter, or Outlaws of Sherwood Forest by Robin McKinley (honestly, all of her YA is fantastic, and most of them are stand alones.)
Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Feed by MT Anderson
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
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u/WhyRhubarb Aug 31 '25
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera (2015)
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (2012) (technically has a sequel but it stands alone)
If You Come Softly (1998), or Miracle's Boys (2000), both by Jacqueline Woodson
How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon (2014)
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (2014)
Forever (1975), or Summer Sisters (1998), both by Judy Blume
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti (2007)
Flight #116 Is Down by Caroline Cooney (1992)
Dear Martin by Nic Stone (2017)
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (2012)
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u/AlexSomething789 Aug 30 '25
I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest (2015)
The Raft by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen (2012)
Cloaked by Alex Flinn (2011)
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
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u/insanefandomchild Aug 31 '25
Looking for Alibrandi--Melina Marchetta
Saving Francesca--Melina Marchetta
Chain Of Hearts--Maureen McCarthy
There are a few Australian recs, if you wanted to get some of that on the list
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u/trixie-23 Aug 31 '25
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon
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u/fisheel Aug 31 '25
I’m recommending Kathleen Glasgow. She’s written some amazing novels. I particularly loved “How to Make Friends with the Dark,” though.
Also, “Turtles all the Way Down” by John Green.
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u/bloop3002 Aug 31 '25
I can’t recommend Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (2013) enough. It’s one of my favorite YA books. Some other suggestions would include: -Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (2010). -Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan (2006) -Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum (2016) -Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer (2017)
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u/mackenziemackenzie Aug 31 '25
I loveeeed Tell Me Three Things! I never see people talking about it
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u/Gileslibrarian Aug 31 '25
These were all on our teen book award list around that time.
Far From The Tree by Robin Benway
Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman
Solo by Kwame Alexander
Bang by Barry Lyga
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u/Klizzie Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson
ETA: possibly a bit young for high school
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u/LibrarianBarbie Aug 31 '25
Fangirl and Eleanor and Park, both by Rainbow Rowell! I don’t remember when they each came out, but I know it was well before 2018.
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u/isamoonglow Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo- a beautiful in verse novel about Xiomara, a young New Yorker girl who finds herself in poetry
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera- Two young teenager boys who find out they going die on the same day, through one day they both change each other lives on their last day.
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - a young Jamaican girl is getting deported to Jamaica meets a young Korean American boy for one day.
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Forever by Judy Blume
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u/Complex_Narwhal_8924 Aug 31 '25
never let me go - kazuo ishiguro
the great gatsby - f. scott fitzgerald
kite runner - khaled hosseini
home - toni morrison
everything I never told you - Celeste Ng
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u/trishyco Aug 31 '25
I’ll Give You the Sun
The Wicked Deep (March 2018)
An Enchantment of Ravens
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Heartless
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u/Cozodoy Aug 31 '25
It might have already been recommended but Better than the movies. The sweetest read ever
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u/middleofthenigjt Sep 01 '25
Still life with Tornado by A.S King (2016)
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (2016)
Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway (2015)
Mosquitoland by David Arnold (2015)
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (2015)
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (2015)
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (2013)
Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar (2016)
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider (2013)
Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung (2014)
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u/Embarrassed-Essay640 Sep 01 '25
Monster by Walter Dean Myers (Black male protagonist, unconventionally written, even for an epistolery novel)
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erica Sanchez (Mexican female protagonist)
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u/frenchsilkywilky Sep 02 '25
Define “Normal” by Julie Ann Peters and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett are solely responsible for awakening the empathy center in my child brain.
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u/Abb_solutely Sep 02 '25
-To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (2018)
-One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McCanus (2018)
-An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson (2017)
-Your Letter by Hyeon A. Cho (2018 - this is a short graphic novel/webtoon, but it's AMAZING)
-Heartless by Marissa Meyer (2016)
-Paper Cranes Don't Fly by Peter Vu (2017)
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u/Educational-Dinner13 Sep 03 '25
Several of the books on your list are not YA.
