Getting Young Adults to Read! Book List

Trying to get your young adult to read? Need something to inspire them? Check out this book list...



1) "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You" by Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies.

2) "Model Spy" by Shannon Greenland

Teen genius Kelly James is in a lot of hot water. A whiz with computers, she agreed to help her college RA, David, uncover some top-secret information. After all, she doesn't have many friends and David has always been nice to her. It doesn’t hurt that he'’s supercute and irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into the government’s main computer system. But a few hours later, her whole life changes. She is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn’t your run-of-the-mill arrest. Rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. As if that wasn’'t overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well! And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she'’s sent on her first mission as an undercover model. And who better to partner with than David himself!

3) "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

A mysterious island.



An abandoned orphanage.



A strange collection of very curious photographs.



It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. 

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

4) "Beastly" by Alex Finn

I am a beast. A beast! Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll,stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

5) "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

They told him his uncle died in an accident. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, they said. But when fourteen-year-old Alex finds his uncle's windshield riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident. What he doesn't know yet is that his uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission. But he is about to, and once he does, there is no turning back. Finding himself in the middle of terrorists, Alex must outsmart the people who want him dead. The government has given him the technology, but only he can provide the courage. Should he fail, every child in England will be murdered in cold blood.

6) "Here Be Monsters!" by Alan Snow

Welcome to Ratbridge. But beware—for there is skulduggery afoot. Young Arthur has fallen foul of the appalling outlaw, Snatcher, and is trapped alone in the town with every way home sealed. Meanwhile Snatcher and his men are working tirelessly in secret on a fiendish and dastardly plan to destroy the entire town.

With the help of some friendly boxtrolls and cabbageheads, some quirkly townspeople, and the rats and pirates from the Ratbridge Nautical Laundry, can Arthur thwart Snatcher’s evil plans and find his way home?

7) "The Ice Cream Con" by Jimmy Docherty

Danger, diamonds, and disorganized crime! This gritty, funny debut will have readers rooting for--and laughing with--the underdogs!

Jake and his buddies are over being bullied by the thugs at the housing projects he calls home. That's why Jake decides to play the goons at their own game by creating a fake gangster, the Big Baresi. But before long, the imaginary mobster seems to have taken on a life of his own! The stakes are raised when a stash of stolen diamonds goes missing. From behind the wheel of an ice cream van, Jake's got to pull off the ultimate con--while managing to keep the mint chocolate chip from a meltdown. Because, as the Big Baresi knows, revenge is a dish best served cold.

8) "S.T.O.R.M.: The Infinity Code" by E.L. Young

In just a few days Will Knight lost everyone he cared about and his world is falling apart. Then he's invited to join secret organization Storm. He doesn't know anything about them, but they know all about him particularly his talent for inventing gadgets. Storm is the brainchild of fourteen-year-old software millionaire Andrew. Other members are Caspian Baraban, a brilliant astrophysicist with an immense ego, and Gaia, a chemistry genius who loves blowing things up. But when Caspian's father is abducted, evidence suggests he and Caspian have created a world-threatening weapon. Will leads Storm in pursuit from Paris to St Petersburg and finally face to face with a psychopath. Armed with three brilliant brains, iron courage and a remote-controlled rat, can Storm face down the enemy and can Will face the uncomfortable family secrets that their actions uncover?