YA Books To Read

One of my goals for 2025 is to read more YA books, so today I am sharing the YA books I plan to read.

One of my reading goals for 2026 is to read more YA books. I read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton for the first time in November of last year. I loved it.

My daughter has been trying to get me to read it for several years. I am so glad that I finally did.

One of the things I realized by reading The Outsiders is that YA books are easier to read than many books, but they still give you something to think about.

With all my health problems over the last few years, my light fiction reading has really increased. There is nothing wrong with light and fun fiction. I love an occasional Hallmark movie type of book, but I don’t want a steady diet of it.

2025 was one of my worst reading years in a long time. We all have seasons where we read more than others. That is part of the reading life.

For me, though, I want my reading life to challenge me and keep me motivated to read.

When I have a flare of my chronic health issues or my pain is awful, it is hard to focus on an intense historical fiction or nonfiction type of book. It is during these times that I turn to easy-to-read fiction.

After reading The Outsiders, though, I realized YA would be a good option when I want a book that makes me think without being an intense read.

I haven’t read much YA, so I think it would also be a good way to expand my reading.

Growing up, I lived in a very rural area in Oregon. Our small town school was okay, but not great.

I am very thankful for the teachers and librarians who worked there, but when you grow up in what at the time was one of the poorest counties in the state, the school districts suffer. The teachers only had so much to work with.

I always loved to read, but our school library was small. We lived outside the city limits, so we weren’t allowed to have a library card to the small city library. At home, there wasn’t enough money for books.

Many of the books most kids read in the 1980s were not available to me. The library had Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, Little House on the Prairie, and Beverly Cleary, which I read and reread.

At the time, I didn’t realize it because the school had books for us to read, but they weren’t the newer titles many kids in other schools were reading.

As an adult, my love of reading continues, but I mostly read adult books, not young adult books.

When I homeschooled my kids, reading was a big part of our days. But I didn’t read all the same books as my kids. My kids loved to read, and I could not keep up with everything they read.

Between wanting to find more easy-to-read books that make me think and wanting to fill the gap in YA books I haven’t read, I decided to set a goal to read more YA in 2026.

My goal is to read at least one YA book a month. I knew it would be easier to achieve this goal if I had a list of YA books I wanted to read.

I did some research and talked to my daughter Grace, who knows a lot about YA books because she teaches 7th and 8th graders. I put together a list of twenty-seven YA books I want to read. I doubt I will get to all twenty-seven, but I hope to read most of them.

My YA to-be-read list spans a wide range of books. There are historical fiction, general fiction, science fiction, and a few nonfiction books.

If you have read any of them I would love to hear your thoughts on what I should start with. I would also love to hear your suggestions on what YA books I should read that are not on the list.

YA Historical Fiction

A few of the books on this list are ones that I bought quite a while ago, but haven’t read. A few of them are owned by my daughter, since she is a teacher. A few of them I bought and will donate to my daughter’s classroom when I am done. The rest I will try to get on an ebook through our library.

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Written over twenty years ago, this is a well known book that I have never read. I love historical fiction, so I felt like this one had to go on the list.

The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse. When I saw this book mixed mystery with WWII, I knew I had to read it.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. This classic YA book was written in 1958. When my daughter heard that I had never read it, she said that I needed to add it to my list. She was surprised that I did not read it in school, but I don’t remember ever reading it.

Salt to Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Ruta Sepetys is one YA author that I have read before. I have loved the books I have read by her, so I am trying to read all her books.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys. Another Ruta Sepetys book that I owned for a while, but have not read.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. This book, published in 2012, has become a popular YA historical novel. According to Amazon, I bought this book in 2019, so it has been on my to-be-read shelf for a long time.

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz. Alan Gratz is a well-known young adult historical fiction writer. My daughter has read books by this author, but I have not. I think I will enjoy this one.

The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse. When I saw this WWI book at Barnes & Noble, I knew I had to add it to my 2026 reading list.

Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan. This book caught my attention because it is set in 1847 Ireland, which is a time and place I have not read a lot about it. It is a novel in verse, so I am not sure how I will like it, but part of the point of my YA challenge is to read books I would not usually read.

Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell. This is technically middle grade, but it is about tuberculosis in the early 1900s, so I knew that I wanted to read it.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. This is another classic YA book that I have not read.

YA Fiction Books

I Heard The Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven. A reader recommended this book after I posted about reading and enjoying The Outsiders. This is a well-known YA book set in the Pacific Northwest. It was published in 1967. I am a little surprised that I didn’t read this one in school, since I grew up in Oregon, but I am guessing that the small school library did not have it.

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz. This is another of Alan Gratz’s books I hope to read.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I have never read a John Green book, which I can’t believe, since he is so popular. My daughter is not sure that I will like this one because it is so sad, but I think I will give it a try.

Looking For Alaska by John Green. This one deals with some tough topics, so it is on the older end of YA, but I am curious about it, so I added it to my list to read.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. Another well-known John Green YA book that I have not read.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Science fiction is not a genre that I read. I have tried in the past, and didn’t enjoy it. My daughter, though, convinced me to put this on my list because she thinks it is a science fiction book I might enjoy. So, I am going to give it a try.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This is another book that was published over twenty years ago that I have not read.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. This was published in 1978, so it is another one that I can’t believe I have never read.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. My daughter and I were at a bookstore recently, browsing the YA section. She knows that I love mystery books, so she suggested I read this one. She really enjoyed it.

Fire Keeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. This is often considered a YA thriller, so I am not sure if I will enjoy it. It has been so popular, though, that I decided to add it to my list.

YA Nonfiction Books

The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming. I bought this nonfiction YA book years ago and still have not read it. I think it will be one of the first YA books I read in 2026.

Vincent and Theo by Deborah Hiligman. This is another book that I bought years ago and haven’t read.

Death In the Jungle by Candace Fleeming. When I saw a YA nonfiction book about the cult led by Jim Jones, I knew it would be a must-read.

Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson. According to Amazon, I bought this one in 2023, but I haven’t read it. I am pretty sure someone recommended this one to me, but I don’t remember who.

American Wings by Sheri L. Smith. I read and enjoyed Flygirl by this author, so I expect to enjoy this one as well.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. This is another well-known book that I have been meaning to read for years. I think it is finally time to read it.

Which YA book should I read first? Do you have any others to recommend?