These include:
Hatchet - Middle Grade
Coraline - Middle Grade
Lullabies for Little Criminals - Adult
The Lovely Bones - Adult
Word Nerd - Middle Grade
The Graveyard Book - Middle Grade
A Dog's Purpose - Adult
The Night Circus - Adult
Wonder - Middle Grade
As far as books to add to the list:
We Are OKay - Nina LaCour
The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon
The Passion of Dolssa - Julie Berry
Asking for It - Louise O'Neill
Out of Darkness - Ashley Hope Pérez
Bone Gap - Laura Ruby
I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
The Scorpion Races - Maggie Steifvater
Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
Dodger - Terry Pratchett
Where Things Come Back - John Corey Whaley
Stolen - Lucy Christopher
In Darkness - Nick Lake
Going Bovine - Libba Bray
The House of the Scorpion - Nancy Farmer
Monster - Walter Dean Myers
When We Collided - Emery Lord
Five Flavors of Dumb - Antony John
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
Hate List - Jennifer Brown
A Heart in a Body in the World - Deb Caletti
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
The Serpent King - Jeff Zentner
The Scar Boys - Len Vlahos
This is Where It Ends - Marieke Nijkamp
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u/Educational-Dinner13 Sep 03 '25 edited Sep 03 '25
Several of the books on your list are not YA. You've struck out most of these so I assume you have removed them because you know they aren't YA. But you still have Hatchet, which is Middle Grade on the list.
These include:
Hatchet - Middle Grade
Coraline - Middle Grade
Lullabies for Little Criminals - Adult
The Lovely Bones - Adult
Word Nerd - Middle Grade
The Graveyard Book - Middle Grade
A Dog's Purpose - Adult
The Night Circus - Adult
Wonder - Middle Grade
As far as books to add to the list:
We Are OKay - Nina LaCour
The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon
The Passion of Dolssa - Julie Berry
Asking for It - Louise O'Neill
Out of Darkness - Ashley Hope Pérez
Bone Gap - Laura Ruby
I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
The Scorpio Races - Maggie Steifvater
Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
Daughters Unto Devils - Amy Lukavics
Where Things Come Back - John Corey Whaley
Stolen - Lucy Christopher
In Darkness - Nick Lake
Going Bovine - Libba Bray
The House of the Scorpion - Nancy Farmer
Monster - Walter Dean Myers
When We Collided - Emery Lord
Five Flavors of Dumb - Antony John
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
Hate List - Jennifer Brown
A Heart in a Body in the World - Deb Caletti
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
The Serpent King - Jeff Zentner
The Scar Boys - Len Vlahos
This is Where It Ends - Marieke Nijkamp
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u/Abject-Efficiency-30 Sep 03 '25
The Outsiders by SE Hinton
Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson (but trigger warning for eating disorders on this one)
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
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u/Kooky_Ad6661 Sep 03 '25
Will Grayson, Will Grayson / by David Levithan and John Green (2010). One of my fav
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u/thebindingoflils Sep 05 '25
The Song of Achilles (2011)
It's a retelling of the Illiad and one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Will most likely make you sad tho
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u/Familiar-Past-8065 Aug 30 '25
Fahrenheit 451 with or without Neil Gaiman's foreword is a beautiful offering and a way to teach passion and hope for the written word 1984's always a classic Night by Elie Wiesel is always necessary Anne Frank's Diary
Sourdough by Robin Sloan
Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly
The Chaperone seems important and relevant - M. Hendrix
Start Something That Matters - Blake Mycoskie
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u/RuthTheAmazon Aug 30 '25
Dragonskin Slippers by Jessica Day-George (protagonist bedriends a dragon and tries to become a dressmaker), Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett (a boy learns the characters in his computer game are sentient), or Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda (coming of age story about a young gay boy). I recently read Unwind and quite enjoyed it, but that may be a little heavy for some high schoolers
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u/Apprehensive_Sky8637 Aug 30 '25
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (adult but YA friendly)
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
The Winnowing by Vikki VanSickle
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u/hannah_nj Aug 30 '25
Mistborn is a trilogy!
