A great book gifted by someone special in your life, especially during your formative years, can become a keepsake. I regularly purge décor, art, clothes and, yes, books, but my permanent reading collection is a part of my identity. This list of books for youth in middle and high school runs the gamut of genre and style — some are classics and some brand new, but hopefully a few will end up on your favorite readers’ forever bookshelves.
The Hunger Games series has resonated consistently with YA readers since it debuted 17 years ago. Maybe it’s the enduring conflicts of class, power, greed and inequity, contrasted with stories of love, rebellion and sacrifice, that keeps audiences compelled. At any rate, it comes as no surprise that the new prequel Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins was greeted as another stellar entry in an already powerful set.
Ibi Zoboi’s groundbreaking contemporary novel-in-verse fantasy (S)kin is a rollercoaster of a read, and perfect for reluctant readers. It’s rich in Caribbean folklore, specifically the myth of soucouyants: skin-shedding shapeshifter women who suck the souls of their victims.
The queer romantic thriller The Corruption of Hollis Brown centers on the titular Brown, a blue-collar boy stuck in a town with no way out, and his intriguing bond with Walt, a spirit with unfinished business and demons to exorcise. K. Ancrum writes in very short, easily digestible one-page sections.
I see the lingering effects the pandemic has had on our youth, but hadn’t read a piece on the topic that resonated with me until A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. Browne, interconnecting prose and poems tackling grief, loss, resilience and hope in New York City during COVID-19. I suspect this title will help many young people come to terms with some of their own feelings around 2020.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton transformed YA literature by smashing norms of what such stories could look like. The 1967 coming-of-age novel about rival street gangs — turned 1983 movie, turned 2024 Tony Award-winning musical — is a timeless classic.
Another great classic for lovers of action and adventure is The Call of the Wild by Jack London, told entirely from the perspective of a dog named Buck who was kidnapped and forced to work as a sled dog during the Klondike gold rush. It’s a hard read, but opens an opportunity for constructive dialogue about difficult topics.
Victoria Fernandez is the Teen Services Librarian at the Iowa City Public Library. This article was originally published in Little Village’s November 2025 issue.
