If you or your teen doesn't like to read, you haven't found the right collection of books yet. Below are twelve addictive, page-turning, must keep reading book series for teens.
Reading at our house is either full-on or not happening at all. Understandably, it is easy for teens to default to their screens. Their friends are there, and they are being enticed by websites literally designed to be addictive.
I admit we don't set screentime limits at our house. Our goal instead is to inspire our kids to live offline. I believe that cannot simply ask kids to read; we have to give them something worth reading.
1. Truly Devious: A Mystery By Maureen Johnson
"My almost 13-year-old is reading, and loving, the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson."
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. Shortly after the school opened, Albert Ellingham's his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym "Truly, Devious". It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history. The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.
2. Chaos Walking Trilogy By Patrick Ness
"In the absolute best way possible, this series will break your heart and build it back up only to continue the cycle. This is the series that shows what happens when the good guys lose, but it still has the best ending. "
Chaos Walking is a young adult science fiction series written by U.S.-born British novelist Patrick Ness. It's set in a dystopian world where all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise.
3. The Arc of the Scythe Trilogy By Neal Shusterman
"It reminds me a lot of the Hunger Games."
It is set in the far future, where death by natural causes has been virtually eliminated thanks to advances in technology, and an advanced computer system known as the "Thunderhead" controls society.
4. The Lunar Chronicles By Marissa Meyer
"They're great books."
The Lunar Chronicles are futuristic retellings of classic fairy tales. In Cinder, a teenage cyborg (half-human, half-machine) must deal with a wicked stepmother, start a rebellion against the evil Queen Levana, and decide how she feels about a handsome prince. Follow Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles from the beginning with Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Fairest: Levana’s Story, Stars Above (a collection of stories set in the Lunar Chronicles universe), and the epic conclusion, Winter.
5. Throne of Glass Series By Sarah J. Maas
"The Throne of Glass series is one of my favorites. My daughter also loved these books."
Throne of Glass is a young adult high fantasy novel series by American author Sarah J. Maas, beginning with the novel of the same name, released in August 2012. The story follows the journey of Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin in a corrupt kingdom with a tyrannical ruler.
Heads-up: I’ve been told by parents that this author is known for including sex scenes in her novels.
6. The Selection Series By Kiera Cass
"This book is as good as Divergent and the Hunger Games series!"
A group of impoverished girls competes for a chance to live amongst the wealthy, where a rebellion is brewing. For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering crowns and priceless jewels.
7. The Silo Series By Hugh Howey
"I love this series! The characters and plot lines are well developed and interesting. The final book is a little slow in the beginning but hang in there. It reveals a lot, and has a stellar ending!"
Humanity clings to survival in the Silo, a subterranean city extending one hundred forty-four stories beneath the surface. The series initially follows the character of Holston, the sheriff of the Silo, with subsequent volumes focusing on the characters of Juliette, Jahns, and Marnes.
8. Serafina Series By Robert Beatty
"My kids love these books. These are not just for kids and teens but for adults too. All ages can enjoy these."
Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of Biltmore Estate. There's plenty to explore in her grand home, although she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate's maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember. But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore's corridors at night.
9. The Delirium Trilogy By Lauren Oliver
"I absolutely LOVED this series! I actually ordered more books from this author because this was so good!"
The Delirium Trilogy follows a teenage girl called Lena in her adventures and battles against a government that claims Love is a disease. In this society, once you reach 18 years old you are required to have an operation that "cures" you of the Love Disease – amor deliria nervosa.
10. Matched Trilogy By Ally Condie
"Such an amazing concept – the Matched trilogy has hues of ‘The Giver’ and ‘Divergent’"
The novel is a dystopian young adult novel about a tightly-controlled society in which young people are "matched" with their life partners at the age of 17. The main character is seventeen-year-old Cassia Reyes, who is Matched with her best friend, Xander Carrow.
11. The Grisha Trilogy By Leigh Bardugo
"Even though I am in my fifties, I think these books were great. Too bad we didn't have all this great YA when I was a kid, but hey, I'll read it now and enjoy it."
Alina Starkov is a teenage orphan, a citizen of the Kingdom of Ravka. She grew up with Malyen Oretsev at an orphanage in Keramzin, which is sponsored by a wealthy patron. As the story begins they are marching to the Unsea (also referred to as the Fold), a perpetually dark, barren, strip of land cutting most of Ravka off from the sea. Periodic expeditions are sent across to take goods to the sea and bring back imports. The crossing is dangerous because the Unsea is inhabited by monsters named volcra.
12. Dreamhouse King Series By Robert Liparulo
"This is one of my all-time favorite series. It Captures you like Narnia does. But in a much more menacing and mysterious way. It's about a family, drawn together in a time of great crisis to rescue a loved one. Their journey leads them to fascinating and surprising places. "
When the Kings move from L.A. to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films . . . but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land. But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into--as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house. They soon discover there's something odd about the house.
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