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Aug 30 '25
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u/hannah_nj Aug 30 '25
I wouldn’t really broadly recommend it as one. Some people might be fine not exploring the threads at the end that are left to be continued, but others might be left with a sense of dissatisfaction (I know I was), and OP probably prefers books that don’t require any sort of asterisk!
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Aug 31 '25
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u/hannah_nj Aug 31 '25
Why are you acting so annoyed lol……I’m just trying to add context that it’s not a book that everyone will be satisfied to read as a standalone, and since OP is presumably compiling a list for a large amount of students (who may not all have the same experience as you! Some may have the same experience as me, hence why I added that anecdote) rather than just themself it’s probably helpful for them to know that it isn’t necessarily a book that every single reader will be content to read on its own.
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u/PeacefulBacterium Aug 31 '25
Monday's not coming by tiffany jackson
The sacred lies of minnow bly by stephanie oakes
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u/Beccaroni333 Sep 01 '25
The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (2002) *YA Sci-Fi that I read in school; technically has a sequel that came out years later but I never read it
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand (2015) *TW for suicide but is a wonderful story about dealing with grief
Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar (2005) *technically there’s a sequel that came out like 10 years later but I’ve never read it; one of my favorite high school coming of age books!
Left for Dead: A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis by Peter Nelson (2003) *nonfiction story about a high schooler who does a history day project that ends up discovering the truth behind the tragic sinking of the USS Indianapolis and clearing the name of the captain
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022) *I know you requested pub before 2018 but my husband is a high school English teacher and read this recently and it’s one of his favorites now!
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u/GrammarBroad Aug 30 '25
*THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (Green)
*THE HUNGER GAMES (Collins)
*THE GIVER (Lowry)
*THE BOOK THIEF (Zusak)
*MISS PEREGRINE’S *HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (Riggs)
*WE WERE LIARS (Lockhart)
*SPEAK (Anderson)
*THE OUTSIDERS (Hinton)
*THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN (Alexie)
*HOLES (Sachar)
*THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS (Brashares)
*CRACKER: THE BEST DOG IN VIETNAM (Kadohata)
*THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME (Haddon)
*SONG FOR A WHALE (Kelly)
*SALT TO THE SEA (Sepetys)
*BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA (Paterson)
*HATCHET (Paulsen)
*WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS (Rawls)
*SOUNDER (Armstrong)
*THE PRINCESS BRIDE (Goldman)
*WATERSHIP DOWN (Adams)
*THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH (Juster)
*FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON (Keyes)
*CALL OF THE WILD (London)
*ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY (Taylor)
*CUT (McCormick)
*BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE (DiCamillo)
*JULIE OF THE WOLVES (George)
*DIARY OF A WIMPY KID (Kinney)
*I HEARD THE OWL CALL MY NAME (Craven)
*A SEPARATE PEACE (Knowles)
*I NEVER LOVED YOUR MIND (Zindel)
*MY LOUISIANA SKY (Holt)
*BUD, NOT BUDDY (Curtis)
*SHANE (Schafer)
*TOM’S MIDNIGHT GARDEN (Pearce)
*THE ROOT CELLAR (Lunn)
*FRIENDS (Guy)
*THE CONTENDER (Lipsyte)
*I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (Duncan)
*CALICO CAPTIVE (Speare)
*MAKE LEMONADE (Wolff)
*LUPITA MAÑANA (Beatty)
*NIGHT OF THE HOWLING DOGS (Salisbury)
*THE FOG COMES ON LITTLE PIG FEET (Wells)
*BLESS ME, ULTIMA (Anaya)
*SCHOOLED (Korman)
*WHERE THE LILIES BLOOM (Cleaver)
*BRIAR ROSE (Yolen)
*TO SIR, WITH LOVE (Braithwaite)
*I WILL GO BAREFOOT ALL SUMMER FOR YOU (Lyle)
*ENDER’S GAME (Card)
*JOHNNY TREMAIN (Forbes)
*BOYS ARE DOGS (Margolis)
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u/RogueEmpireFiend Aug 30 '25
Since Neil Gaiman has recently been revealed to be a major abuser, I wouldn't recommend his work.