I teach English to a variety of reluctant readers, all varying in age from about fifteen to seventeen or eighteen. As a result of my position I have made it a personal goal to find as many books as possible that will ‘hook’ my kids into enjoying the reading process as much as I did when I was younger. Of course the two most obvious places to go first are to the superpowers of YA Literature: Harry Potter and Twilight. Still, wizards and sparkly vampires aren’t for everyone.

For those of you out there who are sick of Team Edward vs. Team Jacob, and have simply heard enough about Harry Potter being “the chosen one”, I’ve compiled a list of Young Adult books and series that you may or may not have heard of. All of these books are great reads, and some of the author’s I mention are simply amazing. I will warn you, however, that this list does lean heavily towards the Sci-Fi/Fantasy end of the spectrum, and it is purely based on my personal opinion and reading experience. So if you’re looking for a new book to try and you don’t want to trudge through The Scarlet Letter, Pride and Prejudice, or any other “high brow” literature, I highly recommend the following:

1)      GONE by Michael Grant

This relatively new book series is simply phenomenal. The basic premise is that everyone in the town of Perdido Beach, CA who is aged fifteen or older suddenly disappears. Not only that, but it seems as though a giant barrier has been placed between Perdido Beach and the rest of the world. This leaves all of the kids aged 0-14 stuck alone in their town. Add to that some pretty wicked X-Men type powers that only some of the kids get, and you have an incredibly engaging story that has been hailed as ‘Lord of the Flies meets Stephen King’. How isn’t that awesome?

2)      Everworld by K.A. Applegate

This series is, alas, out of print, but if you can find a copy of it on ebay or at Half Price I do recommend it. The premise is a bunch of teenagers get sucked into this alternate reality where all the ancient gods of various mythologies co-exist. You’ve got Thor, Loki, Zeus, Quetzalcoatl, Ra, even Merlin (not a god, but a pretty cool guy) makes an appearance. Definitely an interesting take on the whole mythology thing.

3)      The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Okay, before you take off my head for suggesting a Meyer book, hear me out. The Host was written for adults, not pubescent teenagers looking for their sparkly and statuesque Prince Charming. In my opinion, the writing style is a million times better than that of the Twilight series. The plot leaves so much more open to debate. While the whole ‘alien takes over human bodies’ thing has been done a million times, she puts an interesting spin on it and I definitely recommend giving it a try, even if you think that Twilight is the devil incarnated into a book series.

4)      Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

I read this over the holidays as a way to destress from all the work of the school year. I didn’t really expect to get into it, but man was I wrong. The premise is that an asteroid hits the moon, knocking it closer to Earth. As a result the weather goes completely haywire and Earth virtually enters a sort of Armageddon. The entire story is told from the perspective of a fifteen year old girl who lives in a small town in Pennsylvania and is keeping a diary of the events. The companion book, The Dead and the Gone, covers the same events from the perspective of a boy who lives in New York City. It is an incredibly haunting book, and it really makes you think about what people are capable of doing, should the worst happen.

5)      Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Pretty much anything by Westerfeld is a young-adult literary masterpiece right off the bat, but this series strikes a particularly beautiful chord. The story takes place in the future, when all of society is split into two groups: the Pretties and the Uglies. You are an Ugly until your sixteenth birthday, when you get a special operation that makes you beautiful and you become a Pretty. Not everyone wants this operation, though, and the city must do all it can to quell a resistance. This book provides a fresh look at cosmetic surgery, social norms and peer perception. Also, there are hoverboards.

6)      The Translator by Daoud Hari

This book is not specifically geared towards young adults, but it is spectacular. It isn’t hard to read, but the story doesn’t need big words to haunt you. The Translator is Daoud Hari’s memoir about the time he spent in Darfur as a translator for news reporters, sneaking them across the Sudan/Chad border so that they could see the atrocities being committed. The story is beautiful, terrifying and overwhelming all at once. I found myself in tears several times while reading it. Hari does not sugar coat anything, he lets you see the reality of Darfur through his eyes.

7)      The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

While these books are meant for a younger audience, they are simply must reads. They are classics – all of them, not just The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. If you haven’t read all of them, please do so. They are all great stories with an interesting plot and thought-provoking undertones.

8)      His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Another classic, this series takes young Lyra on an adventure through other worlds with her faithful daemon at her side. It’s exciting and full of adventure, but also jam packed with insight and possible discussion points.

9)      Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

These books are set in an alternate universe where magic is commonplace and knights still run amuck. This is your classic girl-dresses-as-a-boy-to-join-the-military story with a few fun twists. This is, as the title suggests, the first of a quartet of books in the Alanna series. If you are absolutely smitten with her universe, there are a slew of other books that take place there. It’s definitely not a difficult read, but it’s a fun series.

10)  Animorphs by KA Applegate

Okay, this isn’t YA lit, its children’s lit. However, I am giving it an honorable mention for several reasons. First of all, it is a long sixty-book series that captivated me throughout my childhood so I can’t just ignore it. The book series is out of print right now, but Scholastic is planning a re-release of the series sometime at the end of this year with fancy new covers. If the re-release is successful, a second series may be written. This series covers the same ‘body-stealing-alien’ theme as The Host, but written in a simpler writing style with much deeper implications. Scoff if you want, but this is by far the deepest children’s book series I have ever read. On the surface it’s just a bunch of teenagers turning into animals and kicking alien butt. Digging a little deeper, there are very serious messages about the ravages of war, the price of freedom and the lines that we draw to secure it.

Some honorable mentions that would have made the list if I felt like typing out more detailed descriptions are: Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Skinned by Robin Wasserman, Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld and Night by Elie Wiesel.

 Have you read any of these? What’s your opinion? Do you have any books to add to the list?