New to High School? (YA)

In Year 9 and stuck for something to read? Here are 31 of our favourite books or series to get you started. Don’t forget to talk to your school librarian as well — they’re experts on all things bookishly good!

Updated June 19, 2024
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Pride and prejudice
Austen, Jane
Paper Book
Austen's most popular novel, the unforgettable story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy Few have failed to be charmed by the witty and independent spirit of Elizabeth Bennet in Austen's beloved classic Pride and Prejudice. When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor...
Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER! A MORRIS AWARD WINNER! AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK! A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Soon to be adapted at Netflix...
Graceling
Cashore, Kristin
Paper Book
Discover the Graceling Realm in this unforgettable, award-winning novel from bestselling author Kristin Cashore. A New York Times bestseller ALA Best Book for Young Adults Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Winner...
The Hunger Games
Collins, Suzanne
Paper Book
The first novel in the worldwide bestselling series by Suzanne Collins! Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . . In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve...
The maze runner
Dashner, James
Paper Book
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING MAZE RUNNER SERIES * A teenager with no memory must navigate a deadly maze to survive in book one of this post-apocalyptic phenomenon. "[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of...
Legendborn
Deonn, Tracy
Paper Book
SOME LEGACIES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN. "I love the feeling of a magical world existing just beneath the surface of our own and this story gave me everything I wanted: incredible characters, ancient lore and secret societies - all grounded in our very real, very flawed world...
I, Coriander
Gardner, Sally.
Paper Book
In seventeenth-century London, Coriander, a girl who has inherited magic from her mother, must find a way to use this magic in order to save both herself and an inhabitant of the fairy world where her mother was born.
To all the boys I've loved before
Han, Jenny
Paper Book
To All the Boys I've Loved Before is now a major motion picture on Netflix and the inspiration for the spin-off series XO, Kitty--now streaming on Netflix! A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Lara Jean's love life gets complicated in this New York...
The whale rider
Ihimaera, Witi
Paper Book
Witi Ihimaera's timeless story tells how the courage of one girl in standing against the tide of tradition enables her tribe to become reconnected with their ancestral life force. The Whale Rider has become one of Witi Ihimaera's best-loved stories, capturing readers with its universal themes of...
The henna wars
Jaigirdar, Adiba
Paper Book
Nishat and Flávia are rivals at school, but Nishat can't help the secret crush burning in her heart - even though her parents disapprove of the fact she likes girls. Can she possibly find her happy ever after? A gorgeous, heart-warming, queer YA love story for fans of Becky Albertalli.<...
Howl's moving castle
Jones, Diana Wynne
Paper Book
Now an animated movie from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, the oscar-winning director of Spirited Away In this beloved modern classic, young Sophie Hatter from the land of Ingary catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell... ...
The po?rangi boy
Kino, Shilo
Paper Book
"Twelve-year-old Niko lives in Pohe Bay, a small, rural town with a sacred hot spring and a taniwha named Taukere. The government plan to build a prison here and destroy the home of the taniwha has divided the community. Some are against it, but others see it as an opportunity. Niko is worried about...
Mortal fire
Knox, Elizabeth
Paper Book
A mysterious and compelling teen fantasy novel. When sixteen-year-old Canny of the Pacific island, Southland, sets out on a trip with her stepbrother and his girlfriend, she finds herself drawn into enchanting Zarene Valley where the mysterious but dark seventeen-year-old Ghislain helps her to...
Skulduggery Pleasant
Landy, Derek.
Paper Book
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant Ace Detective Snappy Dresser Razor-tongued Wit Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton --as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year...
Falling into Rarohenga
Matuku, Steph
Paper Book
"It seems like an ordinary day when Tui and Kae, sixteen-year-old twins, get home from school - until they find their mother, Maia, has disappeared and a swirling vortex has opened up in her room. They are sucked into this portal and dragged down to Rarohenga, the Mori Underworld, a place of...
Anne of Green Gables
Montgomery, L. M.
Paper Book
The cherished favorite featuring everyone's favorite red-headed orphan, now in a deluxe hardcover edition with beautiful cover illustrations by Anna Bond, the artist behind world-renowned stationery brand Rifle Paper Co. The classic Anne of Green Gables;inspiration for the...
The recruit
Muchamore, Robert.
Paper Book
A young foster child gets inducted into an elite group of underage spies in this gripping first book in the young adult CHERUB series perfect for graduates of City Spies and Spy School. Following the death of his mother, eleven-year-old James Choke gets separated from his half...
Heartstopper. Volume 1
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
*Now an acclaimed live-action Netflix series!* *Winner of Best Book I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time - TikTok Book Awards* Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and...
Eragon
Paolini, Christopher
Paper Book
Don't miss the eagerly anticipated epic new fantasy from Christopher Paolini--Murtagh! A new adventure hatches in Book One of the Inheritance Cycle, perfect for fans of Lord of the Rings! This New York Times bestselling series has sold over 40 million copies and is...
The golden compass
Pullman, Philip
Paper Book
The modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an "All-Time Greatest Novel" and Newsweek hailed as a "Top 100 Book of All Time." Philip Pullman takes readers to a world where humans have animal familiars and where parallel universes are within reach. ...
Percy Jackson and the lightning thief
Riordan, Rick
Paper Book
The first book in the bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Now with a new cover look! Discover the story behind the Disney+ series. HALF BOY - HALF GOD - ALL HERO. Look, I never asked to be the son of a Greek god. I was just a normal kid....
Holes
Sachar, Louis
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME The iconic, multi-million bestselling novel, in a 25th anniversary edition with exclusive new material inside. An unmissable modern classic.
Steelheart
Sanderson, Brandon.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Brandon Sanderson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Oathbringer, coauthor of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn trilogy. And don't miss the rest of the Reckoners...
Witch hat atelier. Volume 1
Shirahama, Kamome
Paper Book
Best of the Year -- AV Club, New York Public Library, Nerdist, SYFY Wire, Chicago Public Library "Harry Potter meets Kiki's Delivery Service!" -AV Club A beautifully-illustrated story about a girl who longs for magic in her life and learns that...
Nimona
Stevenson, ND
Paper Book
Nimona is an impulsive young shape-shifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius...
The Sunbearer Trials
Thomas, Aiden
Paper Book
Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where ten semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes in this breathtaking, Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the author of the New York Times-bestselling Cemetery Boys. Only the most powerful and...
The hobbit, or, There and back again
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Paper Book
This deluxe hardcover edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic prelude to his Lord of the Rings trilogy contains a short introduction by Christopher Tolkien, a reset text incorporating the most up-to-date corrections, and all of Tolkien's own drawings and full-color illustrations, including the rare...
Tim Te Maro and the subterranean heartsick blues
Valley, H. S.
Paper Book
What happens when your enemy becomes your friend ... with benefits? Red, White and Royal Blue meets The Magicians in this surprising, wildly original and joyously funny LGBTQ YA novel set in a magical boarding school. 
The prince and the dressmaker
Wang, Jen
Paper Book
A fairy tale for any age, Jen Wang's The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart. Winner of the Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens Winner of the Harvey Award for Best Children or Young Adult Book Paris, at the...
Iris and me
Werry, Philippa
Paper Book
So begins the story of Iris Wilkinson, who wrote poetry, novels and journalism under the pen name Robin Hyde. In January 1938, she left New Zealand for England. On the way, intrigued by glimpses of China, she ventured inland despite the war raging there, becoming one of the first women war...
The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME * A NEW YORK TIMES READER TOP 100 PICK FOR BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times...

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