Best Young Adult

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. Award-Winner. 1. It's a well-written, interesting and altogether compelling piece of historical fiction. 2. You can't live in America without reading it at least once. 3. If you love the movie (who didn't?), the book is even better. 1960 Pulitzer Prize winner. "Deals with the issues of racism that were observed by the author as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Despite being Lee's only published book, it led to Lee being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007. Lee has also been the recipient of numerous honorary degrees..." per Wikipedia. Simply the most outstanding & compelling read ever!

sturlington: Should be read by everyone, regardless of age.

PitcherBooks: JF, YA, All Ages. Multiple award winner. The 1998 book that started it all, first & best of the 7-book series. Harry Potter learns he's to be a student wizard at Hogwarts and so escape his awful Muggle relatives. Despite the dire predicaments his new status brings him, he is buoyed up with new friends and a wizard mentor. If you read one, you'll end up reading them all ... Barney: There's nothing new under the sun.

aspirit: Not YA

aspirit: Not YA

aspirit: Not YA

aspirit: Not YA

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 1962 Multiple Award Winner. SF&F classic. Loved this as a kid. Still do. First and best of the four book series.

sturlington : Just bad.

pwaites : Full of action, but over-hyped and ludicrous plot-line.

aspirit : Not YA

PitcherBooks: JF, YA, All Ages. 1950 BritLit fantasy adventure classic. Equally appealing to both boys & girls. The first and best of the somewhat uneven seven book Narnia series.

sturlington : Better for younger children

: An Abundance of Katherines is better; this one is just manipulative

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 2011 Multiple Award-Winner. SF&F, Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk, Quest, Adventure, Mystery, Suspense. Even this non-80s kid and non-gamer loved it! If you like SF&F in the least, this is a must-read. I believe a large percentage of non-SF&F fans would go for it too. Seriously good!

: Didn't enjoy it as a teen, perhaps because I'm not a boy

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 2008 Multiple Award Winner. BritLit, Fantasy. After his family is murdered, a baby is raised to boyhood by the departed denizens of the local graveyard. Interesting concept. Fun read. Equally appealing to boys & girls.

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 1958 Award Winner. Historical Fiction. Colonial Era, 1687 New England. 16 y/o orphan Katherine "Kit" Tyler leaves the relaxed and open Barbados islands to live with her aunt & uncle in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Superstitious Puritans immediately think her a witch for knowing how to swim. The strict and odd beliefs of the Puritans seem to continuously put Kit at risk for what would be non-issues for normal everyday peoples. A sometimes frightening culture clash. Excellent read!

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. Multiple Award-Winner. 1953 SF&F Classic. One of Bradbury's best. Dystopia. Societal ban on all books with book burning as the solution. One of the few high school reading assignments that I adored!

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 2005 Multiple Award Winner. NF, Autobiography. The author and her siblings were raised in a severely dysfunctional family. Living proof that roses spring from dung heaps and we each have the ability to choose our own lives (eventually). An amazing & inspiring life.

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 1968 SF&F classic. The first of the Dragonriders of Pern series. Read one, you'll read 'em all. Because they're that good! ... The author was the first woman to win a Hugo award & Nebula award. In 2005, she was named a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master & inducted into the SF&F Hall of Fame. - wiki ... Don't miss her books!

merrystar: While I loved this when I was younger, it hasn't aged all that well for me.

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 1974 Multiple Award Winner. Historical Fantasy. The 'Tam Lin' legend retold [human kidnapped by & kept by the faerie]. Set in 16th century Elizabethan England. Very well done.

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 2002 Multiple Award Winner. Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Action, Adventure. Feudal Japan. "The story of a 16 y/o orphaned & traumatized boy, Tomasu, who is taken under the wing of a professional assassin and a 15 y/o girl, Kaede, who has been held hostage for her family's good behavior for the past 8 years."

PitcherBooks: YA, All Ages. 2006 Multiple Award Winner. Historical Fantasy. The plague comes to a rural medieval village. Ketarah bargains with Lord Death personified to save her family and friends. Oh, the magic and romance!